bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Qualitative study of practices and attitudes towards physical activity among prediabetic men and women in urban and rural Malawi
Authors: Banda Jethro , Bunn Christopher , Crampin Amelia C , Gill Jason M R , Gray Cindy M
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Given the decline in physical activity levels in Malawi, like other sub-Saharan African countries, and its implication for non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, this study aimed to compare and contrast accounts of practices and attitudes towards physical activity among Malawian men and women (previously identified as having pre-diabetes) in urban and rural settings.

Setting

Two communities: one urban (Lilongwe) and one rural (Karonga).

Participants

14 men (urban N=6, rural N=8) and 18 women (urban N=9, rural N=9) classified as prediabetic during their participation in an NCD survey 3-5 years previously.

Design

A qualitative focus group study (N=4) and thematic analysis, with the ecological model used as a framework to characterise the types of physical activity people engaged in and potential ways to support them to exercise more.

Results

Participants reported undertaking different types of physical activity across all ecological model domains (household, occupational, transport, recreational). Rural participants reported more vigorous physical activities than urban participants, and women reported more household activities than men. Many participants recognised a need to promote physical activity in Malawi, and the health benefits of doing so, including the importance of physical activity in helping them stay strong to maintain physical functioning. Barriers to physical activity included competing priorities (especially urban men), societal expectations around wealth, use of motorised transport, lack of accessible facilities for women, ageing and ill health.

Conclusions

Physical activity is declining in Malawi as working and transport practices change in response to economic development, making promotion of alternative forms of physical activity a public health priority. Multilevel interventions emphasising the personal benefits/value of physical activity for all ages, and routine and group-based exercising, as well as investment in accessible recreational facilities (including for women) and active travel infrastructure should be considered to improve physical activity levels in Malawi.
Current situation and future directions of lung cancer risk factor awareness in Palestine: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Elshami Mohamedraed , Mansour Ahmad , Alser Mohammed , Al-Slaibi Ibrahim , Abukmail Hanan , Shurrab Hanan , Qassem Shahd , Usrof Faten Darwish , Alruzayqat Malik , Aqel Wafa , Nairoukh Roba , Kittaneh Rahaf , Sawafta Nawras , Habes Yousef M N , Ghanim Obaida , Aabed Wesam Almajd , Omar Ola , Daraghmeh Motaz , Aljbour Jomana , Elian Razan E M , Zhor Areen , Habes Haneen , Al-Dadah Mohammed , Abu-El-Noor Nasser , Bottcher Bettina
Published: January 2023

Objectives

To evaluate lung cancer (LC) risk factor awareness among Palestinians and identify factors associated with good awareness.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Settings

Participants were recruited using convenience sampling from hospitals, primary healthcare centres (PHCs) and public spaces located at 11 governorates in Palestine.

Participants

Of 5174 approached, 4817 participants completed the questionnaire (response rate=93.1%). A total of 4762 questionnaires were included: 2742 from the West Bank and Jerusalem (WBJ) and 2020 from the Gaza Strip. Exclusion criteria were working or studying in a health-related field, having a nationality other than Palestinian and visiting oncology departments or clinics at the time of data collection.

Tool

A modified version of the validated LC Awareness Measure was used for data collection.

Primary and secondary outcomes

The primary outcome was LC risk factor awareness level as determined by the number of factors recognised: poor (0–3), fair (4–7) and good (8–10). Secondary outcomes include the recognition of each LC risk factor.

Results

Smoking-related risk factors were more often recognised than other LC risk factors. The most recognised risk factors were ‘smoking cigarettes’ (n=4466, 93.8%) and ‘smoking shisha (waterpipes)’ (n=4337, 91.1%). The least recognised risk factors were ‘having a close relative with LC’ (n=2084, 43.8%) and ‘having had treatment for any cancer in the past’ (n=2368, 49.7%).

A total of 2381 participants (50.0%) displayed good awareness of LC risk factors. Participants from the WBJ and the Gaza Strip had similar likelihood to display good awareness (50.6% vs 49.1%). Being≥45 years, having higher education and monthly income, knowing someone with cancer and visiting hospitals and PHCs seemed to have a positive impact on displaying good awareness.

Conclusion

Half of study participants displayed good awareness of LC risk factors. Educational interventions are warranted to further improve public awareness of LC risk factors, especially those unrelated to smoking.
Implementation and clinical utility of a Computer-Aided Risk Score for Mortality (CARM): a qualitative study
Authors: Dyson Judith , McCrorie Carolyn , Benn Jonathan , Richardson Donald , Marsh Claire , Bowskill Gill , Double Keith , Gallagher Jean , Faisal Muhammad , Mohammed Mohammed A
Published: January 2023

Objectives

The Computer-Aided Risk Score for Mortality (CARM) estimates the risk of in-hospital mortality following acute admission to the hospital by automatically amalgamating physiological measures, blood tests, gender, age and COVID-19 status. Our aims were to implement the score with a small group of practitioners and understand their first-hand experience of interacting with the score in situ.

