bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Surgical Technique on Reducing the Incidence of Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Alzelfawi Lama , Almajed Ebtesam , Zabin Alya , Alqntash Norah , Alqantash Ayidh , Shamrani Abdullah , Bishri Saleh
Published: October 2024

Background: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF), a complication frequently encountered following pancreaticoduodenectomy. Pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) and pancreaticogastrostomy (PG) are the most frequently utilized reconstructive strategies with different anastomosis techniques. This study was conducted to evaluate the optimal surgical technique to prevent POPF. Methods: The study was conducted using PRISMA guidelines with PROSPERO registration No. CRD42023494393. Patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy includes the use of PJ or PG with different anastomoses techniques and developed POPF were included. We conducted a systematic literature review from January 2019 to December 2023 using a comprehensive search strategy, through Web of Science, ProQuest, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. Meta-analysis was utilized to analyze the outcomes. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results: Eighteen studies with 3343 patients who underwent various anastomoses (including the Modified DuVal, Heidelberg PJ, and Blumgart methods) were included. Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) occurred in 27% of patients. Techniques such as modified Heidelberg, Peng, shark mouth PJ, and Kiguchi PJ were associated with lower POPF rates, whereas modified and classical Blumgart techniques exhibited higher rates. While mortality rates varied among surgical techniques, overall mortality was low. Conclusions: Data from this study can be used to shape future studies and direct physicians to develop strategies to reduce the risk of POPF and thereby reduce morbidity and mortality, leading to improved patient outcomes. Furthermore, this data can inform clinical decision-making and guide the development of evidence-based practice guidelines to optimize surgical outcomes.
Effective Press Folding Line Process as Producing Smart Intersection in Square Steel Pipe Structures by Using Crushed Cross Section Compactly
Authors: Terada Kosuke
Published: October 2024

As a cross section of square steel pipe is crushed, the upper plate and the lower plate deform inward, and the side plates deform outward from the original square cross section shape. When the press folding line process as deformation induction is applied, the upper plate and the lower plate keep flat, and the side plates are compactly folded inward. This deformation pattern is safe without causing any harm to the surrounding area, and makes it possible to improve impact energy absorption performance by folding side plates as overlapping. Moreover, square steel pipe structures include places as pipes intersect and places to avoid interference with other parts (piping, wiring, fork claws, etc.). In such cases, the current method is to create an opening by cutting off. At that time, the structural strength will decrease, so reinforcing materials are often installed as a countermeasure. On the other hand, if the opening is processed by laterally impact crushing using the press folding line process proposed in this paper, a crushed part will remain, suppressing the decrease in structural strength, and this can be handled without adding reinforcing material to be a smart intersection. This paper shows the findings based on experimental data, FEM (Finite Element Method) results on processing conditions for inward deforming side plates of square steel pipes and evaluation of impact energy absorption performance in laterally impact crushing.
Effect of Climate Change on Alpine Flowers
Authors: Gebremariam Elyas
Published: October 2024

Global warming results in climate change that increases the intensity of rainfall, drought, dry spell, heat waves. This condition have profound impact on alpine plant ecology and induce migration or range shifts of spe¬cies in search for their optimal growth conditions. These shifts subsequently lead to change in local species composition, often resulting in a relative increase of warm demanding species and a decreasing number of cold demanding species. The result of this change may cause habitat loss and disastrous extinction in those alpine environments. An alpine flower has been serving as source of genetic material for ornamental flower industry. Improvement of commercial cultivars through interspecific hybridization with wild relatives has also been the major way forward for transfer of important traits such as disease resistance. However, as a result of global warming, heat stress has become the major challenge for alpine ecosystem that is estimated to be 3% of terrestrial habitats. Here, I review literature regarding impacts of climate change on alpine flowers by using specific commercially important flowers as an example: Dianthus, Primula and Rhododendron. Then, I discuss ways to enhance Rhododendron breeding efficiency for heat stress using invitro growth conditions. Finally, I summarize with indicating future areas of research that should be undertaken.
A study of multi-model identification and fusion control algorithms for rotary limit devices
Authors: Liu Renrui , Huang Xiaoping , Dai Tuanjie
Published: October 2024

In order to improve the control performance of rotating limit device on the motion range of rotating parts of mechanical equipment, the multi model identification and fusion control algorithm of rotating limit device is studied. The angle sensor and speed sensor are used to collect the rotation angle and speed of rotating machinery equipment. Taking the collected data as the input of multiple support vector machines, the D-S evidence theory is selected to fuse the status of rotating machinery equipment identified by multiple models and determine the final status of rotating machinery equipment. Set the deviation between the target angle and the actual angle of the rotating mechanical equipment as the input of the PID controller. The PID controller determines the limit control quantity of the rotating limit device to the rotating machinery equipment, and realizes the rotating limit control of the rotating machinery equipment. The rotary table is selected as the mechanical equipment controlled by the rotary limit device. The experimental results show that the rotary limit device can control the rotation of the rotary table in the ideal angle range, achieve smooth tracking of the rotation angular velocity, and has excellent control performance.
From human-centered to social-centered artificial intelligence: Assessing ChatGPT's impact through disruptive events
Authors: Wang Skyler , Cooper Ned , Eby Margaret
Published: October 2024

