bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Professional responsibility, nurses, and conscientious objection: A framework for ethical evaluation
Authors: Grace Pamela J , Peter Elizabeth , Lachman Vicki D , Johnson Norah L , Kenny Deborah J , Wocial Lucia D
Published: July 2023

Conscientious objections (CO) can be disruptive in a variety of ways and may disadvantage patients and colleagues who must step-in to assume care. Nevertheless, nurses have a right and responsibility to object to participation in interventions that would seriously harm their sense of integrity. This is an ethical problem of balancing risks and responsibilities related to patient care. Here we explore the problem and propose a nonlinear framework for exploring the authenticity of a claim of CO from the perspective of the nurse and of those who must evaluate such claims. We synthesized the framework using Rest’s Four Component Model of moral reasoning along with tenets of the International Council of Nursing’s (ICN) Code of Ethics for Nurses and insights from relevant ethics and nursing ethics literature. The resulting framework facilitates evaluating potential consequences of a given CO for all involved. We propose that the framework can also serve as an aid for nurse educators as they prepare students for practice. Gaining clarity about the sense in which the concept of conscience provides a defensible foundation for objecting to legally, or otherwise ethically, permissible actions, in any given case is critical to arriving at an ethical and reasonable plan of action.
Strength reduction method for a factor of safety determination of damaged concrete structures
Authors: Rakić Dragan , Dunić Vladimir , Živković Miroslav , Radovanović Slobodan , Divac Dejan , Šumarac Dragoslav
Published: July 2023

The paper presents the procedure for determining the factor of safety (FoS) using the strength reduction method (SRM) for the case of a concrete damage plasticity constitutive model. The SRM was originally used in a slope stability analysis and in its original form, this method was applied by reducing the shear strength of the material. Since damage in concrete occurs due to exceeding the normal stresses in the principal directions, and not due to exceeding the shear strength, this method was modified and adapted to the concrete damage plasticity constitutive model. Instead of reducing the failure surface, the parameters which describe the mechanical behavior in the case of uniaxial compression and uniaxial tension were reduced. In this way, the reduction of stress and the corresponding strain was carried out in the entire range of total strain, without changing the shape of the failure surface in the deviator plane. For the proposed methodology, a numerical algorithm was developed and implemented into the software PAK. The algorithm was verified through test examples and the obtained results were compared with analytically calculated FoS. The excellent agreement is observed between the FoS obtained by applying the proposed algorithm and the analytically calculated FoS.
Diagnostic Value of Inflammation-Related Indicators in Distinguishing Early Colon Cancer and Adenomatous Polyps
Authors: Feng Zhewen , Lin Huajun , Yang Xiaobao , Cao Shun , Gu Xiaozhe , Zhang Zhongtao , Deng Wei
Published: July 2023

Background

There are few clinical symptoms in early colorectal cancer, so it is necessary to find a simple and economical tumor detection index for auxiliary diagnosis. This study aims to explore the diagnostic value of preoperative inflammation-related indicators, such as neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet count, platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLA), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), for early colorectal cancer, and determine whether inflammation-related indicators can provide more accurate diagnostic judgment for patients.

Methods

This study was a retrospective study. Patients who were first diagnosed with colorectal cancer or colorectal adenomatous polyp at Beijing Friendship Hospital from October 2016 to October 2017 were retrospectively collected. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 342 patients were included, including 216 patients with colorectal cancer and 126 patients with colorectal adenomatous polyp. Fasting venous blood and other clinical features were collected to compare the differences between colorectal cancer and colorectal adenoma.

Results

There were statistically significant differences in age, carcinoembryonic antigen, albumin, hemoglobin, mean platelet volume, lymphocyte, monocyte, NLR, PLA, SII, and mean platelet volume to platelet count ratio between colorectal cancer group and colorectal adenoma group ( P < .05), and a Nomogram model was established. Using inflammatory markers to differentiate colorectal and colorectal polyps produced greater AUC than using tumor markers alone (.846 vs .695).

Conclusion

Inflammation-related indicators, such as lymphocyte, monocyte, and mean platelet volume, may serve as potential indicators to assist in the diagnosis of early colorectal cancer.
Psychological Distance, Construal Level, and Parental Vaccine Hesitancy for COVID-19, HPV, and Monkey Pox Vaccines
Authors: Chu Haoran , Liu Sixiao
Published: July 2023

Building on the construal-level theory and the multi-dimensional model of behavioral barriers, this study examined whether psychological distance and construal level explain the association between behavioral intention and behavioral barriers that may lead to parental vaccine hesitancy. Results of multilevel structural equation models show that low vaccination intention, far distance perception, and abstract construal of vaccines led to more global concerns, such as vaccine safety and relevance. Such effects emerged when people considered specific vaccines, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), human papillomavirus (HPV), and monkeypox vaccines, and when they considered multiple vaccines in general.
Implementing an APRN-Led Integrated Behavioral Health Clinic in a Rural Community
Authors: Cook Leigh K. , Burge Stephanie A. , Mathews Therese L. , Kupzyk Kevin A. , Houfek Julia F.
Published: July 2023

OBJECTIVE:

A rural primary care clinic implemented an advance practice providers, including nurse practitioner (APRN)-led integrated behavioral health program to facilitate holistic health care delivery.

