bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tracking of moving human in different overlapping cameras using Kalman filter optimized
Authors: Yousefi Seyed Mohammad Mehdi , Mohseni Seyed Saleh , Dehbovid Hadi , Ghaderi Reza
Published: November 2023

Tracking objects is a crucial problem in image processing and machine vision, involving the representation of position changes of an object and following it in a sequence of video images. Though it has a history in military applications, tracking has become increasingly important since the 1980s due to its wide-ranging applications in different areas. This study focuses on tracking moving objects with human identity and identifying individuals through their appearance, using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) classification algorithm. The Kalman filter is an important tool in this process, as it can predict the movement trajectory and estimate the position of moving objects. The tracking error is reduced by weighting the filter using a fuzzy logic algorithm for each moving human. After tracking people, they are identified using the features extracted from the histogram of images by ANN. However, there are various challenges in implementing this method, which can be addressed by using Genetic Algorithm (GA) for feature selection. The simulations in this study aim to evaluate the convergence rate and estimation error of the filter. The results show that the proposed method achieves better results than other similar methods in tracking position in three different datasets. Moreover, the proposed method performs 8% better on average than other similar algorithms in night vision, cloud vision, and daylight vision situations.
Endoscopic surgery versus intensity-modulated radiotherapy in locally advanced recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A multicenter, case-matched comparison
Authors: Liu Yibin , Huang Nan , Gao Junxiao , He Bin , Huang Hongming , Wan Liangcai , Cai Qinming , Zhu Zhenchao , Zhou Suizi , Wang Jing , Wang Xiaohui , Qiu Qianhui , Han Fei
Published: November 2023

Background

The management of locally advanced recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC) is challenging. The objective of our study was to compare salvage endoscopic nasopharyngectomy (ENPG) with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in clinical outcomes and complications of locally advanced rNPC.

Methods

Patients with histologically confirmed rNPC in rT3-4N0-3M0 stages were retrospectively enrolled between January 2013 and December 2019 in this multicenter, case-matched study. The baseline clinicopathological characteristics of patients were balanced by propensity score matching between the ENPG and IMRT groups. ENPG was performed in patients with easily or potentially resectable tumors. The oncological outcomes as well as treatment-related complications were compared between two groups.

Results

A total of 176 patients were enrolled and 106 patients were matched. The ENPG group (n = 53) and the IMRT group (n = 53) showed comparable outcomes in the 3-year overall survival rate (68.4% vs. 65.4%, P = 0.401), cancer-specific survival rate (80.9% vs. 74.4%, P = 0.076), locoregional failure-free survival rate (36.6% vs. 45.3%, P = 0.076), and progression-free survival rate (27.5% vs. 32.3%, P = 0.216). The incidence of severe treatment-related complications of patients in the ENPG group was lower than that in the IMRT group (37.7% vs. 67.9%, P = 0.002). The most common complications were post perioperative hemorrhage (13.2%) in ENPG group and temporal lobe necrosis (47.2%) in IMRT group, respectively.

Conclusion

Salvage ENPG exhibits comparable efficacy but less toxicities than IMRT in carefully screened patients with locally advanced rNPC, which may be a new choice of local treatment.

Graphical Abstract
Unlocking teachers’ potential: MOOCLS, a visualization tool for enhancing MOOC teaching
Authors: Hmedna Brahim , Bakki Aicha , Mezouary Ali El , Baz Omar
Published: November 2023

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are revolutionizing online education and have become a popular teaching platform. However, traditional MOOCs often overlook learners' individual needs and preferences when designing learning materials and activities, resulting in suboptimal learning experiences. To address this issue, this paper proposes an approach to identify learners' preferences for different learning styles by analyzing their traces in MOOC environments. The Felder–Silverman Learning Style Model is adopted as it is one of the most widely used models in technology-enhanced learning. This research focuses on developing a reliable predictive model that can accurately identify learning styles. Based on insights gained from our model implementation, we propose MOOCLS (MOOC Learning Styles), an intuitive visualization tool. MOOCLS can help teachers and instructional designers to gain significant insight into the diversity of learning styles within their MOOCs. This will allow them to design activities and content that better support the learning styles of their learners, which can lead to higher learning engagement, improved performance, and reduction in time to learn.
Supporting the development of ethnic groups with smaller populations: the policies and practices of the Chinese government
Authors: Shi Yazhou , Gao Rui , Wang Rui
Published: November 2023

