The Portrayal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Mass Print Magazines Since 1980

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to examine and describe the portrayal of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in mass print media magazines. Design: The sample included all 37 articles found in magazines with circulation rates of greater than 1 million published in the United States and Canada from 1980 to 2005. The analysis was quantitative and qualitative and included investigation of both manifest and latent magazine story messages. Results: Manifest analysis noted that CAM was largely represented as a treatment for a patient with a medically diagnosed illness or specific symptoms. Discussions used biomedical terms such as patient rather than consumer and disease rather than wellness. Latent analysis revealed three themes: (1) CAMs were described as good but not good enough; (2) individualism and consumerism were venerated; and (3) questions of costs were raised in the context of confusion and ambivalence

An Onomastic Calendar of Saints in Lorca's "Romancero Gitano"

SUNY BrockportLiterary Onomastics Studie

Allergic Rhinitis and its Associated Co-Morbidities at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania; A Prospective Review of 190 Cases.

Allergic rhinitis is one of the commonest atopic diseases which contribute to significant morbidity world wide while its epidemiology in Tanzania remains sparse. There was paucity of information regarding allergic rhinitis in our setting; therefore it was important to conduct this study to describe our experience on allergic rhinitis, associated co-morbidities and treatment outcome in patients attending Bugando Medical Centre. This was descriptive cross-sectional study involving all patients with a clinical diagnosis of allergic rhinitis at Bugando Medical Centre over a three-month period between June 2011 and August 2011. Data was collected using a pre-tested coded questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS statistical computer software version 17.0. A total of 190 patients were studied giving the prevalence of allergic rhinitis 14.7%. The median age of the patients was 8.5 years. The male to female ratio was 1:1. Adenoid hypertrophy, tonsillitis, hypertrophy of inferior turbinate, nasal polyps, otitis media and sinusitis were the most common co-morbidities affecting 92.6% of cases and were the major reason for attending hospital services. Sleep disturbance was common in children with adenoids hypertrophy (χ2 = 28.691, P = 0.000). Allergic conjunctivitis was found in 51.9%. The most common identified triggers were dust, strong perfume odors and cold weather (P < 0.05). Strong perfume odors affect female than males (χ2 = 4.583, P = 0.032). In this study family history of allergic rhinitis was not a significant risk factor (P =0.423). The majority of patients (68.8%) were treated surgically for allergic rhinitis co morbidities. Post operative complication and mortality rates were 2.9% and 1.6% respectively. The overall median duration of hospital stay of in-patients was 3 days (2 - 28 days). Most patients (98.4%) had satisfactory results at discharge. The study shows that allergic rhinitis is common in our settings representing 14.7% of all otorhinolaryngology and commonly affecting children and adolescent. Sufferers seek medical services due to co-morbidities of which combination of surgical and medical treatment was needed. High index of suspicions in diagnosing allergic rhinitis and early treatment is recommended

Cost-Effectiveness of Comprehensive School Reform in Low Achieving Schools

We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of Struggling Schools, a user-generated approach to Comprehensive School Reform implemented in 100 low achieving schools serving disadvantaged students in a Canadian province. The results show that while Struggling Schools had a statistically significant positive effect on Grade 3 Reading achievement, d=.48 in 2005-06 and .60 in 2006-07, the program was not cost-effective when compared to two alternatives: 1. The cost of bringing one student to the provincial achievement standard was more than 25% higher in Struggling Schools than in the status quo. 2. The cost-effectiveness ratio (i.e., effect size per $1,000 of incremental cost) was lower in Struggling Schools than in Success For All. Struggling Schools would have been deemed to be cost-effective if different choices had been made, especially in (a) the calculation of costs (e.g., the inclusion of donated time), (b) the decision rules for declaring cost-effectiveness, and (c) the studies used to access comparative data.---Nous avons évalué le rapport cout-efficacité du programme Struggling Schools (écoles en difficulté), une approche générée par l'utilisateur à la réforme d'ensemble des écoles mise en œuvre dans 100 écoles peu performantes desservant des élèves défavorisés dans une province canadienne. Les résultats indiquent que si l'effet du programme Struggling Schools sur le rendement en lecture en 3e année était statistiquement significatif et positif (d= 0,48 en 2005-06 et 0,60 en 2006-07), son rapport cout-efficacité n'était pas aussi intéressant que celui des deux alternatives suivantes:1. Le cout de rehausser le rendement d'un élève pour qu'il atteigne le standard provincial était plus élevé de 25$ de cout différentiel) du programme Struggling Schools était plus bas que celui du programme Success for All.Le programme Struggling Schools aurait été jugé rentable si on avait choisi autrement, notamment par rapport (a) au calcul des couts (par ex. l'inclusion de la main d'œuvre à titre gratuit), (b) aux règlements portant sur les décisions quant aux critères de rentabilité, et (c) aux études employées pour accéder aux données de comparaison