Design

Pilot implementation evaluation study involving qualitative interviews.

Setting

This study was conducted in one of the two National Health Service hospital trusts in the North of England in which the score was developed.

Participants

Medical, older person and ICU/anaesthetic consultants and specialist grade registrars (n=116) and critical outreach nurses (n=7) were given access to CARM. Nine interviews were conducted in total, with eight doctors and one critical care outreach nurse.

Interventions

Participants were given access to the CARM score, visible after login to the patients’ electronic record, along with information about the development and intended use of the score.

Results

Four themes and 14 subthemes emerged from reflexive thematic analysis: (1) current use (including support or challenge clinical judgement and decision making, communicating risk of mortality and professional curiosity); (2) barriers and facilitators to use (including litigation, resource needs, perception of the evidence base, strengths and limitations), (3) implementation support needs (including roll-out and integration, access, training and education); and (4) recommendations for development (including presentation and functionality and potential additional data). Barriers and facilitators to use, and recommendations for development featured highly across most interviews.

Conclusion

Our in situ evaluation of the pilot implementation of CARM demonstrated its scope in supporting clinical decision making and communicating risk of mortality between clinical colleagues and with service users. It suggested to us barriers to implementation of the score. Our findings may support those seeking to develop, implement or improve the adoption of risk scores.
Environment and chronic disease in rural areas of Heilongjiang, China (ECDRAHC)
Authors: Jiang Yuting , Feng Hongqi , Jiao Zhe , Du Yang , Li Yuanyuan , Liu Xiaona , Tong Simeng , Shao Xinhua , Li BingYun , Sun Hongna , Meng Fangang , Shen Yuncheng , Li Mang , Zhao Qiaoshi , Li Dandan , Gao Lin , Fu Xiaoyan , Li Fuyuan , Cui Silu , Zhang Liwei , Zhang Xiaoye , Liu Lixiang , Cao Yanhong , Sun Yafei , Zhu Chenpeng , Sun Dianjun , Zhang Wei , Gao Yanhui
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Environmental factors such as long-term exposure to cold can increase the risk of chronic diseases. However, few studies have focused on the impact of environmental factors and lifestyle changes on chronic diseases. To fully explore the association between exposure to environmental factors and the prevalent risk of various chronic diseases, we conducted a large cohort study (Environment and Chronic Disease in Rural Areas of Heilongjiang, China (ECDRAHC)). The ECDRAHC collected detailed questionnaire data covering 10 sections, physical measurements and blood and urine samples. In this study, we describe the design and implementation of the cohort study and present the findings for the first 10 000 participants.

Participants

The ECDRAHC study was carried out in rural areas where the annual average temperature is 2.9°C, and aimed to recruit 40 000 participants who are long-term residents aged 35–74 years. The participants will be followed up every 5 years. Currently, ECDRAHC has reached 26.7% (n=10 694) of the targeted population.

Findings to date

A total of 10 694 adults aged 35–74 years were recruited, including 61.7% women. The prevalence of current smokers was 46.8% in men and 35.4% in women. The mean blood pressure was 140.2/89.9 mm Hg and 135.7/85.0 mm Hg in men and women, respectively. The mean body mass index was 24.74 kg/m2in men and 24.65 kg/m2in women, with >7.3% being obese (>30 kg/m2). The main non-communicable diseases found in phase 1 were hypertension, diabetes, hypertriglyceridaemia and metabolic syndrome, with a higher prevalence of 51.0%, 21.6%, 46.8% and 42.6%, respectively.

Future plans

We plan to complete the follow-up for the first phase of the ECDRAHC in 2024. The second and third phase of the cohort will be carried out steadily, as planned. This cohort will be used to investigate the relationship between environmental factors, lifestyle, and genetic and common chronic diseases.
Effects of vitamin D insufficiency on sepsis severity and risk of hospitalisation in emergency department patients: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Vanichkulbodee Alissara , Romposra Muditha , Inboriboon Pholaphat Charles , Trongtrakul Konlawij
Published: January 2023

Objective

To evaluate the association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level on sepsis severity and risk of hospitalisation in emergency department (ED) septic patients when categorised as vitamin D insufficiency according to the level of 25(OH)D<30 ng/mL.

Design

Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting

A 900-bed academic tertiary hospital with an ED residency training programme in Bangkok, Thailand.

Participants

An observational study of 101 ED septic patients aged ≥18 years was conducted between March 2015 and September 2015.

Outcome measures

The level of 25(OH)D was analysed and correlated with sepsis severity assessed by Acute Physiology Age Chronic Health Evaluation-II (APACHE-II) and Mortality in ED Sepsis (MEDS) scores, and the risk of hospitalisation.