Development is a fundamental pursuit of human society. When it comes to national governance, there are issues of imbalanced and insufficient development that must be addressed. Since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, the Chinese government has adopted a series of ethnic policies to resolve these development issues across ethnic minority areas. Since the late 1970s, Chinese scholars and the government have paid particular attention to the development issues of ethnic groups with smaller populations. This paper examines the relevant literature on this topic and divides China’s policies on this issue into three stages: (1) initial exploration, (2) targeted assistance, and (3) specialized planning. It discusses the Chinese government’s policy process and its experience empowering ethnic groups with smaller populations. The paper argues that the Chinese government’s support for ethnic groups with smaller populations is guided by valid ethnic theories and a comprehensive policy system. In the implementation of policies, the government recognizes “development” as the primary objective. It then formulates, implements, and evaluates policies based on the characteristics of the different ethnic groups with smaller populations. This approach effectively addressed the problems faced by these ethnic groups during different stages of their development and achieved the intended policy goals. Therefore, these policies are practical and sustainable. They are a valuable asset, and studying them could be beneficial to any unified multi-ethnic country that wants to tackle the development issues of their ethnic minorities.
Polydatin nanoparticles attenuate oxidative stress and histopathological changes in streptozotocin model of diabetic nephropathy: targeting Nrf2/HO-1/NF-κβ signaling pathways
Authors: Abdul-Hamid Manal , Galaly Sanaa R. , Mohamed Hanaa M. , Mostafa Fatma , Abdel-Moneim Adel
Published: November 2023

Background

One of the most prevalent and serious side effects of diabetes mellitus is diabetic nephropathy, which is characterized by abnormalities in kidney structure that can occur before kidney function declines. Up to 90% of persons with diabetic nephropathy and 40% of adults with severe diabetic nephropathy are unaware that they have kidney disease. Through Nrf2/HO-1/NF κβ/TNF α signaling pathways, biochemical, oxidative stress, and antioxidant biomarkers, ultrastructural, immunohistochemical, and histopathological studies, so we attempt to evaluate the potential corrective mechanisms of polydatin nanoparticles against diabetic nephropathy in comparison with polydatin and metformin.

Results

POLY-CSNPs, POLY, and METF treatment lowered fasting superoxide dismutase, catalase activities, and glutathione content in treating the diabetic blood sugar level, glycosylated hemoglobin percentage, and oxidative stress such as lipid peroxidation level, and also enhanced antioxidant biomarkers like superoxide peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase activities, and glutathione content in treating the diabetic nephropathy. POLY-CSNPs, POLY, and METF also significantly reduced the area % of immunohistochemical reaction of TNF α (tumor necrosis factor alpha) and NF κβ (nuclear factor-kappa-β), while significantly increasing the mRNA expression’s levels for nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and heme oxygenase-1. The results observed that POLY-CSNPs showed extremely significant efficacy in treated diabetic rats as contrasted with POLY. Histological and ultrastructural studies showed marked improvement in glomeruli, basal laminae, and proximal tubules appearing nearly identical to the normal.

Conclusions

POLY-CSNPs revealed a marked ameliorative effect on diabetic nephropathy via its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and prolonged-release properties.
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing in veterinary medicine: performance, interpretation of results, best practices and pitfalls
Authors: Feßler Andrea T. , Wang Yang , Burbick Claire R. , Diaz-Campos Dubraska , Fajt Virginia R. , Lawhon Sara D. , Li Xian-Zhi , Lubbers Brian V. , Maddock Kelli , Miller Ron A. , Papich Mark G. , Simjee Shabbir , Sweeney Michael T. , Watts Jeffrey L. , Wu Congming , Shen Jianzhong , Schwarz Stefan
Published: November 2023

The performance of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of bacteria and the interpretation of AST results for bacteria isolated from animals are complex tasks which must be performed using standard published methodology and overseen by experts in clinical microbiology and in consultation with clinical pharmacologists. Otherwise, AST has significant potential for errors and mistakes. In this review, we provide guidance on how to correctly perform AST of bacteria isolated from animals and interpret the AST results. Particular emphasis is placed on the various approved or published methodologies for the different bacteria as well as the application of interpretive criteria, including clinical breakpoints and epidemiological cut-off values (ECVs/ECOFFs). Application of approved interpretive criteria and definitions of susceptible, susceptible dose-dependent, nonsusceptible, intermediate, and resistant for clinical breakpoints as well as wild-type and non-wildtype for ECVs, are explained and the difficulties resulting from the lack of approved clinical breakpoints for other bacteria, indications, and animal species is discussed. The requirement of quality controls in any AST approach is also emphasized. In addition, important parameters, often used in monitoring and surveillance studies, such as MIC50, MIC90, and testing range, are explained and criteria for the classification of bacteria as multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant or pandrug-resistant are provided. Common mistakes are presented and the means to avoid them are described. To provide the most accurate AST, one must strictly adhere to approved standards or validated methodologies, like those of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute or other internationally accepted AST documents and the detailed information provided therein.
Surface distributed acoustic sensing for high-resolution near-surface characterization: Results from a 3D onshore field experiment
Authors: Busanello Gabriele , Bachrach Ran , Sayed Ali , Soliman Bahaa
Published: November 2023

