bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Negative justice: The case of the human rights museum
Authors: Erni John Nguyet
Published: June 2024

This article analyzes the role of human rights museums in fostering a common public understanding of rights at the grassroots level. It explores how these museums engage with societal contradictions through museological techniques, exhibition narratives, and intense interactions with communities. The study also discusses how human rights museums form communities to create a ‘legal common sense’ around questions of marginality and disputes. By examining the societal influence, legal mandates and community-building initiatives, it is argued that human rights museums work to deepen our understanding of how cultural actions can make human rights accessible to the public through the notion of ‘negative justice’.
Study on a vehicular defect identification system for girder bottom inspection of bridges
Authors: Hou Shitong , Sun Weihao , Wu Tao , Liu Guangdong , Fan Xiao , Zhang Jian , Wu Zhishen , Wu Gang
Published: June 2024

The girder bottom inspection is becoming an important part of the bridge maintenance process. In this study, a vehicular defect identification system was built to make the inspection process of bridge bottoms more intelligent, efficient and accurate. The system contains three main parts: image acquisition, image stitching and defect recognition. The image acquisition part was responsible for controlling the start and stop of image acquisition, data transmission and image storage. The image sequences collected were processed and stitched into a panoramic image during the image stitching process, and the coordinate systems of images would also be unified. Finally, the defects in the image were recognized and positioned. Combined with the BIM model, multiscale digital display of bridge bottom defect, including defect recognition and positioning results, was obtained. With the multiscale information, the maintenance for bridges will become more convenient. The deep learning model U2-Net was used to detect cracks and realized a defect detection accuracy of millimeter-level. The experimental results proved that the cracks in the images of the bridge bottom could be detected effectively using the proposed method with a high performance of 79.15 % test dataset F1-score and 0.691 MIoU. Additionally, the proposed defect location method had a centimeter-level defect location accuracy.
Online knowledge production in polarized political memes: The case of critical race theory
Authors: Walters Alyvia , Ammari Tawfiq , Garimella Kiran , Jhaver Shagun
Published: June 2024

Visual culture has long been deployed by actors across the political spectrum as a tool of political mobilization and has recently incorporated new elements such as memes, GIFs, and emojis. In this study, we analyze the top-circulated Facebook memes relating to critical race theory (CRT) posted between May 2021 and May 2022 to investigate their visual and textual appeals. Using image clustering techniques and critical discourse analysis (CDA), we find that pro- and anti-CRT memes deploy similar rhetorical tactics to make bifurcating arguments, most of which do not pertain to academic formulations of CRT. Instead, these memes manipulate definitions of racism and anti-racism to appeal to their respective audiences. We argue that labeling such discursive practices as simply a symptom of “post-truth” politics is a potentially unproductive stance. Instead, theorizing the knowledge-building practices of these memes through a lens of political epistemology allows us to better understand how they produce meaning.
Unmasking coordinated hate: Analysing hate speech on Spanish digital news media
Authors: Arce-García Sergio , Said-Hung Elias , Montero-Díaz Julio
Published: June 2024

This study examines the characteristics and behaviours of accounts that propagate hate speech through their responses to articles posted on five leading digital news media in Spain on Platform X (previously Twitter). Using non-experimental quantitative research, we analysed 1345 hate-expressing messages from 173,449 user comments on content shared in five leading digital news media during January 2021. Network analysis, the Homophilic Exposure Index (HEI), regression analysis and the k-means algorithm were used to identify features that characterize accounts that disseminate low-intensity hate expressions in a coordinated manner, undermining the moderation efforts of digital news media. As a result, digital news media must develop strategies to reduce the presence of this type of expression and confront accounts that operate covertly in a coordinated manner, using Astroturfing to manipulate debates around the content published on X.
Unified dynamics analysis of parallel manipulators: A joint-based approach and generalized inertia constraint matrix for parallel manipulators (GICM-P) framework
Authors: Koul Majid , Gupta Vinay , Saha S K
Published: June 2024

Parallel manipulators, a distinctive subset of closed-loop multi-body systems, are in high demand due to their precision-centric applications. This research introduces a unified approach to tackle both inverse and forward dynamic analyses of parallel manipulators, rooted in joint-based principles. The methodology dissects a given parallel manipulator into symmetric open-loop subsystems and a mobile body within either a planar or spatial context, depending on the manipulator’s nature. Conventional practices, involving the introduction of joint cuts at relevant locations, are employed to partition the system into multiple open-loop subsystems. Subsequently, the joint coordinate-based approach, typically applied to open-loop systems such as industrial manipulators, is utilized to derive solutions. In particular, this approach focuses on forward dynamics by introducing the generalized inertia constraint matrix for parallel manipulators (GICM-P), a concept built upon the authors’ prior work, originally addressing the GICM for general closed-loop systems. Notably, GICM-P aligns conceptually with the operational space inertia matrix (OSIM) designed for closed-loop systems elsewhere. However, unlike OSIM, which requires mapping joint-space inertia to operational-space inertia, GICM-P leverages acceleration-level constraints between subsystems and the moving platform through straightforward matrix operations. GICM-P offers a deeper understanding of the physics of the problem compared to OSIM, primarily due to its ability to explicitly express subsystem-level interactions via various block matrices – an aspect not previously documented. The paper provides explicit numerical values for GICM-P in the context of a spatial six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) Stewart platform and a planar 3-DOF parallel manipulator along with interpretations.
Combined Gleeble physical welding simulation and low-cycle thermo-mechanical fatigue for heat-affected zone material for 9Cr steel: Experimental testing and through-process model
Authors: MacArdghail Padraig , Barrett Richard A , Harrison Noel , Sabirov Ilchat , LLorca Javier , Leen Sean B
Published: June 2024