Large language models (LLMs) and dialogue agents represent a significant shift in artificial intelligence (AI) research, particularly with the recent release of the GPT family of models. ChatGPT's generative capabilities and versatility across technical and creative domains led to its widespread adoption, marking a departure from more limited deployments of previous AI systems. While society grapples with the emerging cultural impacts of this new societal-scale technology, critiques of ChatGPT's impact within machine learning research communities have coalesced around its performance or other conventional safety evaluations relating to bias, toxicity, and “hallucination.” We argue that these critiques draw heavily on a particular conceptualization of the “human-centered” framework, which tends to cast atomized individuals as the key recipients of technology's benefits and detriments. In this article, we direct attention to another dimension of LLMs and dialogue agents’ impact: their effects on social groups, institutions, and accompanying norms and practices. By analyzing ChatGPT's social impact through a social-centered framework, we challenge individualistic approaches in AI development and contribute to ongoing debates around the ethical and responsible deployment of AI systems. We hope this effort will call attention to more comprehensive and longitudinal evaluation tools (e.g., including more ethnographic analyses and participatory approaches) and compel technologists to complement human-centered thinking with social-centered approaches.
Evaluation of urinary volatile organic compounds as a novel metabolomic biomarker to assess chronic kidney disease progression
Authors: Wu Henry H. L. , Possell Malcolm , Nguyen Long The , Peng Wenbo , Pollock Carol A. , Saad Sonia
Published: October 2024

Background

There is a need to develop accurate and reliable non-invasive methods to evaluate chronic kidney disease (CKD) status and assess disease progression. Given it is recognized that dysregulation in metabolic pathways occur from early CKD, there is a basis in utilizing metabolomic biomarkers to monitor CKD progression. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), a form of metabolomic biomarker, are gaseous products of metabolic processes in organisms which are typically released with greater abundance in disease conditions when there is dysregulation in metabolism. How urinary VOCs reflect the abnormal metabolic profile of patients with CKD status is unknown. Our study aimed to explore this.

Methods

Individuals aged 18–75 years undergoing kidney biopsy were included. Pre-biopsy urine samples were collected. All biopsy samples had an interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) grade scored by standardized assessment. Urine supernatant was extracted from residue and sampled for stir bar sorptive extraction followed by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Post-processing of GC-MS data separated complex mixtures of VOCs based on their volatility and polarity. Mass-to-charge ratios and fragment patterns were measured for individual VOCs identification and quantification. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was performed to assess the ability of urinary VOCs in discriminating between IFTA 0 (‘no or minimal IFTA’ i.e. <10%, IFTA), IFTA 1 (‘mild IFTA’ i.e. 10–25% IFTA) and IFTA ≥ 2 (‘moderate or severe IFTA’ i.e. >25% IFTA). Linear regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate, diabetes mellitus (DM) status, and albuminuria was conducted to determine significantly regulated urinary VOCs amongst the groups.

Results

64 study participants (22 individuals IFTA 0, 15 individuals IFTA 1, 27 individuals IFTA ≥ 2) were included. There were 34 VOCs identified from GC-MS which were statistically associated with correct classification between the IFTA groups, and LDA demonstrated individuals with IFTA 0, IFTA 1 and IFTA ≥ 2 could be significantly separated by their urinary VOCs profile (p < 0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis reported 4 VOCs significantly upregulated in the IFTA 1 compared to the IFTA 0 group, and 2 VOCs significantly upregulated in the IFTA ≥ 2 compared to the IFTA 1 group (p < 0.05). Significantly upregulated urinary VOCs belonged to one of four functional groups - aldehydes, ketones, hydrocarbons, or alcohols.

Conclusions

We report novel links between urinary VOCs and tubulointerstitial histopathology. Our findings suggest the application of urinary VOCs as a metabolomic biomarker may have a useful clinical role to non-invasively assess CKD status during disease progression.
Microcavity-assisted cloning (MAC) of hard-to-clone HepG2 cell lines: cloning made easy
Authors: Mlakar Vid , Lesne Laurence , Vossio Stefania , Dupanloup Isabelle , Gloor Yvonne , Moreau Dimitri , Ansari Marc
Published: October 2024

Cloning is a key molecular biology procedure for obtaining a genetically homogenous population of organisms or cell lines. It requires the expansion of new cell populations starting from single genetically modified cells. Despite the technical progress, cloning of many cell lines remains difficult. Cloning often fails either due to the strenuous conditions associated with manipulating cells or because many cells don’t tolerate a single-cell state. Here we describe a new cloning method utilizing low adhesion microcavity plates. This new technique, named microcavity-assisted cloning (MAC) was developed to clone difficult-to-clone HepG2 cells. The clones were produced following CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of the GSTA1 gene by a random distribution of 200, 400, and 800 cells into 550 microcavities of a 24-well low adhesion plate originally designed for the culture of spheroids. The knockout of GSTA1 was verified at the protein level using Western blotting. The advantages of the MAC method are its low cost, ease of the procedure, and the possibility of scaling up the throughput and automatization.
CD81-guided heterologous EVs present heterogeneous interactions with breast cancer cells
Authors: Gurrieri Elena , Carradori Giulia , Roccuzzo Michela , Pancher Michael , Peroni Daniele , Belli Romina , Trevisan Caterina , Notarangelo Michela , Huang Wen-Qiu , Carreira Agata S. A. , Quattrone Alessandro , Jenster Guido , Hagen Timo L. M. Ten , D’Agostino Vito Giuseppe
Published: October 2024

Background

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-secreted particles conceived as natural vehicles for intercellular communication. The capacity to entrap heterogeneous molecular cargoes and target specific cell populations through EV functionalization promises advancements in biomedical applications. However, the efficiency of the obtained EVs, the contribution of cell-exposed receptors to EV interactions, and the predictability of functional cargo release with potential sharing of high molecular weight recombinant mRNAs are crucial for advancing heterologous EVs in targeted therapy applications.