Distributed acoustic sensing technology enables high-density seismic acquisition at a fraction of the cost. When deployed on the surface, surface distributed acoustic sensing (S-DAS) acquisition provides a cost-effective solution for dense high-resolution near-surface characterization through the analysis and inversion of surface waves. This is made possible by the relatively low cost of the fiber and the dense spatial sampling of the realized seismic data. The S-DAS data were collected during the acquisition of a 3D land large-scale field test and processed with a focus on recent advancements in the use of surface wave analysis and inversion. We compare and validate the result from the S-DAS recording with colocated multicomponent (3C) geophones and a conventional high-density surface seismic nodal acquisition. The comparison to 3C geophones demonstrated that for applications such as surface-wave inversion, S-DAS can outperform conventional geophones and shows consistency between electrical resistivity tomography and surface seismic inversion from S-DAS. In addition, continuous passive recording of environmental noise also offers a convenient alternative to active shooting allowing for surface wave inversion from reconstructed virtual shots.
Seismic 3D full-horizon tracking based on a knowledge graph to represent the stratigraphic sequence relationship
Authors: He Xin , Zhou Cheng , Zhang Yusheng , Qian Feng , Hu Guangmin , Li Yalin
Published: November 2023

Seismic 3D full-horizon tracking is a fundamental and crucial step in sequence analysis and reservoir modeling. Existing automatic full-horizon tracking approaches lack effective methods for representing the stratigraphic sequence relationships in seismic data. However, the inability to represent the stratigraphic sequence relationships fully and accurately makes it challenging to address discontinuous areas affected by faults and unconformities. To address this issue, we develop a knowledge graph representing the stratigraphic sequence relationship, which enables the simultaneous extraction of all horizon surfaces once the stratigraphic distribution of the seismic data is obtained. This method first generates horizon patches and calculates the fault attributes, followed by the construction of an initial knowledge graph that characterizes the overall distribution of horizon patches and faults. The initial knowledge graph comprises nodes and edges. The nodes represent horizon patches, and their attributes cover the geographical location information of the patches and faults. Simultaneously, the edges represent the relationship between the horizon patches, including the stratigraphic sequence relationship, and their attributes illustrate the potential for connecting these patches. Furthermore, we introduce a multilayer knowledge graph based on the point-set topology to fuse the nodes. This allows for the continuous merging of the horizon patches to obtain horizon surfaces across discontinuities with the constraints of fault attributes and stratigraphic sequence relationships in 3D space. Synthetic and field examples demonstrate that our approach can effectively represent stratigraphic sequence relationships and accurately track horizons located in discontinuous areas with faults and unconformities.
Lifestyle Intervention With Smartphone App and isCGM for People at High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Randomized Trial
Authors: Kitazawa Masaru , Takeda Yasunaga , Hatta Mariko , Horikawa Chika , Sato Takaaki , Osawa Taeko , Ishizawa Masahiro , Suzuki Hiroshi , Matsubayashi Yasuhiro , Fujihara Kazuya , Yamada Takaho , Sone Hirohito
Published: November 2023

Aims

Although conventional interventions for people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes are usually conducted face-to-face, such interventions are burdensome for health care providers. We developed a lifestyle intervention program combining lifestyle coaching via a smartphone application augmented by intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring without burdening health care providers. Its effectiveness for glycemic control and body weight reduction in people at risk of type 2 diabetes was investigated.

Materials and Methods

For this 12-week randomized unblinded trial with offline recruitment, participants with a hemoglobin A1c level of 5.6% to 6.4% or a fasting blood glucose of 110 to 125 mg/dL and body mass index (BMI) >23 kg/m2 but <40 kg/m2 were randomly assigned to the intervention group (App) and control group (C). The primary endpoint was the difference in time in range of blood glucose between 70 and 140 mg/dL (3.9-7.8 mmol/L) before and after the study period between the 2 groups.

Results

Among 168 patients (mean age, 48.1 years; mean BMI, 26.6 kg/m2; and male, 80.4%), 82 and 86 were assigned to the App group and C group, respectively. After 12 weeks, time in range of blood glucose at 70 to 140 mg/dL significantly improved in the App group compared with the C group (−2.6 minutes/day vs +31.5 minutes/day, P = .03). Changes in time above range did not differ, whereas time below range (blood glucose <70 mg/dL; +23.5 minutes/day vs −8.9 minutes/day, P = .02) improved in the App group. BMI (−0.26 vs −0.59, P = .017) was reduced in the App group compared with the C group.

