bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Witchcraft imputations and the tort of defamation in Ghana
Authors: Owusu Emmanuel Sarpong
Published: September 2023

Witchcraft beliefs have been the cause of some of the cruellest crimes against vulnerable groups, particularly the elderly, in many African societies since the pre-colonial era. People accused of being witches are often subjected to all manner of mistreatments – ostracism/banishment, discrimination, physical assault or torture, lethal violence and so on. However, there are rare instances where the hunted (the accused witches) turn the tables on the hunters (their accusers) with claims of defamation, but such legal battles tend to be complicated. The present study explores the Ghanaian courts’ attitude towards witchcraft-related defamation claims/lawsuits, examining how they have navigated the complex and often confusing system of legal pluralism since the 1970s. It establishes that mere insults and name-calling, including witchcraft accusations, are generally not actionable under the received common law. However, under the Ghanaian customary law, insults and name-calling that impair or are likely to impair one's dignity are actionable per se. The paper notes that the courts in Ghana at times apply the principles of both customary law and the received common law when dealing with witchcraft-related defamation claims.
Even You can Turn Trash Into Treasure: Reality TV and Secondhand Markets at the Jersey Shore
Authors: Leavey Sean T.
Published: September 2023

This monograph represents an effort to understand the significance of a subgenre of reality TV (RTV) that I call Trash and Treasure TV (shows about flea markets, auctions, pawn shops, etc.), to people in an area of New Jersey known as the “Jersey Shore.” Trash and Treasure TV programs surfaced from the wake of the Great Recession and were informed by capitalist mentalities articulated through a “masculine” calculating and accumulative voice. In turn, the forms of reproductive labor that occur in homes and communities were subordinated to individualistic, entrepreneurial discourses that suppressed intersubjective and cooperative discourses, which are associated with “the feminine.” In undertaking this effort, I apply a critical media/cultural studies and feminist radical–empiricist approach to textual analysis and ethnographic methods. My research makes visible multiple audiences and reveals a failure of media governmentality and the erasure of reproductive labor, the underemployed, and the working poor from Trash and Treasure TV representations of Recession-era secondhand markets.
A Mere Fan Effect on Home-Court Advantage
Authors: Ganz Scott C , Allsop Kieran
Published: September 2023

The existence of a home-court advantage is one of the most durable empirical patterns in all of sports. Yet, the mechanisms explaining its strength and persistence remain a mystery in large part because of well-known challenges with statistical identification. We use attendance restrictions in place during the 2020–2021 National Basketball Association regular season as an instrument in order to identify the effect of fans and crowd size on home-court advantage. We show that home teams win by [Formula: see text] points, on average, when fans are present at games compared with [Formula: see text] points when no fans are present. This equates to winning approximately 2.2 additional home games over the course of a regular season. In fixed effects instrumental variables regression models, we estimate that the marginal effect of an additional one thousand fans on home-court advantage is [Formula: see text] points. We conclude that the mere presence of home fans, on its own, explains a larger share of home-court advantage than previously thought.
A Mixed Method Exploration of Gender, Self-Esteem, Narcissistic Traits, and Aggression in a Youth Justice Sample
Authors: Brook Genevieve , Thapa Shreena , Brown Shelley
Published: September 2023

The relationship between gender, self-esteem, narcissistic traits, and aggression was evaluated in a sample of justice-impacted youth (JIY). Forty-two audio-recorded interviews ( n = 21 boys; n = 21 girls) with equal representation of low, moderate, and high self-esteem scoring JIY were selected. Narcissistic features could be reliably coded retrospectively; common features included: arrogance, interpersonal exploitation, and lack of empathy or shame. No gender differences emerged in feature frequency or type. Correlational analyses revealed that narcissistic traits were significantly correlated with self-report measures of aggression; only girls evidenced this relationship. A potential gendered relationship between narcissistic features and aggression merits further investigation.
The Woven EndoBridge device, an effective and safe alternative endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysm—systematic review
Authors: Mantilla Daniel E , D Vera Daniela , Ortiz Andrés F , Nicoud Franck , Costalat Vincent
Published: September 2023

Purpose

This study is a systematic review about the WEB device and addresses the efficacy and safety of this device for the endovascular treatment of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms.