Methods

In this work, we selected the popular EV marker CD81 as a transmembrane guide for fusion proteins with a C-terminal GFP reporter encompassing or not Trastuzumab light chains targeting the HER2 receptor. We performed high-content imaging analyses to track EV-cell interactions, including isogenic breast cancer cells with manipulated HER2 expression. We validated the functional cargo delivery of recombinant EVs carrying doxorubicin upon EV-donor cell treatment. Then, we performed an in vivo study using JIMT-1 cells commonly used as HER2-refractory, trastuzumab-resistant model to detect a more than 2000 nt length recombinant mRNA in engrafted tumors.

Results

Fusion proteins participated in vesicular trafficking dynamics and accumulated on secreted EVs according to their expression levels in HEK293T cells. Despite the presence of GFP, secreted EV populations retained a HER2 receptor-binding capacity and were used to track EV-cell interactions. In time-frames where the global EV distribution did not change between HER2-positive (SK-BR-3) or -negative (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cell lines, the HER2 exposure in isogenic cells remarkably affected the tropism of heterologous EVs, demonstrating the specificity of antiHER2 EVs representing about 20% of secreted bulk vesicles. The specific interaction strongly correlated with improved cell-killing activity of doxorubicin-EVs in MDA-MB-231 ectopically expressing HER2 and reduced toxicity in SK-BR-3 with a knocked-out HER2 receptor, overcoming the effects of the free drug. Interestingly, the fusion protein-corresponding transcripts present as full-length mRNAs in recombinant EVs could reach orthotopic breast tumors in JIMT-1-xenografted mice, improving our sensitivity in detecting penetrant cargoes in tissue biopsies.

Conclusions

This study highlights the quantitative aspects underlying the creation of a platform for secreted heterologous EVs and shows the limits of single receptor-ligand interactions behind EV-cell engagement mechanisms, which now become the pivotal step to predict functional tropism and design new generations of EV-based nanovehicles.
Evaluation of Loopamp Leishmania detection kit for the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ethiopia
Authors: Taye Behailu , Melkamu Roma , Tajebe Fitsumbrhan , Ibarra-Meneses Ana Victoria , Adane Desalegn , Atnafu Saba , Adem Mohammed , Adane Gashaw , Kassa Mekibib , Asres Mezgebu Silamsaw , van Griensven Johan , van Henten Saskia , Pareyn Myrthe
Published: October 2024

Background

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Ethiopia and some parts of Kenya is predominantly caused by Leishmania aethiopica. While skin-slit (SS) microscopy is routinely used for CL diagnosis, more sensitive molecular tests are available. The Loopamp™ Leishmania detection kit (Loopamp) is a robust loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay with the potential for implementation in primary healthcare facilities. In this study, we comparatively assessed the diagnostic accuracy of four methods currently used to diagnose CL: Loopamp, kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) PCR, spliced leader RNA (SL-RNA) PCR and SS microscopy.

Methods

A study on 122 stored tape disc samples of suspected CL patients was conducted in Gondar, northwestern Ethiopia. Routine SS microscopy results were obtained from all patients. Total nucleic acids were extracted from the tapes and subjected to PCR testing targeting kDNA and SL-RNA, and Loopamp. Diagnostic accuracy was calculated with SS microscopy as a reference test. The limit of detection (LoD) of Loopamp and kDNA PCR were determined for cultured L. aethiopica and Leishmania donovani.

Results

Of the 122 patients, 64 (52.5%) were identified as CL cases based on SS microscopy. Although the PCR tests showed a sensitivity of 95.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 91.6–99.1), Loopamp only had 48.4% (95% CI 39.6–57.3) sensitivity and 87.9% (95% CI 82.1–93.7) specificity. The LoD of Loopamp for L. donovani was 100-fold lower (20 fg/µl) than that for L. aethiopica (2 pg/µl).

Conclusions

The Loopamp™ Leishmania detection kit is not suitable for the diagnosis of CL in Ethiopia, presumably due to a primer mismatch with the L. aethiopica 18S rRNA target. Further research is needed to develop a simple and sensitive point-of-care test that allows the decentralization of CL diagnosis in Ethiopia.

Graphical Abstract
English-medium instruction as an internationalisation strategy at a second-tier Chinese University: instructors’ challenges and their shaping factors
Authors: Zheng Qun , Choi Tae-Hee
Published: October 2024