Conclusion

Intervention with a smartphone app and intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring increased glycemic control accompanied by decreased carbohydrate intake and weight loss. Further trials are needed to confirm whether these interventions can reduce incident type 2 diabetes.
Primitive Normativity
Authors: Williams Elizabeth W.
Published: November 2023

In Primitive Normativity Elizabeth W. Williams traces the genealogy of a distinct narrative about African sexuality that British colonial authorities in Kenya used to justify their control over indigenous populations. She identifies a discourse of “primitive normativity” that suggested that Africans were too close to nature to develop sexual neuroses and practices such as hysteria, homosexuality, and prostitution that supposedly were common among Europeans. Primitive normativity framed Kenyan African sexuality as less sexually polluted than that of the more deviant populations of their colonizers. Williams shows that colonial officials and settlers used this narrative to further the goals of white supremacy by arguing that Africans’ sexuality was proof that Kenyan Africans must be protected from the forces of urbanization, Western-style education, and political participation, lest they be exposed to forms of civilized sexual deviance. Challenging the more familiar notion that Europeans universally viewed Africans as hypersexualized, Williams demonstrates how narratives of African sexual normativity rather than deviance reinforced ideas about the evolutionary backwardness of African peoples and their inability to govern themselves.
High-fat diet induces C-reactive protein secretion, promoting lung adenocarcinoma via immune microenvironment modulation
Authors: Hsu Wei-Lun , Hsieh Yun-Ting , Chen Wei-Ming , Chien Min-Hui , Luo Wei-Jia , Chang Jung-Hsuan , Devlin Kevin , Su Kang-Yi
Published: November 2023

To understand the effects of a high-fat diet (HFD) on lung cancer progression and biomarkers, we here used an inducible mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-driven lung cancer transgenic mouse model fed a regular diet (RD) or HFD. The HFD lung cancer (LC-HFD) group exhibited significant tumor formation and deterioration, such as higher EGFR activity and proliferation marker expression, compared with the RD lung cancer (LC-RD) group. Transcriptomic analysis of the lung tissues revealed that the significantly changed genes in the LC-HFD group were highly enriched in immune-related signaling pathways, suggesting that an HFD alters the immune microenvironment to promote tumor growth. Cytokine and adipokine arrays combined with a comprehensive analysis using meta-database software indicated upregulation of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the LC-HFD group, which presented with increased lung cancer proliferation and metastasis; this was confirmed experimentally. Our results imply that an HFD can turn the tumor growth environment into an immune-related pro-tumorigenic microenvironment and demonstrate that CRP has a role in promoting lung cancer development in this microenvironment.
Outcomes of oncoplastic breast surgery compared to breast-conserving surgery in breast cancer patients in a developing country: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Vohra Lubna , Farooqi Nifasat , Jiwani Uswa , Ali Danish
Published: November 2023

Background and Objective: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with adjuvant radiotherapy remains the standard of care for early breast cancers in Pakistan. We sought to compare the outcomes of BCS with oncoplastic surgery (OPS), a relatively infrequent approach to breast cancer treatment in the country.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital and Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi. Patients who had biopsy-proven Stage-I to III breast cancer and underwent either OPS or BCS between August 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021, were identified and followed for 30 days. Data were collected by reviewing patient files and electronic records.

Results: A total of 481 patients were included in the study, where 204 (42.4%) underwent BCS and 277 (57.6%) underwent OPS. Mean tumor volume (146.8 vs. 90.4 cm3), and postoperative complications (2.2 % vs. 0%) were higher in OPS while the frequency of positive margins was greater in the BCS group (15.7 % vs. 2.2 %). There were no significant differences in the histologic type of tumor between the two groups.

Conclusion: OPS is a valid alternative approach to breast cancer treatment that can be offered to women with early stage, locally advanced, multifocal or tumors at complex locations owing to the reduced occurrence of positive margins and thus lowered re-excision rates.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7360

How to cite this: Vohra LM, Farooqi N, Jiwani U, Ali D. Outcomes of oncoplastic breast surgery compared to breast-conserving surgery in breast cancer patients in a developing country: a retrospective cohort study. Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(1):---------.  doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7360

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Hepatitis-C during Pregnancy: Antenatal period challenges, management and the way forward
Authors: Kamani Lubna , Abdul Razzak Asma
Published: November 2023

Pregnant women and the general public are both directly impacted by cirrhosis which is a chronic liver disease. It is also widely known that women who have a history of injectable drug use and cirrhosis are more prone to experience unfavorable consequences that have a negative impact on the health of both the mother and the unborn child. Higher maternal Hepatitis-C Virus (HCV) in pregnancy viral load, length of labor, use of amniocentesis or fetal scalp monitoring and protracted membrane rupture are all the risk of perinatal transmission of HCV in newborns. Globally, a large number of childbearing-age women become affected by HCV every year and vertical transmission of HCV is still a serious public health concern. Pregnancy-related immune alterations have a significant impact on the course of HCV infection throughout the third trimester and provide favorable circumstances for the spread of the virus. The exacerbation of hepatic damage during pregnancy and the postpartum period is mostly responsible for HCV-specific cell-mediated immune responses. An extensive literature search done via electronic search engine including Cochrane library databases, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct and HCV in pregnancy articles were included.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7578

How to cite this: Kamani L, Razzak AA. Hepatitis-C during Pregnancy: Antenatal period challenges, management and the way forward. Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(1):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7578

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Comparison of risk factors for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization in healthy newborns, born to mothers with and without MRSA colonization
Authors: Malik Sara , Muhammad Faheem Afzal  , Muhammad Haroon Hamid
Published: November 2023

Objective: To compare the risk factors for MRSA colonization in healthy newborns, born of mothers with and without MRSA colonization.