Results

One hundred and one patients were enrolled, with an average age of 68±18 years, 56% female, APACHE-II score of 14±6, MEDS score of 8±5 and 25(OH)D level was 19±11 ng/mL. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in our ED septic patients was 87% and the admission rate was 88%. A significant association between 25(OH)D level and sepsis severity scores was found, which was measured by APACHE-II and MEDS scores (−0.29; 95% CI −0.41 to −0.17, p<0.001 and −0.15; 95% CI −0.25 to −0.06, p=0.002, respectively). However, vitamin D insufficiency could not determine hospitalisation (OR=1.42; 95% CI 0.27 to 7.34; p=0.68 and OR=1.65; 95% CI 0.07 to 41.7; p=0.76 when adjusted by baseline covariates).

Conclusions

The vitamin D insufficiency of septic patients in our ED was high and had a significant negative association with sepsis severity. However, vitamin D insufficiency status cannot predict the hospitalisation of septic patients who were admitted to the ED. Further research is needed to investigate the role of vitamin D supplementation in the ED in affecting sepsis severity.

Trial registration number

TCTR20151127001.
Implementation evaluation of an evidence-based emergency nursing framework (HIRAID): study protocol for a step-wedge randomised control trial
Authors: Curtis Kate , Fry Margaret , Kourouche Sarah , Kennedy Belinda , Considine Julie , Alkhouri Hatem , Lam Mary , McPhail Steven M , Aggar Christina , Hughes James , Murphy M , Dinh Michael , Shaban Ramon
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Poor patient assessment results in undetected clinical deterioration. Yet, there is no standardised assessment framework for >29 000 Australian emergency nurses. To reduce clinical variation and increase safety and quality of initial emergency nursing care, the evidence-based emergency nursing framework HIRAID (History, Identify Red flags, Assessment, Interventions, Diagnostics, communication and reassessment) was developed and piloted. This paper presents the rationale and protocol for a multicentre clinical trial of HIRAID.

Methods and analysis

Using an effectiveness-implementation hybrid design, the study incorporates a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial of HIRAID at 31 emergency departments (EDs) in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. The primary outcomes are incidence of inpatient deterioration related to ED care, time to analgesia, patient satisfaction and medical satisfaction with nursing clinical handover (effectiveness). Strategies that optimise HIRAID uptake (implementation) and implementation fidelity will be determined to assess if HIRAID was implemented as intended at all sites.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics has been approved for NSW sites through Greater Western Human Research Ethics Committee (2020/ETH02164), and for Victoria and Queensland sites through Royal Brisbane & Woman’s Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (2021/QRBW/80026). The final phase of the study will integrate the findings in a toolkit for national rollout. A dissemination, communications (variety of platforms) and upscaling strategy will be designed and actioned with the organisations that influence state and national level health policy and emergency nurse education, including the Australian Commission for Quality and Safety in Health Care. Scaling up of findings could be achieved by embedding HIRAID into national transition to nursing programmes, ‘business as usual’ ED training schedules and university curricula.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12621001456842.
Examining the benefit of graduated compression stockings in the prevention of hospital-associated venous thromboembolism in low-risk surgical patients: a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial (PETS trial)
Authors: Machin Matthew , Peerbux Sarrah , Whittley Sarah , Hunt Beverley J , Everington Tamara , Gohel Manjit , Norrie John , Epstein David , Warwick David J , Baker Christopher , Hamady Zaed , Smith Sasha , Bolton Layla , Stephens-Boal Annya , Gray Beverley , Shalhoub Joseph , Davies Alun Huw
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Hospital-acquired thrombosis (HAT) is defined as any venous thromboembolism (VTE)-related event during a hospital admission or occurring up to 90 days post discharge, and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and healthcare-associated costs. Although surgery is an established risk factor for VTE, operations with a short hospital stay (<48 hours) and that permit early ambulation are associated with a low risk of VTE. Many patients undergoing short-stay surgical procedures and who are at low risk of VTE are treated with graduated compression stockings (GCS). However, evidence for the use of GCS in VTE prevention for this cohort is poor.

Methods and analysis

A multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial which aims to determine whether GCS are superior in comparison to no GCS in the prevention of VTE for surgical patients undergoing short-stay procedures assessed to be at low risk of VTE. A total of 50 sites (21 472 participants) will be randomised to either intervention (GCS) or control (no GCS). Adult participants (18–59 years) who undergo short-stay surgical procedures and are assessed as low risk of VTE will be included in the study. Participants will provide consent to be contacted for follow-up at 7-days and 90-days postsurgical procedure. The primary outcome is the rate of symptomatic VTE, that is, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism during admission or within 90 days. Secondary outcomes include healthcare costs and changes in quality of life. The main analysis will be according to the intention-to-treat principle and will compare the rates of VTE at 90 days, measured at an individual level, using hierarchical (multilevel) logistic regression.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval was granted by the Camden and Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee (22/LO/0390). Findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at national and international conferences.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN13908683.
Methods to assess validity of positioning systems in team sports: can we do better?
Authors: Luteberget Live Steinnes , Jølstad Petter A H , Gilgien Matthias
Published: January 2023

Objectives

There is previously reported a large variety of criterion measures and reference systems applied to validate position tracking systems in sports. This study aims to investigate the effect of different criterion measures and reference systems on the outcome of accuracy assessments of tracking systems in sports.