There is an urgent need to operate thermal power plant at significantly higher temperatures, pressures and flexibility, in order to reduce emissions, increase efficiency and facilitate uptake of renewable energy. This demands significantly improved design of welded connections for thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF). A common mode of high temperature failure for welded 9Cr steels in such plant is Type IV failure, due to reduced hardness in the inter-critical heat affected zone (IC-HAZ). Little or no work has been previously conducted on TMF characterisation of HAZ of 9Cr steels. This work presents development of a combined Gleeble physically-simulated welding process for P91 heat affected zone, based on measured thermal histories from bead-on-plate welding trials, with in-situ low cycle thermo-mechanical fatigue up to 650°C. The simulated welding process, including post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), is shown to have significant effect on both microstructure and TMF behaviour, including life. The as-welded condition is shown to have the cyclically hardest stable response and the longest life, whereas the PWHT and parent material (PM) cases have similar cyclically soft responses and lives. A recently-developed through-process, physically-based, thermal-metallurgical-mechanical model is adapted and applied to the simulated welding thermal cycle and TMF testing for PM and HAZ specimens. The model is calibrated and validated against high temperature low-cycle fatigue and low-cycle TMF data for PM in the range 400 to 600°C, for different strain-ranges and strain-rates. It is also shown to capture some observed general trends for the simulated HAZ-TMF testing, especially the significant softening effect of PWHT and the significant increase in cyclic strength for the as-welded condition.
The rise of medical influencers: The pros and the cons
Authors: Ng Isaac KS , Thong Christopher , Tan Li Feng , Teo Desmond B
Published: June 2024

In the past few years, the online influencer industry has exponentially expanded, fuelled by the COVID pandemic lockdown, increased social media platforms and lifestyle appeal of influencership. This phenomenon has likewise infiltrated the medical field, where many healthcare practitioners have taken to social media platforms for content creation and influencer marketing. There are many reasons that underlie medical influencership – some may use it to improve public health literacy and correct medical misinformation, engage in medical advocacy or use the platform simply as a means of humanistic expression of the medical career, while others may seek to advertise private practice/medical products, boost personal reputation, and gain popularity and monetary benefits. Regardless of the underlying motivations of the medical influencers, some have fallen afoul of professionally accepted practices and ethical boundaries in their use of social media platforms, leading to serious consequences such as professional sanctioning or termination of employment. In this article, we hope to provide a comprehensive review of the ‘good’ (positive practices), the ‘bad’ (practices with possible unintended negative consequences) and the outright unprofessional or unethical behaviours aspects of social media use by medical influencers and offer practical strategies to ensure responsible and meaningful use of influencer platforms at both the physician and health systems level.
The Crossroads Between Alzheimer's Disease Pathophysiology and Epilepsy
Authors: Kobayashi Eliane
Published: June 2024

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Leigh has no Brakes: Impaired Inhibition in a Mouse Model of Leigh Syndrome Leads to Enhanced Seizure Sensitivity
Authors: Buchanan Gordon F.
Published: June 2024

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Outcome and safety of mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke due to internal carotid artery dissection
Authors: Puggaard Rikke , Laugesen Nicolaj Grønbæk , Hansen Klaus , Brandt Andreas H. , Stavngaard Trine , Truelsen Thomas C.
Published: June 2024

Background

Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with symptoms of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to internal carotid artery dissection (ICAD) remains controversial. In this study, we present clinical outcome and safety of MT in acute ICAD compared to other acute carotid artery pathology.

Methods

Patients with symptoms of AIS due to internal carotid artery pathology, treated with MT from 2017–2021, were categorized as ICAD or non-ICAD. Baseline and procedural characteristics, complications, and functional outcome at 90 days were compared between the two groups. Factors associated with a favorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale 0–2) were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Safety analyses included in-stent thrombosis, perforation, intracranial hemorrhage, and mortality.