METHODS:

Implementation was facilitated by Health Resources and Services Administration Grant funding to a state University College of Nursing. The College formed an academic-practice partnership with a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) to implement integrated care in a rural satellite clinic administered by the FQHC. An interdisciplinary team (two family APRNs, a psychiatric APRN, a licensed behavioral health provider, and the Grant Project Director who is a Psychiatric APRN and a licensed Psychologist) provided the integrated care based on the University of Washington’s Collaborative Care Model.

RESULTS:

This brief report describes the implementation of integrated care during the clinic’s first year, services provided, lessons learned, community response, and improvement in anxiety and depressive symptoms for patients who were treated for behavioral health problems. An exemplar illustrates how collaborative care addressed one patient’s behavioral health and primary care needs.

CONCLUSIONS:

APRN-led collaborative care can expand access to holistic, affordable care in rural areas to improve mental health. Adaptation and flexibility in traditional roles may be necessary and determining post-grant access to funding for services will be necessary for sustainability.
Re-enacting machine learning practices to enquire into the moral issues they pose
Authors: John-Mathews Jean-Marie , De Mourat Robin , Ricci Donato , Crépel Maxime
Published: July 2023

As the number of ethical incidents associated with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms increases worldwide, many actors are seeking to produce technical and legal tools to regulate the professional practices associated with these technologies. However these tools, generally grounded either on lofty principles or on technical approaches, often fail at addressing the complexity of the moral issues that ML-based systems are triggering. They are mostly based on a ‘principled’ conception of morality where technical practices cannot be seen as more than mere means to be put at the service of more valuable moral ends. We argue that it is necessary to localise ethical debates within the complex entanglement of technical, legal and organisational entities from which ML moral issues stem. To expand the repertoire of the approaches through which these issues might be addressed, we designed and tested an interview protocol based on the re-enactment of data scientists’ daily ML practices. We asked them to recall and describe the crafting and choosing of algorithms. Then, our protocol added two reflexivity-fostering elements to the situation: technical tools to assess algorithms’ morality, based on incorporated ‘ethicality’ indicators; and a series of staged objections to the aforementioned technical solutions to ML moral issues, made by factitious actors inspired by the data scientists’ daily environment. We used this protocol to observe how ML data scientists uncover associations with multiple entities, to address moral issues from within the course of their technical practices. We thus reframe ML morality as an inquiry into the uncertain options that practitioners face in the heat of technical activities. We propose to institute moral enquiries both as a descriptive method serving to delineate alternative depictions of ML algorithms when they are affected by moral issues and as a transformative method to propagate situated critical technical practices within ML-building professional environments.
Body image among adolescents: what is its relationship with rejection sensitivity and self-efficacy?
Authors: Saylan Ezgi , Soyyiğit Vesile
Published: July 2023

One of the significant development tasks of the adolescence period steps forth as the satisfaction and acceptance of one’s own body. In the meantime, this period distinguishes by the adolescent’s intensive need for approval and acceptance by their peers and adults. When adolescents are not accepted or rejected, they may encounter some difficulties. In this context, this study aimed at determining the relationship between body image, rejection sensitivity and self-efficacy among adolescents. The study was carried out based on the correlational design the study group consists of 749 adolescents. The measurement tools were administered to the students who were divided into groups according to grade level by the researchers. Based on the obtained data, a significant negative relationship was identified between body image and self-efficacy while a significant positive relationship was detected between body image and rejection sensitivity. Besides, it was found that body image among adolescents was predicted by rejection sensitivity and self-efficacy. Finally, it was determined that while the interaction effect of gender and self-efficacy on body image was significant, the interaction effect of gender and rejection sensitivity was not significant.
Patterns of equipment use for autistic children in multi-sensory environments: Time spent with sensory equipment varies by sensory profile and intellectual ability
Authors: Unwin Katy L , Powell Georgina , Price Alice , Jones Catherine RG
Published: July 2023

Multi-sensory environments are widely used with autistic children. However, there are no data on how autistic children choose to spend time in the room and how this relates to their sensory, behavioural and intellectual profiles. We observed the frequency and duration of visits to multi-sensory environment equipment of 41 autistic children during 5 min of free play. At a group level, the bubble tube and touch, sound and light board were both highly popular, with the fibre optics and tactile board receiving less attention. Sensory seeking behaviours were more commonly observed in the multi-sensory environment than sensory-defensive behaviours. We found that observed sensory seeking behaviours, along with parent-reported sensory behaviours and non-verbal intelligence quotient, were associated with specific patterns of multi-sensory environment equipment use, but broader autistic behaviours were not. These data suggest that the multi-sensory environment equipment preferences of autistic children are related to individual differences in sensory behaviour and non-verbal intelligence quotient. This information has the potential to inform the development of best-practice multi-sensory environment guidelines that focus on individual needs.

