bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
1. Roundtable 1
Authors: Smith Neil Thomas
Published: January 2024

This chapter looks at approaches to urgent issues around equality, inclusion and diversity within classical music today through the lens of volume’s main theme: the future. The discussion covers three arenas in which efforts to increase representation in terms of gender, race and – to a lesser extent – class are well underway, though still with significant steps still to take for parity to be achieved. These are: music higher education, community projects undertaken by orchestras, and festivals of new music. Each author provides a snapshot of the issues at stake in these different areas of classical music practice, showing distinct challenges but also important areas of overlap. There is common ground in the attempt to broaden the profile of the students, participants and practitioners active in their various spheres and, in so doing, there is an implicit challenge to one or other of the tenets of classical music culture described above. The discussion originally took place as part of the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music’s 2021 symposium that considered ‘the Future’. The panel consisted of Maria Hansen, chief executive of ELIA, a Higher Education network; Kirsteen Davidson Kelly, formerly creative learning director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, now chief executive of the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland; and composer, improviser and scholar, George E. Lewis, who is the Edwin H. Case professor of American music at Columbia University.
18. Artificial Intelligence and the Symphony Orchestra
Authors: Laidlow Robert
Published: January 2024

This chapter documents a process of practice-based research concerning the relationship between artificial intelligence and classical music. I argue that classical music (as an industry) is well placed o answer salient questions that the age of artificial intelligence demands we consider. The relationship is explored through three themes, which are:

1. The relationship between the future and the past

2. The idea of “authenticity”

3. The notion of music as an abstract artform that can or cannot be reduced to data alone

Using these thematic areas as a bedrock, the case study will discuss the three- movement work Silicon, written for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Drawing from my own practice and views the case study will explore how this new technology affects, and will affect, the way an orchestra interacts with a composer, and how orchestral music can be used to explore technology that has an increasingly profound effect on all aspects of our day-to-day lives. Alongside theoretical and aesthetic ties between classical music and artificial intelligence, practical methodologies for utilising artificial intelligence as part of the creative process will be explored. This includes the benefits and limitations of using artificial intelligence to create or develop musical material, long-term structures, or novel synthesized instruments, and also some compositional methodologies I have developed to magnify or mitigate the effect of artificial intelligence on a large-scale work.
‘Into the danger-zone’: How intersubjective processes rooted in social identities shape responses to existential threats
Authors: Sonpar Karan , Pazzaglia Federica , Shrivastava Samir , Garg Yash
Published: January 2024

How do individuals who engage in high-risk work deal with the existential threats that are part and parcel of their daily activities? Based on a qualitative study of fighter pilots, we find that experiences and responses to existential threats are shaped by three intersubjective processes, that is, socially constructed and accepted patterns of interactions by which individuals come to view existential threats as one of several challenges of their work, something that is common yet unremarkable. These processes draw from and impinge upon cherished social identities to inculcate in individuals: (1) a preoccupation with performance as a precondition for continued membership, thereby crowding out death anxiety; (2) a willingness to withstand no-holds barred collective scrutiny, thereby keeping their egos under check, and enhancing learning and safety; and (3) a view of death as a commonplace and therefore unremarkable facet of their activities. The contribution of our study is to illuminate the intersubjective processes implicated in the development of social identities that enable individuals in high-risk work to function effectively despite the existential threats they face.
Demystifying Indo-US Natural and Strategic Partnership
Authors: Mann Baljit Singh
Published: January 2024

India–US relations have witnessed diverse trends ranging from estrangement to engagement followed by strategic partnership. They have signed various agreements, such as DPA, CND, LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA, to institutionalize their strategic partnership. However, real-time challenges have continuously shaped the trajectory of strategic alignment as their national interests occasionally converged and often diverged. Their notions of world order sharply contrast. New Delhi stands for a multi-polar world order, whereas Washington advocates uni-polar world order. The US–Pakistan alliance partnership has further proved an impediment to the Indo–US strategic partnership. Hence, much claimed natural partnership has not been able to make much headway as their national interests diverge on core issues such as trade, immigration, joint and co-production, and world order. The mainstream literature advocates that these are the teething problems of evolving strategic partnerships, but the in-depth analysis indicates that issues confronting their relationship are structural and deep-rooted. Realism, neorealism and social constructivism prove appropriate tools to grasp the dynamic of Indo–US natural and strategic partnerships by locating them in the global, Asian and regional power structure.
Truths and Tales: Understanding Online Fake News Networks in South Korea
Authors: Sheehy Benedict , Choi Sujin , Khan Md Irfanuzzaman , Arnold Bruce Baer , Sang Yoonmo , Lee Jae-Jin
Published: January 2024