Results

Sixty-seven ICAD patients (14.8%) and 387 non-ICAD patients (85.2%) were enrolled. ICAD patients were younger, median age 53 years (interquartile range (IQR) 47–61) vs. non-ICAD 72 years (IQR 64–79), p < 0.001. Favorable outcome was more common in ICAD patients, 49 ICAD patients (76.6%) vs. 158 non-ICAD patients (42.4%), p < 0.001. Post-procedural symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 41 patients, 5 (7.5%) ICAD patients vs. 36 (9.3%) non-ICAD patients, p = 0.6. Mortality differed significantly, 6 (9%) ICAD patients vs. 94 (24.3%) non-ICAD patients, p = 0.01. ICAD was not associated with functional outcome in multivariate analysis, OR = 1.25 [95%confidence interval:0.55–2.86].

Conclusion

ICAD patients achieved a better 90-day functional outcome compared with non-ICAD patients. ICAD patients did not perform worse in safety measures than non-ICAD patients. Our data provide indirect evidence that MT is of clinical benefit in ICAD patients with symptoms of AIS.
Determinants of medication adherence among elderly with high blood pressure living in deprived areas
Authors: Afshari Maryam , Karimi-Shahanjarini Akram , Tapak Lili , Hashemi Somayeh
Published: June 2024

Introduction

The current study was conducted to determine the impact of health literacy and factors related to adherence to drug treatment, using the model proposed by the World Health Organization, in older adults with hypertension residing in informal settlements in Hamadan.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 405 patients in Hamadan city, located in the western part of Iran. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire that included the 5-dimensional model proposed by the World Health Organization, Health Literacy for Iranian Adults, and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select patients from 14 comprehensive health service centers and health bases. The data were analyzed using SPSS v.24.

Results

The study found that medication adherence was suboptimal in 63% of the participants. Additionally, 87.5% of patients had inadequate or insufficient health literacy. Factors related to medication adherence included age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.07), annual income (OR = 0.17), duration of hypertension (OR = 7.33), health literacy (OR = 1.03), self-reported health status (P < 0.05), and regular medication use (P < 0.008).

Conclusion

The results of this study indicate that more than half of the older adults in the study had suboptimal medication adherence and insufficient health literacy. The study also found that various factors, such as socioeconomic status, disease and treatment-related factors, and patient-related factors, influence medication adherence among older adults.
TheBangsokolRequiem, affective intensification, and memory activation
Authors: Hughes Rachel
Published: June 2024

This article examines how a recent multi-media requiem sought rest for Khmer Rouge victims and connected audiences in the Cambodian post-conflict diaspora. Composed by Him Sophy, the requiem takes its name from a funeral ritual that assists re-birth: Bangsokol. Performed in various international cities throughout the years 2017–2019, Bangsokol, with a libretto by researcher Trent Walker, combined chanting and singing in Khmer and Pali with the music of a traditional Cambodian orchestra blended with that of a Western chamber orchestra. The performance was backlit by projected film images by Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, and accompanied by stage performance elements such as procession, drumming, and dance. I draw on interviews with the key creatives involved in the Bangsokol Requiem, visual documentation of the Requiem in development, and experiences of its premiere performances at the Melbourne Festival in October 2017. I follow Elizabeth Grosz on art to consider the Requiem in terms of its capacity for ‘activation’ and trace three of its micropolitical alter-accomplishments. I argue that the performances deterritorialised existing memorial refrains and reconnected diasporic and wider audiences through an experience of affective intensification.
Songs from another land: Decolonizing memories of colonialism and the nutmeg trade
Authors: McGregor Katharine , Dragojlovic Ana
Published: June 2024

The year 2021 marked the 400th anniversary of the Banda massacres, in which the army of the Verenigde Ooostindische Compagnie (The United East India Trading Company) massacred the Bandanese in a brutal campaign designed to secure a monopoly over the global nutmeg trade. While for centuries, the Bandanese remembered the massacre in a range of cultural mediums, the 400th anniversary was marked by a production of a multi-media project entitled The Banda Journal, produced by Muhammad Fadli and Fatris MF and from West Sumatra, Indonesia. The Banda Journal project represents a new form of decolonial memory work that accentuates the connections between place and memory for people from Indonesia’s ‘outer islands’ including people who fled the Banda islands following the massacre. In addition, the project adopts decolonial methods and critically engages with histories of colonialism to move beyond nationalist framings and prompt reflection on the excesses of capitalism and economic exploitation and the resilience of affected communities.
In search of consent: Agency, audience and identity in memory activism
Authors: Hettiarachchi Radhika
Published: June 2024

The article presents a public history practitioner’s perspective on memory activism, critically engaging with the experiences and lessons learned in the implementation of two public history projects in Sri Lanka – the Herstories Project and the Community Memorialisation Project. It draws on personal reflections and observations made while returning to some of the women participants to renew their consent for a new public iteration of their narratives, nearly a decade after first documenting their histories. It examines some of the conceptual and practical questions that emerged while implementing memory projects with the ‘public’ purposes of peacebuilding and transitional justice outcomes. Through six vignettes, it explores the complicated nature of ‘consent’ through the lens of agency, identity and the construction of victimhood. I argue that memory initiatives need to be cognisant of how power asymmetries and ‘macro-narratives’ frame how stories are told, to whom, and for what purpose, and that when consent is given, it is not given in perpetuity.
Memory, activism and the arts in Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Black Shameem , Kennedy Rosanne , Kent Lia
Published: June 2024