Material and methods

This systematic literature review followed PRISMA-P guidelines and included studies published until 2010. PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched, resulting in 22 articles meeting the inclusion criteria.

Results

The studies involved 1705 patients and 1224 aneurysms, predominantly wide-neck aneurysms in the middle cerebral artery, internal carotid artery, and basilar artery. The treatment success rate was 28.1%, with the WEB-SL and WEB-SLS devices being commonly used. The immediate post-treatment adequate occlusion rate was 33.3%, increasing to 49.7% at follow-up. Thromboembolic complications occurred in 6.5% of cases, while other complications were observed in 3.1% of cases. The mortality rate associated with the WEB device was low, approximately 1%.

Conclusion

The WEB device demonstrates favorable outcomes in treating patients with intracranial aneurysms, with adequate occlusion rates improving over time. Thromboembolic complications are the primary concern, but overall complication and mortality rates remain low. Further research is needed to optimize device selection, standardize classification systems, and enhance long-term evaluation and training protocols.
New Onset Seizures in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients; A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Shamim Daniah , Ganatra Fatima , Khan Murtaza , Gronseth Gary
Published: September 2023

Objective

Seizures in COVID-19 patients continue to be a common reason for consulting the neurology service in the inpatient setting. This paper assesses the frequency of new onset seizures in adult hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Method

PubMed and EMBASE were searched, with fifteen cohort studies identified to calculate the primary outcome, which was the frequency of new onset seizures in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. An inverse variance meta-analysis of single proportions with a random effects model was applied to these cohort studies to calculate the primary outcome. Risk of bias in individual studies was assessed using the 10-item risk of bias tool for prevalence studies.

Results

The meta-analysis revealed a frequency of .71% (95% confidential interval: .32-1.25, I2 = 89%, 147/28242 patients) for acute symptomatic seizures in patients with COVID-19. For secondary outcomes, the risk of seizures in patients who had EEG completed was 8.49% (95% confidential interval: .62-24.07, I2 = 14%, 44/535 patients). Slightly less than half of patients with COVID-19 and seizures were reported to have acute imaging abnormalities (45.7%) with acute vascular insults being commonly reported. Only a small percentage of COVID-19 patients with seizures (2.8%) met the criteria for COVID-19 encephalitis as determined by the international encephalitis consortium.

Conclusion

The frequency of seizures in COVID-19 was .71% (95% confidential interval: .32-1.25). Slightly less than half of COVID-19 patients had head imaging abnormalities as a complication of COVID-19 infection. Only a small percentage of patients with seizures and COVID-19 met the criteria for COVID-19 encephalitis.
An Examination of the Identification and Exploitation of International Opportunities Among Chinese Traditional SMEs
Authors: Ali Hazem , Li Min , Wu Zhongli , Qiu Xunmin
Published: September 2023

SMEs’ internationalization research focused mainly on measuring their international performance, especially in IT-based and knowledge-intensive industries while little attention was paid to investigating the opportunity-based view of firm internationalization especially in the context of traditional SMES. The main objectives of the present study were twofold. First, building on the opportunity-based view of firm internationalization, this study investigated the international opportunity identification (IOI) and international opportunity exploitation (IOE) among Chinese traditional SMEs. Second, this research examined the direct influence of SMEs managers' adaptive marketing capabilities (AMCs), global mindset (GM), and collaborative intensity (CI) on IOI and IOE with emphasis on the potential moderating influence of environmental dynamism (ED). The initial phase of this research employed exploratory interviews with eight SMEs managers. Exploratory findings showed that Chinese SMEs adopt both entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial internationalization behaviors in identifying and exploiting international opportunities. Later, an empirical investigation using 327 valid responses from managers/founders of traditional internationalized SMEs in China showed that AMCs, GM, and CI had a significant positive influence on both IOI and IOE. Further, ED was found to play a significant moderating impact on the relationship between AMCs and IOI, GM and IOI, and CI and IOE. This paper ends with clarifying a set of theoretical and practical implications.
Workplace Psychosocial Factors and Their Association With Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
Authors: Bezzina Aaron , Austin Emma , Nguyen Ha , James Carole
Published: September 2023