Lay abstract

Multi-sensory environments, often called sensory rooms, are widely used with autistic children. However, we know very little about how autistic children choose to spend their time in multi-sensory environments. We also do not know how their equipment preferences relate to their individual characteristics such as their sensory differences, level of ability or general autistic behaviours. We measured the frequency and duration of visits to multi-sensory environment equipment of 41 autistic children during 5 min of free play. The bubble tube and touch, sound and light board were both highly popular, with the fibre optics and tactile board receiving less attention. The children displayed significantly more sensory seeking behaviours in the multi-sensory environment than sensory-defensive behaviours. These sensory seeking behaviours, as well as the sensory behaviours that their parents reported they showed in daily life, were associated with specific patterns of multi-sensory environment equipment use. Non-verbal ability was also associated with multi-sensory environment equipment use, but broader autistic behaviours were not. Our findings show that the multi-sensory environment equipment preferences of autistic children are related to individual differences in sensory behaviours and non-verbal ability. This information could be useful for teachers and other practitioners who want to know how best to use multi-sensory environments with autistic children.
An occupant-centric approach for spatio-temporal visual comfort assessment and optimization in daylit sports spaces
Authors: Li Yu , Li Lingling , Shen Pengyuan , Yuan Chao
Published: July 2023

Most visual comfort analysis is based on glare detections in limited fixed view scenes, but sports spaces present challenges given occupants’ spatial and view directional variations in sports-related visual tasks. This paper proposes an occupant-centric approach for spatio-temporal visual comfort assessment and optimization (ST-VCAO) in daylit sports spaces by better considering the occupants’ movement behaviour. It introduces the movable view scenes (MVS) in glare simulations and further accelerates the ST-VCAO process using the GPU-based parallel simulation combining response surface methodology. The proposed approach was applied to a real case building in Harbin, China. Annual daylight and glare simulations in two tennis courts with a total of 500 MVS were performed using Perez all-weather sky model with Chinese standard weather data. Results indicate that the proposed approach could sufficiently clarify the spatial variance and temporal variation of visual comfort across all MVS, which is appropriate for sports spaces. Meanwhile, using the developed workflow, the total computational time could be saved by 27.08% (Case 1) or 71.25% (Case 2). Amongst all Pareto solutions, the optimum alternative upon the worst one observed 200% (Case 1) or 50.7% (Case 2) higher visual comfort.
A new general method for assigning frequencies with low spillover through structural modifications
Authors: Liu Zihao , Pang Jichao , Ouyang Huajiang , Xie Guocheng
Published: July 2023

By modifying the mass and stiffness parameters of a structure, a subset of its natural frequencies can be assigned. However, such an assignment is usually accompanied with changes of the remaining frequencies, known as ‘spillover’. Eigenvalue or frequency spillover often needs to be avoided in engineering.

In this paper, a new and general method is proposed for assigning a subset of the natural frequencies of a structure with a low level of spillover through structural modifications. The method combines a multi-population genetic algorithm and a radial basis function neural network and is implemented in a MATLAB-PYTHON-ABAQUS data interaction system. It is suitable for theoretical models (for example, finite element models) of general structures.

By means of three numerical examples, the ability of the method to assign subsets of frequencies to discrete and discretised continuous structures while maintaining low spillover is demonstrated.
Managing Turkey’s Marginalized Youth: ‘Managerialism’ in Turkey’s Youth Justice and Penal Systems
Authors: Kavur Nilay
Published: July 2023

Since the early 2000s, Turkey’s youth justice system has undergone extensive reforms. However, it is centred around high-security remand imprisonment. Based on the research conducted between 2014 and 2015 to comprehend how high-security remand imprisonment has acquired such a central role, this article provides an analysis on the ways in which the system has diverted into a peculiar ‘managerialism’. Certain themes emerged revealing the turn to ‘managerialism’: (1) lack of coordination between different professional units and lack of evidence-based policymaking, (2) prioritization of speed and technology, (3) peripheral role of social work officials and (4) the importance of prisons.
A novel transformer-based semantic segmentation framework for structural condition assessment
Authors: Wang Ruhua , Shao Yanda , Li Qilin , Li Ling , Li Jun , Hao Hong
Published: July 2023