The emerging interest in the entanglements between memory, activism and social and political change is an exciting new direction in Memory Studies. This special issue aims to extend the repertoire of histories, cultural practices, and epistemologies from which theorizing about the memory-activism nexus is drawn through a focus on Asia and the Pacific, including diasporic communities in Australia. By centring engagements with memory in Asia as well as the Pacific, the issue opens new lines of inquiry.
Rationalizing polyp matching criteria in colon capsule endoscopy: an international expert consensus through RAND (modified DELPHI) process
Authors: Lei Ian Io , Koulaouzidis Anastasios , Baatrup Gunnar , Samaan Mark , Parisi Ioanna , McAlindon Mark , Toth Ervin , Shaukat Aasma , Valentiner Ursula , Dabos Konstantinos John , Fernandez Ignacio , Robertson Alexander , Schelde-Olesen Benedicte , Parsons Nicholas ,   CESCAIL Core Group, Arasaradnam Ramesh P.
Published: June 2024

Background:

Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) has gained momentum as an alternative modality for the investigation of the lower gastrointestinal tract. Of the few challenges that remain, the comparison and – eventually – matching of polyps at different timestamps leads to the potential for double reporting and can contribute to false-positive findings and inaccuracies. With the impending artificial intelligence integration, the risk of double reporting the same polyp due to the lack of information on spatial orientation underscores the necessity for establishing criteria for polyp matching.

Objectives:

This RAND/University of California, Los Angeles (modified Delphi) process aims to identify the key factors or components used to match polyps within a CCE video. This involves exploring the attributes of each factor to create comprehensive polyp-matching criteria based on international expert consensus.

Design:

A systematic qualitative study using surveys.

Methods:

A panel of 11 international CCE experts convened to assess a survey comprised of 60 statements. Participants anonymously rated statement appropriateness on a 1–9 scale (1–3: inappropriate, 4–6: uncertain and 7–9: appropriate). Following a virtual group discussion of the Round 1 results, a Round 2 survey was developed and completed before the final analysis.

Results:

The factors that were agreed to be essential for polyp matching include (1) timestamp, (2) polyp localization, (3) polyp vascular pattern, (4) polyp size, (5) time interval of the polyp appearance between the green and yellow camera, (6) surrounding tissue, (7) polyp morphology and (8) polyp surface and contour. When five or more factors are satisfied, it was agreed that the comparing polyps are likely the same polyp.

Conclusion:

This study has established the first complete criteria for polyp matching in CCE. While it might not provide a definitive solution for matching difficult, small and common polyps, these criteria serve as a framework to guide and facilitate the process of polyp-matching.
French multi-institutional cost-effectiveness analysis of gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel versus gemcitabine alone as second-line treatment in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients
Authors: Demaziere Amaury , Mourgues Charline , Lambert Céline , Trevis Sophie , Bertucat Hélène , Grange Isabelle , Pezet Denis , Sautou Valérie , Jary Marine , Gagnière Johan
Published: June 2024

Context:

In France, gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GEM-NAB) is heterogeneously used in metastatic pancreatic cancer due to disparities in its financial accessibility in the institutions.

Objectives:

GEM-NAB conduct a French multi-institutional cost-effectiveness analysis of GEM-NAB versus gemcitabine alone (GEM) as second-line treatment in pancreatic cancer patients.

Design:

All the unresected metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) consecutive patients who received GEM-NAB (institution 1) or GEM alone (institutions 2 and 3) as second-line treatment after failure of a 5-fluorouracil based systemic chemotherapy regimen were screened.

Methods:

This study was conducted from the French national healthcare insurance perspective. The primary endpoint was the overall survival (OS) expressed in months, calculated from the date of the first second-line chemotherapy administration to death. Only direct (medical and non-medical) costs have been considered for this analysis. Data were collected retrospectively in one university hospital and two general hospitals.

Results:

The OS was significantly improved in patients receiving GEM-NAB (hazard ratio: 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.38–0.77, p = 0.001), with a median OS of 6.2 months ( versus 4.1 months in patients receiving GEM alone). Taking into account the cost of GEM-NAB which was afforded by each institution, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €1,449,231 by year of life (€40,256 per patient). In both groups, most of the costs were attributable to readmissions and outpatient chemotherapy administration.