Joining the tide of global internationalisation of higher education, Chinese universities have embraced English-medium instruction (EMI) as a strategic response. The adoption of EMI is to comply with government mandates and for institutional survival, as it will increase the international ranking and bring in more income from international students. The switch of medium of instruction and pedagogical issues arising therefrom have drawn considerable scholarly attention. However, little attention has been paid to the implementation of EMI in second- or mid-tier universities, and, particularly, to the attendant pedagogical issues. In comparison to top-tier universities, second-tier universities’ instructors must deal with amplified tensions created between the pedagogical needs and institutional requirements brought by the EMI policy. This study seeks to shed light on the challenges, and their contributing factors, confronted by educators in these universities. Employing a language policy analysis framework informed by policy enactment theory, the research draws upon an examination of both national and institutional policy documents, as well as interviews conducted with nine educators and administrative leaders across three distinct faculties. The investigation reveals that the emergent challenges in implementing EMI stem from several sources, including lax admission standards for international students and the divergent backgrounds and requirements of local versus international student populations. These findings underscore the imperative for a thorough appraisal of contextual nuances before the formulation and implementation of language-in-education policies. This is particularly salient in second-tier academic institutions, which often grapple with limited resources and may not possess the same level of preparedness to adapt their systems as swiftly as their more resourced counterparts.
Expect the unexpected: fulminant myocardial cytotoxic Injury from Trabectedin
Authors: Tsay Annie J. , Satish Mohan , Corley Elizabeth , Ezema Ashley , DeJesus Neisha , Wisely Stephen , McAleer Eileen , Zhang Chen , Yuan Su , Homan Edwin , Liu Jennifer E. , Weinsaft Jonathan W. , D’Angelo Sandra , Feldman Stephanie A. , Chan Angel T.
Published: October 2024

Background

Trabectedin (Tbt) is an alkylating agent prescribed for soft tissue sarcomas after treatment failure of first line agents. While cardiomyopathy can occur with Tbt treatment after anthracycline exposure, Tbt-induced fulminant myocardial cytotoxic injury in the setting of other systemic cytotoxicity associated with Tbt has not been reported.

Case presentation

51-year-old female with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, metastatic leiomyosarcoma with progression of disease despite several lines of chemotherapy including doxorubicin-based therapy was started on Trabectedin (Tbt) 5 days prior to presentation with symptoms of fever, myalgias, arthralgias, and palpitations. She was admitted for management of rhabdomyolysis, acute kidney and liver injuries which were reportedly known to be associated with Tbt treatment. A baseline electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed sinus tachycardia with non-specific T-wave changes, and a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) was unremarkable. However, on day 3 of hospitalization, an episode of asymptomatic sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia with a heart rate of 150 beats per minute was captured on telemetry. A 12-lead ECG revealed new septal T-wave inversions. Labs revealed rising hs-TnI levels (peak at 37,933ng/L) and serum markers suggested multi-organ failure. Steroids were initiated given its role in treating multi-organ Tbt-induced toxicity. A cardiac MRI to rule out myocarditis and left heart catheterization to rule out obstructive coronary artery disease were forgone due to acute renal failure. A right heart catheterization with an endomyocardial biopsy was performed revealing normal cardiac filling pressures and indices. Pathology showed cytoplasmic vacuoles indicating drug-induced myocardial cytotoxicity. Serial echocardiograms revealed preserved biventricular function. The patient’s clinical condition deteriorated with multi-organ failure despite maximal supportive care in the intensive care unit. She ultimately passed away, and an autopsy was declined.

Conclusion

This is the first reported case of fulminant myocardial injury after initiation of Tbt with histologic evidence of drug-induced myocardial cytotoxicity. While it is unclear if anthracyclines potentiate Tbt cytotoxic injury as in this case, it is plausible; and that Tbt-induced cardiotoxicity ranges from subclinical to fulminant. Given increasing use of Tbt in refractory high-grade sarcomas, raising awareness of its toxicity profile will improve early detection and outcomes.
Young females experience higher body image dissatisfaction associated with a high social media use: a cross-sectional study in Omani university students
Authors: Al Riyami Yahya Salim , Al Senani Intisar Hamood , Al Brashdi Abdallah Salim , Al Balushi Nazar Ismail , Almarabheh Amer Jebril , Ahmed Jamil
Published: October 2024

Background

This study aimed to assess body image dissatisfaction in Omani university students across gender and age and explore the potential impact of social media use on body image dissatisfaction. This cross-sectional online survey was responded by 482 Omani university students. The survey included socio-demographic data, a Social Media Activity Questionnaire, and a Body Dissatisfaction Scale. The participants were approached through promotion of the study on locally famous social media accounts.

Results

The prevalence of body image dissatisfaction was higher in females compared to males (37.7% and 24%, respectively). Additionally, 53.6% of participants with a high body mass index reported high levels of body image dissatisfaction, while underweight participants reported the lowest body image dissatisfaction (21.3%). High social media use showed a significant correlation with body image dissatisfaction (p < 0.001); however, age did not exhibit a significant association with body image dissatisfaction. Concerns related to being overweight and not having clear skin were the most common body features associated with body image issues.

Conclusion

Higher levels of body image dissatisfaction were found with high social media use. The study also identified a higher prevalence of body image dissatisfaction in females compared to males, with no significant differences across age groups.
Prognostic nutritional index as a predictor of mortality among patients admitted to ICU with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Abdel-Hamid Hossam Eldin Mohamed
Published: October 2024

Background

The PNI is a metric that may assess the combined impact of the inflammatory process and nutritional condition. It may be beneficial in evaluating the nutritional state of patients with AECOPD.

In recent years, it has also been utilized for prognostic assessment of cases admitted to the critical care unit.

Aim of the work

The objective of the research was to assess the relationship between PNI and the prognosis for ICU patients with AECOPD.

Patients and methods

This was a prospective cross-sectional observational research carried out in the RICU of Ain Shams University Hospitals from April 2023 to March 2024. The study included 161 AECOPD patients who were admitted to RICU. All patients underwent demographic data collection, special habits and comorbid conditions evaluations, and hematological indices with laboratory markers and ABG. ICU and hospital stay duration, SOFA score, and SAPS II were also documented. The PNI value was computed using the following equation: the formula to calculate the value is 10 times the serum albumin concentration in grams per deciliter plus 0.005 times the total lymphocyte count in cubic millimeters. The main measure of interest was the death rate within 30 days for all causes. Additional measures were the duration of stay in the ICU, the duration of hospitalization, and the rate of MV.