This study investigates the features of fake news networks and how they spread during the 2020 South Korean election. Using actor–network theory (ANT), we assessed the network’s central players and how they are connected. Results reveal the characteristics of the videoclips and channel networks responsible for the propagation of fake news. Analysis of the videoclip network reveals a high number of detected fake news videos and a high density of connections among users. Assessment of news videoclips on both actual and fake news networks reveals that the real news network is more concentrated. However, the scale of the network may play a role in these variations. Statistics for network centralization reveal that users are spread out over the network, pointing to its decentralized character. A closer look at the real and fake news networks inside videos and channels reveals similar trends. We find that the density of the real news videoclip network is higher than that of the fake news network, whereas the fake news channel networks are denser than their real news counterparts, which may indicate greater activity and interconnectedness in their transmission. We also found that fake news videoclips had more likes than real news videoclips, whereas real news videoclips had more dislikes than fake news videoclips. These findings strongly suggest that fake news videoclips are more accepted when people watch them on YouTube. In addition, we used semantic networks and automated content analysis to uncover common language patterns in fake news, which helps us better understand the structure and dynamics of the networks involved in the dissemination of fake news. The findings reported here provide important insights on how fake news spread via social networks during the South Korean election of 2020. The results of this study have important implications for the campaign against fake news and ensuring factual coverage.
Controlling a moving world: Territorial control, displacement and the spread of civilian targeting in Iraq
Authors: Weber Sigrid
Published: January 2024

How do armed actors respond to population movements during civil wars? I argue that displacement alters local balances of control between territorial rulers and challengers. Local territorial rulers have incentives to govern violently if displaced persons perceived as members of opposing loyalty groups move into their territories and challengers spoil local governance by inflicting harm on civilians if incoming supporters of a local ruler reinforce the governor’s control. To test these dynamics, I use a combination of manual coding and machine learning to create a novel monthly dataset of territorial control, one-sided violence against moving populations and displacement patterns disaggregated by ethno-religious groups in the war against the Islamic State (2014–2017) in Iraq. Using negative binomial count models, I find that territorial challengers and rulers distinctively respond to population movements in Iraq. The paper extends previous theories of civilian victimization and territorial control by conceptualizing local populations as a dynamic element that explains where fleeing civilians become moving targets.
Helping students to learn and grow
Authors: Miles Sarah , Pope Denise , Ciannella Caitlin
Published: January 2024

Research on engagement in schools as well as research from the Challenge Success-Stanford Survey of School Experiences on how high school studentsʼ perceptions of classroom practices correlate with their engagement levels shows that more students are engaged in school when educators emphasize practices that promote learning and mastery. Authors Sarah Miles, Denise Pope, and Caitlin Ciannella offer mastery-based strategies teachers can use to increase student engagement by tweaking some approaches to grading and assessment.
Under The Law: Vouchers and the future of public education
Authors: Kim Robert , Levin Jessica
Published: January 2024

Until recently, few states offered vouchers to help families pay for private schools. But over the last two years, more states have begun enacting “universal” voucher laws, which permit any school-age child in the state to attend private schools using taxpayer funds that would or could otherwise support public education. Robert Kim and Jessica Levin discuss the legal and political trends undergirding the voucher movement and why the growth of vouchers will negatively affect public schools without offering help to the students who most need it.
Quantized iterative learning control of communication-constrained systems with encoding and decoding mechanism
Authors: Tao Yujuan , Tao Hongfeng , Zhuang Zhihe , Stojanovic Vladimir , Paszke Wojciech
Published: January 2024

In practical applications, due to the limited communication bandwidth, the network control systems (NCSs) are prone to data dropouts when the load is high. In this paper, the problem of quantized iterative learning control (ILC) based on encoding and decoding mechanism for such communication-constrained systems is studied. By combining the encoding and decoding mechanism with the uniform quantizer, the network burden and the impact of quantization error on the tracking performance of the systems are significantly mitigated. Meanwhile, data dropouts are represented as the Bernoulli random variable model, and an ILC law based on gradient is designed. When data dropouts occur, the signals maintain the value of the previous trial, otherwise the signals are updated. For this kind of learning framework, the asymptotic zero-error tracking performance has been rigorously proven for the uniform quantizer. To validate the proposed design, a joint motion of an industrial robot in the horizontal plane is simulated as an example.
Struggling for the right to struggle: Cultural workers’ labour rights and unions
Authors: Kim Hoyoung
Published: January 2024