Methods

Data from a commercially available standalone global navigation satellite system (GNSS) were compared with two different reference systems: a high-end differential GNSS and a tape measure. Differences in accuracy outcomes of position (static and dynamic), distance and speed (mean and instantaneous) were investigated in team sport imitation courses.

Results

The mean horizontal position error was larger when athletes were in motion (dynamic position; 1.53±0.82 m) compared with static measurements (1.10±0.60 m). Measured distances of the courses were markedly different (+6% to −17%) between the two reference systems, causing differences in error. Differences in error were also found between mean speed and instantaneous speed (0.10 vs 0.28 m). Errors in mean speed were highly affected by the time over which speed was averaged.

Conclusion

Choice of criterion measure and reference system has a substantial impact on the accuracy assessments of tracking systems. Specifically, assessing static position is not a substitute for dynamic position, and mean speed is not a substitute for instantaneous speed. Therefore, the outcomes of validation studies should always be interpreted in light of the reference methods that were used.
Assessing safety and treatment efficacy of running on intervertebral discs (ASTEROID) in adults with chronic low back pain: protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Tagliaferri Scott D , Belavy Daniel L , Bowe Steven J , Clarkson Matthew J , Connell David , Craige Emma A , Gollan Romina , Main Luana C , Miller Clint T , Mitchell Ulrike H , Mundell Niamh L , Neason Christopher , Samanna Claire L , Scott David , Tait Jamie L , Vincent Grace E , Owen Patrick J
Published: January 2023

Poor intervertebral disc (IVD) health is associated with low back pain (LBP). This 12-week parallel randomised controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy of a progressive interval running programme on IVD health and other clinical outcomes in adults with chronic LBP. Participants will be randomised to either a digitally delivered progressive interval running programme or waitlist control. Participants randomised to the running programme will receive three individually tailored 30 min community-based sessions per week over 12 weeks. The waitlist control will undergo no formal intervention. All participants will be assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. Primary outcomes are IVD health (lumbar IVD T2 via MRI), average LBP intensity over the prior week (100-point visual analogue scale) and disability (Oswestry Disability Index). Secondary outcomes include a range of clinical measures. All outcomes will be analysed using linear mixed models. This study has received ethical approval from the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (ID: 2022-162). All participants will provide informed written consent before participation. Regardless of the results, the findings of this study will be disseminated, and anonymised data will be shared via an online repository. This will be the first study to evaluate whether a progressive interval running programme can improve IVD health in adults with chronic LBP. Identifying conservative options to improve IVD health in this susceptible population group has the potential to markedly reduce the burden of disease. This study was registered via the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry on 29 September 2022 (ACTRN12622001276741).
Satellite liver transplant centres significantly improve transplant assessment outcomes for patients with chronic liver disease but not hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Tavabie Oliver D , Kronsten Victoria T , Przemioslo Robert , McDougall Neil , Ramos Katie , Joshi Deepak , Prachalias Andreas , Menon Krish , Agarwal Kosh , Heneghan Michael A , Valliani Talal , Cash Johnny , Cramp Matthew E , Aluvihare Varuna
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Liver transplantation (LT) remains integral to the management of end-stage chronic liver disease (CLD). However, referral thresholds and assessment pathways remain poorly defined. Distance from LT centre has been demonstrated to impact negatively on patient outcomes resulting in the development of satellite LT centres (SLTCs). We aimed to evaluate the impact of SLTCs on LT assessment in patients with CLD and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was undertaken including all patients with CLD or HCC assessed for LT at King’s College Hospital (KCH) between October 2014 and October 2019. Referral location, social, demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected. Univariable and multivariable analyses (MVA) were performed to assess the impact of SLTCs on patients being accepted as LT candidates and contraindications being identified.

Results

1102 and 240 LT assessments were included for patients with CLD and HCC, respectively. MVA demonstrated significant associations with; patients living greater than 60 min from KCH/SLTCs and LT candidacy acceptance in CLD, and less deprived patients and LT candidacy acceptance in HCC. However, neither variable was associated with identification of LT contraindications. MVA demonstrated that referrals from SLTCs were more likely to result in acceptance of LT candidacy and less likely to result in a contraindication being identified in CLD. However, such associations were not demonstrated in HCC.