This systematic review examines literature regarding the relationship between workplace psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of work disability, resulting in billions of dollars of financial losses. Evidence suggests that workplace psychosocial factors can lead to the development and progression of MSDs. A data search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, Scopus, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) from August 2009 to May 2020 inclusive. Other eligibility criteria included studies published in English, conducted on adults within a workplace setting, conducted in developed economies, and were stability-control longitudinal observational studies. Studies were independently screened for eligibility, using COVIDENCE (software for managing and streamlining systematic reviews) and assessed for quality by multiple authors, using the JBI Evidence synthesis tool. From 6,812 studies, 47 articles were included in the final analysis. The most common MSDs investigated were lower back pain, neck and shoulder pain, and upper extremity symptoms and disorders. Included articles identified that psychosocial workplace factors of support, collaboration, job control, and job demands were statistically significantly associated with risk and progression of MSDs. Review of the articles included in this article supports the theory that MSDs have a multifactorial, complex etiology that includes psychosocial factors. Interventions to enhance psychosocial work environment provide opportunities to reduce the risk of MSDs.
Knowledge, attitude and practice of antenatal mothers toward urinary tract infection in selected health facilities in Ekiti state, Nigeria
Authors: Esan Deborah Tolulope , Sokan-Adeaga Adewale Allen , Bello Cecilia Bukola , Olabisi Oluwaseyi Isaiah , Odugbume Blessing , Ajayi Paul Oladapo
Published: September 2023

Background:

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) during gravidity are among the most preponderant contagion globally and can culminate in fetal and maternal mortality. Lack of awareness and poor preventive practices can exacerbate this outcome. This study assessed the knowledge and preventive practices of antenatal mothers’ towards UTIs in pregnancy.

Design:

This was a cross-sectional descriptive survey involving antenatal mothers in selected health care facilities in Ekiti State.

Methods:

A pre-tested adapted questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square at p < 0.05.

Results:

The mean respondents’ age was 24.6 ± 2.1 years and barely less than half (43.8%) were multigravida. The findings of the study revealed that 64.0% of the respondents had good knowledge of UTIs. Overall, majority (78.9%) of the respondents exhibit good preventive practices toward UTIs in pregnancy, although the prevalence of UTIs among the studied subjects was found to be high (54.1%), with nearly half (48.7%) of the respondents reported been tested once for UTIs in the current pregnancy. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant relationship between educational level and respondents’ knowledge on the prevention of UTIs in pregnancy ( p = 0.00; p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

Respondents had good knowledge and good preventive practices toward UTIs. However, the high prevalence of UTIs reported among respondents justifies the need for implementation of knowledge enhancement program, routine testing and prompt treatment of UTIs among antenatal mothers.
Radiotherapy service amidst COVID-19: Experience from Tertiary Referral Hospital in Semarang, Indonesia
Authors: Prajoko Yan Wisnu , Supit Tommy
Published: September 2023

Background:

Several changes in hospital policies took place to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the patient’s perception to these abrupt changes in medical services is not known. This study analyzed the quality of radiotherapy service during the COVID-19 pandemic and the patient’s perception of them.

Methods:

This descriptive study will qualitatively assess cancer patient perception of the quality of radiotherapy service during COVID-19 pandemic. Willing participants were given a questionnaire that explore two major aspects: the patient’s general knowledge of COVID-19 and their perception of radiotherapy service during the pandemic.

Results:

The 145 participants of this study were generally well-informed about the significance of COVID-19 pandemic. Most respondents claimed to adequately practice preventive measures and put high regards in personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by them and healthcare workers for their safety. Their level of trust to all healthcare workers remained high and identified hospital announcements (television, brochures) educated them the most in regards to the relationship of COVID-19 and cancer.