This paper explores how writers in the South Korean broadcasting industry have collectively struggled against their precarious working conditions and faced distinctive difficulties in taking their collective actions, including unionization. Based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 23 research participants, this paper examines why and how these South Korean writers have established various forms of collective worker organization: from a professional association to informal grassroots communities, to a women-only trade union, to two unions of media workers who are freelance or on contract. I argue that the activism of these writers reflects the intersection of different identities, ranging from women to freelancers to cultural workers and that their activism promotes the idea that working creatively, autonomously and equitably should be recognized as a basic labour right.
Assessment of Color Reproducibility and Mitigation of Color Variation in Whole Slide Image Scanners for Toxicologic Pathology
Authors: Chu Mei-Lan , Ge Xing-Yue M. , Eastham Jeffrey , Nguyen Trung , Fuji Reina N. , Sullivan Ruth , Ruderman Daniel
Published: January 2024

Digital pathology workflows in toxicologic pathology rely on whole slide images (WSIs) from histopathology slides. Inconsistent color reproduction by WSI scanners of different models and from different manufacturers can result in different color representations and inter-scanner color variation in the WSIs. Although pathologists can accommodate a range of color variation during their evaluation of WSIs, color variability can degrade the performance of computational applications in digital pathology. In particular, color variability can compromise the generalization of artificial intelligence applications to large volumes of data from diverse sources. To address these challenges, we developed a process that includes two modules: (1) assessing the color reproducibility of our scanners and the color variation among them and (2) applying color correction to WSIs to minimize the color deviation and variation. Our process ensures consistent color reproduction across WSI scanners and enhances color homogeneity in WSIs, and its flexibility enables easy integration as a post-processing step following scanning by WSI scanners of different models and from different manufacturers.
Long-term Effectiveness and Outcome-Determining Factors of Arthroscopic Bankart Repair for Recreational Sports Population: An Assessment of 100 Patients With a Mean Follow-up of 12.7 Years
Authors: Kim Jae Soo , Kim Su Cheol , Park Jong Hun , Kim Hyun Gon , Kim Dae Yeung , Lee Sang Min , Yoo Jae Chul
Published: January 2024

Background:

A limited number of studies have reported the long-term effectiveness of and associated factors for recurrence of anterior shoulder instability after arthroscopic Bankart repair (ABR).

Purpose:

To report the long-term clinical outcomes after ABR in a recreational sports population and identify the associated factors that influence the final instability status.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

A retrospective study was performed in patients treated with ABR between 2007 and 2013 by a single surgeon. Patient data, magnetic resonance imaging measurements of bone loss and glenoid track, and intra- and perioperative factors were analyzed. After a minimum follow-up of 10 years, patient-reported outcomes including the Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index score, the Rowe score, the visual analog scale for pain and function, the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, and sports activity were assessed. The current instability status was classified into 3 groups: stable, apprehensive, and redislocated. These groups were statistically compared with respect to outcomes and associated factors.

Results:

A total of 100 patients with a mean age of 22.4 ± 5.5 years and a mean follow-up of 12.7 ± 2.1 years were included. At the final follow-up, 38 patients (38%) showed recurrent symptoms: 19 patients (19%) with subjective apprehension and 19 patients (19%) with redislocation, including 10 patients (10%) with revision surgery. At the final follow-up, the redislocated group showed the lowest patient-reported outcomes and return to sports (both P < .001). The apprehensive group also showed a lower Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index score ( P = .011), Rowe score ( P = .003), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score ( P = .027), and return to sports ( P = .005) than the stable group. Participation in contact sports ( P = .026), glenoid bone loss ( P = .005), size of Hill-Sachs lesion ( P = .009), and off-track lesions ( P = .016) were all associated with recurrent symptoms, whereas age <20 years ( P = .012), participation in contact sports ( P = .003), and off-track lesions ( P = .042) were associated with redislocation.

Conclusion:

After long-term follow-up in a recreational sports population, ABR demonstrated a 19% rate of subjective apprehension and 19% rate of redislocation, with a gradual decline in clinical outcomes and sports activity over time. Therefore, candidates for ABR should be selected based on consideration of risk factors such as off-track lesions, age <20 years, and participation in contact sports.
The Effect of Wearable-Based Real-Time Feedback on Running Injuries and Running Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Van Hooren Bas , Plasqui Guy , Meijer Kenneth
Published: January 2024

Background:

Running technique and running speed are considered important risk factors for running injuries. Real-time feedback on running technique and running speed by wearables may help reduce injury risk.

Purpose:

To investigate whether real-time feedback on spatiotemporal metrics and relative speed by commercially available pressure-sensitive insoles would reduce running injuries and improve running performance compared with no real-time feedback.

Study Design:

Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.

Methods:

A total of 220 recreational runners were randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups. Both groups received pressure-sensitive insoles, but only the intervention group received real-time feedback on spatiotemporal metrics and relative speed. The feedback aimed to reduce loading on the joint/segment estimated to exhibit the highest load. Injury rates were compared between the groups using Cox regressions. Secondary outcomes compared included injury severity, the proportion of runners with multiple injuries, changes in self-reported personal best times and motivation (Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire–2), and interest in continuing wearable use after study completion.

