Routine Changing of Intravenous Administration Sets Does Not Reduce Colonization or Infection in Central Venous Catheters

Objective: To determine the effect of routine intravascular administration-set changes on central venous catheter (CVC) colonization and catheter related bacteremia (CRB). Design: Prospective, randomised controlled trial Setting: 18-bed ICU in a University-affiliated, tertiary referral hospital. Participants: 404 chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine coated multi-lumen CVCs from 251 intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Interventions: After ethical approval, CVCs inserted in ICU and in situ on Day 4 were randomised to have their administration-sets changed on Day 4 (n = 203) or not at all (n = 201). Fluid container and blood product administration-set use was limited to 24 hours. CVCs were removed (Day 7, not required or suspected infection), and cultured for colonization ( 15 cfu). Medical and laboratory staff were blinded. CRB was diagnosed by a blinded intensivist using strict definitions. Data was collected on; catheter life, CVC site, APACHE II score, patient age, diagnosis, hyperglycemia, hypoalbuminemia, immune status, number of fluid containers and intravenous injections, propofol, blood, TPN or lipid infusion. Results: There were 10 colonized CVCs in the set change group and 19 in the no change group. This was not a statistically significant difference on Kaplan Meier survival analysis (Effect Size = 0.09, Log Rank = 0.87, df = 1, p = 0.35). There were 3 cases of CRB per group. Logistic regression found that burns diagnosis and increased ICU stay were the only factors that significantly predicted colonization (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Intravenous administration-sets can be used for 7-days. Routine administration-set changes are unnecessary before this time

Folded Tilting Complexes for Brauer Tree Algebras

AbstractWe give dual one-sided tilting complexes producing inverse equivalences of the derived category of a Brauer star algebra and a Brauer tree algebra of the same type, folded according to an additional combinatorial structure on the Brauer tree. We relate this to the two-sided two-term tilting complex of Rouquier in the case of a group block, showing that it induces the “completely folded” case for each one-sided complex

Examining the Effectiveness of Marketing Practices of a Nonprofit Institution of Higher Education: Internal Service Provider

Abstract - Quality education is the sum of Institutions of Higher Education’s (IHE) parts, including classroom instruction and internal services, that are key to a student’s success during and after college. The purpose of this study is to address an understudied sector in the nonprofit marketing literature (i.e., Institutions of Higher Education internal service providers). The current study extends Dakouan et al. (2019) work by examining the marketing efforts of an IHE’s career services center’s effectiveness in creating awareness and increasing attendance at career events. The study focuses on outbound marketing strategies addressing the research question “to what extent are outbound marketing strategies successful in creating awareness and increasing attendance at IHE’s career fairs?” Data were collected over three academic years through an intercept survey provided at career fairs and through a database of social media and digital marketing analytics at a medium-sized university located in the Southeastern United States. Frequency analyses were used to determine the effectiveness of marketing strategies in bringing awareness and increasing attendance to IHE career fairs. Further, attendance data were compared between results of frequency analyses of outbound marketing strategies. The findings revealed that only two effective forms of outbound communications used by the subject IHE’s career center were personal selling by faculty and email blast. Findings also revealed that social and internet marketing strategies used by the subject IHE career center were not effective. The results have implications as to a need for continual marketing research of trends in marketing best practices. The findings demonstrated the need for adding inbound marketing strategies(Dakouan et al., 2019) and hiring and/or training staff in marketing research, social media, and internet marketing skills. From the study’s findings, it was concluded that Filip’s(2012) study was supported. Thus, to create awareness and increase attendance at events provided by an IHE’s internal services providers, strategically applied marketing best practices are necessary

SoTL Best Practices: 21st Century College Students’ Perceptions of Learning Styles and Instructional Design Materials’ Influence on the Successful Completion of Assignments

There is a long history of interest in individual differences in learning styles. Beginning in the 1960s, academic research endeavors began examining the concept of personalizing teaching as the best scholarship of teaching and learning best practice (SoTL). This current series of interconnected empirical studies take a fresh look at SoTL by examining students’ self-perception of their learning styles and whether their perceptions relate to how they learn. Today’s college students are growing up in the information age of the 21st Century. Many educators believe that a best practice is to focus on delivering personalized instructional material through technology. Thus, the current mixed methods study adds value to SoTL research by examining these concepts through a representative sample of the subject university in the United States. To assure the reliability and validity of the complex series of three integrated studies, research assistants were trained by a researcher experienced in experimental and survey designs. Data were analyzed using SPSS27®. The study\u27s findings indicated that focusing instructional materials on individual learning styles does not equate to learning success; in fact, the data showed no relationship. The data showed that a combined instructional delivery methodology (kinetic and audio) had a positive influence on learning success. The findings revealed that explicit instructions with or without audio were the most effective in leading to students’ ability to follow instructions successfully. Managing students’ self-perceptions of learning styles is important to assure successful learning experiences. Findings, conclusions, implications, recommendations, and limitations are presented herein

Breast screening attendance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Northern Territory of Australia