Results

There was a significant relationship between PNI and type of respiratory failure, mechanical ventilation, fate, hypertension, and diabetes. One hundred five (65.2%) of the patients were extubated and discharged, while 56 (34.8%) of them died. The study also noted a significant positive relationship among PNI and HCT, lymphocytic %, HB, and albumin. However, there was a significant negative relationship between PNI and age, RDW, WBC, neutrophil count, neutrophil %, NLR, CRP, SAPSII, and SOFA. The SAPS II score (with SAPS II mortality) had greater AUROC in predicting mortality than PNI, NLR, and SOFA. The optimal cut-off value for PNI in this study was ≤ 29 with sensitivity 82.14% and specificity 56.19%.

Conclusion

The study showed that PNI can be a useful biomarker for AECOPD. PNI with SAPS II scores on admission to ICU were closely correlated to adverse outcomes.
Prediction of shale bedding-parallel crack density based on the SH-SH wave
Authors: Niu Guohua , Zhang Feng , Dai Fucai , Di Bangrang , Li Xiangyang , Cao Laisheng
Published: October 2024

Bedding-parallel cracks play a key role in hydrocarbon accumulation and offer potential benefits for hydraulic fracturing. The prediction of bedding-parallel crack density (BCD) from seismic data is difficult because the development of bedding-parallel cracks has limited effects on the velocities and density of subsurface formations. Well logs from the Q shale formation (K2qn) in the Songliao Basin, northeast China, reveal that the target formations represent extremely strong seismic anisotropy (>40%), and the magnitude of S-wave anisotropy correlates strongly with the density of bedding-parallel cracks, reaching up to 2500 m−1. We develop a novel BCD prediction method using the reflected seismic shear wave. The S-wave anisotropy parameter [Formula: see text] is first inverted from the SH-SH wave by using a stepwise inversion method based on a new S-wave reflection coefficient approximation. Furthermore, the highly correlated rock-physics relationship between BCD and the anisotropy parameter [Formula: see text] facilitates accurate BCD estimation. Field data application to a real seismic shear wave data set acquired from the study area demonstrates the viability of our method. This approach provides a valuable tool for the characterization of “sweet spots” of shale-oil reservoir formations.
Physical health challenges faced by elders with severe mental illness: population-based retrospective cohort study
Authors: Chang Chin-Kuo , Hayes Richard D. , Broadbent Matthew , Shetty Hitesh , Su Yu-Ping , Meesters Paul D. , Stewart Robert
Published: October 2024

Background

Severe mental illness (SMI), which includes schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, has profound health impacts, even in the elderly.

Aims

To evaluate relative risk of hospital admission and length of hospital stay for physical illness in elders with SMI.

Method

To construct a population-based retrospective cohort observed from April 2007 to March 2016, data from a case registry with full but de-identified electronic health records were retrieved for patients of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, the single secondary mental healthcare service provider in south-east London. We compared participants with SMI aged >60 years old with the general population of the same age and residing in the same areas through data linkage by age-, sex- and fiscal-year-standardised admission ratios (SARs) for primary diagnoses at hospital discharge. Furthermore, we compared the duration of hospital stay with an age-, sex- and cause-of-admission-matched random group by linear regression for major causes of admission.

Results

In total, records for 4175 older people with SMI were obtained, relating to 10 342 admission episodes, showing an overall SAR for all physical illnesses of 5.15 (95% CI: 5.05, 5.25). Among the top causes of admission, SARs ranged from 3.87 for circulatory system disorders (ICD-10 codes: I00–I99) to 6.99 for genitourinary system or urinary conditions (N00–N39). Specifically, the diagnostic group of ‘symptoms, signs and findings, not elsewhere classified’ (R00–R99) had an elevated SAR of 6.56 (95% CI: 6.22, 6.90). Elders with SMI also had significantly longer hospital stays than their counterparts in the general population, especially for digestive system illnesses (K00–K93), after adjusting for confounding.

Conclusions

Poorer overall physical health and specific patterns were identified in elders with SMI.
New Challenges: Use and Interpretation of Radius Bone Mineral Density
Authors: Cauley Jane A , Lui Li-Yung , LeBoff Meryl S , Watts Nelson B
Published: October 2024

Context

It is unknown if isolated low bone mineral density (BMD) “osteoporosis” at the radius is associated with increased fracture risk, not only at the wrist but elsewhere, and whether it reflects more generalized skeletal fragility.

Objective

This work aimed to review the association of radius BMD and fracture risk, the epidemiology of wrist fractures, isolated osteoporosis at the radius, and the concordance between radial BMD and femoral neck BMD.

Methods

We completed a narrative literature review on radius BMD and fracture risk and current recommendations for measurement of radial BMD. We updated results of radial BMD and fracture results from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures over 20 years and examined the concordance of BMD at the distal and proximal radius with femoral neck BMD T scores.

Results

Radius BMD is a robust predictor of all types of fractures including hip and wrist but there is insufficient evidence to suggest that radius BMD predicts wrist fractures better than fractures at other sites. Fractures of the wrist tend to occur in younger, healthier women compared with hip and spine fractures. Nevertheless, wrist fractures are associated with an increased risk of future fractures and represent a missed opportunity for intervention. On a population level, the discordance between radius BMD and femoral neck BMD is small. But women with isolated osteoporosis at the radius had biochemical and microarchitecture deterioration that were similar to women with hip osteoporosis.

