Unrealistic Goals Research Articles

Mejoramiento de la calidad de la educación superior desde la comparación de estándares

Este estudio tiene como objetivo determinar el efecto de la calidad normada en dos modelos de evaluación de la educación superior desde el punto de visa del mejoramiento continuo y cuánto han contribuido al progreso de la universidad. La metodología empleada es de tipo cualitativo porque hace posible entender, describir, interpretar y analizar los contextos y personajes que intervienen en la mejora de la educación superior desde el análisis de los estándares de calidad, los métodos de investigación considerados son el fenomenológico y el hermenéutico. Los resultados del estudio exhiben la gran disparidad que existe de modelo a modelo en términos de métricas de evaluación y expone las brechas casi insalvables que se muestran en ciertas áreas, así como los manifiestos avances en otras. El mejoramiento de la calidad en las instituciones de educación superior debe ser desarrollado de forma incremental, porque cuando se plantean metas irreales se corre el riesgo de quedar a la mitad del camino, con la consiguiente ausencia de guías para la toma de decisiones.

Emotional exhaustion is associated with work related stressors: a cross-sectional multicenter study in Malaysian public hospitals.

Emotional exhaustion is an important component of burnout. Burnout is common among doctors. It affects the physical and mental health of doctors, their performance and the quality of care they provide. This study aimed to investigate the level and factors associated with emotional exhaustion among doctors in pediatric practice in Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was used in this multicenter cross-sectional study. It included questions on the socio-demographics, work characteristics, Emotional Exhaustion, Perceived Stress Scale and sources of job stress. Descriptive, univariate and multivariate analysis were conducted using the SPSS software. A total of 197 doctors working in the Pediatric department in eight hospitals returned complete questionnaire. High and moderate emotional exhaustion was reported by 25.4% and 24.4% doctors, respectively. In bivariate analysis, 29 out of the 38 items of sources of stress showed significant association with emotional exhaustion (p <0.05).The significant predictors of emotional exhaustion in the multivariate analysis were: scoring higher on the Perceived Stress Score, dealing with patient's psychosocial problems, disrespectful interactions with colleagues/ subordinates, lack of appreciation from supervisors, lack of incentives and promotions, time pressures and deadlines to meet, and setting unrealistic goals of having them imposed on oneself (p <0.05). The most common source of stress was dealing with difficult parents (80.2%). Emotional exhaustion is associated with sources of stress in the workplace but not with socio-demographic factors.

Psychopathy and twins. A case report

IntroductionWe are going to explain a case of a patient diagnosed with psychopathy and his twin brother with a normal personality.ObjectivesTo show the controversia about psychopathy and twins.MethodsDescription of a case of psycopathy. We evaluated his psychopatology using the Psychopaty Checklist (PCL).CaseA 18-years-old male teenager admitted to a penitentiary facility for several crimes: drug dealing, violent theft and multiple aggressions.Personal history: early psychological and psychiatric attention for disruptive behaviour as a child: repeated lies, low empathy, defiance to parents and teachers, indifference to punishment, robbery, aggressive behaviour, loitering, escaping from home, cruelty against animals, promiscuity, vandalism and drug abuse. Medium-high class family, well-structured family, none of them with criminal history or mental disorders, his brother is a brilliant student.Personality assessment: We describe 20 features of his personality according to the PCL and we score them from 0 to 2. Zero if it does not apply at all, one if there is a partial match, two if there is a good match.Features: Superficial charm, narcicism, pathological liar, manipulator, absence of guilt, superficial affection, absence of empathy, inability to accept responsibility, need for constant excitation, parasitic life, unrealistic goals, impulsivity, irresponsibility, low self-control, conductual problems since childhood, juvenile delinquency, repeal of conditional freedom, criminal versatility, promiscuity and multiple marriages.ResultsOut of a maximum score of 40, the cut-off for psychopathy is 30.This patient has 34 points so we can conclude he is a psychopath.ConclusionsWe can conclude there is not a clear relationship between twins and psychopathy.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Improving ICU-Based Palliative Care Delivery: A Multicenter, Multidisciplinary Survey of Critical Care Clinician Attitudes and Beliefs.