Methods: This case control study was conducted in post-natal unit of Lady Willingdon Hospital, affiliated with King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore from January to June 2017. The vaginal and anterior nares swabs for MRSA culture were collected from mothers within six hours before planned delivery and the neonatal anterior nares swabs for MRSA culture were taken within one hour of birth. All the samples were cultured in Paediatric Microbiology laboratory in Mayo Hospital. Data were analyzed through SPSS 20.0 and logistic regression was applied for risk factors analysis.

Results: Out of total 80 mothers and their newborns, 15 (18.75%) mothers and 16 neonates (20%) were MRSA colonized. The frequency of MRSA colonization in mothers’ anterior nares and vaginal swab was 17.5% and 1.25% respectively. The significant risk factors were prolonged rupture of membranes for >18 hours (p-value 0.02, odds ratio 11.85, 95% CI 1.41-99.3), birth weight <2500 grams (p-value 0.01, odds ratio 5.39, 95% CI 1.35-21.4), history of presence of meconium (p-value 0.006, odds ratio 7.30, 95% CI 1.78-29.8). The non-significant factors were age of mother (p-value 0.682, odds ratio 0.765, 95% CI 1.0.212-2.76), parity (p-value 0.185, odds ratio 3.82, 95% CI 0.46-31.66) , gestation (p-value 0.615, odds ratio 0.797, 95% CI 0.714-0.89) , mode of delivery (p-value 0.576, odds ratio 0.543, 95% CI 0.062-4.76), sex of baby (p-value 0.546, odds ratio 0.683, 95% CI 0.196-2.37) and presentation of baby at birth (p-value 0.47, odds ratio 0.795, 95% CI 0.71-0.89)

Conclusion: The presence of meconium, prolonged rupture of membranes and low birth weight were the significant risk factors for MRSA colonization in healthy new-borns, born to mothers with and without MRSA colonization.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7703

How to cite this: Malik S, Afzal MF, Hamid MH. Comparison of risk factors for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization in healthy newborns, born to mothers with and without MRSA colonization. Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(1):---------.  doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7703

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Outcomes of initial 100 cases of laparoscopic nephrectomy at tertiary care center (PKLI)
Authors: Iqbal Nadeem , Syed Imtiaz Ali  , Ayesha Farooq  , Nauman Zafar
Published: November 2023

Objective: Laparoscopic nephrectomy has been adopted by many centers in the last few decades. However, there are a few inherent challenges while adopting laparoscopic nephrectomy in a new unit. These include a significant learning curve required to adopt this modality. This study aimed to share the initial experience of adopting laparoscopic nephrectomy at our center.

Methods: In total, 101 patients were analyzed in the study. These patients underwent laparoscopic radical or simple nephrectomy (for renal mass and noncancer renal cases respectively) at Department of Urology, Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre, Lahore from April 2018 till January 2021. Data were entered in the statistical analysis software file. Analysis was attained by utilizing SPSS version 20. Implementation of Mean along with standard deviation values was utilized in the case of the continuous variables. While frequency/percentages represented categorical factors.

Results: The mean age of patients was 42.81±15.49 years and their overall BMI was 26.41±5.30 kg/m2. Out of these, 57 (56.43%) were males and 44(43.56%) were female. Eighteen percent of patients had a previous surgical history on the ipsilateral side. Total operative time was 163.98±58.02 minutes while mean hospital stay reached 3.2±0.87 days. The tumor-free margin was attained in all cases of radical nephrectomy. Based on Clavien-Dindo classification, Grade-1(n=3; 2.97%), Grade-2 (n=6; 5.94%), Grade-3A (n=1; 0.99%), and Grade-3B (n=1; 0.99%) complications were observed.