Objective: To compare breast screening attendances of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women. Methods: A total of 4,093 BreastScreen cases were used including 857 self-identified Indigenous women. Chi-squared analysis compared data between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women. Logistic regression was used for groupings based on visits-to-screening frequency. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for associations with low attendance. Results: Indigenous women were younger and had fewer visits to screening compared with non-Indigenous women. Non-English speaking was mainly associated with fewer visits for Indigenous women only (OR 1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.9). Living remotely was associated with fewer visits for non-Indigenous women only (OR 1.3, 95%CI 1.1-1.5). Shared predictors were younger age (OR 12.3, 95%CI 8.1-18.8; and OR 11.5, 95%CI 9.6-13.7, respectively) and having no family history of breast cancer (OR 2.1, 95%CI 1.3-3.3; and OR 1.8, 95%CI 1.5-2.1, respectively). Conclusions: Factors associated with fewer visits to screening were similar for both groups of women, except for language which was significant only for Indigenous women, and remoteness which was significant only for non-Indigenous women. Implications for public health: Health communication in Indigenous languages may be key in encouraging participation and retaining Indigenous women in BreastScreen; improving access for remote-living non-Indigenous women should also be addressed

Marking of verb tense in the English of preschool English–Mandarin bilingual children: evidence from language development profiles within subgroups on the Singapore English Action Picture Test

Background The phonological and morphosyntactic structures of English and Mandarin contrast maximally and an increasing number of bilinguals speak these two languages. Speech and language therapists need to understand bilingual development for children speaking these languages in order reliably to assess and provide intervention for this population. Aims To examine the marking of verb tense in the English of two groups of bilingual pre-schoolers learning these languages in a multilingual setting where the main educational language is English. The main research question addressed was: are there differences in the rate and pattern of acquisition of verb-tense marking for English-language 1 children compared with Mandarin-language 1 children? Methods & Procedures Spoken language samples in English from 481 English–Mandarin bilingual children were elicited using a 10-item action picture test and analysed for each child's use of verb tense markers: present progressive ‘-ing’, regular past tense ‘-ed’, third-person singular ‘-s’, and irregular past tense and irregular past-participle forms. For 4–6 year olds the use of inflectional markers by the different language dominance groups was compared statistically using non-parametric tests. Outcomes & Results This study provides further evidence that bilingual language development is not the same as monolingual language development. The results show that there are very different rates and patterns of verb-tense marking in English for English-language 1 and Mandarin-language 1 children. Furthermore, they show that bilingual language development in English in Singapore is not the same as monolingual language development in English, and that there are differences in development depending on language dominance. Conclusions Valid and reliable assessment of bilingual children's language skills needs to consider the characteristics of all languages spoken, obtaining accurate information on language use over time and accurately establishing language dominance is essential in order to make a differential diagnosis between language difference and impairment

Mammographic densities of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women living in Australia's Northern Territory

Objectives: To compare the mammographic densities and other characteristics of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women screened in Australia. Methods: Population screening programme data of Aboriginal (n = 857) and non-Aboriginal women (n = 3236) were used. Mann–Whitney U test compared ages at screening and Chi-square tests compared personal and clinical information. Logistic regression analysis was used for density groupings. OR and 95% CI were calculated for multivariate association for density. Results: Mammographic density was lower amongst Aboriginal women (P < 0.001). For non-Aboriginal women, higher density was associated with younger age (OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.1–2.8), recall to assessment (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.6–3.0), family history of breast cancer (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.2–1.6), English-speaking background (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.2–1.6), and residence in remote areas (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1–1.4). For Aboriginal women, density was associated with younger age (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.0–3.5; P < 0.001), and recall to assessment (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4–3.9; P < 0.05). Conclusions: Significant differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women were found. There were more significant associations for dense breasts for non-Aboriginal women than for Aboriginal women

Agriculture in the Trans-Pacific Partnership

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade and investment agreement under negotiation by 12 countries in the Pacific Rim. This report assesses this partnership's potential impacts on the region's agriculture in 2025

Development and validation of a targeted gene sequencing panel for application to disparate cancers

Next generation sequencing has revolutionised genomic studies of cancer, having facilitated the development of precision oncology treatments based on a tumour’s molecular profile. We aimed to develop a targeted gene sequencing panel for application to disparate cancer types with particular focus on tumours of the head and neck, plus test for utility in liquid biopsy. The final panel designed through Roche/Nimblegen combined 451 cancer-associated genes (2.01 Mb target region). 136 patient DNA samples were collected for performance and application testing. Panel sensitivity and precision were measured using well-characterised DNA controls (n = 47), and specificity by Sanger sequencing of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interacting Protein (AIP) gene in 89 patients. Assessment of liquid biopsy application employed a pool of synthetic circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Library preparation and sequencing were conducted on Illumina-based platforms prior to analysis with our accredited (ISO15189) bioinformatics pipeline. We achieved a mean coverage of 395x, with sensitivity and specificity of >99% and precision of >97%. Liquid biopsy revealed detection to 1.25% variant allele frequency. Application to head and neck tumours/cancers resulted in detection of mutations aligned to published databases. In conclusion, we have developed an analytically-validated panel for application to cancers of disparate types with utility in liquid biopsy