Conventional structural health monitoring (SHM) evaluates the condition of civil structures by analyzing the data acquired by advanced sensors. The requirement of overinvestment in specialized equipment and labor for implementation prevents the traditional SHM from large-scale usage. On the other hand, computer vision techniques offer cost-effective solutions for SHM thanks to its inherent advantage in data acquirement and processing. More importantly, it has been demonstrated that these emerging solutions can produce reliable condition diagnoses for civil structures using pure image data. In this article, a novel transformer-based neural network is proposed for vision-based structural condition assessment which is formulated to a semantic segmentation problem. The network employs Swin Transformer as the backbone and MaskFormer as the overall architecture to recognize components (sleepers, slabs, columns, etc.) and damage (concrete damage, exposed rebar) of structures. Unlike the commonly used fully convolutional networks, the proposed model tackles semantic segmentation as a mask classification rather than a pixel classification problem. To deal with the lack of training data, an image data augmentation method called Copy-Paste is extended and applied for training data generation, resulting in an increase of around 40% data for component segmentation and 71% data for damage segmentation. Experimental validations on the Tokaido railway viaduct dataset show that the proposed approach is very accurate, achieving 97% and 90% mean Intersection Over Union for component and damage segmentation, outperforming the existing methods by a significant margin. The accurate segmentation results can provide meaningful information for downstream SHM tasks.
Simultaneous crack and temperature sensing with passive patch antenna
Authors: Li Xianzhi , Xue Songtao , Xie Liyu , Wan Guochun
Published: July 2023

This article presents a novel passive patch antenna sensor for simultaneous crack and temperature sensing, and the antenna sensor has the ability of temperature self-compensation. The passive patch antenna sensor consists of an underlying patch and an overlapping sub-patch. The off-center feeding activates resonant modes in both transverse and longitudinal directions. The resonant frequency shift in transverse direction is used for environmental temperature sensing, while the structural crack width can be sensed by the longitudinal resonant frequency shift after temperature compensation. Furthermore, the unstressed design of the antenna can also eliminate the issue of incomplete strain transfer ratios. In this article, the relationships between the antenna resonant frequencies, the environmental temperature, and the structural crack width were studied. Simulations were conducted to determine the optimal off-center fed distance of the patch antenna sensor. Furthermore, a series of experimental tests were also conducted, where the passive patch antenna was fabricated and installed on the concrete components as well as an actual building. Continuous monitoring was performed for several days to test the temperature sensing ability of the passive patch antenna, and the sensed crack width after temperature compensation was compared with the actual results. The results of these experiments demonstrate the feasibility of using the passive patch antenna for simultaneous temperature and crack sensing.
Probabilistic outlier detection for robust regression modeling of structural response for high-speed railway track monitoring
Authors: Li Qi , Gao Jingze , Beck James L. , Lin Chao , Huang Yong , Li Hui
Published: July 2023

Outlier detection is an important procedure taken in structural health monitoring (SHM) to create clean and reliable data. A robust time series outlier detection method incorporating a Bayesian perspective and an extreme learning machine (ELM) neural network model is proposed, with application to long-term monitoring data of ballastless tracks for high-speed railway systems. A robust sparse Bayesian ELM (SBELM) model is first established by computing the posterior probability density function of the ELM weight parameters and then marginalizing over the prediction-error precision parameter to obtain a robust nonlinear regression model between the track temperature and structural response. Both the posterior mean and the associated uncertainties of the robust SBELM model are then taken into account to compute the outlier probability for each suspicious data point, which quantifies their degree of data “outlier-ness.” It effectively takes into account the prediction uncertainty of the SBELM regression model. The method is applied to long-term monitoring data for track temperatures, and track strain and relative displacement responses, from two high-speed rail track systems where there are both slight and serious outliers. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can reliably detect outliers by quantifying the outlier probability and that the final results are robust to the selection of the “thresholds.” It is also shown that our new algorithm produces significantly improved model prediction performance after the outliers are detected and removed.
A novel Lamb wave-based multi-damage dataset construction and quantification algorithm under the framework of multi-task deep learning
Authors: Shao Weihan , Sun Hu , Zhou Qifeng , Wang Yishou , Qing Xinlin
Published: July 2023