Conclusion: In a newly developed urology center, laparoscopic nephrectomy can be a daunting task. Good teamwork among the surgical team members and careful selection of cases can result in satisfactory procedural outcomes.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7819

How to cite this: Iqbal N, Ali SI, Farooq A, Zafar N. Outcomes of initial 100 cases of laparoscopic nephrectomy at tertiary care center (PKLI). Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(1):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.1.7819

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The Stickiness of Category Labels: Audience Perception and Evaluation of Producer Repositioning in Creative Markets
Authors: Kovács Balázs , Hsu Greta , Sharkey Amanda
Published: November 2023

Market producers often seek to position themselves in different categories over time. Successful repositioning is difficult, however, as audiences often devalue offerings that depart from a producer’s past creations. Prior research suggests that this penalty arises as evaluators withhold opportunities for producers to reposition because of presumptions of a lack of competence in different categories. In this paper, we develop understanding of a novel evaluator-driven challenge to producers’ repositioning efforts: evaluators are prone to “categorical stickiness,” by which the categories they have come to associate with a producer through its prior offerings shape their perceptions of the producer’s subsequent offerings. The result is a systematic mismatch between what producers claim and what evaluators perceive when a producer repositions. We further propose that audience members who have the greatest prior experience with a producer are the least likely to recognize its repositioning efforts. We examine evidence for our theory using data from Goodreads.com on authors within the book publishing industry, 2007–2017. We first build a novel deep-learning framework to predict categorization of a given book based solely on an author’s description of its content. We then use data on how Goodreads users categorize and evaluate books as well as their past reading behavior to test for evidence of our proposed mechanism. Overall, our results extend understanding of the evaluative processes that generate categorical constraints and how these may differ among various types of audience members.

This paper was accepted by Isabel Fernandez-Mateo, organizations.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.02070 .
Data-Driven Allocation of Preventive Care with Application to Diabetes Mellitus Type II
Authors: Kraus Mathias , Feuerriegel Stefan , Saar-Tsechansky Maytal
Published: November 2023

Problem definition: Increasing costs of healthcare highlight the importance of effective disease prevention. However, decision models for allocating preventive care are lacking. Methodology/results: In this paper, we develop a data-driven decision model for determining a cost-effective allocation of preventive treatments to patients at risk. Specifically, we combine counterfactual inference, machine learning, and optimization techniques to build a scalable decision model that can exploit high-dimensional medical data, such as the data found in modern electronic health records. Our decision model is evaluated based on electronic health records from 89,191 prediabetic patients. We compare the allocation of preventive treatments (metformin) prescribed by our data-driven decision model with that of current practice. We find that if our approach is applied to the U.S. population, it can yield annual savings of $1.1 billion. Finally, we analyze the cost-effectiveness under varying budget levels. Managerial implications: Our work supports decision making in health management, with the goal of achieving effective disease prevention at lower costs. Importantly, our decision model is generic and can thus be used for effective allocation of preventive care for other preventable diseases.

Funding: M. Kraus acknowledges funding from Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [Grant 01IS22080]. S. Feuerriegel acknowledges funding from Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung [Grant 186932].

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2021.0251 .
Customer-Centric Dynamic Pricing for Free-Floating Vehicle Sharing Systems
Authors: Müller Christian , Gönsch Jochen , Soppert Matthias , Steinhardt Claudius
Published: November 2023

Free-floating vehicle sharing systems such as car or bike sharing systems offer customers the flexibility to pick up and drop off vehicles at any location within the business area and, thus, have become a popular type of urban mobility. However, this flexibility has the drawback that vehicles tend to accumulate at locations with low demand. To counter these imbalances, pricing has proven to be an effective and cost-efficient means. The fact that customers use mobile applications, combined with the fact that providers know the exact location of each vehicle in real-time, provides new opportunities for dynamic pricing. In this context of modern vehicle sharing systems, we develop a profit-maximizing dynamic pricing approach that is built on adopting the concept of customer-centricity. Customer-centric dynamic pricing here means that, whenever a customer opens the provider’s mobile application to rent a vehicle, the price optimization incorporates the customer’s location as well as disaggregated choice behavior to precisely capture the effect of price and walking distance to the available vehicles on the customer’s probability for choosing a vehicle. Two other features characterize the approach. It is origin-based, that is, prices are differentiated by location and time of rental start, which reflects the real-world situation where the rental destination is usually unknown. Further, the approach is anticipative, using a stochastic dynamic program to foresee the effect of current decisions on future vehicle locations, rentals, and profits. We propose an approximate dynamic programming-based solution approach with nonparametric value function approximation. It allows direct application in practice, because historical data can readily be used and main parameters can be precomputed such that the online pricing problem becomes tractable. Extensive numerical studies, including a case study based on Share Now data, demonstrate that our approach increases profits by up to 8% compared with existing approaches from the literature.

History: This paper has been accepted for the Transportation Science Special Issue on 2021 TSL Workshop: Supply and Demand Interplay in Transport and Logistics.

Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2021.0524 .
Intermittent self-catheterisation: the gold standard for individuals with bladder dysfunction
Authors: Yates Ann
Published: November 2023

Intermittent self-catheterisation (ISC) has long been identified as the ‘gold standard’ for drainage of the bladder for individuals with bladder dysfunction. This article will outline identification of appropriate individuals, the types of intermittent self-catheters available, outline how it can improve quality of life for sufferers of bladder dysfunction, outline the complications that may occur and finally, suggest why it should be recommended as the ‘gold standard’ if it is taught and done correctly.
The impact of SNOMED CT on clinical coding quality and productivity
Authors: Roberts Luke , Cooper Carolyn , Chipman Lee
Published: November 2023

Background/Aims

Studies have shown that using the clinical terminology SNOMED CT can improve clinical documentation, data quality and workforce productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a SNOMED CT-based digital tool on the quality, completeness and efficiency of clinical coding.