Results:

A total of 160 participants (73%) were included in analyses of the primary outcome. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no significant difference in injury rate between the groups (Hazard ratio [HR], 1.11; P = .70). This was expected, as 53 of 160 (33%) participants ended up in the unassigned group because they used incorrect wearable settings, nullifying any interventional effects. As-treated analysis showed a significantly lower injury rate among participants receiving real-time feedback (HR, 0.53; P = .03). Similarly, the first-time injury severity was significantly lower (–0.43; P = .042). Per-protocol analysis showed no significant differences in injury rates, but the direction favored the intervention group (HR, 0.67; P = .30). There were no significant differences in the proportion of patients with multiple injuries (HR, 0.82; P = .40) or changes in running performance (3.07%; P = .26) and motivation. Also, ~60% of the participants who completed the study showed interest in continuing wearable use.

Conclusion:

Real-time feedback on spatiotemporal metrics and relative speed provided by commercially available instrumented insoles may reduce the rate and severity of injuries in recreational runners. Feedback did not influence running performance and exercise motivation.

Registration:

NL8472 (Dutch Trial Register).
Aging in Place with Few Children and Social Services-- Understanding Structural and Cultural Lags in Rural China
Authors: Zhan Heying Jenny , Liu Jing , Qiu Fengxian
Published: January 2024

This study uses mixed methodologies to reveal how structural and cultural changes are changing the connotations of home and aging in rural China. Based on surveys ( n = 830) and 33 intensive interviews with older migrant workers, this study found that having rural public pensions, adult children living nearby, and owning land in their hometowns were associated with the respondents’ desire for aging in place ( AIP). Moreover, although the image of the rural home is idyllic, the reality is difficult. Aging migrant workers are gaining a strong sense of financial independence and their children’s lack of parental care. The authors argue that having no social-care services, while adult children are rarely available for old-age care, is changing the connotations of AIP in rural China. These social and cultural transformations are making AIP more of a romantic ideal than a practical reality for migrant workers.
Couple Identity Work: Collaborative Couplehood, Gender Inequalities, and Power in Naming
Authors: Sue Christina A. , vasquez-tokos Jessica , Núñez Adriana c.
Published: January 2024

The study of baby naming is valuable for understanding how gender inequality is reproduced in families. Often treated as an event, baby naming also represents an important social and cultural process that can reveal gendered dynamics in couple decision-making. Baby naming, which represents a highly visible and symbolic family milestone, is a strategic site in which to examine how couple identities are constructed—for self, partner, and others—through the naming process and through stories parents tell of how they named the baby. Drawing on 46 interviews with U.S. Mexican-origin heterosexual parents, we expose tensions that result when practices do not align with a desired (egalitarian) couple identity and detail the ensuing cognitive, emotion, and narrative labor that parents—primarily women—perform to reconcile inconsistencies. We introduce the concept of couple identity work, or the work involved in creating and projecting a desired impression of a relationship for multiple audiences, to provide a theoretical framework for these gendered dynamics. We show how couple identity work is enacted—and power expressed—through men’s and women’s strategies of action/inaction and storytelling, and how this work reproduces and obscures gendered power and inequality in the intimate context of baby naming.
Beyond the Parameters of “Choice”: An Obliterated Vision for Traditional Public Schooling and the Contamination of the New Orleans Charter Restart Model
Authors: Jeffers Elizabeth K.
Published: January 2024

Departing from mainstream accounts of the post-Katrina New Orleans state takeover and the more recent “unification” of schools under local governance, this case study utilizes the plantation (Hartman, 1997; Woods, 1998, McKittrick, 2011) as a theoretical device and the silenced archive (Trouillot, 2015) as a method of inquiry to better understand why and how a Black public high school was obliterated. Data analysis indicates that despite the takeover and the damning of John McDonogh Senior High, this school was a lynchpin of struggle for democratic public schooling. Additionally, findings suggest that the charter school movement deployed community engagement, an evolving technology, to obliterate a collective vision that fell beyond the parameters of “choice.” In closing, the article points to an absence of empirical evidence on the all-charter structure, the ever-present use of the city as a laboratory for restructuring efforts elsewhere, and a pressing need for building and sustaining researchers who are accountable to African American communities in New Orleans.
Pandemic Stories From the Margins: Migrant Experiences of Social Exclusion During COVID-19
Authors: Bobek Alicja , Sandström Lina
Published: January 2024

