The poverty of journal publishing

The article opens with a critical analysis of the dominant business model of for-profit, academic publishing, arguing that the extraordinarily high profits of the big publishers are dependent upon a double appropriation that exploits both academic labour and universities’ financial resources. Against this model, we outline four possible responses: the further development of open access repositories, a fair trade model of publishing regulation, a renaissance of the university presses, and, finally, a move away from private, for-profit publishing companies toward autonomous journal publishing by editorial boards and academic associations. </jats:p

Hearing loss and cognitive-communication test performance of long-term care residents with dementia: Effects of amplification

Purpose: The study aims were: 1) to explore the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive-communication performance of individuals with dementia, and 2) to determine if hearing loss is accurately identified by long-term care (LTC) staff. The research questions were: 1) What is the effect of amplification on cognitive-communication test performance of LTC residents with early to middle-stage dementia and mild-to-moderate hearing loss? 2) What is the relationship between measured hearing ability and hearing ability recorded by staff using Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set 2.0 (RAI-MDS)? Method: Thirty-one residents from five long-term care facilities participated in this quasi-experimental cross-over study. Residents participated in cognitive-communication testing with and without amplification. RAI-MDS ratings of participants’ hearing were compared to audiological assessment results. Results: Participants’ Speech Intelligibility Index scores significantly improved with amplification; however, participants did not demonstrate significant improvement in cognitive communication test scores with amplification. A significant correlation was found between participants’ average pure-tone thresholds and RAI-MDS ratings of hearing, yet misclassification of hearing loss occurred for 44% of participants. Conclusions: Measuring short-term improvement of performance-based cognitive communication may not be the most effective means to assess amplification for individuals with dementia. Hearing screenings and staff education remain necessary to promote hearing health for LTC residents

Surficial geologic materials of the Cedar Rapids South Quadrangle

https://ir.uiowa.edu/igs_ofm/1005/thumbnail.jp

Surficial geologic materials of the Central City Quadrangle

https://ir.uiowa.edu/igs_ofm/1006/thumbnail.jp

Dreams and nightmares of liberal international law: capitalist accumulation, natural rights and state hegemony

This article develops a line of theorising the relationship between peace, war and commerce and does so via conceptualising global juridical relations as a site of contestation over questions of economic and social justice. By sketching aspects of a historical interaction between capitalist accumulation, natural rights and state hegemony, the article offers a critical account of the limits of liberal international law, and attempts to recover some ground for thinking about the emancipatory potential of international law more generally

PenQuest Volume 2, Number 1

Table of Contents for this Volume: Untitled by Janet Collins Untitled by Judy Gozdur Last Hour of Light by Susan Reed Untitled by Judy Godzur Untitled by Rick Wagner Untitled by Carol Groover Untitled by R. Wagner Only in the Portico by Linda Banicki Untitled by Helen Hagadorn Private Place, Pubic Place by David Reed Untitled by Tammy Hutchinson Untitled by Tammy Hutchinson Madison Knights by Susan Reed Untitled by Sissy Crabtree The Price by Sandra Coleman Untitled by Ann Harrington Invasion of Privacy by Mark Touchton Untitled by Bruce Warner Untitled by Tom Schifanella Untitled by Tammy Hutchinson Bloodwork by Laura Jo Last Untitled by David Whitsett Burial Instructions by Bill Slaughter Untitled by S. Trevett PenQuest Interview: Joe Haldeman by David Reed Her Name Came from the Sea by Richard L. Ewart Untitled by V. Williams In the Woodshed by R. E. Mallery Untitled by Modesta Matthews Untitled by David Olson Illumination by E. Allen Tilley Untitled by Joseph Avanzini Everywoman by Laura Jo Last Untitled by Beth Goeckel Believe Me by Donna Kaluzniak Untitled by Judy Gozdur Untitled by Judy Gozdur Unicorn by David Reed Untitled by Susan Reed untitled by Paul Cramer Unititled by Lucinda Halsema The Violin by Richard L. Ewart Untitled by Maria Barry Untitled by Roger Whitt Jr. Haiku by Lori Nasrallah Rhymer’s Revolt by R. E. Mallery Untitled by Valerie William

Voting Characteristics of Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury

Voting is the foundation of democracy. Limited data exist about voting characteristics of individuals with neurologic impairment including those living with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). To statistically examine voting characteristics using a convenience sample of registered voters with TBI during elections held in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina—2007, 2008. Data were collected on 51 participants with TBI during May 2007, 2008 general, and 2008 Presidential Election. (i) There was a significant difference between the Competence Assessment Tool for Voting (CAT‐V) total score of participants with TBI who voted and the CAT‐V total score of participants with TBI who did not vote and the CAT‐V total score predicted voting; (ii) the age of the participants with TBI was predictive of voting; and (iii) being married was inversely related to voting. We find that there is variation in voting even among this small sample interviewed for the present study, and that the variation is predictable. Those with the highest CAT‐Vs are most likely to vote. In addition, we find that traditional predictors of voting simply are not predictors among this TBI group, and even one, whether the person is married, has a negative effect on voting

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570