Lamb wave-based damage quantification in large-scale composites has always been one of the concerning and intractable problems in aircraft structural health monitoring. In recent years, machine learning (ML) algorithms have been utilized to deeply explore the damage feature of Lamb wave signals, which aims to enhance the precision and accuracy of damage quantification. However, multi-damage quantification becomes one of the bottleneck problems because ML algorithms critically depend on the dataset. In this paper, a prioritizing selection and orderly permutation method is proposed to construct multi-damage dataset based on Born approximation principle, which shows the interaction between wave signals under multi- and single-damage conditions. Based on the multi-damage dataset, a multi-task deep learning algorithm is introduced to identify multiple damage, including the damage number, location, and size, in composite laminates. In the algorithm, a multi-branch 1D-convolution neural network framework, which includes a trunk network and branch networks is established to explore the damage features in Lamb wave scattering signals. Compared with single-task models, it has the ability to learn shared features for multiple tasks, effectively boosting the task results. The results show that the proposed multi-task learning (MTL) method saves 23.03% training time compared with the single-task learning method. In the task of quantifying multiple damage of composite laminate, the results of MTL are good for both the constructed test set and the measured test set, especially in the quantification of damage size, which shows the feasibility and reliability of this method.
Supporting Autistic Adults’ Social Skill Development Using Video Modeling in a Community-Based Program
Authors: Wilson Kaitlyn P.
Published: July 2023

Autistic individuals have significant social-communication challenges that commonly persist into adulthood and impact academic, social, and vocational pursuits. More than two decades of research have established video behavior modeling as a successful, cost-effective, and time-efficient intervention tool for autistic children; however, less research has investigated the use of video modeling with autistic adults, and only a handful of studies have assessed its effects in non-vocational community-based settings. This study examines the effects of video modeling on social-communication skills of autistic adults in a U.S. community-based fitness group using a multiple-baseline single-case design with replication across participants. Additional data on visual attention, generalization, and social validity were captured. Results show variable effects across participants and provide valuable information to guide individuals in choosing effective and practical evidence-based practices to support the social-communication success of autistic adults.
ITAF Pedagogy in Theory and Practice: An Action Research Study of Transformative Growth and Development in University Classrooms
Authors: Elsey Max
Published: July 2023

This article shows how a student centered pedagogy called the Improvisational Theater Art Form (ITAF) empowers transformative awareness, growth, and change. In this particular study representative of a larger body of work, 30 undergraduate researcher/participants created improvised games and scenes as expressions of their inner selves to explore “habits of the mind” negatively affecting social living and daily life. ITAF draws upon action research, transformative learning theory, improvisational theater, a democratic learning environment, and learning through play. The purpose of this article is to show how ITAF inspired learners to study the nature of the self, achieve progressive growth and development, and advance the craft of transformative learning and education.
Genital Ulcer as a Complication of COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report
Authors: Sharifian Rayka , Mirjalili Ali Mohammad , Zamani Hajiabadi Arshia
Published: July 2023

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as a pandemic disease and a global concern, is a respiratory tract infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Besides its common symptoms, some other less common symptoms, including genital ulcers, have been reported. Other complications such as autoimmune disease can present with genital ulcers. Differential diagnosis includes Reiter syndrome, Behcet’s disease, and psoriasis. We report a 32-year-old married man with genital ulcers due to COVID-19 infection and as a complication of his disease.
Radiation and immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of oligometastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: a practical review of rationale, recent data, and research questions
Authors: Zayed Sondos , Louie Alexander V. , Breadner Daniel A. , Palma David A. , Correa Rohann J. M.
Published: July 2023

The combined use of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is an emerging treatment paradigm for oligometastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recent phase I and II trial data suggest that SABR to multiple metastases in addition to ICI use is safe and effective with promising progression-free survival and overall survival signals. There is great interest in capitalizing on combined immunomodulation from these two modalities for the treatment of oligometastatic NSCLC. Ongoing trials seek to validate the safety, efficacy, and preferred sequencing of SABR and ICI. This narrative review of the role of SABR when combined with ICI in oligometastatic NSCLC discusses the rationale for this bimodality treatment, summarizes recent clinical trial evidence, and proposes key principles of management based on the available evidence.
Clinical trial reform in the post-COVID era
Authors: Mahoney Meghan E. , Sridhar Srikala S.
Published: July 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated the acute and efficient rollout of telehealth and virtual health care around the world. This review article focuses on the adoption of virtual care in the management of oncology patients, and discusses how virtual care offers the potential for large-scale, positive impacts on access to clinical trials. Virtual care during and following the peak of the pandemic has been found to be both safe and efficacious for oncology patients. Features, such as wearable health technologies, remote monitoring, home visits, and investigations being done closer to home, represent just some of the strengths of the virtual assessment rollout that were successfully utilized. One of the primary criticisms of oncological clinical trials is that clinical trial participants are not always representative of the patient populations treated in routine practice. This is in part due to stringent inclusion criteria and more broadly pertains to a lack of access to clinical trials, many of which are geographic as most trials are conducted in an urban, academic, or ‘centralized’ center. This paper seeks to discuss the barriers to clinical trial participation and to propose that the virtual care transformation that occurred during the pandemic has equipped oncological clinicians and researchers with the tools to better address these obstacles. A review of the literature on the impact of the virtual care rollout during and after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic both locally and abroad was conducted. It is proposed that improving patient access through the decentralization of clinical trials has the potential to enhance evidence-based, real-world data, and to produce generalizable trial results that ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Association between circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood and the prognosis of gastric cancer patients: a meta-analysis
Authors: Jin Tao , Liang Pan-Ping , Chen Ze-Hua , He Feng-Jun , Li Ze-Dong , Chen Zheng-Wen , Hu Jian-Kun , Yang Kun
Published: July 2023