This paper utilises the concepts of social exclusion and precarity to explore the situation of migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on European countries, we first demonstrate how migrants were more likely to experience exclusion prior to the crisis and how they were further marginalised due to the public health measures. Second, we show how inadequate government support exacerbated the exclusion of migrants. Finally, we explore social ties of migrants during the pandemic, with a focus on local and transnational ties. The paper is based on qualitative data collected as part of the European Union (EU)-funded project RESISTIRÉ, which examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable groups across Europe. Over 100 narratives with migrants were gathered during the project, and these were analysed to explore the multiple social exclusions experienced by migrants, as well as the ways they coped with being on the margins of receiving societies.
Latinxs in the house? Latinx migration and culture in Madrid
Authors: Olívar Graterol Dagmary
Published: January 2024

This commentary explores some of the cultural practices among people of Latin American origin living in Madrid. By establishing a link between Latinx migration and the process of racialization, the author describes how contemporary archives are being created and the ways that “migrant culture” is expressed and perceived in modern-day Spain, using the term “Latinx” as a critical category that refers to Latin American “Xs” living in the diaspora. This preliminary inquiry keys into the following question: What is the cultural history of Latinx communities in Madrid and how was this history constructed? In this way, the piece contextualizes the conflicts and misunderstandings experienced by Latinx migrants upon arrival in the host society from the standpoint of taking ownership of spaces of signification to generate a sense of belonging through cultural practices and creative projects. For these communities, such spaces are tangible and symbolic places of action, meaning making, and resistance. Culture—both its everyday manifestations and specifically artistic practices—is a critical space of expression, creativity, and thought. This makes it a suitable way to incorporate the migrant population into a new perception of Spanish national identity, thus generating enough of a sense of belonging.
Constructing Mobilities: The Reproduction of Posted Workers’ Disposability in the Construction Sector
Authors: Bagnardi Francesco , Sacchetto Devi , Vianello Francesca Alice
Published: January 2024

Posted work is often framed as a business model based on social dumping. Widespread regulatory evasion is imputed to regulation’s opacity, firms’ predatory practices and trade unions’ inability to organise posted workers. Isolation and precariousness channel posted workers’ agency into individualised reworking or exit strategies. These perspectives, however insightful, focus either on formal regulations, enforcement actors or host countries’ institutional settings. Drawing on biographical interviews with Italian construction workers posted abroad, and semi-structured interviews with non-posted workers and stakeholders of the sector in Italy, the article adopts an actor-centred perspective and mobilises the concept of labour regime to show how its disciplining elements operating in the construction sector in Italy stick with workers during their postings and enhance their disposability. Although this sticky labour regime constrains workers’ agency abroad, it remains continuously contested and offers ways for workers to subvert it and improve their employment conditions.
Vehicles with cooperative redundancy of multiple steering systems: A hybrid shaft/hydrostatic drive system
Authors: Kahandawa Gayan , Spark Ian , Jayawardena Amal
Published: January 2024

Cooperative redundancy of multiple steering systems are used to maximise traction, manoeuvrability and stability of a wheeled vehicle operating on difficult terrain. Cooperative redundancy is achieved if all the wheel angle steering effects and the drive wheel speed steering effects have a single theoretical instant centre. This means they all reinforce each other without conflict. This maximises energy efficiency and minimises ground damage and tyre wear. In previous work, close coupled wheel motors where used to drive the wheels. In this work, each wheel is connected to the output shaft of a reverse differential. The primary input to each differential is by means of a mechanical shaft drive which delivers power from the vehicle gearbox to each reverse differential. The secondary input to each reverse differential is provided by a hydrostatic motor which is used to correct the speed of each wheel in order to achieve cooperative redundancy. The hydrostatic motors will only be driven when the vehicle is turning. The hydrostatic motors will be stationary when the vehicle is proceeding in a straight line. Equations for the correct speed of the hydrostatic motors are derived. If the vehicle is to be capable of turning about any instant centre, the wheels must be capable of turning through a large angle range. The necessary range is 180° if the wheels can be driven in both forward and reverse directions. A mechanical drive to such wheels is only feasible if a vertical kingpin drive is involved. However, such a drive suffers from an inevitable but unwanted coupling between the turning of the wheel and the rotation of the wheel. Means of compensating for this unwanted effect are also described.
Analysis of intelligent and connected vehicles driving system modeling
Authors: Zhang Hong , Zheng Zan , Yu Hailiang , Yang Gang , Yuan Shengdong
Published: January 2024