Shannon Information Theory and Molecular Biology

The role and the contribution of Shannon Information Theory to the development of Molecular Biology has been the object of stimulating debates during the last thirty years. This seems to be connected with some semantic charms associated with the use of the word \u201cinformation\u201d in the biological context. Furthermore information itself, if viewed in a broader perspective, is far from being completely defined in a fashion that overcomes the technical level at which the classical Information Theory has been conceived. This review aims at building on the acknowledged contribution of Shannon Information Theory to Molecular Biology, so as to discover if it is only a technical tool to analyze DNA and proteinic sequences, or if it can rise, at least in perspective, to a higher role that exerts an influence on the construction of a suitable model for handling the genetic information in Molecular Biology

Professional Misfits: “You’re Having to Perform . . . All Week Long”

Background: Occupational therapy professes commitment to equity and justice, and research is growing concerning the experiences of clients from marginalized groups. To date, almost no research explores the professional experiences of therapists from marginalized groups. This qualitative study explores how exclusion operates in the profession among colleagues. Method: Grounded in critical phenomenology, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 occupational therapists who self-identified as racialized, disabled, ethnic minority, minority sexual/gender identity (LGBTQ+), and/or from working-class backgrounds. Iterative analysis was conducted using constant comparison and employing ATLAS.ti for team coding. Results: Across identity groups, four processes of exclusion were identified: isolation, abrasion, presumptions of incompetence, and coerced assimilation. Garland-Thompson’s (2011) concept of “misfit” is employed to analyze how therapists are constructed as not-quite-fitting the professional space delimited by occupational therapy’s white, able-body-minded, Western, heterosexual, middle-class, cisgender norms. Conclusions: Misfits are constructed by contexts, by expectations and material arrangements that assume particular bodies. Misfits make visible the inequities built into business-as-usual, an illumination that comes at often-painful cost. Yet there is possibility for change toward equity and justice for therapist colleagues: we can all choose to do differently, enacting change at micro and macro levels

Client-Centered Practice when Professional and Social Power are Uncoupled: The Experiences of Therapists from Marginalized Groups

Background: Client-centeredness is foundational to occupational therapy, yet virtually no research has examined this aspect of practice as experienced by therapists from marginalized groups. The discourse of client-centeredness implicitly assumes a “dominant-group” therapist. Professional power is assumed to be accompanied by social power and privilege. Here, we explore what happens when professional and social power are uncoupled. Method: In-depth interviews grounded in critical phenomenology were conducted with Canadian therapists (n = 20) who self-identified as disabled, minority sexual/gender identity (LGBTQ+), racialized, ethnic minority, and/or from working-class backgrounds. Iterative thematic analysis employed constant comparison using ATLAS.ti for team coding. Results: Clients mobilized social power conveying direct and indirect hostility toward the therapists. Clients used social power to undermine the professional credentials and competence of the therapists. In turn, the therapists strove to balance professional and social power, when possible disclosing marginalized identities only when beneficial to therapy. Strongly endorsing client-centered principles, the therapists faced considerable tension regarding how to respond to client hostility. Conclusions: The discourse of client-centeredness ignores the realities of marginalized therapists for whom professional power is not accompanied by social power. Better conceptualizing client-centeredness requires shifting the discourse to address practice dilemmas distinct to marginalized therapists working with clients who actively mobilize systemic oppression

Modelling of the effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W divertor of JET

Effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W target of JET ITER-Like Wall was studied with multi-scale calculations. Plasma input parameters were taken from ELMy H-mode plasma experiment. The energetic intra-ELM fuel particles get implanted and create near-surface defects up to depths of few tens of nm, which act as the main fuel trapping sites during ELMs. Clustering of implantation-induced vacancies were found to take place. The incoming flux of inter-ELM plasma particles increases the different filling levels of trapped fuel in defects. The temperature increase of the W target during the pulse increases the fuel detrapping rate. The inter-ELM fuel particle flux refills the partially emptied trapping sites and fills new sites. This leads to a competing effect on the retention and release rates of the implanted particles. At high temperatures the main retention appeared in larger vacancy clusters due to increased clustering rate