Background:

Research on the correlation between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and gastric cancer (GC) has increased rapidly in recent years. However, whether CTCs are associated with GC patient prognosis is highly controversial.

Objective:

This study aims to evaluate the value of CTCs to predict the prognosis of GC patients.

Design:

A meta-analysis.

Data Sources and Methods:

We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for studies that reported the prognostic value of CTCs in GC patients before October 2022. The association between CTCs and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS)/recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of GC patients was assessed. Subgroup analyses were stratified by sampling times (pre-treatment and post-treatment), detection targets, detection method, treatment method, tumor stage, region, and HR (Hazard Ratio) extraction methods. Sensitivity analysis was performed by removing individual studies to assess the stability of the results. Publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots, Egger’s test, and Begg’s test.

Results:

We initially screened 2000 studies, of which 28 were available for further analysis, involving 2383 GC patients. The pooled analysis concluded that the detection of CTCs was associated with poor OS (HR = 1.933, 95% CI 1.657–2.256, p < 0.001), DFS/RFS (HR = 3.228, 95% CI 2.475–4.211, p < 0.001), and PFS (HR = 3.272, 95% CI 1.970–5.435, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the subgroup analysis stratified by tumor stage ( p < 0.01), HR extraction methods ( p < 0.001), detection targets ( p < 0.001), detection method ( p < 0.001), sampling times ( p < 0.001), and treatment method ( p < 0.001) all showed that CTC detection was associated with poor OS and DFS/RFS for GC patients. Furthermore, the study showed that CTCs were associated with the poor DFS/RFS of GC when CTCs were detected for patients from Asian or No-Asian regions ( p < 0.05). In addition, higher CTCs predicted poorer OS for GC patients who are from Asian regions ( p < 0.001), but without statistical difference for GC patients from No-Asian regions ( p = 0.490).

Conclusion:

CTC detection in peripheral blood was associated with poor OS, DFS/RFS, and PFS in patients with GC.
Linguistic In/Exclusion in Medicine: Multilingual COVID-19 Communication in Russia
Authors: Baranova Vlada
Published: July 2023

The paper discusses providing (or not) information about coronavirus during the pandemics of COVID-19 in minority languages in Russia. It explores different minority languages, indigenous, and migrant, in the announcements and doctor-patient communications. The study is based on the observation of the linguistic landscape in 4 Russian cities (N=150) and on materials from semi-structured interviews. According to the data, Russian has been the preferred language for communicating official information about COVID-19. Doctor-patient communication in the multilingual regions was also predominantly in Russian, but there is a tendency to use another, minority native language in communication with mid-level medical staff and with all other actors in the rural area. The paper discusses creation of a more trusting relationship between a doctor and a patient by using the native language.
Extracellular matrix-derived peptide stimulates the generation of endocrine progenitors and islet organoids from iPSCs
Authors: Heaton Emma S , Hu Ming , Liu Tianzheng , Hui Huang , Tan Yinfei , Ye Kaiming , Jin Sha
Published: July 2023

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have enormous potential in producing human tissues endlessly. We previously reported that type V collagen (COL5), a pancreatic extracellular matrix protein, promotes islet development and maturation from iPSCs. In this study, we identified a bioactive peptide domain of COL5, WWASKS, through bioinformatic analysis of decellularized pancreatic ECM (dpECM)-derived collagens. RNA-sequencing suggests that WWASKS induces the formation of pancreatic endocrine progenitors while suppressing the development of other types of organs. The expressions of hypoxic genes were significantly downregulated in the endocrine progenitors formed under peptide stimulation. Furthermore, we unveiled an enhancement of iPSC-derived islets’ (i-islets) glucose sensitivity under peptide stimulation. These i-islets secrete insulin in a glucose responsive manner. They were comprised of α, β, δ, and γ cells and were assembled into a tissue architecture similar to that of human islets. Mechanistically, the peptide is able to activate the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, permitting the translocation of β-catenin from the cytoplasm to the nucleus for pancreatic progenitor development. Collectively, for the first time, we demonstrated that an ECM-derived peptide dictates iPSC fate toward the generation of endocrine progenitors and subsequent islet organoids.
Intraoperative difficulty in cardiorespiratory management during anesthesia for retroperitoneal paraganglioma resection
Authors: Sekiguchi Shunya , Nakazawa Koichi , Ishida Yusuke , Uchino Hiroyuki
Published: July 2023