Addressing the quality gap in ICU-based palliative care is limited by uncertainty about acceptable models of collaborative specialist and generalist care. Therefore, we characterized the attitudes of physicians and nurses about palliative care delivery in an ICU environment. Mixed-methods study. Medical and surgical ICUs at three large academic hospitals. Three hundred three nurses, intensivists, and advanced practice providers. Clinicians completed written surveys that assessed attitudes about specialist palliative care presence and integration into the ICU setting, as well as acceptability of 23 published palliative care prompts (triggers) for specialist consultation. Most (n = 225; 75%) reported that palliative care consultation was underutilized. Prompting consideration of eligibility for specialist consultation by electronic health record searches for triggers was most preferred (n = 123; 41%); only 17 of them (6%) felt current processes were adequate. The most acceptable specialist triggers were metastatic malignancy, unrealistic goals of care, end of life decision making, and persistent organ failure. Advanced age, length of stay, and duration of life support were the least acceptable. Screening led by either specialists or ICU teams was equally preferred. Central themes derived from qualitative analysis of 65 written responses to open-ended items included concerns about the roles of physicians and nurses, implementation, and impact on ICU team-family relationships. Integration of palliative care specialists in the ICU is broadly acceptable and desired. However, the most commonly used current triggers for prompting specialist consultation were among the least well accepted, while more favorable triggers are difficult to abstract from electronic health record systems. There is also disagreement about the role of ICU nurses in palliative care delivery. These findings provide important guidance to the development of collaborative care models for the ICU setting.

Humor and the Nineteenth-Century Reformer

ABSTRACT This article examines how American humorists from the 1820s through the 1870s treated the Reformer, that most American figure whose commitment to improving society embodied the optimism characteristic of the mid-nineteenth century. The satirical treatment of Reformers, with its emphasis on their marginality, served as both a punishment for their transgression and a way to define acceptable social mores. The picture that emerges reveals the strengths of the American Reformer—lofty ideals and daring positions—but also weaknesses, namely their single-mindedness, and at times unrealistic goals. It also demonstrates the wit and talent of the humorists, while reflecting their tendency to play it safe. Humorists aligned themselves with the already familiar and characterized new ideas and political passion as threatening or just plain crazy. Nineteenth-century humor about the reform movement sheds light on the crucial political and cultural ideas that preoccupied society and with which it struggled.

Abstract TMP34: The Challenge and Yield of Racially and Ethnically Diverse Patient Populations in Low Event-Rate Clinical Trials

Background: Concern for underrepresentation of minorities in clinical trials has focused on enrollment proportions and generalizability. The interplay of trial event-rates with diversity has not been emphasized. Methods: The Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy vs Stent Trial (CREST) randomized 2502 patients and compared them by race, ethnicity, baseline characteristics, and primary outcome (any peri-procedural stroke, death or MI and subsequent ipsilateral stroke up to 10 years); those with unknown race or ethnicity were excluded. Proportional hazards models adjusting for age, sex, symptomatic status and treatment were used to test for a treatment by race/ethnicity interaction. Results: One-hundred-nine patients (4.4%) were black, 32 (1.3%) Asian, 2332 (93.4%) white, 11 (0.4%) other by self-report, and 18 (0.7%) unknown; 90 (3.6%) were Hispanic, 2377 (95%) non-Hispanic, and 35 (1.4%) unknown. Compared to whites, racial minorities were younger (mean age 67±8.9 vs 69±8.8, p=0.004), more often female (44% vs 34%, p=0.01), symptomatic (63 vs 52%, p=0.01), and diabetic (51% vs 29%, p&lt;0.0001), but less often dyslipidemic (76% vs 85%, p=0.004), current smokers (19% vs 27%, p=0.04), or had a history of cardiovascular disease (34% vs 46%, p=0.007). Hispanics were more often diabetic (48% vs 30%, p=0.0002). The rate of the primary endpoint was 10.9%±0.9% at 10 years, and did not differ by race or ethnicity (p inter &gt;0.24). In the context of this low rate, even if minority recruitment were increased to represent 50% of study participants, and if the treatment difference in one race were a greater hazard of HR = 1.49 (anticipated alternative hypothesis), then the hazard ratio in the other group would need to be &lt;0.73, or &gt;3.31, to have 90% power of detection. Conclusions: The proportion of racial and ethnicity participation in CREST was suboptimal at &lt; 10%. Primary outcomes did not differ by minority or ethnic status. However, in low event-rate trials very high and even unrealistic enrollment goals for diversity, for example ≥50%, may still be insufficient for detection of outcome differences by race or ethnicity.