Conclusion:

The issues of the article is based on the trade-off between the benefit in terms of OS of patients treated with GEM-NAB, which is minor (a gain of 2 months of survival, with an accumulated rate of grade ⩾ 3 non-hematological adverse effects) and the additional institutional cost (€25k per year of life for each patient treated). The debate is complex and refers to an ethical component, which is the cost of human life when no other therapeutic alternative is offered to the patient.
What’s new in pediatric lower limb reconstruction?
Authors: Radler Christof , Calder Peter , Eidelman Mark , Horn Joachim , Kold Søren , Langendörfer Micha , Manner Hans Michael , Sedki Imad , Vogt Bjoern
Published: June 2024

The last years brought many advances relevant to lower limb reconstruction. It feels like guided growth has been looked at from every angle, and still there are new emerging concepts like rotational guided growth waiting to be validated. New hexapod external devices are more accurate and easier to use, and new unilateral fixators allow for more versatile and stable fixation and lengthening. Intramedullary nail lengthening has found its place as a standard procedure for various diagnoses in children and young adults. First results of new and exciting approaches like extramedullary implantable nail lengthening and lengthening plates have been reported. Pharmaceutical treatment has changed the course of certain diseases and must be integrated and considered when making a reconstructive treatment plan. As reconstructive surgery is rapidly advancing so are the technical options for prosthetic fitting, which makes it difficult for caregivers as well as for parents to make the decision between reconstruction and amputation surgery for the most severe cases of congenital deficiencies. This review is highlighting new developments of lower limb reconstruction and is reviewing the current literature.
Reconfiguring Community of Practice as Socio-Material Practices for Making Differences With/in the World: A Creative-Relational Inquiry
Authors: Barraclough Shanee , Tudor Raewyn , Warren Alison
Published: June 2024

As a concept Community of Practice (CoP) is generally understood as a learning system in which a group of people within a profession, or practice field, reflect and learn together. Notions of situated learning and enculturation emphasise the socially constructed nature of these contextualized reflexive pedagogical processes. Engaging with the posthuman turn in education and the social sciences, we think with concepts from Karen Barad’s agential realism framework to reconfigure CoP as entangled affective, socio-material knowledge-making practices. Specifically, through creative-relational inquiry, this paper offers an account of three intra-active mo(ve)ments from a posthumanist reading group CoP in Aotearoa New Zealand in which we, as academics in counselling, social work, and early childhood education, experimented with arts-based inquiry and posthuman texts. We discuss the more expansive knowing made possible through our engagement with/in these differentiated, in/determinate mo(ve)ments as professional practice educators and researchers. This paper contributes to onto-ethical-relational research and teaching practices, enabling CoP to be re-configured from socially constructed reflexive processes to affirmative, affective, socio-material practices for making differences in the world.
Association between institutionalization by 4 months post-discharge walking capacity and lean body mass in elderly hip fracture patients: Evidence from a Swedish Registry Based Study
Authors: Hallberg Sara , Söreskog Emma , Borgström Fredrik , Cederholm Tommy , Hedström Margareta
Published: June 2024

Background and purpose:

Losing independence is a main concern for hip fracture patients, and particularly not being able to return home. Given the large impact on quality of life by loss of independence and the high risk for institutionalization after hip fracture, it is of importance to identify modifiable risk factors for such negative outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the association between two such factors, that is, lean body mass and 4 months post-discharge walking capacity, and the risk of institutionalization in previously independent living older people who suffer a hip fracture.

Patients and methods:

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using Swedish national-based population registers. Patients ⩾60 years with a hip fracture during 2008–2017 were included from the Swedish National Registry for Hip Fractures. Risk of institutionalization over the 1-year period following a hip fracture was analyzed using logistic regression analyses adjusted for potential predictors and characteristics.

Results:

In total, 11,265 patients were included. Over the first year, 8% (95% CI: 8–9) of the patients with a hip fracture had lost independence, increasing to 15% (95% CI: 14–16) after 5 years. Poor recovery of post-discharge walking ability was associated with a higher odds ratio of losing independence compared with good recovery (OR 12.0; 95% CI: 7.8–18.4; p < 0.001). Having higher estimated lean body mass than 45 kg at index was associated with lower odds of losing independence.

Conclusion:

Maintaining lean body mass and mobility after a hip fracture is likely important from an individual as well as public health perspective.
The effect of using a combined electrical stimulation therapy on improving sensory and motor functions of the bladder and the bowel in children with myelomeningocele: A case series
Authors: Alzayer Taghreed
Published: June 2024

This case study evaluated the effectiveness of using a combination of faradic and neuromuscular electrical stimulation to improve the sensory and motor function of the bladder/bowel in pediatric patients diagnosed with spina bifida with myelomeningocele. All five patients were pediatric cases aged 4–15 years (mean age 8.4 ± 4.3 years) with complete incontinence in both bladder and bowel functions and self-referred to the Leyaqa Physical Therapy Center in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. All patients had diminished sensation from the hips down and underwent 24 electrical stimulation sessions. Bladder and bowel control were improved by 40% and 20%, respectively. All participants had improved bladder sensation, and 80% had improved bowel sensation. All participants reported improvement in constipation. Feeling the urge or sensation of emptying the bladder or bowel was dramatically improved in all participants. This combination of stimulation electrotherapy can be offered with benefits according to the series of cases studied.
Rapid resolution of erythrodermic atopic dermatitis with upadacitinib: A case report
Authors: Saad Mysa , Guirguis Marina , Hamm Camille , Bose Reetesh
Published: June 2024