Conclusion

Future research should address the clinical implications of isolated osteoporosis at the radius and whether treatment is warranted.
Μουσικές του κόσμου στην εκπαίδευση
Authors: Παπαγεωργίου Παναγιώτα
Published: October 2024

Η παρούσα διατριβή διερευνά μέσα από μια εθνομουσικολογική-εθνογραφική προσέγγιση τις εμπειρίες παιδιών Ε΄ και ΣΤ΄ τάξης δύο δημοτικών σχολείων από ένα πρόγραμμα με Μουσικές του Κόσμου, το οποίο καταρτίστηκε με εθνομουσικολογικά κριτήρια και διδάχθηκε στα παιδιά από την ερευνήτρια-δασκάλα. Στόχος είναι η ανάδειξη των τρόπων με τους οποίους η ενασχόληση των παιδιών με τις μουσικές του προγράμματος –μια ενασχόληση που περιελάμβανε τόσο τη συμμετοχή τους σε δραστηριότητες μουσικής επιτέλεσης όσο και τη γνωριμία τους με το ιστορικό/πολιτισμικό πλαίσιο της κάθε μουσικής– βιώθηκε και αξιολογήθηκε από αυτά και ενδεχομένως τα επηρέασε σε γνωστικό, μουσικό, διαπροσωπικό-κοινωνικό ή άλλο επίπεδο. Οι απόψεις, οι σκέψεις, τα συναισθήματα και οι δράσεις των παιδιών αποτελούν κεντρικό αντικείμενο της διερεύνησης. Το εθνογραφικό υλικό, που συγκεντρώθηκε μεταξύ Οκτωβρίου του 2016 και Ιουνίου του 2017, προέρχεται από τη συμμετοχική παρατήρηση, από τις συνεντεύξεις/συζητήσεις με τα παιδιά και από τα πολυάριθμα γραπτά τους. Στο κείμενο της διατριβής η πυκνή αφήγηση της επιτόπιας έρευνας στα δύο σχολεία φωτίζει την καθημερινότητα και το περιεχόμενο των μαθημάτων, τις προσωπικότητες των παιδιών και τις σχέσεις μεταξύ όλων των εμπλεκομένων. Η ερμηνεία του εθνογραφικού υλικού αναπτύσσεται σε τρεις θεματικές, που αποκαλύπτουν τις διάφορες πτυχές της εμπειρίας των παιδιών με τις Μουσικές του Κόσμου. Η θεματική «Ανακάλυψη, γνώση, επίγνωση» συζητά τα όσα ανακάλυψαν και κατάλαβαν τα παιδιά για τη μουσική και τις άλλες κουλτούρες, αναδεικνύοντας τους τρόπους με τους οποίους οι ανακαλύψεις και οι κατανοήσεις αυτές τα οδήγησαν στο να συνειδητοποιήσουν τις προκαταλήψεις τους, να δουν με νέους τρόπους τον εαυτό τους και τον κόσμο και να αναθεωρήσουν πολλές πρότερες απόψεις τους. Η θεματική «Μουσικές συγκινήσεις» εξετάζει τα συναισθήματα που ένιωσαν τα παιδιά με αφορμή τα τραγούδια του προγράμματος, το πώς βίωσαν την ενσώματη και ενεργητική εμπλοκή τους με αυτά μέσα από ποικίλες δραστηριότητες επιτέλεσης, καθώς και το πώς η όλη εμπειρία κινητοποίησε την επιθυμία τους να γνωρίσουν κι άλλες μουσικές κουλτούρες του κόσμου. Τέλος, η θεματική «Σχέσεις και συνδέσεις» επικεντρώνεται στην ενωτική επίδραση που είχε μεταξύ των παιδιών η από κοινού συμμετοχή τους στο πρόγραμμα, στην αίσθηση σύνδεσης που βίωσαν με τους ανθρώπους από άλλες κουλτούρες, καθώς και στη δυνατή σχέση που ανέπτυξαν με την ερευνήτρια-δασκάλα. Η έρευνα δείχνει ότι η εμπλοκή με τις Μουσικές του Κόσμου, όταν είναι εμποτισμένη με τις εθνομουσικολογικές αξίες, αποτελεί μια συνάντηση με τον Άλλον, που μπορεί να έχει ισχυρότατη μετασχηματιστική επίδραση στα παιδιά.
Solving sampling and optimization problems via Tamed Langevin MCMC algorithms in the presence of super-linearities
Authors: Λύτρας Ιωσήφ
Published: October 2024