Conclusion

SLTCs improve LT assessment outcomes in CLD but not HCC reflecting the standardised HCC referral pathway. Developing a formal regional LT assessment pathway across the UK would improve equity of access to transplantation.
Durable responders in advanced NSCLC with elevated TMB and treated with 1L immune checkpoint inhibitor: a real-world outcomes analysis
Authors: Huang Richard S P , Carbone David P , Li Gerald , Schrock Alexa , Graf Ryon P , Zhang Liangliang , Murugesan Karthikeyan , Ross Jeffrey S , Tolba Khaled , Sands Jacob , Oxnard Geoffrey R , Spigel David
Published: January 2023

Background

For patients with advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPI) and chemotherapy (chemo) ICPI represent two distinct first-line standard-of-care regimens without clear and established biomarkers to inform the optimal choice for individual patients. Here, we examined the complementary roles of tumor mutational burden (TMB) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry (IHC) to inform first-line therapy using a large real-world (rw) data set.

Materials and methods

The study included patients with NSCLC from an rw de-identified clinico-genomic database. All patients underwent genomic testing using Foundation Medicine’s tissue comprehensive genomic profiling assay and PD-L1 IHC assay scored for tumor cell staining (TS).

Results

Of 2165 patients included in the analysis, 150 exhibited durable benefit from first-line ICPI regimens (these patients were enriched for PD-L1 TS ≥50, non-squamous histology, and TMB ≥20 mutations/megabase (muts/Mb)). Comparing low TMB (<10 muts/Mb), high TMB (10–19 muts/Mb), and very high TMB (≥20 muts/Mb) receiving ICPI alone, we observed a stepwise increase in median rwPFS (real world-progression free survival) (6.5, 7.5, 17.2 months) and rwOS (real world-overall survival) (10.1, 11.8, 26.9 months) as TMB increased. In the low PD-L1 (TS <50%) cohort, TMB <20 muts/Mb showed a more favorable rwPFS (HR: 0.56 (95% CI: 0.40 to 0.79)) and rwOS (HR 0.74 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.96)) on chemoICPI when compared with ICPI alone while the point estimate in rwPFS favored monoICPI in the TMB ≥20 muts/Mb cohort, the CI is wide and does not reach statistical significance (HR: 1.68 (95% CI: 0.52 to 5.48)).

Conclusion

This study provides evidence that higher TMB cut-offs, such as 20 muts/Mb, can identify patients with prolonged benefit from ICPI. TMB ≥20 muts/Mb is a potential biomarker that may identify patients in whom an ICPI without chemo could be considered, even in the setting of lower PD-L1 levels. Prospective validation of these findings could increase access to chemo-sparing regimens for the first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC.
Acute palliative care units: characteristics, activities and outcomes – scoping review
Authors: Mercadante Sebastiano , Bruera Eduardo
Published: January 2023

Acute palliative care units (APCUs) are lacking in most cancer hospitals and even when palliative care units are present, they are predominantly based on a traditional hospice-like model for patients with short life expectancy. This scoping review examined the papers assessing the activities of APCU. Data from literature regarding APCU characteristics, activities and outcomes have shown important differences among different countries.

In comparison with existing data on traditional hospices, APCU provided a whole range of palliative care interventions, from an early treatment of pain and symptoms at time diagnosis and during the oncological treatment, up to the advanced stage of disease when they may favour the transition to the best supportive care or palliative care only, also indicating the best palliative care service that may fits the clinical and social condition of individuals. Large differences in the characteristics of such units, including hospital stay and mortality, have been evidenced, in some cases resembling those of a traditional hospice. It likely that in some countries such units supply the lack of other palliative care services.

Further studies on APCUs are needed, even on other outcome processes, to provide a more precise identification among the palliative care settings, which should not interchangeable, but complimentary to offer the full range of activities to be activated according to the different needs of the patients.
Exploring the feasibility of the charged lepton flavor violating decay μ → e + γ in inverse and linear seesaw mechanisms with A4 flavor symmetry
Authors: Devi Maibam Ricky , Bora Kalpana
Published: January 2023