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that may progress to erythroderma in severe cases. Biologic agents such as dupilumab have recently become the mainstay of systemic treatment for moderate-to-severe cases, yet many patients remain refractory to therapy. Here, we present a case of erythrodermic atopic dermatitis, resistant to prednisone and dupilumab, with remarkably rapid achievement of remission following treatment with upadacitinib, an oral selective Janus kinase 1 inhibitor.
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the hard palate mimicking a dental abscess: Case report
Authors: Wided Chaouachi , Ghada Bouslama , Mouaffak Chaabani , Fadwa Ghanmi , Nour Sayda Ben Messoud , Souha Ben Youssef
Published: June 2024

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a malignant tumor that arises from the salivary glands. The recommended treatment strategy typically involves surgical intervention, sometimes complemented by radiotherapy, depending on the histological grade of the tumor. A case of a 22-year-old female patient without medical history was described. The clinical examination revealed a bluish lesion located on the hard palate. The histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of a low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Resection of the lesion was performed and oro-nasal communication was immediately closed by a prosthetic obturator and later on by a rotational palate flap. The patient was followed up for 12 months, and there was no evidence of any recurrence. This article highlights the importance of prompt clinical diagnosis of such lesions and provides an opportunity to review these cancer therapeutic measures to reduce postoperative morbidity.
Endothelial cyst of the adrenal gland: A rare case report
Authors: Laasri Khadija , EL Harras Yahya , Izi Zineb , Marrakchi Salma , Derqaoui Sabrine , Bernoussi Zakiya , El aoufir Omar , Laamrani Fatima Zahra , Jroundi Laila
Published: June 2024

Adrenal gland cysts are rare and uncommon manifestations. Mostly asymptomatic, discovered incidentally during radiological studies or at autopsy, or without characteristic symptoms. The spectrum of these entities may include benign cysts or malignant cystic neoplasms. They are classified into four types: pseudocysts, endothelial cysts, epithelial cysts, and parasitic cysts. Though pseudocysts are reported to be the most frequently clinically recognized adrenal cysts in surgical series, endothelial cysts are more frequent in autopsy series. Even with advanced imaging modalities, it is still difficult to differentiate a benign adrenal neoplasm from a malignant one. As a result, getting a definitive diagnosis and starting treatment is challenging. In both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases with a large diameter or increasing sizes during follow-up, or with any abnormality of adrenal hormones, surgery is the treatment of choice in symptomatic. Herein, we present a 47-year-old female with a nonfunctional left adrenal endothelial cyst, who was incidentally found during a computerized tomography scan. The patient presented with left-sided nephritic colic due to renal lithiasis. The objective of this paper is to recall the clinical characteristics and to specify the diagnostic contribution of imaging as well as the therapeutic modalities of this entity.
Assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction in artificial intelligence based on left ventricular opacification
Authors: Zhu Ye , Zhang Zisang , Ma Junqiang , Zhang Yiwei , Zhu Shuangshuang , Liu Manwei , Zhang Ziming , Wu Chun , Xu Chunyan , Wu Anjun , Sun Chenchen , Yang Xin , Wang Yonghuai , Ma Chunyan , Cheng Jun , Ni Dong , Wang Jing , Xie Mingxing , Xue Wufeng , Zhang Li
Published: June 2024

Background

Left ventricular opacification (LVO) improves the accuracy of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by enhancing the visualization of the endocardium. Manual delineation of the endocardium by sonographers has observer variability. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve the reproducibility of LVO to assess LVEF.

Objectives

The aim was to develop an AI model and evaluate the feasibility and reproducibility of LVO in the assessment of LVEF.

Methods

This retrospective study included 1305 echocardiography of 797 patients who had LVO at the Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from 2013 to 2021. The AI model was developed by 5-fold cross validation. The validation datasets included 50 patients prospectively collected in our center and 42 patients retrospectively collected in the external institution. To evaluate the differences between LV function determined by AI and sonographers, the median absolute error (MAE), spearman correlation coefficient, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated.

Results

In LVO, the MAE of LVEF between AI and manual measurements was 2.6% in the development cohort, 2.5% in the internal validation cohort, and 2.7% in the external validation cohort. Compared with two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE), the left ventricular (LV) volumes and LVEF of LVO measured by AI correlated significantly with manual measurements. AI model provided excellent reliability for the LV parameters of LVO (ICC > 0.95).