Methods

A SNOMED CT-enabled clinical coding tool (SNOMED CT - Clinical Coding Assistant) was created. The tool used nursing assessments to identify relevant conditions that should be coded. SNOMED CT concepts and the nationally published SNOMED CT to ICD-10 cross-maps were compared to clinical coding data generated by the typical clinical coding and audit processes. The tool's impact on coding quality, completeness and productivity was assessed using various statistical measures. A total of 1681 coded hospital spells, representing 1589 patients, were included, across a 2-month period.

Results

Use of the SNOMED CT - Clinical Coding Assistant led to ICD-10 codes being added or changed in nearly half (n=773, 46.0%) of the hospital spells. The tool identified that over a third of the spells (n=588, 35.0%) had missing ICD-10 codes. The tool significantly reduced the time taken to find and validate the presence of numerous conditions for subsequent coding (P<0.001).

Conclusions

Use of SNOMED CT-based tools can improve clinical coding accuracy, completeness and productivity. SNOMED CT has an important role to play in clinical coding transformation and effective system implementation is critical.
The modified democratic management model: an ideal leadership model for healthcare?
Authors: Gruessner Rainer WG
Published: November 2023

This article proposes a new, modified version of the democratic management model as a leadership structure that could be effectively used in healthcare, particularly when an organisation is led by a transformational leader. The modified democratic management model combines many existing motivational and organisational behaviour theories, along with components of trait and behavioural theories of leadership. The management style advocated by this model varies depends on the team approach and functional participation. To avoid functional areas within an organisation from becoming ‘silos’, a horizontal communication style between divisions is endorsed. In the different specialty areas, the model prescribes a combination of participative and collaborative management styles among the workforce, while managers should use coaching and transformational management styles. New components of this modified democratic management model include: 1) an occasional and temporary authoritative management style that can be used by the transformational leader during unexpected crises, when fast decision making is required; 2) implementation of internal and external checks and balances, such as mandatory employee debriefing and mandatory board reporting after each authoritative decision. The modified democratic management model can be applied to different employment levels in healthcare. This article discusses this theoretical model and how it could be implemented in practice to provide a fair, transparent and accountable management system in healthcare, helping to motivate staff to excel.
Lordship and bondage in the dialectics of social work: regulation and professional autonomy
Authors: Simpson Murray K. , Smith Mark , Daly Maura
Published: November 2023

This article provides an innovative reading of the relationship between social work and the regulatory bodies mandated to register and regulate it, which has hitherto remained largely untheorised. It achieves this by utilising Hegel’s illustrative tale of ‘lord and bondsman’. This narrative outlines the development of consciousness through dialectical struggle. We argue that the relationship of domination and servitude that has developed between the profession and the regulators is incapable of delivering a satisfactory self-consciousness for either. For the social work profession, consciousness is limited to an enforced ‘being-for’ the regulatory bodies, which appropriate the ends of practice through the labour of the profession. For both to achieve full self-consciousness, each must transcend itself and the other through a dialectical movement in which each is simultaneously ‘negated’ and ‘preserved’. The article highlights ways in which social work can more courageously address its own historical development within such a struggle.
Broadband free space 2 × 4 90° optical hybrid for satellite laser communication
Authors: Xu Lingling , Sun Jianfeng , Xu Qian , Cong Haisheng , Ren Weijie , Zhang Longkun , Jiang Yuxin , Li Chaoyang , Pan Hanrui
Published: November 2023

We design a broadband free space 2×4 90° optical hybrid over a spectral
window of 1000–1200 nm and 1470–1650 nm and verify the
feasibility of the scheme experimentally. The hybrid consists of three
broadband polarization beam splitters, an achromatic λ/4 wave plate, and three achromatic λ/2 wave plates. The fabricated hybrid
exhibits a good quadrature phase response with an interchannel
imbalance of 0.93–1.07 and a low phase deviation of less than 0.2°
under the typical communication wavelengths of 1064 nm and
C-band. The experimental results of the heterodyne method show that
the proposed hybrid can effectively solve the wavelength
incompatibility problem in satellite laser communication and realize
interconnection at different wavelengths. The designed hybrid (without
coupling) has a measured insertion loss of no more than 7.34 dB
at 1064 nm and C-band. A high-speed transmission experiment
with BPSK format has been conducted to verify the performance of the
assembled device.
On clustering coherent optics point-to-multipoint trees for cost-effective bandwidth assignment in MANs
Authors: Hernández José Alberto , Arpanaei Farhad , Napoli Antonio , Castro Carlos , González de Dios Óscar , Fernández-Palacios Juan Pedro
Published: November 2023

