The Avocado and its potential in Western Australia

This bulletin summarises the background of the avocado and its requirements for growth and production of fruit in Western Australia, and considers its economic potential.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1242/thumbnail.jp

Controll of eelworm diseases of bananas in Western Australia : a review

During the 1950\u27s, a decline in bananas in plantations in Carnarvon, caused by heavy infestations of eelworms, prompted investigations into eelworm control. The work was started in 1955. The results and recommendations based on experiments have been published in Department of Agriculture Bulletin 3532

The papaw : a fruit for the tropics and sub-tropics

TOE fruit of the papaw (Carica papaya) has a unique flavour and is a welcome addition to any diet. In the tropics and sub-tropics the papaw is quite easy to grow and is adapted to a wide range of soils and climate

Naive Bayesian prediction of bleeding after heart by-pass surgery

© 2001 ARCME, Univ of WA. Excessive post-operative bleeding occurs in approximately one out of eight patients who undergo heart bypass surgery. Earlier workers have identified laboratory parameters that are correlated with post-operative blood loss but these correlations are not strong enough to be clinically useful. This paper describes a predictor that combines several of these parameters using Naive Bayesian Reasoning, to produce a clinically useful predictor of blood loss

Relationship of Platelet-Aggregation to Bleeding After Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Excessive bleeding after cardiopulmonary bypass operations is a persistent problem. This study assessed the influence of platelet function on blood loss for 134 patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. Platelet function was measured by platelet aggregation in platelet-rich plasma and whole blood using collagen as the agonist. Adenosine triphosphate release was assessed concurrently. Measurements were made 1 day before operation and 1 hour after the cessation of cardiopulmonary bypass. Three important findings were made. First, statistically significant correlations were shown between preoperative and postoperative platelet aggregation and blood drainage for the first 3 hours postoperatively. Second, correlations were greatest when preoperative measurement was performed on whole blood and postoperative measurement was performed on platelet-rich plasma. Third, patients with reduced postoperative platelet aggregation in platelet-rich plasma had significantly greater transfusion requirements in the first 24 hours postoperatively. In defining the 16 patients who bled excessively among the 134 patients studied, the preoperative aggregation in whole blood had a sensitivity of 62%, specificity of 75%, positive predictive value of 26%, and negative predictive value of 94%. The postoperative aggregation in platelet-rich plasma had a sensitivity of 86%, specificity of 69%, positive predictive value of 28%, and negative predictive value of 97%. These results indicate that preoperative and postoperative measurement of platelet aggregation may provide a rationale for the prophylaxis or treatment of patients to reduce blood loss after cardiopulmonary bypass

Changes in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels in non-small cell lung cancer

Increased urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) levels are increased in a number of malignancies and have been correlated with decreased disease-free interval and decreased overall survival. We have, therefore, examined components of this plasminogen activating system in patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Levels of uPA, urokinase-plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were measured semiquantitatively in paraffin sections of tumours from 147 patients with NSCLC. Immunohistochemically stained sections of tumour were allocated a score for stain intensity and results correlated to: survival; tumour stage(T); nodal stage(N); stage grouping (I to IIIb), survival status and sex. Increased levels of PAI-1 were associated with a decreased survival in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) X2 = 5.72, p = 0.017 (n = 74). There was a significant positive relationship between PAI-1 levels and N-stage (p = < 0.05), presence of nodal metastases (p = < 0.05), stage grouping (p = < 0.01) and extent of disease (p = < 0.05) in the total group and the SCC subgroup, but not adenocarcinoma. There was a significant positive relationship between PAI-1 levels and T-stage (p = < 0.05) in the total group, and survival status (p = < 0.05) in the SCC subgroup alone. uPA and uPAR levels were not significantly associated with tumour staging or survival. We conclude that increased PAI-1 antigen levels may be associated with a decreased survival in patients with SCC

Using three scenarios to explain life expectancy in advanced cancer : attitudes of patients, family members, and other healthcare professionals

