Safety of Needle Electromyography in Critically Ill Patients

Introduction: To evaluate the safety of needle electromyography (EMG) in critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients who are on anticoagulants and have comorbidities that increase the risk of bleeding and infections. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of critically ill patients who underwent needle EMG studies. The most common complications followed by needle EMG were reviewed and classified based upon common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTAC) criteria. Descriptive statistics were reported using the frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. The mean and interquartile range is used for continuous variables. All analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistic Version 21, IMB Inc., Chicago, IL. Results: Twenty-nine patients were included. 17 (58.6%) were males with a mean age of 60.8 +/- 16.7 years.  The mean PT, PTT, and INR were 15.2 sec, 36.5 seconds, and 1.13, respectively. Fourteen (48.2%) patients in this cohort were treated with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), and an additional 8 (27.5%) patients were administered subcutaneous (SC) heparin for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis. Therapeutic heparin was being used in 3 (10.3%) patients and sequential compression devices (SCDs) in 4 (13.7%) patients. A total of 228 muscles were tested. Among them, 38 (16.6%) were deep muscles. There were no major bleeding complications at the time of the procedure and for the next seven days in any of the patients, including those with multiple medical comorbidities. All our patients met the grade 1 scale in the severity of adverse events criteria proposed by CTCAE. Conclusion: Needle EMG is safe in critically ill ICU patients on anticoagulants and multiple comorbidities including those that increase the risk of bleeding and infection

Qatar, global sport and the 2022 FIFA World Cup

In 2010 the Fèdèration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) astounded the world when it bestowed upon the small Persian Gulf State of Qatar the opportunity to host the 2022 World Cup finals. This decision added to Qatar’s desire to become a global centre for sport excellence. In what follows, we offer an introductory analysis of the state’s engagement with global sports. The need for such an extract is indispensable, as, to date, there is a dearth of academic research on sport in Qatar; hence, this chapter aims to contribute substantially towards filling that gap

1863-10-01 William Brannagan requests confirmation on the death of Michael Reardon of Company K

https://digitalmaine.com/cw_me_4th_regiment_corr/1404/thumbnail.jp

Interorganizational network analysis a case study of the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association.

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, page: . Thesis (M.H.K.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1986

The soft power–soft disempowerment nexus: the case of Qatar

There are four areas in which soft power is open to critical scrutiny. First, research has centred on large and/or developed nations, notably in North America, Europe, east Asia and the BRICs. Second, scholars have called for greater clarity of the concept, noting that it lacks clear explanation of how instances of attraction equate to various power outcomes. Third, others suggest Joseph Nye developed an Americanized-centric understanding of soft power, and hence a narrow account of what constitutes ‘attraction’. Finally, research has failed to examine how states' soft power attempts can backfire, leading to what we call ‘soft disempowerment’. Drawing on the case of Qatar—with a particular focus on the state's acquisition of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals—we seek to offer responses to these criticisms. We do this by refining the concept of soft power to take account of variegated power outcomes, and by focusing on a small state and a non-American context, in order to explore the intersections of soft power and soft disempowerment. In doing so, we introduce the ‘soft power–soft disempowerment nexus’ which, we go on to argue, affords an analytical framework for examining how soft power works and how it may be hampered through negative international scrutiny

Olympians' Attitudes toward Olympic Values: A “Sporting” Life History Approach

The literature on the Olympics has grown exponentially in the last twenty years. What has not received much, if any, attention, however, are the athletes themselves. Given that Olympians are essential to the existence of the Games and that governments worldwide increasingly seek international prestige through the funding of elite sport policy, the lack of research in this regard is, therefore, surprising. The current paper seeks, in part, to redress this imbalance. It does so by focusing on Olympians' attitudes to Olympic values—given that Olympic values are central to the Olympic Movement—gathered through a wider project on the “sporting” life history of fifty-seven British athletes. The study's findings are paradoxical and appear to be at odds with the Olympic values set out in the Olympic Charter. In particular, the study finds British athletes' attitudes toward Olympic values tend to shift dramatically between the period in which they compete and their post-athletic careers

Of Mechanisms and Myths: Conceptualising States’ “Soft Power” Strategies through Sports Mega-Events

© 2016 Taylor & Francis. Joseph Nye’s concept of “soft power” has become an increasingly used term to help explain why states—including so-called “emerging states”—are paying greater attention to acquiring various forms of cultural and political attraction. However, within mainstream International Relations, Political Science, and Sport Studies literature, a continuous debate remains as to what actually constitutes soft power, how national leaders go about acquiring it, and how forms of attraction convert into power outcomes in both the short- and long-term. This analysis endeavours to overcome these issues by offering an “ideal type” model that details states’ soft power strategies, the mechanisms they use, and the tangible future outcomes they gain

Interrogating States’ Soft Power Strategies: A Case Study of Sports Mega-Events in Brazil and the UK

© 2015 University of Kent. Central to this article is the use of sports mega-events as part of a state's “soft power” strategy. The article offers two things: first, a critique of the “soft power” concept and a clearer understanding of what it refers to by drawing on the political use of sports mega-events by states; second, the article seeks to understand how and why sports mega-events are attractive to states with different political systems and at different stages of economic development. To this end a case study of an advanced capitalist state (London Olympics, 2012) and a so-called “emerging” state (FIFA World Cup, 2014; Rio Olympics, 2016) will be undertaken in order to shed light on the role of sports events as part of soft power strategies across different categories of states

Celiac disease and risk of myasthenia gravis – nationwide population-based study

Background Case reports suggest there may be an association between celiac disease (CD) and myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods We identified 29,086 individuals with CD in Sweden from 1969 to 2008. We compared these individuals with 144,480 matched controls. Hazard ratios (HRs) for future MG (identified through ICD codes) were estimated using Cox regression. Results During 326,376 person-years of follow-up in CD patients, there were 7 MG cases (21/million person-years) compared to 22 MG cases in controls during 1,642,273 years of follow-up (14/million person-years) corresponding to a HR of 1.48 (95% CI = 0.64–3.41). HRs did not differ when stratifying for age, sex or calendar period. HRs were highest in the first year after follow-up, though insignificant. Individuals with CD were at no increased risk of MG more than 5 years after CD diagnosis (HR = 0.70; 95% CI = 0.16–3.09). Conclusion This study found no increased risk of MG in patients with CD

Unlocking the whole of soft power: a quantum international relations analysis

Soft power is one of most applied, yet nebulous, concepts in social science. In this paper, we show that it is not soft power perse that is of issue here, but rather the Newtonian parameters through which the concept has been described. In making an original and significant contribution, we introduce a radical break from conventional attempts to explain soft power by drawing on quantum international relations. Through this, we show that Newtonian-based analyses fail to unlock soft power's full complexity. We close by identifying how quantum soft power advances research and practice