Point-to-multipoint (P2MP) coherent pluggable transceivers leveraging digital subcarrier multiplexing (DSCM) techniques are gaining momentum among telecommunication operators as a technology that can potentially provide broadband connectivity in metropolitan area networks (MANs) with flexible bandwidth allocation at reduced costs. This technology allows trees to be built where central metro (hub) nodes are interconnected with remote access/aggregation (spoke) nodes with dedicated and flexible bandwidth slices, enabling better resource management, simplified architectures, and reduced costs. This paper proposes a modified version of AI/ML clustering techniques that concentrates on the same P2MP tree as those low-rate leaf nodes with uncorrelated daily traffic patterns in a cost-effective manner, thus allowing 10%–18% tree reductions. This, when compared with fixed P2P transceivers, translates into potential CAPEX savings between 40% and 50% in the different scenarios here considered.
Open-source data for QoT estimation in optical networks from Alibaba
Authors: Zhai Zhiqun , Dou Liang , He Yan , Lau Alan Pak Tao , Xie Chongjin
Published: November 2023

There has been a lot of effort in our industry to develop analytical and numerical models for accurate estimation of quality of transmission (QoT), which is essential to efficiently design and operate optical transport networks. However, most researchers do not have access to real optical network data to validate and improve their models. We provide data from our production optical transport network on GitHub, hoping it can be of some help for our community to advance in this area. This letter describes how to use the open-source data.
Optical system design based on DMD and triple-pass TIR prism for asteroid exploration
Authors: Zhao Yingming , Liu Chunyu , Fan Xinghao , Li Lin , Xia Jun , Ding Yi , Liu Hongxin
Published: November 2023

After entering the 21st century, asteroid exploration has become one of the key research directions in the field of deep space exploration. In this article, we present a navigation, imaging, and hyperspectral acquisition integrated optical system designed for asteroid exploration. Based on the pixel-level light modulation capability of the digital micromirror device (DMD), this system introduces a triple-pass total internal reflection (TIR) prism to overcome the limitation of small DMD deflection angles, achieving the co-aperture design of the high-resolution imaging branch and the hyperspectral acquisition branch. In view of the actual usage scenarios, we design a new triple-pass TIR prism and optimize it, correcting the on-axis point coma and astigmatism it introduces, and designing it to be lightweight and compact. Compared to existing optical systems for asteroid exploration, this system offers advantages such as compact structure, no moving parts, high spatial resolution, high spectral resolution, and more flexible imaging modes.
Shadows of structured beams in lenslike media
Authors: Jia Junhui , Lin Haolin , Fu Shenhe , Gómez-Correa J. E. , Li Zhen , Chen Zhenqiang , Chávez-Cerda S.
Published: November 2023

The self-healing phenomenon of structured light beams has been comprehensively investigated for its important role in various applications including optical tweezing, superresolution imaging, and optical communication. However, for different structured beams, there are different explanations for the self-healing effect, and a unified theory has not yet been formed. Here we report both theoretically and experimentally a study of the self-healing effect of structured beams in lenslike media, this is, inhomogeneous lenslike media with a quadratic gradient index. By observing the appearance of a number of shadows of obstructed structured wave fields it has been demonstrated that their self-healing in inhomogeneous media are the result of superposition of fundamental traveling waves. We have found that self-healing of structured beams occurs in this medium and, interestingly enough, that the shadows created in the process present sinusoidal propagating characteristics as determined by the geometrical ray theory in lenslike media. This work provides what we believe to be a new inhomogenous environment to explain the self-healing effect and is expected to deepen understanding of the physical mechanism.
Computationally efficient composite triple beat cancellation for DML-based DA-RoF fronthaul
Authors: Zhang Yikun , Zhu Yixiao , Yan Zijun , Hu Yimin , Zhuge Qunbi , Hu Weisheng
Published: November 2023

The digital-analog radio-over-fiber (DA-RoF) scheme offers a high-fidelity and spectrally efficient solution for future mobile fronthaul. However, to be implemented in the low-cost directly modulated laser with direct detection (DML-DD) link, both the digital and analog parts in DA-RoF modulation would suffer from the composite second-order (CSO) and composite triple beat (CTB) caused by the chirp–dispersion interaction. In this Letter, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a computationally efficient composite triple beat cancellation (CTB-C) algorithm for DA-RoF fronthaul in the dispersion-uncompensated C-band DML-DD link. The CSO and CTB are suppressed at the receiver-side DSP based on the theoretical model of these nonlinear distortions. In the proof-of-concept experiment, a 1.2-dB improvement in the recovered signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is obtained with 5.5-GHz 1024-QAM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal after 10-km standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) transmission. The proposed CTB-C technique does not require the training process and performs close to the Volterra-based feed-forward equalizer (VFE) under the complexity constraint.