In response to the limitations of traditional offline static simulation modeling technology in accurately addressing the intricacies and complexities of intelligent and connected vehicles (ICVs) driving processes, this paper introduces the concept of an ICV driving system (ICVDS) model based on digital twin technology. Firstly, the paper delves into the theory of ICVDS digital twin modeling, covering aspects such as model elements and the operational mechanism of the model. The ICVDS, which relies on digital twin (DT) technology, is designed in accordance with the characteristics of ICVs, their technical requirements, and the architecture of the DT system. Subsequently, the paper explores four key areas: the modeling of driving elements, the modeling of the driving process, simulation modeling of the driving process, and a summary of modeling technology. The section on modeling driving elements primarily elucidates the methodology for creating twin models and illustrates how these models describe the system’s functionality in controlling the subject. The segment on modeling the driving process elucidates the approach to real-time data-driven modeling. The part on driving process simulation modeling explains the methodology for establishing simulation models and demonstrates how they predict the future state of the subject. Lastly, the paper introduces the construction of autonomous driving test scenarios based on ICVDS.
Ginsenoside Rg5 induces NSCLC cell apoptosis and autophagy through PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway
Authors: Zhang Caidie , Jin Yan
Published: January 2024

Objective

Ginsenoside Rg5 (Rg5) is a minor ginsenoside of ginseng and has a strong anti-tumor potential. This study focused on deciphering the function of Rg5 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and investigating its related mechanism.

Methods

After treating human NSCLC cell lines (H1650 and A549) and bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) with increasing concentration of Rg5, cell viability was examined using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. NSCLC cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by colony formation assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The levels of proteins associated with cell cycle progression, cell apoptosis, and autophagy as well as the key markers in the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway were measured using western blot. A xenograft nude mouse model was established to explore the function of Rg5 in vivo.

Results

NSCLC cell viability was dose- and time-dependently suppressed after Rg5 treatment. Rg5 restrained NSCLC cell proliferation by inducing G2/M phase arrest via regulation of cell cycle-related genes including p21, cyclin B1, and Cdc2. Additionally, Rg5 promoted caspase-dependent apoptosis in NSCLC cells by regulating the intrinsic mitochondrial signaling pathway. Rg5 induced autophagy via the regulation of autophagy-related proteins. The in vivo experiments revealed the inhibitory impact of Rg5 on xenograft growth. Rg5 also inactivated the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in NSCLC cells and mouse tumors.

Conclusion

Rg5 induced autophagy and caspase-dependent apoptosis in NSCLC cells by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, suggesting that Rg5 might become a promising and novel anti-tumor agent for the clinical treatment of NSCLC patients.
Cultural Sensitivity of a Group of Nursing Students’ and Attitudes Toward Refugees
Authors: Türkan Işik Meryem , Can Özdemir Rana
Published: January 2024

Background:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude of nursing students in providing health care to refugees due to cultural differences and to reveal individual factors (age, gender, marital status) affecting negative attitudes.

Method:

This cross-sectional descriptive correlational study was conducted to determine the intercultural competence of nursing students and their attitudes toward immigrants in Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 316 nursing students.

Results:

The Negative Attitude Toward Immigrants Scale scores of the participants were high, however, the intercultural competence level of the health professionals was positive. A weak negative statistically significant relationship was found the Negative Attitude Toward Immigrants Scale and the Cross-Cultural Competence of Healthcare Professionals Scale ( r = −.247, p = .000).

Conclusion:

Our study revealed that nursing students have negative attitudes toward immigrants, and factors such as gender and caring for patients from a different ethnic origin, discomfort in providing care impacted their attitudes.
Don’t say it’s over: The perceived epidemic stage and COVID preventive behaviour
Authors: Sinyavskaya Yadviga , Eritsyan Ksenia , Antonova Natalia , Sharin Nikita
Published: January 2024

Little is known about the perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic’s dynamic and its effect on self-protective behaviour. Using survey data from 1343 university students we explored how the perceived temporal distance to the COVID pandemic peak associates with risk perception and the adherence of preventive behaviours. Results show that individuals differ in their perception of the pandemic stage despite being in the same environment. The belief that the COVID peak is in the past was associated with less perceived risk and decreased self-protection. A high COVID-19 media involvement and trust in the authorities were associated with higher perceived risk and preventive behaviour implementation. Overall, the perception that the pandemic wave is in its final stages could be an independent predictor of more risky behaviour. Thus, the communication of the pandemic dynamic should be provided by policy makers with caution to avoid the possibility of discounting the risk.
Surveillance after resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: How to do it and what are the benefits?
Authors: Andersson Roland , Ansari Daniel , Haglund Caj
Published: January 2024

Background and objective:

Surveillance following resection with curative intent of pancreatic cancer varies widely, and supporting evidence is limited. Recurrence is although frequent, not at least during the first 2 years. Surveillance may be costly, but evidence on how this influences overall survival is not fully elucidated.