Conclusion:

The changes in hospital policies and radiation oncology service in our institution were well-received by the study population. Despite the majority of respondents were afraid and anxious of being infected of COVID-19 while undergoing treatment, only a minority of them contemplated to delay or completely stop going for treatment. By adhering to major guidelines and adjustments of local resources, the delivery of radiotherapy service can remain consistent during the pandemic.
Specifications Grading for Graduate Students: Motivated, Less Stressed, and Achieving in Public Health
Authors: Gay Jennifer L. , Poproski Ruth
Published: September 2023

Specifications grading is an alternative approach designed to establish assessment criteria aligned with well-defined learning outcomes while giving students autonomy and choice with respect to their level of achievement in a course and focus on the act of learning instead of earning points. Degrees in public health are based on the development of discipline-specific competencies, making them prime candidates for a specifications grading design. This study presents the implementation process and evaluation of specifications grading applied to three graduate health promotion courses, including a comparison of final letter grade distribution as well as student and instructor perceptions of the grading scheme implementation. We hypothesized that although the grading scheme may take some adjustment by students, overall students would feel more control over their letter grade and therefore less stress. The process of revising requirements for assignments and maintaining alignment with competencies is discussed. There were no differences in the distribution of final letter grades between traditional points-based grading and specifications grading. However, students were overwhelmingly favorable toward the specifications grading scheme, with a majority reporting reduced stress, more flexibility, a clearer understanding of the learning objectives and grading standards, greater engagement with the course content, and the perception of greater control over final grades. Using a grading scheme based on displaying competencies is logical in the public health education context. This study supports the application of specifications grading for meeting student and instructor needs, and contributing to an equitable learning environment.
Visualizing Social Change with Ryder Plots: The Rise and Fall of Verbal Ability in the United States
Authors: Fosse Ethan
Published: September 2023

Sociologists and demographers often use Lexis diagrams to visualize temporal data. However, the traditional Lexis plot arranges the data in a matrix of right triangles, with age on the vertical axis and period on the horizontal axis. This representation of the data subordinates cohort to an off-diagonal of unequal length. Not only does this violate the proportionality principle of effective statistical graphics, but it implicitly treats cohort as a residual or epiphenomenal dimension and makes it difficult to compare variation within and across cohorts. As an alternative, the author introduces the Ryder plot, a novel graphical tool that displays cohort, age, and period data as a grid of equilateral triangles, thereby providing an unbiased representation of all three dimensions and facilitating the analysis of intra- and intercohort variability. The author uses Ryder plots to chart the rise and fall of verbal ability in the United States, revealing two epochs of social change across three centuries of cohorts.
Distributed interactive decision-making for sustainable careers: How do executives interact with their career context when making decisions to sustain their careers?
Authors: Hallpike Helen , Vallée-Tourangeau Gaëlle , Van der Heijden Beatrice
Published: September 2023

This interdisciplinary research explored how executives make decisions which shape their career trajectories and sustain their careers. We selected executives so that our sample would consist of decision-makers with sufficient capital resources to support a range of career choices. In our analysis we applied a recent framework of distributed interactive decision-making, which proposes that decisions are shared interactions between personal and contextual agents. We conducted 40 semi-structured interviews with executives who are MBA Alumni of a leading global business school to investigate how they made their career decisions. We conducted thematic analysis using NVivo qualitative analysis software to identify the decision-makers in each decision and their levels of agentic participation. Our results reveal that: (1) (a) executive career decision-making is distributed between the person and a range of active stakeholders in their career context, and (b) stakeholders along with influences together form a decision-making unit (DMU), whose composition changes according to the circumstances; (2) each member of the DMU may participate at a different level in each career decision, along an interactive continuum which ranges from proactive decision-making, driven by the individual, to reactive decision-making, driven by other decision-makers in the career context. These findings have implications for individuals, career counselors and human resource managers: we identify the DMU of various participants in career decisions and their level of active contribution to the decision outcomes, in order to develop sustainable career management strategies and processes. This is original interdisciplinary research, combining and applying recent theories of distributed decision-making for the first time in empirical research into sustainable careers.
Palliative care practices and policies in diverse socio-cultural contexts: aims and framework of the ERC globalizing palliative care comparative ethnographic study
Authors: Samuels Annemarie , Lemos Dekker Natashe
Published: September 2023

Background:

Palliative care as a specialist professional practice of care for people with advanced illness is becoming increasingly influential worldwide. This process is affected by global health inequalities as well as cultural dimensions of approaching death and practicing care in life-limiting illness.

Objectives:

The European Research Council-funded Globalizing Palliative Care (ENDofLIFE) project aims to understand how palliative care policies, discourses and practices are translated, adapted and reconstituted in diverse socio-cultural settings and how cultural dimensions of approaching death and local practices of care shape palliative care implementation.