Science in the Supply Chain: Collaboration Opportunities for Advancing Sustainable Agriculture in the United States

Core Ideas Sustainability indicators for US agriculture demonstrate improvement since 1980. Emerging multi‐stakeholder initiatives are seeking to drive further improvement. Collaboration with the scientific community is key to achieving improvements. Consumers and corporations are increasingly interested in understanding the sustainability of agricultural supply chains and reducing the environmental impacts of food, fiber, feed, and fuel production. This emerging need to quantify environmental impacts from agricultural production creates an opportunity for collaboration with the scientific community. Without such collaboration, sustainability efforts risk failure by adopting unrealistic goals or misguided approaches. This commentary explores the role of science in Field to Market, a nonprofit organization developing a sustainability program for US commodity crops, and highlights opportunities to address emerging science challenges. We evaluate changes over the past 35 years in key environmental impacts of crop production used to inform land managers as well as companies that are committed to improvements. Achieving improvements will only be possible if three key gaps are addressed regarding available simulation models and data, scale of implementation and uncertainty, and effectiveness of conservation practices. Filling these gaps presents an opportunity for dialogue between scientists, farmers, and private‐sector stakeholders to advance scientific knowledge and promote the common objective of sustainable agriculture.

The ‘world class’ university and international ranking systems: what are the policy implications for governments and institutions?

ABSTRACTThe aim of this article is to explore the relationship between the concept of the ‘world class’ university and the evidence provided by published global institutional ranking systems and to assess the policy implications of seeking ‘world class’ standing whether driven by governments or by institutions themselves. There would be little disagreement that higher education is subject to a league table culture or that ranking systems have a habit of driving policy [Hazelkorn, E. 2011. Rankings and the Reshaping of Higher Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan]. What is less clear is whether policy-makers fully recognise the limitations of the messages which ranking systems seem to convey. In an increasingly market-conscious higher education environment the claim to be ‘world class’ is ubiquitous and is rarely subjected to critical scrutiny in public discourse so that the concept has become overused and devalued, albeit it remains a powerful element in policy formation. The paper argues that the concept can distort policy and lead to a concentration on unrealistic and unachievable goals.

What are the barriers and facilitators to goal-setting during rehabilitation for stroke and other acquired brain injuries? A systematic review and meta-synthesis

Objective: To identify the barriers and facilitators to goal-setting during rehabilitation for stroke and other acquired brain injuries. Data sources: AMED, Proquest, CINAHL and MEDLINE. Review methods: Two reviewers independently screened, extracted data and assessed study quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and undertook thematic content analysis for papers examining the barriers and facilitators to goal-setting during stroke/neurological rehabilitation (any design). Last searches were completed in May 2016. Results: Nine qualitative papers were selected, involving 202 participants in total: 88 patients, 89 health care professionals and 25 relatives of participating patients. Main barriers were: Differences in staff and patients perspectives of goal-setting; patient-related barriers; staff-related barriers, and organisational level barriers. Main facilitators were: individually tailored goal-setting processes, strategies to promote communication and understanding, and strategies to avoid disappointment and unrealistic goals. In addition, patients’ and staff’s knowledge, experience, skill, and engagement with goal-setting could be either a barrier (if these aspects were absent) or a facilitator (if they were present). Conclusion: The main barriers and facilitators to goal-setting during stroke rehabilitation have been identified. They suggest that current methods of goal-setting during inpatient/early stage stroke or neurological rehabilitation are not fit for purpose.

World Englishes-Based Lessons: Their Effects on Anxiety and Language Achievement of Thai Tertiary Students

Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is prevalent among Thai learners, affecting language learning achievement. This problem has been rooted in ineffective pedagogical practice informed by native speaker (NS) ideology of English language teaching (ELT) policy in Thailand. This has made learners struggle to reach an unrealistic goal of NS norms as the only way to be proficient users of English, leading to low self-esteem and fear of speaking English. This study aims to investigate a paradigm shift in ELT as a means to reduce students’ FLCA. By incorporating World Englishes (WE) into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom practice, it is believed that students will develop a more realistic goal of being efficient English users rather than struggling, and failing, to become like native English speakers. As a result, they will develop self-esteem and more confidence in using their own English, considered a crucial anxiety-buffering factor. Quasi-experimental research with 92 first-year students at one government university in Bangkok was employed over 17 weeks in one of their required English courses. FLCA questionnaires and English achievement tests were used as a pretest and posttest to find out anxiety and achievement levels, while a focus group interview yielded supplementary data. Means, SD, T-test results and content analysis were used for data analysis, showing a significant reduction in anxiety resulting from the WE-based instruction and an increase in achievement from the FLCA reduction. Therefore, this study concludes that global ELT curriculum should incorporate more WE in classroom practice as an alternative means to reduce FLCA and indirectly increase language achievement.