One of the possible ways to explain the observed flavor structure of fundamental particles is to include flavor symmetries in the theories. In this work, we investigate the rare charged lepton flavor violating (cLFV) decay process [Formula: see text] in two of the low-scale ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]TeV) seesaw models: (i) the Inverse seesaw (ISS) and (ii) Linear seesaw (LSS) models within the framework of [Formula: see text] flavor symmetry. Apart from the [Formula: see text] flavor symmetry, some other symmetries like [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are included to construct the Lagrangian. We use results from our previous work [M. R. Devi and K. Bora, A comparative study of type-II, inverse and linear seesaw mechanisms with [Formula: see text] flavor symmetry, presented at DAE HEP Symp., 2020, Jatni, Odisha; M. R. Devi and K. Bora, Mod. Phys. Lett. A 37, 2250073] where we computed unknown neutrino oscillation parameters within [Formula: see text] limits of their global best fit values, and apply those results to compute the branching ratio (BR) of the muon decay for both the seesaw models. Next we compare our results with the current experimental bounds and sensitivity limits of BR[Formula: see text] as projected by various experiments, and present a comparative analysis that which of the two models is more likely to be tested by which current/future experiment. This is done for various values of currently allowed non-unitarity parameter. This comparative study will help us to pinpoint that which of the low-scale seesaw models and triplet flavon VEV alignments will be more viable and favorable for testing under a common flavor symmetry ([Formula: see text] here), and hence can help discriminate between the two models.
Improving McDiarmid Tree Performance for Predicting Heart Disease from Data Streams with Missing and Meaningless Values
Authors: Benllarch Mariam , El Hadaj Salah , Benhaddi Meriem
Published: January 2023

Building machine learning algorithms for real-time clinical decision support systems has become a current research hotspot. The success of these algorithms depends on their ability to handle data stream characteristics. For example, we cite as characteristics the large amounts of data, the high speed and rate of incoming data, and the change in data nature and distribution over time. The Very Fast Decision Tree (VFDT) is a method for incrementally building decision trees. Since its proposition in the literature, it has become one of the most popular tools for data stream classification. This paper aims to optimize a new version of VFDT called McDiarmid Tree (MT) for the early prediction of heart diseases in real-time clinical decision support systems. The proposed method for improving MT performance consists of two main mechanisms: detecting the presence of missing and meaningless values in data attributes and handling the impact of this presence. The proposed MT has been compared with MT and VFDT. Simulation results show that the proposed MT attains significantly higher prediction accuracy with less time and model cost (RAM-Hours) than the other two algorithms.
The First Tech Layoff Wave After Years of Hypergrowth
Authors: El-Deeb Ahmed
Published: January 2023

Same month SEN issue published one year ago had this column titled as "The Human Side of the Tech Industry: Key Drivers Behind the Tech Talent Dilemma." It discussed the Tech industry hypergrowth and how the tech industry is challenged in terms of finding talents and closing their hiring needs and deliver their projects; citing this as one of the top risks to delivering the required level of Digitalization projects. One year later from when that issue was published and the Tech Industry has been rocked by a massive layoff movement, with more than 120,000 IT workers have been laid off only in the U.S. This is perplexing. What happened to the Tech talent dilemma? More importantly, how such massive layoffs affects Tech Industry and Software Engineers? This paper surveys key impact points from such wave.
Passages
Authors: Groce Alex
Published: January 2023

Harry R. Lewis' Baseball as a Second Language is a charming and charmingly short book. It is essential for those who are unfamiliar with the great American pastime, and it is enjoyable for those who are fans of the game. A guided tour through the use of baseball as metaphor in business, politics, and everyday life, it was apparently born out of a desire by Lewis to enable foreign students to appreciate his own use of baseball as a mirror for the world.
Checking Just Pairs of Threads for Efficient and Scalable Incremental Verification of Multithreaded Programs
Authors: Parízek Pavel , Kliber Filip
Published: January 2023

Many techniques of automated verification target multithreaded programs, because subtle interactions between threads may trigger concurrency errors such as deadlocks and data races. However, techniques and tools involving systematic exploration of the whole space of possible thread interleavings do not scale to large software systems, despite various clever algorithmic optimizations. A viable approach is to use incremental verification techniques that, in each run, focus just on the recently modified code and the relatively small number of affected execution traces, and therefore can provide results (bug reports) very quickly.

In this paper we present a new algorithm for incremental verification of multithreaded programs based on the pairwise approach, whose key idea is systematic exploration of all possible thread interleavings just for specific relevant pairs of threads.

We implemented the algorithm with Java Pathfinder as the backend verification tool, and evaluated it on several multithreaded Java programs. Results show that our incremental algorithm (1) can find errors very fast, (2) greatly reduces time needed for complete safety verification, and (3) it can find the same errors as full verification of the whole state space.
Towards Wider Support for Java String Functions
Authors: Yan Qiuchen , Artho Cyrille , Parízek Pavel
Published: January 2023

We conduct a study about SPF's existing string support by run- ning tests on a version of SPF with the latest string support. Base on the results, we then analyze each string method and identify the major challenges in supporting them. We categorize string API functions by type of the challenge, propose several solutions to each of the challenges, and discuss the feasibility and disad- vantages of di erent approaches. We implement support in the case of three string methods according to the proposed solution, leaving other methods as future work.
Researching and Transferring Blended Learning Experiences to Software Development Practices
Authors: Mohammadi Mahyar
Published: January 2023