Methods and Analysis:

Using a multi-scalar and multi-sited ethnographic approach, the project uses person-centered ethnography, participant observation, semi-structured interviewing, focus group discussions and policy and discourse analysis at transnational, national and local levels. Ethnographic case-studies are conducted in Brazil, India and Indonesia.

Discussion:

The globalizing palliative care project develops a novel ethnographic methodology of studying end-of-life care trajectories through long-term participant observation with individual patients and families as they manage and practice formal and informal health care in advanced illness. By analyzing how patients and families experience and navigate care over time, complemented by stakeholder interviews, the study advances critical theoretical insight into the relation between (large-scale and dynamically traveling) palliative care models, policies and discourses on the one hand and the experience and practice of palliative care in the lives of patients and informal care givers in local health care practices on the other hand. Insights are expected to benefit culturally situated palliative care policies and practices.
Rethinking and Decolonizing Theories, Policies, and Practice of Health from the Global South
Authors: Feo Istúriz Oscar , Basile Gonzalo , Maizlish Neil
Published: September 2023

This article states the need to decolonize the theories, policies, and practices that dominate health, and reflects on the necessity for a new epistemology built from the Global South. This allows rethinking health with a new categorical framework, which incorporates socially determined health and life, with the optic of reaching the highest conceivable degree of living well/well-living. We put forth that the epistemic bases of epidemiology and the implementation of health systems tend to reproduce a coloniality of power and of established health knowledge. Health systems are viewed as an accumulation of reforms based on theories and policies of the Global North imposed on Latin America and the Caribbean. These systems have been built as bureaucratic, biomedicalized, treatment-oriented, and commercialized health systems that are perceived as external to societies and that reproduce mistreatment, violence, and racism. We make the argument to rethink, remake, and decolonize the theories and practices that govern both epidemiology and health systems, and, from the South, develop strategic processes for building health sovereignty as the vision for the reconstruction of hope and social justice.
Understanding the effect of change in logo elements on brand attitude: A study of three logos
Authors: Singla Vikas , Aggarwal Nupur
Published: September 2023

Proper selection of logo elements has been associated with the formation of either a positive or a negative attitude towards a brand, but very few studies have examined the same phenomenon when such elements are changed. This study attempts to fill this gap by investigating change in three brand logos, one of which has changed in colour only; another has a modified design and font; and the third has all the three elements modified. Furthermore, the association and impact of three cases of change on the formation of brand attitude would help to understand the appropriateness of the intended modification. Identification of the emotions reflected by each element in a logo, its association with positive and negative brand attitude, and its role in attitude formation are the motivations behind this study. In all three cases, the results show that not all but some of the changed elements were instrumental in creating a positive brand attitude based on the modified logo.
Studying Consumer Motivation Towards De-shopping While Purchasing High-end Luxury and Fashionable Apparel
Authors: Kumar Kuldeep
Published: September 2023

Consumption of organized retail services is not only limited to buying apparel but to the overall customer experience of visiting the shop, interactions with executives, offers, hospitality, and the freedom to view and try a range of products uninterruptedly. The unorganized fashion retail in rural markets provides home delivery of a range of products to help female consumers choose, try, pick one, and return the rest so that only picked items can be billed. It is an unspoken communication that the buyer is sometimes permitted to consume the product without paying for it. This act, though, cannot be accommodated in the definition of de-shopping but establishes the argument that de-shopping can be part of the services offered by the organization retailers. There are organizations which accept the de-shopping behaviours of their selected customers to enhance customer loyalty. In this paper, exploratory research has been conducted in the NCR region of India, in which customers of high-end luxury and fashionable apparel respond to the questionnaire which recorded the impulsiveness, intention, satisfaction and urge of returning the used apparel either for an exchange or simply complete financial waiver. A total of 170 respondents were approached to answer 17 questions asking the various emotional arguments consumers put forward while de-shopping. This helped the study to develop a scale which showed all four factors that have a significant impact on product return.
Interaction Between Spot and Future Currency Market of India: Empirical Evidence
Authors: Devan Karthika P. , Johnson Johney , Jacob Tom
Published: September 2023