On the Critical Role of Divergent Selection in Evolvability

An ambitious goal in evolutionary robotics is to evolve increasingly complex robotic behaviors with minimal human design effort. Reaching this goal requires evolutionary algorithms that can unlock from genetic encodings their latent potential for evolvability. One issue clouding this goal is conceptual confusion about evolvability, which often obscures the aspects of evolvability that are important or desirable. The danger from such confusion is that it may establish unrealistic goals for evolvability that prove unproductive in practice. An important issue separate from conceptual confusion is the common misalignment between selection and evolvability in evolutionary robotics. While more expressive encodings can represent higher-level adaptations (e.g. sexual reproduction or developmental systems) that increase long-term evolutionary potential (i.e. evolvability), realizing such potential requires gradients of fitness and evolvability to align. In other words, selection is often a critical factor limiting increasing evolvability. Thus, drawing from a series of recent papers, this article seeks to both (1) clarify and focus the ways in which the term evolvability is used within artificial evolution, and (2) argue for the importance of one type of selection, i.e. divergent selection, for enabling evolvability. The main argument is that there is a fundamental connection between divergent selection and evolvability (on both the individual and population level) that does not hold for typical goal-oriented selection. The conclusion is that selection pressure plays a critical role in realizing the potential for evolvability, and that divergent selection in particular provides a principled mechanism for encouraging evolvability in artificial evolution.

Dispersal by generalist frugivores affects management of an invasive plant

AbstractIn the past century, our understanding of the processes driving plant invasion and its consequences for natural and anthropogenic systems has increased considerably. However, the management of invasive plants remains a challenge despite ever more resources being allocated to their removal. Often invasive plants targeted for ‘eradication’ are well‐established, have multiple modes of reproduction, long‐term seed banks, and strong associations with native and non‐native mutualists that ensure dispersal and facilitate spread. The pantropical weed, Lantana camara (Lantana), is one of the most invasive woody plants globally. We illustrate that, for Lantana, eradication is an unrealistic management goal given the short‐term removal approaches, irrespective of the effectiveness of removal methods. We assessed the role of dispersal by avian frugivores in the recolonization of managed areas by Lantana in the seasonally dry, tropical forests of northern and southern India. We estimated the distribution of Lantana, its dispersal potential and the proximity between managed areas and source populations. We found that Lantana was dispersed by many generalist frugivorous birds and that most managed areas were well within the median dispersal distance from source plants facilitating rapid recolonization of managed areas. We conclude that given the difficulty of eradicating long‐established invasive plants, management practices should entail long‐term monitoring and control in priority areas for as long as Lantana occurs in the landscape.

Dialoguing and negotiating with terrorists: any prospect for Boko Haram?

ABSTRACTThe new president of Nigeria, President Muhammad Buhari, sends out mixed messages in his mandate to the Nigerian military force to defeat Boko Haram within the next three months (October–November 2015) as well as expressing willingness to negotiate with Boko Haram for the release of the remaining 219 schoolgirls under Boko Haram’s captivity. Following a recent field research in the northeast Nigerian states of Yobe and Bauchi, and interviews conducted in Lagos, Anambra, Kaduna and Abuja, this paper considers the prospect of dialoguing and negotiating with Boko Haram. The paper concludes that Boko Haram’s unrealistic goal of Islamising the secular Nigerian state should not dissuade the government from engaging the sect. Also, the remaining 219 girls represent to Boko Haram bargaining chips for any negotiation with the government. The paper also concludes that the Nigerian Government should aim at inducing moderation and flexibility in Boko Haram’s demand by compelling the group to submit its objectives to public judgment through the existing political system, as well as carrying out a careful study of the group’s sphere of influence (internal cohesion, sponsors and external connections) to better understand ‘who’ to engage with, ‘when’ and ‘how’ to engage with the sect.