Aim: To evaluate a web-based tool for estimating and explaining three scenarios for expected survival time to people with advanced cancer (patients), their family members (FMs), and other healthcare professionals (HCPs). Methods: Thirty-three oncologists estimated the “median survival of a group of similar patients” for patients seeking quantitative prognostic information. The web-based tool generated worst-case, most likely, and best-case scenarios for survival based on the oncologist’s estimate. Oncologists presented the scenarios to each patient and provided a printed summary to patients, FMs, and HCPs. Attitudes to the information were assessed by questionnaires. Observed survival for each patient was compared with the oncologist’s estimated survival and the three scenarios. Results: Prognosis was discussed with 222 patients: median age 67 years; 61% male; most common primary sites pancreas 15%, non-small-cell lung 15%, and colorectal 12%. The median (range) for observed survival times was 9 months (0.5–43) and for oncologist’s estimated survival times was 12 months (2–96). Ninety-one percent of patients, 91% of FMs, and 84% of HCPs agreed that it was helpful having life expectancy explained as three scenarios. The majority (77%) of patients judged the information presented about their life expectancy to be the same or better than they had expected before the consultation. The survival estimates met a priori criteria for calibration, precision, and accuracy. Conclusions: Patients, FMs, and HCPs found it helpful to receive personalized prognostic information formatted as three scenarios for survival. It was feasible, acceptable, and safe to use a web-based resource to do this

Impact of Early Versus Delayed Atrial Fibrillation Catheter Ablation on Atrial Arrhythmia Recurrences

Online publish-ahead-of-print 16 April 2023Background: Catheter ablation is an effective strategy in atrial fibrillation (AF). However, its timing in the course of management remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine if an early vs. delayed AF ablation strategy is associated with differences in arrhythmia outcomes during 12-month follow-up. Methods and results: One hundred patients with symptomatic AF referred to a tertiary centre for management were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either an early ablation strategy (within 1 month of recruitment) or a delayed ablation strategy (optimized medical therapy followed by catheter ablation at 12 months post recruitment). The primary endpoint was atrial arrhythmia free survival at 12 months post-ablation. Secondary outcomes included: (i) AF burden, (ii) AF burden by AF phenotype, and (iii) antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) use at 12 months. Overall, 89 patients completed the study protocol (Early vs. Delayed: 48 vs. 41). Mean age was 59 ± 12.9 years (29% women). Pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in 100% of patients. At 12 months, 56.3% of patients in the early ablation group were free from recurrent arrhythmia, compared with 58.6% in the delayed ablation group (HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.59–2.13, P = 0.7). All secondary outcomes showed no significant difference including median AF burden (Early vs. Delayed: 0% [IQR 3.2] vs. 0% [5], P = 0.66), median AF burden amongst paroxysmal AF patients (0% [IQR 1.1] vs. 0% [4.5], P = 0.78), or persistent AF patients (0% [IQR 22.8] vs. 0% [5.6], P = 0.45) or AAD use (33% vs. 37%, P = 0.8). Conclusion: Compared with an early ablation strategy, delaying AF ablation by 12 months for AAD management did not result in reduced ablation efficacy.Jonathan M. Kalman, Ahmed M. Al-Kaisey, Ramanathan Parameswaran, Joshua Hawson, Robert D. Anderson, Michael Lim, David Chieng, Stephen A. Joseph, Alex McLellan, Joseph B. Morton, Paul B. Sparks, Geoffrey Lee, Prashanthan Sanders, and Peter M. Kistle