Στην παρούσα διατριβή, διερευνάται το πρόβλημα της δειγματοληψίας από κατανομές με υπερ-γραμμικά αυξανόμενο λογαριθμικό βαθμωτό και εξετάζονται οι εφαρμογές στα συναφή προβλήματα βελτιστοποίησης. Αυτή η πρόκληση αντιμετωπίζεται σε διάφορα σενάρια μέσω ρητών αριθμητικών σχημάτων που βασίζονται στην έννοια της ημέρωσης, μιας τεχνικής που χρησιμοποιείται για την αντιμετώπιση των ζητημάτων που προκαλούν οι συντελεστές με υπερ-γραμμική αύξηση. Το πρώτο μέρος της διατριβής εστιάζει σε υποθέσεις που προκύπτουν από εφαρμογές νευρωνικών δικτύων, όπως η μη-κυρτότητα και η τοπική Lipschitz συνέχεια του λογαριθμικού βαθμωτού. Υπό αυτές τις συνθήκες, παράγονται ρητά μη-ασυμπτωτικά όρια σε αποστάσεις Wasserstein για το πρόβλημα μη-κυρτής δειγματοληψίας, χρησιμοποιώντας μια νέα ημερωμένη παραλλαγή του κλασικού αλγορίθμου Στοχαστικής Βαθμίδας Langevin (SGLD). Αυτά τα αποτελέσματα εφαρμόζονται για τον έλεγχο του προβλήματος υπερβάλλουσας απώλειας βελτιστοποίησης, δείχνοντας ότι ο νέος αλγόριθμος δειγματοληψίας μπορεί επίσης να λειτουργήσει ως βελτιστοποιητής. Στο δεύτερο μέρος της διατριβής, χρησιμοποιείται μια νέα ημερωμένη παραλλαγή του Μη-Προσαρμοσμένου Αλγορίθμου Langevin (ULA) για την επίλυση του προβλήματος δειγματοληψίας και βελτιστοποίησης, όταν το μέτρο στόχος ικανοποιεί μια ισοπεριμετρική ανισότητα και έχει τοπική Lipschitz συνέχεια στο λογαριθμικό βαθμωτό. Παρέχονται ρητά μη-ασυμπτωτικά αποτελέσματα για το πρόβλημα δειγματοληψίας με όρους αποστάσεων 2-Wasserstein, ολικής μεταβολής και σχετικής εντροπίας, ενώ επίσης προσφέρονται μη-ασυμπτωτικά όρια για το σχετικό πρόβλημα βελτιστοποίησης υπερβάλλουσας απώλειας. Παρουσιάζεται ένα νέο θεωρητικό πλαίσιο, που επιτρέπει την περαιτέρω διερεύνηση της εξάρτησης της ισοπεριμετρικής σταθεράς από βασικές παραμέτρους. Στο τελευταίο μέρος της διατριβής, εξετάζονται δύο νέες ημερωμένες παραλλαγές του Κινητικού Langevin Monte Carlo στον ισχυρά κυρτό και τοπικά Lipschitz βαθμωτό χώρο. Παράγονται μη-ασυμπτωτικά όρια στην απόσταση 2-Wasserstein μεταξύ των διαδικασιών που δημιουργούνται από τους αλγόριθμούς μας και του μέτρου στόχου, και αυτά τα όρια χρησιμοποιούνται αργότερα για τον έλεγχο του αντίστοιχου προβλήματος υπερβάλλουσας απώλειας βελτιστοποίησης.
Kraków doby autonomii z perspektywy galicyjskiej prowincji. Jasło a „święte miasto Polaków”
Authors: Laskowski Andrzej
Published: October 2024

The text, based on historical sources from the period in question, is an attempt at answering the question about the role played by Krakow in the life of Jasło, a medium-size city (the eighth largest city in Western Galicia in terms of population in 1910). The analysis carried out indicates that Krakow’s most important function was that of the capital of the nation, a place that celebrated national anniversaries and kept the memorabilia that were most important to Poles (monuments, works of art, and archival materials). Other important roles were that of an expert, which involved sharing professional knowledge in many fields and on various level of specialization, as well as the activity of numerous grass-root organizations and societies, including scientific and charity ones. At the same time, from the perspective of province, Krakow of that period appeared as a weak administration centre where key decisions for Galicia were not made (instead, they were made in Lwów or Vienna). The economic importance of Krakow was also low, as only some institutions there (e.g., the Chamber of Commerce and Industry) occasionally sought to activate the province. These observations turn out to conform to the conclusions formulated by Professor Jacek Purchla in his monumental work Matecznik Polski [Polish stronghold] published in 1992.
Towarzystwo Miłośników Historii i Zabytków Krakowa w latach 1896-2023 wobec wyzwań rozwojowych miasta
Authors: Hołuj Dominika
Published: October 2024

The chapter presents an analysis of the activities of the first scientific community organization that focused on the history, monuments, and heritage of Krakow – the Society of Friends of History and Monuments of Krakow. The background for the study is the catalogue of the functions of community organizations, in particular those related to production, services, guarding, and advocacy. The impact of such organizations on the building of heritage resiliency, creating of inter-sectoral links, and mobilization of capitals is described. The results depict the broad range of roles assumed by the Society in fulfilling its statutory objectives: the roles of an initiator, participant, consultant, and (co-)implementer of actions for the benefit of Krakow’s heritage. The analysis demonstrated the ability to adjust the scope and forms of activity to the changing political, economic, and social conditions, as well as the inexorable attitude towards the identified plans and actions that the Society considered to be (potentially) dangerous to the preservation of the heritage and its cultural values, as well as towards actions found to be harming to the city’s sustainable development in the long run.
Kampus Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie a rozwój miasta po 1945 r.
Authors: Wiśniewski Michał
Published: October 2024