World Englishes-Based Lessons: Their Effects on Anxiety and Language Achievement of Thai Tertiary Students

Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is prevalent among Thai learners, affecting language learning achievement. This problem has been rooted in ineffective pedagogical practice informed by native speaker (NS) ideology of English language teaching (ELT) policy in Thailand. This has made learners struggle to reach an unrealistic goal of NS norms as the only way to be proficient users of English, leading to low self-esteem and fear of speaking English. This study aims to investigate a paradigm shift in ELT as a means to reduce students’ FLCA. By incorporating World Englishes (WE) into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom practice, it is believed that students will develop a more realistic goal of being efficient English users rather than struggling, and failing, to become like native English speakers. As a result, they will develop self-esteem and more confidence in using their own English, considered a crucial anxiety-buffering factor. Quasi-experimental research with 92 first-year students at one government university in Bangkok was employed over 17 weeks in one of their required English courses. FLCA questionnaires and English achievement tests were used as a pretest and posttest to find out anxiety and achievement levels, while a focus group interview yielded supplementary data. Means, SD, T-test results and content analysis were used for data analysis, showing a significant reduction in anxiety resulting from the WE-based instruction and an increase in achievement from the FLCA reduction. Therefore, this study concludes that global ELT curriculum should incorporate more WE in classroom practice as an alternative means to reduce

The International Rule of Law Movement: A Crisis of Legitimacy and the Way Forward. Edited by David Marshall. Cambridge: Human Rights Program Series Harvard Law School, 2014. 308 pp. $21.95 paperback.

International Rule of Law Movement: A Crisis of Legitimacy and the Way Forward. Edited by David Marshall. Cambridge: Human Rights Program Series Harvard Law School, 2014. 308 pp. $21.95 paperback.Belief in the of law-and its capacity to achieve social transformation in virtually any context-has emerged as an article of faith in academic and policy circles. But while the already well-entrenched literature on the boons of the of are ever-proliferating and policy initiatives implementing it are ever-enthusiastic, critical examinations of the empirical being achieved by the many of programs world-over have been few and far between. Indeed, there has been little acknowledgement of failure-and even less deep analysis of the reasons behind the disappointing results. In rising to this challenge, International Rule of Law Movement: A Crisis of Legitimacy and the Way Forward-edited by David Marshall-is a vitally important intervention in a literature that has largely lost touch with reality.The stance of the book-a collection of nine essays by a range of stakeholders in the international of movement, mostly (and not trivially) with some first-hand experience in the field-is not in opposition to the of law, but rather a call to rethink it (p. 7) especially in the light of the enormous investment in such initiatives globally in the wake of reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. It is particularly gratifying to see representatives of international organizations like the United Nations and World Bank- often behind the curve in incorporating critical perspectives-participate in, and lead, this project. Indeed, Marshall argues that, contrary to an emergent academic literature advocating more modest interventions, the rule of industry remains focused on whole system approaches (p. xiv): The causes of the movement's failure have remained constant-unrealistic objectives, misplaced doctrinal approaches, insufficient expertise, poor planning and execution, and a lack of deep contextual knowledge. lessons learned suggest a need to calibrate goals and objectives so that they take account of the negligible impact that international of assistance has had to date (p. xiv).Given the widespread failure of of reform efforts, the volume asks if the response should be to do away with the initiatives or attempt to improve it, interrogates the role of international organizations in the movement and, in a rare move in the international domain, queries the relative roles of state and informal institutions in the process (p. xiv). Finally, it is significant that it stresses that the rule of law is work in progress everywhere-and is in need of fixing even at home (p. xiv).The individual chapters cover a variety of themes, ranging from the abstract to the applied. James Goldston argues that the rhetorical popularity of the of may be linked to the fact that it is moreor-less content free-and calls for an account of it that is not just formalistic, but incorporates the experiences of ordinary people (p. 1). Deval Desai grapples with the seemingly paradoxical situation that spending on of reform is increasing even as it goes into deeper crisis about its identity (with this crisis increasingly substituting for the identity)-and argues that the search for conceptual content should be abandoned in favor of learning from practice. Marshall focuses specifically on the United Nations, calling for it to re-examine its purpose, approach, methodology, and results (p. 84)-and making the case that broad, complex, and unrealistic goals have led the organization to lose its way, as evidenced by its very limited success on the ground, in cases ranging from South Sudan to Haiti. Many of these results, he argues, are the product of insufficient reflection on the part of the United Nations-and that the chances of success of more locally engaged, smaller scale intervention are much greater. …

Initial weight loss goals: have they changed and do they matter?