We report the anesthetic management of a case of paraganglioma, which was challenging because of intraoperative circulatory changes and difficult ventilatory management. A 52-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was scheduled for paraganglioma resection under general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia. Since a marked increase in blood pressure was observed immediately after administration of rocuronium, antihypertensive agents were administered as necessary. The ventilatory settings were initially adjusted to deliver a tidal volume of 7 mL/kg, and the drive pressure was maintained at 13 cm H2O or less. However, despite increasing the minute volume, PETCO2 increased to 60 mmHg and PaCO2 to 76 mmHg before tumor removal. Blood pressure decreased immediately after tumor removal, and PETCO2 and PaCO2 gradually returned to normal. We speculated that the increases in PETCO2 and PaCO2 might have been due to both an increase in endogenous catecholamine secretion as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is important to preoperatively evaluate the functionality of the tumor and to anticipate perioperative cardiorespiratory instability in the management of paragangliomas.
Spontaneous subdural hematoma in a young COVID-19-confirmed patient without comorbidities: A case report
Authors: Pasiwat Armi B , Ampati Bonnie Anne Claire
Published: July 2023

The majority of acute subdural hematomas are due to trauma, and cases of spontaneous subdural hematoma are rare. This report aims to provide an overview of subdural hematoma associated with COVID-19 virus. We described a case of a 22-year-old female without comorbidities and confirmed COVID-19 with spontaneous subdural hematoma on non-contrast computed tomography scan. This was the first case encountered in our hospital. There is no published cases yet in the Philippines. Mechanisms linking cerebrovascular events to COVID-19 are hypothesized. First, it has been postulated that COVID virus is neurotropic toward angiotensinogen-converting enzyme-2 receptors and it can invade and directly damage cerebral vessels. Second, entry of the virus into the cells results in marked reduction in angiotensinogen-converting enzyme-2 levels which could contribute to the development of intracranial hemorrhage. Third, COVID-19 patients usually develop a systemic hyperinflammatory syndrome characterized by fulminant hypercytokinemia which may mediate vascular remodeling and predispose to intracranial hemorrhage. COVID infection should be considered as one of the differentials in patients presenting with neurological symptom. More research needs to be performed to understand the pathogenic mechanisms behind each of these disorders and better treat such patients with suitable drugs in a timely manner.
PACs and January 6th: Campaign finance and objections to the Electoral College vote count
Authors: Miller Kenneth M , Bates Tanner
Published: July 2023

Are members of Congress who receive more of their campaign funding from organized interests more supportive of democratic norms compared to members who receive more of their contributions from individual donors? We analyze the campaign receipts of Republican House members in the 2020 campaign cycle and votes to object to electors for Joe Biden from Arizona and Pennsylvania and find that greater contributions to members’ campaigns from business PACs are associated with a lower probability that members voted to object to electors. Further, members’ own margin of victory in 2020 has no association with these votes when controlling for other factors, but members from districts where Trump performed better are more likely to have objected to counting Electoral College votes for his opponent. Our results demonstrate a positive association between campaign contributions from corporate PACs and support for democratic institutions within the Republican caucus in the U.S. House.
Asymmetrical fairness in trade preferences
Authors: Sohn Injoo , Quek Kai
Published: July 2023

Asymmetric capacities across nations are a persistent reality in the global economy, but little is known about how people respond to these disparities. We provide the first experimental evidence on the phenomenon of asymmetrical fairness in trade preferences. We find that trade opinion divides over the relative economic capacity of the trade partner: Citizens treat smaller and less developed economies very differently in trade, even when the asymmetric treatment is disadvantageous to their own country. Across different experimental tests on a national sample in China, we find strong effects on trade opinion that are statistically and substantively significant. We also show that asymmetrical fairness is a phenomenon that applies in both positive (gains) and negative (losses) domains. Thus, while International Relations scholarship often assumes self-centered actors seeking benefits for themselves or their national in-groups, our results show that prosocial considerations over the limited capacities of the weak can influence the preferences of the strong—a phenomenon that refines our understanding of international power asymmetry and its consequences.
How virtual influencers’ identities are shaped on Chinese social media: A case study of Ling
Authors: Luo Lijun , Kim Wonkyung
Published: July 2023