Conclusions

AI-assisted LVO enables more accurate identification of the LV endocardium and reduces observer variability, providing a more reliable way for assessing LV function.
Use of voice features from smartphones for monitoring depressive disorders: Scoping review
Authors: Shin Jaeeun , Bae Sung Man
Published: June 2024

Object

This review evaluates the use of smartphone-based voice data for predicting and monitoring depression.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted, examining 14 studies from Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science (2010–2023) on voice data collection methods and the use of voice features for minitoring depression.

Results

Voice data, especially prosodic features like fundamental frequency and pitch, show promise for predicting depression, though their sole predictive power requires further validation. Integrating voice with multimodal sensor data has been shown to improve accuracy significantly.

Conclusion

Smartphone-based voice monitoring offers a promising, noninvasive, and cost-effective approach to depression management. The integration of machine learning with sensor data could significantly enhance mental health monitoring, necessitating further research and longitudinal studies for validation.
A Comprehensive Approach to Transformative Experiences in Academic Tourism
Authors: Amaro Dina , Caldeira Ana Maria , Seabra Cláudia
Published: June 2024

This study addresses the growing interest in transformative experiences in international academic tourism from a managerial and consumer perspective. While the managerial perspective focuses on delivering highly personalized experiences that profoundly impact each individual, the consumer perspective emphasizes inner transformation and personal growth. Despite recent developments in understanding transformative experiences, comprehensive empirical studies encompassing both consumer and managerial perspectives, as well as focusing on academic tourism remain limited. To fill this gap, the research conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with international academic tourists, integrating both managerial and consumer perspectives. The study confirmed previously identified dimensions of transformative experiences and unveiled a novel facet related to intended achievements. Additionally, the findings corroborated that academic tourists undergo transformative experiences during their study abroad programs. This research contributes valuable insights to academia and the tourism industry, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of transformative experiences in the context of international academic tourism.
Empowering Young Adults With Significant Disabilities to Learn New Employment Skills Through Self-Directed Video-Based Instruction
Authors: Sun Xiaoning , Brock Matthew E.
Published: June 2024

Video-based instruction (VBI) is an effective means to teach employment skills to young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Within the category of VBI, video prompting (VP) is well-suited to teach multistep routines, and video modeling (VM) is better suited for social interactions. In this multiple probe design, three young adults with IDD were taught to make badges with self-directed VP with error correction, and to request help for missing materials with VM. Functional relations were demonstrated between VP and progress on the badge-making skill, and VM and progress on requesting help. These findings demonstrate the utility of combining VP and VM to address both multistep routines and social skills in the workplace. We offer practical implications for how teachers and job coaches can leverage VBI to teach different kinds of employment skills to people with IDD.
The Revolt Against Françafrique: What Is Behind the “Anti-French” Sentiment?
Authors: Pigeaud Fanny , Sylla Ndongo Samba
Published: June 2024

This article analyzes the so-called “anti-French sentiment” that many journalists, academics, and political leaders believe they detect in sub-Saharan Africa. It is argued here that the hostility toward the former colonial power, observable for several years in most French-speaking countries on the continent, is the consequence of half a century of neocolonial domination, arrogance, and indifference. The criticism is directed at France for its support for despotic regimes, its continual military interventions, and the maintenance of its monetary supervision through the CFA franc. Long suppressed, these critical voices are now determined to be heard. A new generation of activists using social media has broken through the communication monopolies and appealed to the growing population of youth that sees no future other than through a second independence. The challenge will be to steer this movement toward a project of social transformation in the service of the people.
Easy as 1-2-3: Development and Evaluation of a Simple yet Valid Audiogram-Classification System
Authors: Humes Larry E. , Zapala David A.
Published: June 2024

Almost since the inception of the modern-day electroacoustic audiometer a century ago the results of pure-tone audiometry have been characterized by an audiogram. For almost as many years, clinicians and researchers have sought ways to distill the volume and complexity of information on the audiogram. Commonly used approaches have made use of pure-tone averages (PTAs) for various frequency ranges with the PTA for 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz (PTA4) being the most widely used for the categorization of hearing loss severity. Here, a three-digit triad is proposed as a single-number summary of not only the severity, but also the configuration and bilateral symmetry of the hearing loss. Each digit in the triad ranges from 0 to 9, increasing as the level of the pure-tone hearing threshold level (HTL) increases from a range of optimal hearing (< 10 dB Hearing Level; HL) to complete hearing loss (≥ 90 dB HL). Each digit also represents a different frequency region of the audiogram proceeding from left to right as: (Low, L) PTA for 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz; (Center, C) PTA for 3000, 4000 and 6000 Hz; and (High, H) HTL at 8000 Hz. This LCH Triad audiogram-classification system is evaluated using a large United States (U.S.) national dataset (N = 8,795) from adults 20 to 80 + years of age and two large clinical datasets totaling 8,254 adults covering a similar age range. Its ability to capture variations in hearing function was found to be superior to that of the widely used PTA4.
Improving the Detection and Management of Kidney Health in Primary Care
Authors: Robson Breonny , Deed Gary , Phoon Richard KS
Published: June 2024