Blended learning combines the advantages of both in-person and online learning. Researchers applied various methodologies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to better understand its impact on educational achievement and how the environment provides a better experience. Following the growing popularity of E-learning tools and environments, this study explores whether blended learning offers a sound concept and notion for the selection of learning and implementation techniques in software development to optimize the process.
Games and Software Engineering
Authors: Bucchiarone Antonio , Cooper Kendra M. L. , Lin Dayi , Melcer Edward F. , Sung Kelvin
Published: January 2023

Games are a popular form of entertainment and, due to their nature (i.e., interactive, immersive, etc.), strongly lend themselves for use beyond this original intent. Serious games, or games with a purpose, have been introduced to integrate the entertainment value games with domain specific objectives on important topics within education, health, and the environment to mention a few. In addition, gamification has been used to enhance nonentertainment applications with game elements; it aspires to foster behavioral changes, engagement, motivation, and participation in activities. In this context, the actions performed have meaning/value in the game experience in order to improve workplace performance or learn something in real life.

The growing adoption of gameful experiences in all of the previous contexts make their design and development increasingly complex due to, for example, the number and variety of users, and their potential mission criticality. This complexity is nurtured, among the other factors, by a lack of theoretical grounding and adequate frameworks to engineer the intended solutions. In this paper, we report the outcomes of the 6th International Workshop on Games and Software Engineering: Engineering fun, inspiration, and motivation (GAS 2023 ) 1, which was held as part of the 44th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2022) in Pittsburgh, PA, USA on May 20, 2022.

The workshop program includes two exciting keynotes discussing topics related to training and learning, and fulfilling the promise and potential of gamification. The two paper sessions examined gamification from the perspectives of software project, testing, and, design. The conclusion of the workshop is anchored by a panel of four highly qualified researchers and practitioners discussing lessons learned and the future of gamification.
ACM SIGSOFT Towards Sustainable Software Business
Authors: Werder Karl , Hyrynsalmi Sami , Wang Xiaofeng
Published: January 2023

Software producing organizations face the challenges of changing demands, rapidly evolving technology, and a dynamic ecosystem in which their products and services need to operate. These challenges hinder software organizations being sustainable. The 5th International Workshop on Software-Intensive Business (IWSiB) brought researchers and practitioners together to discuss contributions within the emerging field of sustainable software businesses. The workshop was hosted by the 44th International Conference for Software Engineering. Birgit Penzenstadler's keynote on software-intensive business supporting resilience and sustainability for people, sparked the interest of the participating 30 researchers that continued to discuss 12 submissions.
Summary of the 1st Natural Language-based Software Engineering Workshop (NLBSE 2022)
Authors: Di Sorbo Andrea , Panichella Sebastiano
Published: January 2023

Natural language processing (NLP) refers to automatic computa- tional processing of human language, including both algorithms that take human-produced text as input and algorithms that pro- duce natural-looking text as outputs. There is a widespread and growing usage of NLP approaches to optimize many aspects of the development process of software systems. In particular, since natural language artifacts are used and reused during the software development lifecycle, the availability of natural language-based approaches and tools enabled the envisioning of methods for im- proving efficiency in software engineers, processes, and products. The research community has been discussing these approaches in the 1st edition of the Natural Language-Based Software Engineer- ing Workshop (NLBSE), collocated with ICSE (the International Conference on Software Engineering) in 2022. This event brought together researchers and industrial practitioners from NLP and the software engineering community to share experiences, pro- vide directions for future research, and encourage the usage of NLP techniques and tools for addressing software engineering- speci c challenges. In this paper, we present a summary of the 1st edition of the workshop, which comprised ve full papers, four short/position papers, ve tool competition/demonstration pa- pers, one keynote (\Deep Learning & Software Engineering: Past, Present and Future"by Denys Poshyvanyk), followed by extensive discussion among NLBSE participants. More details can be found at https://nlbse2022.github.io/index.html
First-Hand Impressions: Charting and Predicting User Impressions of Robot Hands
Authors: Seifi Hasti , Vasquez Steven A. , Kim Hyunyoung , Fazli Pooyan
Published: January 2023

Designing robotic hands has been an active area of research and innovation in the last decade. However, little is known about how people perceive robot hands and react to being touched by them. To inform hand design for social robots, we created a database of 73 robot hands and ran two user studies. In the first study, 160 online users rated the hands in our database. Variations in user ratings mostly centered on the perceived
Comfortableness
,
Interestingness
, and
Industrialness
of the hands. In a second lab-based study, users evaluated seven physical hands and had similar ratings to results from the online study. Furthermore, we did not find a significant difference in user ratings before and after the users were touched by the hands. We provide regression models that can predict user ratings from the hand features (e.g., number of fingers) and an online interface for using our robot hand database and predictive models.
Accurate Predicting the Surface Tension of Vegetable-Oil-Based Fuels Using Gibbs’ Thermodynamic Additivity as an Alternative to QSPR
Authors: Sitthisuk Nichaphat , Sudaprasert Kaokanya , Phankosol Suriya , Punsuvon Vittaya
Published: January 2023