Sex specific outcomes following catheter ablation in persistent AF

Available online 8 February 2024. OnlinePublBACKGROUND Sex-specific outcomes after catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) have reported conflicting findings. OBJECTIVE We examined the impact of female sex on outcomes in patients with persistent AF (PsAF) from the Catheter Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Multicentre Randomized Trial of Pulmonary Vein Isolation vs PVI with Posterior Left Atrial Wall Isolation (CAPLA) randomized trial. METHODS A total of 338 patients with PsAF were randomized to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) or PVI with posterior wall isolation (PWI). The primary outcome was arrhythmia recurrence at 12 months. Clinical and electroanatomical characteristics, arrhythmia recurrence, and quality of life were compared between women and men. RESULTS Seventy-ninewomen (23.4%; PVI 37; PVI1PWI 42) and 259 men (76.6%; PVI 131; PVI1PWI 128) underwent AF ablation. Womenwere older {median age 70.4 (interquartile range [IQR] 64.8–74.6) years vs 64.0 (IQR 56.7–69.7) years; P < .001} and had more advanced left atrial electroanatomical remodeling. At 12 months, arrhythmia-free survival was lower in women (44.3% vs 56.8% in men; hazard ratio 1.44; 95% confidence interval 1.02–2.04; log-rank, P 5 .036). PWI did not improve arrhythmia-free survival at 12 months (hazard ratio 1.02; 95% confidence interval 0.74–1.40; log-rank, P 5 .711). The median AF burden was 0% in both groups (women: IQR 0.0%–2.2% vs men: IQR 0.0%–2.8%; P 5 .804). Health care utilization was comparable between women (36.7%) and men (30.1%) (P 5 .241); however, women were more likely to undergo a repeat procedure (17.7% vs 6.9%; P 5 .007). Women reported more severe baseline anxiety (average Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS] anxiety score 7.5 6 4.9 vs 6.3 6 4.3 in men; P 5 .035) and AF-related symptoms (baseline Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality-of-Life Questionnaire [AFEQT] score 46.7 6 20.7 vs 55.96 23.0 inmen; P5 .002), with comparable improvements in psychological symptoms (change in HADS anxiety score 23.864.6 vs23.064.5; P5.152 (change inHADS depression score22.965.0 vs22.664.0; P5.542) and greater improvement in AFEQT score compared with men at 12 months (change in AFEQT score 145.9 6 23.1 vs 139.2 6 24.8; P 5 .048). CONCLUSION Women undergoing CA for PsAF report more significant symptoms and poorer quality of life at baseline than men. Despite higher arrhythmia recurrence and repeat procedures in women, the AF burden was comparably low, resulting in significant improvements in quality of life and psychological well-being after CA in both sexes.Louise Segan, David Chieng, Rose Crowley, Jeremy William, Hariharan Sugumar, Liang-Han Ling, Joshua Hawson, Sandeep Prabhu, Aleksandr Voskoboinik, M Joseph B. Morton, Geoffrey Lee, Laurence D. Sterns, Matthew Ginks, Prashanthan Sanders, Jonathan M. Kalman, Peter M. Kistle

ENGAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR PLANE

Örgütlere rekabet üstünlüğü sağlayan birincil ve hayati unsur insandır. Psikolojik ve sosyal bir varlık olan insanın örgüt için üretken hale getirilmesinde örgütsel davranış disiplinine önemli görevler düşmektedir. Örgütsel davranışın ilgilendiği konulardan biri olan adanmışlık, örgüt başarısında etkili bir durumdur. Adanmışlık durumu, birey ve örgüt yapısı çerçevesinde birçok unsurla etkileşim göstermektedir. Tutumlar, davranışlar ve oluşan örgüt kültürü çalışanların adanmışlık seviyesini etkileyen unsurlardandır. Adanmışlık konusununun teorik bir yaklaşımla ortaya konulmaya çalışıldığı bu araştırmada farklı adanmışlık unsurları ve boyutları, adanmışlık durumları, adanmışlığın önemi, adanmışlığı ortaya çıkaran ve arttıran unsurlar irdelenip adanmışlığın tükenmişlikle ilişkisi ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır.The major and vital factor providing competitive advantage to the organizations is person. Organizational behavior discipline plays a crucial role in rendering a person that is both psychological and social entity to an efficient being in the organization. Commitment which is one of the issues examined by organizational behavior is an effective condition in the way of reaching to organizational success. The condition of commitment is related to several factors within the frame of individual and organizational structure. Attitudes, behaviors and developing organizational culture affect the commitment degree of workers. In this research, it is aimed to establish a frame on the relation between commitment and burn-out by examining particular commitment factors and dimensions, commitment conditions, the importance of commitment and the factors revealing and increasing the commitmen