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, contributing to approximately 20 000 deaths in 2021 in Australia. Importantly, progression of CKD can be substantially reduced if it is detected and treated early. Here we present the perspectives of a general practitioner (primary care physician), a nephrologist and a patient advocate on how the diagnosis and management of CKD in primary care could be improved. Early detection and treatment of CKD are impeded by limited patient awareness and knowledge, communication challenges between patients and doctors, and psychosocial issues, with these factors also interacting with, and exacerbating, each other. We make the following recommendations to help improve outcomes in patients with CKD: (1) identifying people at increased risk of CKD and ensuring they have a complete kidney health check (including estimated glomerular filtration rate, urine albumin-creatinine ratio and a blood pressure check) every 1−2 years; (2) using simple, nonconfrontational language and supportive resources to communicate with patients about kidney health; (3) implementing early treatment to slow the progression of CKD and avoid adverse cardiovascular disease outcomes; and (4) asking patient-orientated questions to support shared decision-making and empower patients to be active partners in their healthcare. We acknowledge that limited time is a major barrier to implementing these recommendations in primary care. Utilizing the expertise of the whole practice team, and adopting supportive technology to introduce efficiencies, are likely to be of benefit. By adopting these recommendations, we believe general practitioners have the opportunity to drive improved outcomes and quality of life for people living with CKD in Australia.
Addressing Gaps in Access to LGBTQIA + Health Education Resources: A Novel E-Learning Platform
Authors: Srinivasan Sanjana , Goldhammer Hilary , Charlton Brittany M. , McKenney Tess , Keuroghlian Alex S.
Published: June 2024

OBJECTIVES

To reduce health inequities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and all sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQIA+) people, healthcare professionals need increased access to education and training resources on LGBTQIA + health. Web-based, asynchronous, electronic learning (e-learning) resources are critical for expanding the availability of LGBTQIA + health programs. This article presents the design and utilization outcomes of a novel e-learning platform for engaging healthcare professionals in LGBTQIA + health online continuing education.

METHODS

As of December 2022, the e-learning platform consisted of 293 resources within 17 topic domains. Modalities included: learning modules, recorded webinars, publications, videos, and toolkits. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the e-learning platform's website traffic and user engagement data. Google Universal Analytics and event tracking were used to measure website traffic, user locations, and publication downloads. Learning module and webinar completions were exported from the learning management system and run as frequencies.

RESULTS

Between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022, over 650,000 people from all U.S. states, 182 countries, and 31 territories visited the website. Platform users downloaded publications 66,225 times, and completed 29,351 learning modules and 24,654 webinars.

CONCLUSION

The broad reach and high user engagement of the e-learning platform indicate acceptability of web-based, asynchronous online continuing education in LGBTQIA + health, and suggest that this platform is filling a need in health professional education. Remote, online learning opportunities may be especially important in jurisdictions with bans on medical care for transgender and gender diverse youth. Future growth of the platform, paired with in-person and other online learning opportunities, has the potential to reduce gaps in LGBTQIA + health training, and mitigate LGBTQIA + health inequities.
Tibial Tubercle Anteromedialization Using the Multi-Directional Tibial Tubercle Transfer System
Authors: Bartsch Anna , Atzmon Ran , Pierre Kinsley , Vel Monica S. , Sherman Seth L.
Published: June 2024

Background:

Tibial tubercle osteotomy (TTO) can realign the patellofemoral joint and reduce patellofemoral contact stress. Anteriorization can reduce compressive patellofemoral loads and medialization shifts the pulling direction on the patella, thereby lowering the load on the lateral compartments.

Indications:

Patellofemoral instability, patellofemoral malalignment, and distal and lateral chondral defects.

Technique Description:

The Multi-Directional Tibial Tubercle Transfer System (MD3T) uses a generic 3-dimensional cutting template to create 2 compound wedges that are individually transposed and adjusted to achieve multiplanar correction. For isolated tibial tubercle anteriorization, the primary wedge is solely used and the proximal bone defect is filled with autograft taken from the distal part of the wedge and synthetic bone graft substitution. For tibial tubercle medialization, the primary and secondary wedges are transposed, filling each other's respective spaces. Through the transposition of the primary and secondary wedges, partial filling of the defect with the patient's own bone is achieved, reducing the bone defect. For combined anteromedialization, both of these techniques are merged.

Results:

During walking fatigue test and chair rising test in a cadaveric simulated 42-day healing period, no loosening or cracking occurred. Clinical study results on this technique are pending.

Conclusion:

The MD3T system achieves with its wedge technique a precise and reproducible multiplanar correction in TTO.

Patient Consent Disclosure Statement:

The author(s) attests that consent has been obtained from any patient(s) appearing in this publication. If the individual may be identifiable, the author(s) has included a statement of release or other written form of approval from the patient(s) with this submission for publication.