Oral exfoliative cytology – A technical appraisal in oral diseases

Oral exfoliative cytology is one of the easy, simple, economical and non-cumbersome diagnostic adjunct. It involves examining the exfoliated buccal cells for alterations in cellular and nuclear features. It offers the advantage of being useful in less resource setting areas. Though associated with many false results, the newer technological advancements have proven its diagnostic efficiency. Oral exfoliative cytology can readily be used as adjunct to disease diagnosis, however, it cannot replace biopsy.

A technical appraisal of guidelines for the management of skin rash in patients on chemotherapy and targeted therapy

Background Skin rash remains one of the most prevalent and troublesome clinical problems experienced by patients on chemotherapy and targeted therapy. To ensure high-quality care, guidelines are seen as the best guidance. Considering the quality of guidelines varies greatly, a systematical appraisal of the methodological quality of guidelines for the management of skin rash in patients on chemotherapeutic drugs and targeted anticancer therapies was undertaken, in order to identify appropriate ones for healthcare professionals. Methods A systematic search of databases and Internet was conducted to obtain pertinent guidelines. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of guidelines according to the inclusion criteria. Then the guidelines included were appraised by three researchers with the methodological quality of eligible guideline using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREEII). Results Totally nineteen guidelines met the inclusion criteria. The quality ranged from good to acceptable in scope and purpose (mean: 78.80%, range: 66.67–94.44%) and clarity of presentation domains (mean: 85.38%, 75.00–91.67%), but not in stakeholder involvement (mean: 50.15%, range: 36.11–75.00%), rigor of development (mean: 23.65%, range: 6.25–70.83%), applicability (mean: 23.96%, range: 4.17–52.08%), and editorial independence domains (mean: 45.18%, range: 0.00–87.50%). Overall, two guidelines were classified as “recommended”. Conclusions Only two guidelines were recommended to manage skin rash in patients on chemotherapy and targeted therapies, most guidelines issued were of low to moderate quality. Thus, more attention should be paid to the methodological quality of guideline development in this field.

Introduction

This introductory chapter describes the reality of climate change and its causes. It begins with a personal account of experiences, progresses to a societal perspective, and ends with a technical appraisal of the phenomenon. Experts characterize climate change by weather extremes, uncertainties and variabilities. The authors express their difficulty in appreciating the arguments of climate change deniers when their experience of the world constantly reminds them of these realities on a month-to-month, week-to-week, or even day-to-day basis. The authors give a non-technical description of the causes of climate change and argue for the anthropogenic view that it is caused by man, citing findings of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. They reiterate the assertion that climate change is both inevitable and irreversible.

On the Threshold of Rhetoric

The Helen of Gorgias is designed to provoke the aspiring speaker to consider his relationship with society as a whole. The speech's extreme claims regarding the power of logos reflect simplistic ideas about speaker-audience relations current among Gorgias' target audience, ideas reflected in an interpretive stance towards model speeches that privileges method over truth. The Helen pretends to encourage this conception of logos and interpretive stance in order to expose the intense desire and naïve credulity that drive a coolly technical appraisal of model speeches. The Helen thus manifests, with a playfulness suited to its liminal position, a concern for the ethical and social formation of those who might accept the invitation to study logos.