Cellulose Nitrate Plastic (Celluloid) in Archaeological Assemblages: Identification and Care

Invented in the mid-19th century, cellulose nitrate is commonly regarded as the earliest synthetic polymer or plastic. As increasing numbers of historical sites dating from the mid-1800s are excavated, cellulose nitrate objects are more frequently found in archaeological assemblages. The inherent instability of cellulose nitrate makes proper handling, storage, and display conditions vital to the longevity of recovered objects. In this paper, the composition, manufacture, and means of identifying cellulose nitrate are summarized. The processes of degradation and means of slowing those processes are elaborated, as well

Assessment of Organizational Readiness: Parent Advisory Councils in a Children\u27s Hospital within a Hospital

Background: A children’s hospital within a hospital (CHWH) in the Midwest region of the United States established a strategic goal to become the preferred provider for children in the region. Outcomes in patient and family experience had fallen short of established organizational expectations. Recognizing that parent advisors are an essential component of patient and family centered care, the strategic plan called for integrating parents into formal, advisory roles. Purpose: The purpose of this practice improvement project was to perform an assessment of organizational readiness to incorporate parents into formal advisory roles at this CHWH. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used to measure indicators of organizational readiness: 1) an analysis of the current state of patient and family centered care (PFCC) 2) an analysis of stakeholder attitudes and beliefs about incorporating parents as advisors. Results: A score of five for each question on the PFCC Organizational Self-Assessment Tool indicates an organization’s culture is consistent with best practice organizations. Assessment of the current state of PFCC in this CHWH resulted in only five of eleven domains on the PFCC Self-Assessment Tool having a mean score \u3e3. However, 83.7% of all stakeholders responded in support of integrating parents into formal advisory roles. These results suggest that the CHWH is in the contemplative stage of organizational readiness (Prochaska, Norcross, & Diclimente, 1994). Conclusion: Stakeholders in this CHWH recognize knowledge gaps regarding PFCC culture in their organization. They are confident their individual clinical practices are supportive of PFCC, yet recognize that integrating parents into formal advisory roles will require adoption of complex organizational changes in this CHWH

Computer aided detection of natural reference markers in serial radiographs of growing bone

This thesis describes the theoretical and experimental development and testing of a computer-based image processing system for the detection of stable structural features in serial radiographs of growing bone. The study is divided into three parts. First, a simple theoretical model for the detection of stable structures in a radiographic sequence was developed together with a more detailed statistical model of the processes which hinder detection. Analysis of the models indicated that the processing procedures needed to perform the detection were those described by the so-called "matched filter equation". Secondly, the assumptions of the model were tested in a series of experiments using serial radiographs of 24 children with implanted tantalum markers, drawn from the files of the University of Washington, USA. Information gained from these experiments prompted changes to the detection method to allow the radiographic data to comply with these assumptions and provide robustness against image noise. The method was implemented as a semi-automatic image processing system on a Sun 3/160 computer. The system was tested in a further series of experiments using a second sample of radiographs of 28 children with implanted markers and with radiographs of dried human skulls. The results of these experiments indicated that the system could detect persistent structural features whose positions were consistent with the stable tantalum markers and that the system was robust against minor changes in projection between radiographs. Finally, the detection system was applied to the investigation of mandibular incisor eruption from intra-alveolar to pubertal eruption stages using serial lateral cephalometric radiographs of 11 children. This investigation revealed two new features of incisor eruption: first, the eruption paths deviated lingually at, or just prior to, alveolar emergence; and second, post-emergence eruption was characterised by a labio-lingual oscillation of the crowns of the incisors

The Enron/Andersen Collapse: Ongoing Implications for Executive M.B.A. Programs

[This article is based on David Springate’s presentation at the 2002 E.M.B.A. Council meeting in Keystone, Colorado, USA.] The premise of this article is that we can help develop leadership among the business men and women that are our executive students and, at the same time, serve society and the economy better if we move to modify Executive MBA programs given recent events. Given corporate and ethical lapses by some executives, our programs need some new emphasis, courses and exposures. Parts of our existing programs need tweaking. Further there is need for increased emphasis on judgment formation. I offer below some suggestions for doing this and, also, results of a quick look for changes recently instituted in Executive MBA programs

The Power of Choice: Reflections of Economic Ability, Status, and Ethnicity in the Foodways of a Free African American Family in Northwestern New Jersey

The choices people make concerning food involve decisions well beyond biological sustenance. Food procurement and consumption, as well as the way in which a dish is served, are choices that are embedded with both overt and less obvious implications of social aspirations and validations (McKee 1999; Reitz, Ruff, and Zierden 2006). Food and the means by which it is prepared and consumed embody and communicate cultural traditions, as well as factors such as social identity, ethnicity, status, class, and consumer choice. In this article, we examine the faunal remains, tablewares, and food-preparation vessels recovered during excavations within a free African American household in an historically white town in northwestern New Jersey, and how these remains reflect and project the social identity of the household occupants, the Mann family. We compare the artifacts recovered from this site with other ante- and postbellum free black house sites in the northern mid-Atlantic region. While we note that some trends are common, like the use of wild species to supplement foods purchased in the marketplace and the presence of mismatched dishes, the amount of variation from site to site suggests each family responded individually to economic, social, and regional factors according to its own taste, beliefs, and ability. In addition to examining the Mann family’s foodways in the context of other free African American sites in the northern mid-Atlantic, we also discuss how foodways played a role in the Mann family’s display of status, as understood by both white and black communities

The Impact of the Internet on the Sexual Health of Adolescents: A Brief Review

The object of this review is to summarize the impact of the Internet on the sexual health of adolescents. This article examines the use of websites, blogs and chat rooms as sources for sexual health information for adolescents. The influence of Internet pornography on sexual behaviors and attitudes is addressed. The use of the Internet as a place to find sexual partners is also assessed. During a time of great physical, emotional and sexual change, the Internet is playing a huge role in the decisions adolescents are making, both positive and negative

Can analyses of electronic patient records be independently and externally validated? The effect of statins on the mortality of patients with ischaemic heart disease: a cohort study with nested case-control analysis

Objective To conduct a fully independent and external validation of a research study based on one electronic health record database, using a different electronic database sampling the same population. Design Using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), we replicated a published investigation into the effects of statins in patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) by a different research team using QResearch. We replicated the original methods and analysed all-cause mortality using: (1) a cohort analysis and (2) a case-control analysis nested within the full cohort. Setting Electronic health record databases containing longitudinal patient consultation data from large numbers of general practices distributed throughout the UK. Participants CPRD data for 34 925 patients with IHD from 224 general practices, compared to previously published results from QResearch for 13 029 patients from 89 general practices. The study period was from January 1996 to December 2003. Results We successfully replicated the methods of the original study very closely. In a cohort analysis, risk of death was lower by 55% for patients on statins, compared with 53% for QResearch (adjusted HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.50; vs 0.47, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.53). In case-control analyses, patients on statins had a 31% lower odds of death, compared with 39% for QResearch (adjusted OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.75; vs OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.72). Results were also close for individual statins. Conclusions Database differences in population characteristics and in data definitions, recording, quality and completeness had a minimal impact on key statistical outputs. The results uphold the validity of research using CPRD and QResearch by providing independent evidence that both datasets produce very similar estimates of treatment effect, leading to the same clinical and policy decisions. Together with other non-independent replication studies, there is a nascent body of evidence for wider validity