Adherence to NICE Guidelines on Colorectal Cancer Follow-Up: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Purpose: Our aims were to determine adherence to National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on colorectal cancer (CRC) surveillance and to evaluate local practice patterns determine how it can be further improved. Patients and methods: Patients with colorectal cancer resection between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 were identified, and their records retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 18 patients were eligible. Surveillance patterns, including blood tests and colonoscopies, were inconsistent with NICE recommendations in a significant proportion of patients. Follow up appointments and CT imaging occurred more frequently in line with the guidelines. For recurrences detected by surveillance, 66.6% were resectable whereas 0% of those detected by symptoms were resectable. Conclusions: The results prove that a moderately intensive follow-up strategy can positively identify resectable recurrence thus increasing overall survival. Our data highlights the need for local improvement to adherence to NICE guidelines regarding CRC follow-up. We have created a pro forma which is attached to the patient’s clinical notes. It will aid clinicians in reminding them when appropriates tests should be completed. A re-audit will be completed in December 2020 which will include looking at the effectiveness of the new pro forma.

Adherence to NICE Guidelines on Colorectal Cancer Follow-Up: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Purpose: Our aims were to determine adherence to National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on colorectal cancer (CRC) surveillance and to evaluate local practice patterns determine how it can be further improved. Patients and methods: Patients with colorectal cancer resection between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 were identified, and their records retrospectively reviewed. Results: A total of 18 patients were eligible. Surveillance patterns, including blood tests and colonoscopies, were inconsistent with NICE recommendations in a significant proportion of patients. Follow up appointments and CT imaging occurred more frequently in line with the guidelines. For recurrences detected by surveillance, 66.6% were resectable whereas 0% of those detected by symptoms were resectable. Conclusions: The results prove that a moderately intensive follow-up strategy can positively identify resectable recurrence thus increasing overall survival. Our data highlights the need for local improvement to adherence to NICE guidelines regarding CRC follow-up. We have created a pro forma which is attached to the patient’s clinical notes. It will aid clinicians in reminding them when appropriates tests should be completed. A re-audit will be completed in December 2020 which will include looking at the effectiveness of the new pro forma.

Haugerudbekken: Community Improvement through Socially Engaged Art

Haugerudbekken is the collective title of a series of art projects where two local artists (the authors of this article) collaborate with pupils from local schools in Haugerud to create public art installations in the neighbourhood. Haugerudbekken may be considered a practical exploration guided by principles in the fields of socially engaged art (SEA), teaching artists (TA) and community artists (CA). The project is being undertaken within the broader context of a government run local improvement initiative in the Oslo suburbs of Haugerud and Trosterud. A growing demand for art entering a societal context (like urban development) calls for approaches emphasizing dialogue, communication and local affiliation. As this demand grows, so does the need for best-practice guidance for initiating artists as well as for policymakers and others inviting artists to contribute. Furthermore, our approach as independent artists working within a community setting might also benefit from clarification of theory and framework in this field. This article therefore aims to share knowledge gathered through our three years (and still ongoing) working on Haugerudbekken, pinpointing what we believe to be key success factors as well as challenges in our project. Findings are discussed in relation to existing theory and relevant practice in SEA, TA and CA informing existing guidelines as well as terminology.

Research–Practice Partnerships in Education Within The United States

Research–practice partnerships (RPPs) in education are long-term collaborations aimed at educational improvement and transformation through engagement with research, intentionally organized to connect diverse forms of expertise and to ensure that all partners have a say in the joint work. They have the potential to create conditions for research to inform practice more effectively than a one-way model that emphasizes translation of research into practice. After a description of systematic review methods and brief background on RPPs, this article is organzed into five focal RPP outcome areas: building trust and cultivating relationships, conducting rigorous and relevant research, supporting local improvement efforts, producing knowledge for the field more broadly, and building capacity for involved participants and organizations.

Properties of WC–10%Co–4%Cr Detonation Spray Coating Deposited on the Al–4%Cu–1%Mg Alloy

One of the methods of local improvement of the wear resistance of aluminum alloy parts is the deposition of hard tungsten carbide-based coatings on the surfaces subjected to intense external influence. This paper is devoted to the characterization of the WC–10Co–4Cr (wt.%) coating deposited on an Al–4Cu–1Mg (wt.%) alloy by the detonation spray method. In comparison with the common thermal spray techniques like High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) or Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS), the heat input delivered to the substrate during detonation spray is significantly lower, that is especially important in case of coating deposition on aluminum alloys. The paper presents the results of morphology investigation, microstructure, phase composition, microhardness, and cohesive strength of deposited carbide-based detonation spray coating. Results showed that the coating has a porosity less than 0.5% and the carbide grain refinement down to the submicron size during coating deposition was detected. According to the investigation, the variation of spraying distance from 270 to 230 mm does not influence on the coating microstructure and composition.

A Hybrid Genetic-Hierarchical Algorithm for the Quadratic Assignment Problem

In this paper, we present a hybrid genetic-hierarchical algorithm for the solution of the quadratic assignment problem. The main distinguishing aspect of the proposed algorithm is that this is an innovative hybrid genetic algorithm with the original, hierarchical architecture. In particular, the genetic algorithm is combined with the so-called hierarchical (self-similar) iterated tabu search algorithm, which serves as a powerful local optimizer (local improvement algorithm) of the offspring solutions produced by the crossover operator of the genetic algorithm. The results of the conducted computational experiments demonstrate the promising performance and competitiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Periphery as Context: Enlightenment Influences Towards Conceptual Change in Polish-Lithuanian Political Thinking in the Later 18th Century

The specific political culture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its changes, leading to state reforms by the end of the 18th century, require a methodological approach, which would allow understanding the flow and interconnectedness of the ideas between wider European and smaller local contexts. Arguing that entangled history approach allows understanding peripheral contexts better, the article presents specific aspects of the Polish-Lithuanian Enlightenment creating the context for conceptual change in political thinking. The context specific details are presented with the analysis of Vilnius University related discourse showing that the Enlightenment ideas were used to achieve certain goals of local improvement.

Local Improvement Districts as Political Participation Signals

A significant amount of literature has inspected the relationship between public–private partnerships and state and local government. This literature has focused primarily on how these agreements shape financing, economic development, and public policy measures. There is little research, however, on how improvement districts may affect political participation. There are many reasons to believe that these districts may raise levels of political participation, as they deeply affect state and local politics and shape the socioeconomic development of local communities. This article fills this gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between the establishment of local improvement districts and voter participation rates. An original data set is constructed from 18 state assembly districts and 22 local improvement districts in New York City across nine elections between 2002 and 2018, resulting in 198 unique observations across time. Empirical results reflect how the development of improvement districts can serve as signals for rising political participation in surrounding areas, marked by increasing rates of voter turnout across midterm and presidential-year election cycles. These findings are compelling, providing insight into how local organizations designed and sustained through issue ownership and community collaboration have the ability to raise political participation through electoral activity.