The surface tension of fuel oil is one important property of the engine combustion process which is correlative to other oil physical and chemical properties. Therefore, this research focuses on the predictive model of fuel oil surface tension through the outstanding alternative fuel for combustion engines such as vegetable oil which is biodegradable, less toxic, has potential in domestic production, and has energy content close to diesel fuel. The six economic saturated/unsaturated vegetable oil samples (rapeseed, sunflower, soybean, palm, corn, and grapeseed oil) are used as the comparison cases for the predictive model of surface tension. The proposed model is formulated by the concept of the Gibbs energy additivity method (GEAM) which apply two properties of oils composition such as the number of carbon atoms (z) and the number of double bonds (nd) of fatty acid at various temperatures to predict surface tension through the regression model. Three common regression models such as the Parachor model and two literature physical relation models are used as the comparative model at 293.15 K and 313.15 K, respectively. The comparison results of the predictive model show the acceptable predicting value in all predictive models, with an overall average absolute deviation (%AAD) of 0.38% for the proposed model, 2.28% for the Eliezer model, and 2.74% with the Esteban model at 293.15 K, while the overall %AAD at 313.15 K presents 0.21% for the proposed model and 9.08% with the Parachor model. However, the proposed model indicates the use of a combination between molecule structure and thermodynamic parameters by its model mismatch reduction and proves to be a handle for precisely predicting surface tension in the case of vegetable oil.
A Case of SAPHO Syndrome Complicated by Uveitis with Good Response to Both TNF Inhibitor and JAKinib
Authors: Baisya Ritasman , Gavali Meghna , Tyagi Mudit , Devarasetti Phani Kumar
Published: January 2023

Introduction. SAPHO (synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis) syndrome is a rare autoinflammatory condition describing the constellation of inflammatory skin, bone, and joint manifestations which result in diagnostic difficulty and therapeutic challenge. Case. Here, we present a case of a young male diagnosed with SAPHO syndrome with osteoarticular and cutaneous involvement from an early age in his life. He suffered diagnostic challenges for a long time and was hence inadequately treated. He had minimal response to conventional DMARDs but showed excellent response to TNF inhibitor (adalimumab). Later, he defaulted treatment and presented with acute anterior uveitis which was also dramatically improved with adalimumab and tofacitinib although financial constraint was always an issue for the patient. Conclusion. The uniqueness of this case was that the patient had a multiorgan involvement including osteoarticular system, skin, and eye. Both TNFi (adalimumab) and JAKinib (tofacitinib) had a good response to all organs with a net improvement in the quality of life of this patient.
Neuroblastoma Differentiation: The Untapped Potential of Mitochondrial Uncouplers
Authors: Byrne F.L. , Bell J.L.
Published: January 2023

While the goal of most anticancer treatments is to kill cancer cells, some therapies halt cancer progression by inducing cancer cell differentiation. For example, retinoic acid induces neuroblastoma cell differentiation in vitro and is used as maintenance therapy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma. A new study by Jiang and colleagues has revealed the mitochondrial uncoupler niclosamide ethanolamine (NEN) induces neuroblastoma cell differentiation in vitro and slows neuroblastoma tumor growth in vivo. Mitochondrial uncoupler molecules alter cell metabolism by forcing cells to “burn” more nutrients, resulting in a switch from anabolic to catabolic metabolism. NEN-induced neuroblastoma cell differentiation was associated with disruption of Warburg metabolism, epigenetic remodeling, and downregulation of key oncogenic drivers of neuroblastoma development, including MYCN. NEN is currently used as an antiparasitic worm treatment and is safe to use in children but has poor pharmacokinetic properties. However, derivatives of NEN and structurally distinct uncouplers that have improved pharmacokinetic properties are in development. Results of this study ignite the idea that mitochondrial uncouplers could be used as differentiating agents and expand the pharmacotherapy toolkit to treat cancer, including neuroblastoma.

See related article by Jiang et al., p. 181
Abstract A002: Physical and metabolic aspects of therapy induced senescence and polyploidy in an evolving tumor microenvironment
Authors: Dawson Michelle R. , Ghosh Deepraj
Published: January 2023

This abstract is being presented as a short talk in the scientific program. A full abstract is available in the Short Talks from Proffered Abstracts section (PR007) of the Conference Proceedings.

Citation Format: Michelle R. Dawson, Deepraj Ghosh. Physical and metabolic aspects of therapy induced senescence and polyploidy in an evolving tumor microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Aging and Cancer; 2022 Nov 17-20; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;83(2 Suppl_1):Abstract nr A002.