Virtual influencers (VIs) have become a powerful marketing tool for brands to promote their products, due to their trouble-free experiences, compared with human influencers. However, uncanny valley, a theory that describes the negative psychological responses triggered by humanoid robots or avatars, suggests that VIs might exert negative responses from social media audiences. Thus, this study aims to investigate how social media audiences perceive Ling, the first computer-generated VI in China. Four research questions were proposed: 1) how Ling builds its persona on Weibo, 2) how consumers perceive Ling’s identity, 3) how social media audiences respond to Ling’s VI marketing strategies, 4) how social media audiences express their intimacy towards Ling. As an exploratory qualitative research method, textual analysis was employed to reveal underlying meaning in social media audiences’ perceptions of VI, and 79 Weibo posts and 8442 comments were collected as the research text. The results showed that users’ response to Ling can be summarized into three dimensions: (1) VI identity as a CGI character, (2) endorser identity as a social media marketing tool, and (3) national identity as a cultural ambassador.
Compensation Claims After Hip Fracture Surgery in Norway 2008-2018
Authors: Hoseth John Magne , Aae Tommy Frøseth , Jakobsen Rune Bruhn , Fenstad Anne Marie , Bukholm Ida Rashida Khan , Gjertsen Jan-Erik , Randsborg Per-Henrik
Published: July 2023

Background

Surgical complications contribute to the significant mortality following hip fractures in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to increase our knowledge of surgical complications by evaluating compensation claims following hip fracture surgery in Norway. Further, we investigated whether the size and location of performing institutions would influence surgical complications.

Methods

We collected data from the Norwegian System of Patient Injury Compensation (NPE) and the Norwegian Hip Fracture Register (NHFR) from 2008 to 2018. We classified institutions into 4 categories based on annual procedure volume and geographical location.

Results

90,601 hip fractures were registered in NHFR. NPE received 616 (.7%) claims. Of these, 221 (36%) were accepted, which accounts for .2% of all hip fractures. Men had nearly a doubled risk of ending with a compensation claim compared to women (OR: 1.8, CI, 1.4-2.4, P < .001). Hospital-acquired infection was the most frequent reason for accepted claims (27%). However, claims were rejected if patients had underlying conditions predisposing to infection. Institutions treating fewer than 152 hip fractures (first quartile) annually, had a statistically significant increased risk (OR: 1.9, CI, 1.3-2.8, P = .005) for accepted claims compared to higher volume facilities.

Discussion

The fewer registered claims in our study could be due to the relatively high early mortality and frailty in this patient group, which may decrease the likelihood of filing a complaint. Men could have undetected underlying predisposing conditions that lead to increased risk of complications. Hospital-acquired infection may be the most significant complication following hip fracture surgery in Norway. Lastly, the number of procedures performed annually in an institution influences compensation claims.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that hospital acquired infections need greater focus following hip fracture surgery, especially in men. Lower volume hospitals may be a risk factor.
Differences of Host Country-Destination Image Assessment for International Students According to Risk Perception in COVID-19 Tourism
Authors: Lee NaHyun , Kim Bong-Seok
Published: July 2023

The study examined the comparative assessment of destination image according to the perception of COVID-19 and travel risk among international students. The online survey was administered to 786 international students enrolled in universities in Korea. Cluster analysis was performed, and three distinct clusters were identified based on risk perception. Destination image attributes were generated into four underlying dimensions: social environment, tourist environment, destination environment, and imagery, using the exploratory factor analysis. A revised Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) method was utilized to assess the destination image of Korea and used to compare the expected performance of the attributes on each cluster. In addition, a revised IPA grid of each cluster was presented to unveil the satisfaction attributes of the destination image and suggest communication strategies. This study provides practical insights to destination marketers and organizations to design marketing strategies for international students. Further practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Exploring Perspectives, Uses, Implications and Needs of the Educational Digital Portfolio in the Arts: A Systematic Review of the Scientific Literature
Authors: Calderón-Garrido Diego , Gil-Fernández Raquel , Martín-Piñol Carolina
Published: July 2023

In recent years, the emergence of digital technology and the creation of new opportunities and contexts have given rise to significant changes in the teaching and learning strategies and evaluation processes used in artistic disciplines, including use of the digital portfolio. This work consisted of a systematic analysis of the literature produced on this subject thus far in JCR, SCOPUS, and ERIC to detect practices, limitations, and opportunities. Following the analysis of the selected sample, which consisted of 32 articles, three main categories were established: development of artistic competences, teacher training and employability. The main findings related to the benefits of the digital portfolio for the development of competences, artistic identity and digital literacy through reflective practices. The study concluded that more experimental studies are needed to explore the digital portfolio and the design of more flexible and sustainable platforms, and demonstrated that there is a clear need for curricular changes to bring about improvements.