The text discusses the impact of the actions undertaken by the Krakow University of Economics on the urban and architectural development of Krakow after World War II. Until 1910, the area at 27 Rakowicka Street was outside of the city’s boundaries. In 1952, when the buildings of the former Prince Aleksander Lubormirski Foundation’s Shelter were taken over by the Higher School of Economics, the strategic changes associated with Krakow’s development brought the place to the heart of the quickly growing metropolis. The response to the new situation and the fast growth of the school itself was a series of investment projects carried out in several stages from the mid-1950s. Cooperation with Krakow’s important architects was an important element of these efforts, as it allowed the construction of buildings with above-standard design solutions at that time. The text mentions the most influential persons who prepared designs for the school and shows the impact of successive construction projects on the quickly changing spatial and functional conditions in the area to the east of Krakow’s train station.
Krakowskie realizacje architektoniczne w ogólnopolskich edycjach konkursu „Życie w architekturze”
Authors: Kępa Lucyna
Published: October 2024

One of the key elements of establishing a canon of architecture is the verdict of a professional jury in a contest, whether for the best design or for the best completed project. An important part of that process is the contest entitled ‘Life in Architecture’, organized by the Architektura-murator magazine, for the best completed architectural projects. The nine editions of the contest conducted to date covered buildings erected in 1989-2019. The editions to date were either local or nation-wide. The text presents the results of the contest in relation to architectural projects in Krakow and analyses their participation in four nation-wide editions.
A Machine Learning Framework for Assessing Experts’ Decision Quality
Authors: Dong Wanxue , Saar-Tsechansky Maytal , Geva Tomer
Published: October 2024

Expert workers make non-trivial decisions with significant implications. Experts’ decision accuracy is, thus, a fundamental aspect of their judgment quality, key to both management and consumers of experts’ services. Yet, in many important settings, transparency in experts’ decision quality is rarely possible because ground truth data for evaluating the experts’ decisions is costly and available only for a limited set of decisions. Furthermore, different experts typically handle exclusive sets of decisions, and thus, prior solutions that rely on the aggregation of multiple experts’ decisions for the same instance are inapplicable. We first formulate the problem of estimating experts’ decision accuracy in this setting and then develop a machine–learning–based framework to address it. Our method effectively leverages both abundant historical data on workers’ past decisions and scarce decision instances with ground truth labels. Using both semi-synthetic data based on publicly available data sets and purposefully compiled data sets on real workers’ decisions, we conduct extensive empirical evaluations of our method’s performance relative to alternatives. The results show that our approach is superior to existing alternatives across diverse settings, including settings that involve different data domains, experts’ qualities, and amounts of ground truth data. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to posit and address the problem of estimating experts’ decision accuracies from historical data with scarce ground truth, and it is the first to offer comprehensive results for this problem setting, establishing the performances that can be achieved across settings as well as the state-of-the-art performance on which future work can build.

This paper was accepted by Anindya Ghose, information systems.

Funding: T. Geva acknowledges research grants from the Jeremy Coller Foundation and from the Henry Crown Institute for Business Research.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.03357 .
Near-Optimal Adaptive Policies for Serving Stochastically Departing Customers
Authors: Segev Danny
Published: October 2024

In, “Near-Optimal Adaptive Policies for Serving Stochastically Departing Customers,” Segev considers a multistage stochastic optimization problem originally introduced by Cygan et al. [Cygan M, Englert M, Gupta A, Mucha M, Sankowski P (2013) Catch them if you can: How to serve impatient users. Proc. 4th Innovations Theoretical Comput. Sci. Conf., 485–494], studying how a single server should prioritize stochastically departing customers. In this setting, the objective is to determine an adaptive service policy that maximizes the expected total reward collected along a discrete planning horizon, in the presence of customers who are independently departing between one stage and the next with known stationary probabilities. The paper’s main contribution resides in proposing a quasi-polynomial-time approximation scheme for serving impatient customers. Specifically, letting n be the number of underlying customers, our algorithm identifies in [Formula: see text] time a service policy whose expected reward is within factor [Formula: see text] of the optimal adaptive reward. The method for deriving this approximation scheme synthesizes various stochastic analyses in order to investigate how the adaptive optimum is affected by alterations to several instance parameters, including the reward values, the departure probabilities, and the collection of customers itself.
The Family Environment where one Member of the Family is Receiving Psychiatric Care :
A Comparative Group Study
Authors: Um Mi Sa
Published: October 2024

This study designed to identify the stressors and coping methods of Patienfs family during the psychiatric treatment.123 psychiatric patienfs family were selected from family who have th patients in psychiatric ward, and out-patient depart ment of psychiatry at 8 university hospital in Seoul.Stressor was measured by Stressor Measurement Scale which developed through the unstructured open questionaires and reliability tested by researcher (Cronbach’s a=.96) Coping methods werer measured by Jalowiec's Scale.Data were collected from Feb. 19 to Mar.10. 1992.The data were analyzed by frequency (percentile score), t-test, F-test, pearson correlation coefficient, and varimax rotation.The result of this study were as follows ；1. The stressors and degree of stress of patienfs family during the psychiatric treatment were as follows :(1) The stressors of the family were classified into 7 factors according to Factor Analysis : occurance of symptoms and relapse, shame of family and future of patient, financial problem and responsibility cf family, side effects of medicine and knowledge deficit of disease, isolation patient and threatening of safety, therapist’s attitude, and separation from family.(2) The degree of stress of patient’s family had the range from 1.44 to 3.56, and total mean was perceived by 2.31.(3) The degree of stress of patienfs family according to the general characteristics of the subject itself and the patiert has the significant difference when it comes to the relation with the patient, hospitalized experiece, and diagnosis cf the parient(P< .05).Also, the degree of the family's stre that is related to stress factors according to the general characteristics of the subject itself had significant difference partially with each factor ； age, education, domestic economic status, relation