Methods, Results:

There are reports implying that signs of biological recurrence (increasing CA 19-9) precede radiologically demonstrated recurrence by months.

Conclusions:

The possibility of initiating salvage therapy earlier is discussed, potentially based on improved future biomarker panels.
Into the meme stream: The value and spectacle of Internet memes
Authors: Mitman Tyson , Denham Jack
Published: January 2024

This article ‘tracks’ memes, forms of networked, pictorial/caption humour and social commentary – as well as cultural labour, through a process of value change: the ‘meme stream’. This is a process of incorporation of cultural resistance and labour into, and by, the dominant forces of capital that facilitate them: social media networks and their advertisers. We use Marcuse’s Repressive Tolerance alongside Debord’s Spectacle to argue that as memes move, increasing their audience as they go, they lose resonance with a dedicated audience but gain exposure with a more diffuse audience, which is detrimental to the expression of political, countercultural or socially provocative positions. We use Doge as our explanatory structural example. Our contribution is to demonstrate that the systems that allow for the flow and movement of memes reduce their expressive content, shifting them towards a template that is impotent for cultural, social or political critique.
From #Rona to #Omarion: Black Twitter’s hashtag activism and critical discourse of COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Grant Rachel , Addie Yewande O , Ezeh Aruah Diane
Published: January 2024

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, social media was one of the key digital spaces for community and information. As cases and deaths rose within US Black communities, Black Twitter continued to serve as a counterpublic for humor, health commentary, and hashtag activism. This study will examine the techno discourses of Black Twitter’s usage of hashtag activism during the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that the hashtags and tweets used within the Black Twitter counterpublic addressed social justice issues and challenged health inequalities in the mainstream media. We found three main discourses: Black Popular Culture, Lack of Access, and Vaccination Awareness. Overall, these discourses allow Black communities to culturally advocate for themselves and create counterpublic spheres to present their lived experiences.
Effectiveness of Parent–Child Interaction Therapy for Maltreated Families: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Zhang Huiping , Wang Weiwei , Li Zihui
Published: January 2024

This meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for maltreated families and examined potential moderators associated with the intervention. Seven English electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global) were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before January 20, 2023. Eleven studies involving 1,069 maltreated or high-risk families were included in the meta-analysis. Our results showed that PCIT significantly reduced child externalizing behaviors, improved parenting skills, and decreased parenting stress and child abuse potential in maltreated families. Additionally, families with confirmed maltreatment history reported larger effect sizes across all outcomes than those at high risk of maltreatment; parenting skills outcomes were more effective in adapted PCIT versions, using per-protocol analysis, and American caregivers, whereas none of the outcomes were related to the number of sessions. These findings provide encouraging evidence for the use of PCIT as an intervention for families with a history of maltreatment, although more high-quality RCTs are required to confirm its effects.
Food Insecurity and Psychosocial Burden in a National Community-Based Sample of Households Managing Food Allergy
Authors: Sansweet Samantha , Roach Anita , Pappalardo Andrea A. , Yost Jennaveve C. , Asante Justine , Warren Christopher
Published: January 2024

Background

Experiencing food allergies and food insecurity has been linked to socioeconomic, physical, and mental health-related challenges, but less is known about the intersection of these experiences. This study aims to better understand the impact of food insecurity on food allergy patients and their caregivers, with the intention of informing ongoing efforts to improve screening for food insecurity and mental health concerns and reducing their burden among households managing food allergy.

Method

As part of a community needs assessment, a cross-sectional survey was administered to a large, national sample (N=5,940) of US households with at least one food-allergic individual, The Hunger Vital Sign was utilized to assess food insecurity, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) and Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM) were leveraged to measure psychosocial outcomes.

Results

Among respondents, 69.9% screened at-risk of food insecurity on the Hunger Vital Sign, while 5.6% reported very low food security. Both adults and children with food allergy (FA) from households at risk for food insecurity were more likely to report FA-related anxiety, anger, loneliness, fear of eating, and bullying victimization than their counterparts from households not at risk of food insecurity (p < .0001 for all). Among these specific experiences, FA-related anxiety was the most common (25.4%/30.1% of children/adults). Perceived risk of food allergy-related fatality was positively associated with food insecurity status.