SummaryObjectiveNearly 20 years ago, participants in behavioural weight loss programmes reported goals that greatly exceeded the amount of weight typically produced by these programmes. Whether having unrealistic weight loss goals impacts weight loss or attrition is unclear. The intent of the current study was to revisit current weight loss goals and examine whether goals impact outcomes.MethodsAdults (N = 308, BMI = 33.7 ± 4.2 kg/m2) participated in a 12‐month behavioural weight management programme and completed questionnaires about their goals.ResultsParticipants' weight loss goal was 19.8 ± 7.9% of their body weight, and 90.4% selected a goal ≥10%. Weight goals were not associated with weight loss at 3 (p = 0.75) or 12 months (p = 0.47), or from 3 to 12 months (p = 0.55). Weight loss goals were not related to attrition at 3 (p = 0.91) or 12 months (p = 0.86). Participants believed that weight reduction would positively impact their health and psychosocial functioning.ConclusionWeight loss goals have decreased, but still greatly exceed what can be expected by most. Unrealistic goals, however, had no impact on weight loss or attrition. These results question the utility of counseling people with obesity to set more realistic weight loss goals, which is typically practiced in behavioural weight management.

Artificial cells: from basic science to applications.

Artificial cells have attracted much attention as substitutes for natural cells. There are many different forms of artificial cells with many different definitions. They can be integral biological cell imitators with cell-like structures and exhibit some of the key characteristics of living cells. Alternatively, they can be engineered materials that only mimic some of the properties of cells, such as surface characteristics, shapes, morphology, or a few specific functions. These artificial cells can have applications in many fields from medicine to environment, and may be useful in constructing the theory of the origin of life. However, even the simplest unicellular organisms are extremely complex and synthesis of living artificial cells from inanimate components seems very daunting. Nevertheless, recent progress in the formulation of artificial cells ranging from simple protocells and synthetic cells to cell-mimic particles, suggests that the construction of living life is now not an unrealistic goal. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the latest developments in the construction and application of artificial cells, as well as highlight the current problems, limitations, challenges and opportunities in this field.

Enamel matrix protein derivative and/or synthetic bone substitute for the treatment of mandibular class II buccal furcation defects. A 12-month randomized clinical trial

This study aims to clinically evaluate the treatment of mandibular class II furcation defects with enamel matrix derivative (EMD) and/or a bone substitute graft made of β-tricalcium phosphate/hydroxyapatite (βTCP/HA). Forty-one patients, presenting a mandibular class II buccal furcation defect, probing pocket depth (PPD) ≥4mm and bleeding on probing, were included. They were randomly assigned to the groups: 1-EMD (n = 13); 2-βTCP/HA (n = 14); 3-EMD + βTCP/HA (n = 14). Plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), relative gingival margin position (RGMP), relative vertical and horizontal attachment level (RVCAL and RHCAL), and PPD were evaluated at baseline and 6 and 12months. The mean horizontal clinical attachment level gain was considered the primary outcome variable. No significant intragroup differences were observed for RGMP, but significant changes were observed for RVCAL, RHCAL, and PPD for all groups (p < 0.05). After 12months, the mean horizontal clinical attachment level gain was 2.77 ± 0.93mm for EMD, 2.64 ± 0.93mm for βTCP/HA, and 2.93 ± 0.83mm for EMD + βTCP/HA, with no significant differences among the groups. At the end of the study, 85.3% of the sites were partially closed; however, no complete closure was observed. EMD + βTCP/HA does not provide a significant advantage when compared to the isolated approaches. All three tested treatments promote significant improvements and partial closure of class II buccal furcation defects. Based on its potential to induce periodontal regeneration, EMD may be considered an attractive option for this type of defect, but complete closure remains an unrealistic goal. The partial closure of buccal furcation defects can be achieved after the three tested approaches. However, the combined treatment does not provide a significant benefit when compared to the isolated approaches.

Towards the single digital market for e-identification and trust services

The EU intends to complete the creation of Digital Single Market in 2015. In order to achieve this ambitious, but rather unrealistic goal, serious initiatives need to be undertaken to remove barriers and introduce new rules reflecting the state-of-the-art of e-commerce and e-government. Over the last three years the EU has commenced several important initiatives. One of them is the newly adopted and largely unnoticed Regulation No 910/2014, which established unified rules across the EU for recognition of national electronic identification as well as the introduction of a variety of new trust services, which go beyond well-known digital signatures and timestamps. The new instrument laid down the foundation for the development of innovative, cross-border online services that will hopefully increase the security and transparency of information society services in the EU. A lot needs to be done to popularise the cross-border trust services, as the predecessor of the Regulation – the directive on electronic signatures – has not been widely adopted in public and especially, in private sector. Directive 1999/93/EC will be repealed with effect from 1 July 2016.

Automated Charting and Systems Integration: For Patients’ Safety and Our Sanity

Automated Charting and Systems Integration: For Patients’ Safety and Our Sanity