Conclusion

Individuals with food allergies who are concomitantly experiencing food insecurity are at greater risk of a variety of mental health concerns, including those specific to food allergy as well as more general anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Medication Safety Counseling Practices of Pediatric Primary Care Clinicians
Authors: Ryan Leticia Manning , Solomon Barry S. , Miller Michael J. , McDonald Eileen , DiNucci Anna , Omaki Elise , Shields Wendy , Weinfield Nancy S.
Published: January 2024

Medication exposures and poisonings are a major cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality. Unsafe patient practices are well documented despite the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending that pediatric primary care clinicians discuss medication safety with patients. Current clinician counseling practices for pediatric patients are unknown. Studies of adult patients suggest that physician counseling practices often focus on administration but not storage or disposal. To address this gap, we administered a web-based survey to clinically active pediatric primary care clinicians in two mid-Atlantic health care systems. Survey content focused on characteristics of medication safety counseling practices by age group, including safe medication storage, administration, and disposal. Of 151 clinicians emailed, 40 (26.5%) responded. The majority were physicians (93.5%), female (87.1%), and completed residency/clinical training in pediatrics >15 years ago (58.1%). Most (82.5%) reported having >1 pediatric patient (aged < 19 years) in their practice who experienced an unintentional or intentional medication exposure or poisoning event. Reported practices for medication safety counseling often varied by patient age but safe disposal was rarely addressed for any age group. Respondents generally felt less knowledgeable and less comfortable with providing counseling on safe disposal in comparison to safe storage and safe administration. Nearly all respondents (97%) would like to provide more counseling about medication safety, and the majority (81.3%) wanted additional educational resources. In this survey, we identified several modifiable deficits in pediatric medical counseling practices and a need for additional clinician training and resources, most notably in the content area of safe disposal.
Endovascular Repair of Juxtarenal and Pararenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Using a Novel Low-Profile Fenestrated Custom-Made Endograft: Technical Details and Short-Term Outcomes
Authors: Yeung K. K. , Nederhoed J. H. , Tran B. L. , Di Gregorio S. , Pratesi G. , Bastianon M. , Melani C. , Riambau V. , Bloemert-Tuin T. , Hazenberg C. E. V. B. , van Herwaarden J. A. , Balm R. , Lely R. J. , van der Meijs B. B. , Blankensteijn J. D. , Hoksbergen A. W. J. , Jongkind V.
Published: January 2024

Introduction:

The aim of this study is to share preliminary experiences and outcomes with a novel custom-made fenestrated TREO® Abdominal Stent-Graft System to treat juxtarenal and pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs).

Methods:

Juxtarenal and pararenal AAA patients treated with the custom-made fenestrated TREO® Abdominal Stent-Graft System were included from 4 high-volume European academic medical centers from June 2021 to September 2023. Technical success and 30-day/in-hospital mortality and complications were analyzed. Technical success was defined as successful endovascular implantation of the stent graft with preservation of antegrade flow to the target vessels, and absence of type 1 or 2 endoleak (EL) at the first postoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA).

Results:

Forty-two consecutive patients were included. The majority of the devices were constructed with 2 (N=4; 9.5%), 3 (N=9; 21.4%), or 4 (N=27; 64%) fenestrations. In 1 case, the device was constructed with a single fenestration (2.4%) and 1 device contained 5 fenestrations (2.4%); 17% had previous AAA repair. Target vessel cannulation with placement of a bridging stent was successful in all but 1 vessel (99, 3%). One aneurysm-related death occurred in the direct postoperative period and 2 limb occlusions necessitated reintervention during admission. In the median follow-up period of 101 (2–620) days, 3 more patients died due to non–aneurysm-related causes. Technical success was achieved in 90% of the cases. Nineteen ELs were seen on the first postoperative CT scan: 1 type 1b EL (N=1; 2%), 15 type 2 ELs (N=15; 36%), and 3 type 3 ELs (N=3%). Eleven patients received more than 1 CT scan during a median follow-up of 361 days (82-620): 3 type 2 ELs resolved and 1 type 3 EL was treated in this period. In the follow-up, 1 patient had a coagulation disorder that caused occlusions of the branches.

Conclusion:

The results of the first experiences using the custom-made fenestrated TREO® Abdominal Stent-Graft System in Europe are promising. There was a low short-term mortality and morbidity rate in these patients of which 17% had previous AAA repair. Mid-term and long-term follow-up data are needed to evaluate endograft durability and performance.

Clinical Impact

This study shows the first experiences and short-term results of a novel low-profile custom-made device: the custom-made fenestrated TREO® Abdominal Stent-Graft System. Showing these results and experiences can help the physicians in clinical decision-making for their patients.
Assessing the Distance Teaching-Learning Experience in Higher Technical-Vocational Education in Chile
Authors: Cabello Patricio , Saadati Farzane , Barahona Pía
Published: January 2024

This study aimed to validate a multidimensional instrument for assessing distance teaching-learning. It combined factors measuring motivation with instructional material and the teaching-learning experience with peers and teachers. The instrument was administered to 2,984 higher education students in Chile, demonstrating its statistical validity and adequate fit indicators. Consequently, this instrument can confidently evaluate online learning in higher education.