The study empirically analyses the interdependence and price discovery mechanism between the spot and futures (S&F) prices of the Indian Foreign Exchange Market. Daily closing prices of S&F currency pairs were collected from February 2010 to March 2021. Before investigating causality, the descriptive statistical test and unit root test (augmented Dickey–Fuller) are used to test the stationarity of data. An error correction model examines the long- and short-run relationship between S&F market currency pairs. The currency returned series stationarity at I(1) identified the presence of heteroscedasticity and found the absence of the Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity effect. To avoid the possible ignorance of the long-run relationship between S&F and to confirm the trustworthiness of regression at levels, the cointegration technique was employed under Johansen’s technique. The existence of cointegration at levels provides power to use Vector Error Correction Models, considering the level and difference in the estimation process. There is a long-run equilibrium relationship between spot rates and future rates, with a bidirectional causal association among currency S&F prices of all the currency pairs. Additionally, the futures market tends to regulate any new data quicker than the spot market. It suggests that spot price is led by future price, thus contributing substantially to the price-discovery process. The Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity models establish persistence in volatility, and the bad news gives rise to more volatility as compared to good news.
Indo-Polish Synergies Amidst Global Turbulence
Authors: Tiwary Daitri
Published: September 2023

We engaged in a dialogue with two eminent academics from the neighbourhood of Russia-Ukraine conflict. The dialogue reveals the role of geopolitical risk in the world economy and business, and identifies avenues for economic collaboration
Multiscale Evaluation of Mechanical Properties for Metal-Coated Lattice Structures
Authors: Wang Lizhe , He Liu , Wang Xiang , Soleimanian Sina , Yu Yanqing , Chen Geng , Li Ji , Chen Min
Published: September 2023

With the combination of 3D printing and electroplating technique, metal-coated resin lattice is a viable way to achieve lightweight design with desirable responses. However, due to high structural complexity, mechanical analysis of the macroscopic lattice structure demands high experimental or numerical costs. To efficiently investigate the mechanical behaviors of such structure, in this paper a multiscale numerical method is proposed to study the effective properties of the metal-coated Body-Centered-Cubic (BCC) lattices. Unlike studies of a similar kind in which the effective parameters can be predicted from a single unit cell model, it is noticed that the size effect of representative volume element (RVE) is severe and an insensitive prediction can be only obtained from models containing multiple-unit-cells. To this end, the paper determines the minimum number of unit cells in single RVE. Based on the proposed method that is validated through the experimental comparison, parametric studies are conducted to estimate the impact of strut diameter and coating film thickness on structural responses. It is shown that the increase of volume fraction may improve the elastic modulus and specific modulus remarkably. In contrast, the increase of thickness of coating film only leads to monotonously increased elastic modulus. For this reason, there should be an optimal coating film thickness for the specific modulus of the lattice structure. This work provides an effective method for evaluating structural mechanical properties via the mesoscopic model.
Prediction of the effects of small molecules on the gut microbiome using machine learning method integrating with optimal molecular features
Authors: Wang Binyou , Guo Jianmin , Liu Xiaofeng , Yu Yang , Wu Jianming , Wang Yiwei
Published: September 2023

Background

The human gut microbiome (HGM), consisting of trillions of microorganisms, is crucial to human health. Adverse drug use is one of the most important causes of HGM disorder. Thus, it is necessary to identify drugs or compounds with anti-commensal effects on HGM in the early drug discovery stage. This study proposes a novel anti-commensal effects classification using a machine learning method and optimal molecular features. To improve the prediction performance, we explored combinations of six fingerprints and three descriptors to filter the best characterization as molecular features.

Results

The final consensus model based on optimal features yielded the F1-score of 0.725 ± 0.014, ACC of 82.9 ± 0.7%, and AUC of 0.791 ± 0.009 for five-fold cross-validation. In addition, this novel model outperformed the prior studies by using the same algorithm. Furthermore, the important chemical descriptors and misclassified anti-commensal compounds are analyzed to better understand and interpret the model. Finally, seven structural alerts responsible for the chemical anti-commensal effect are identified, implying valuable information for drug design.

Conclusion

Our study would be a promising tool for screening anti-commensal compounds in the early stage of drug discovery and assessing the potential risks of these drugs in vivo.
Erector spinae plane block improves postoperative recovery after laminectomy and discectomy surgery: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: van den Broek Renee J. C. , van Meegen Valerie M. M. , Al Khawaja Hazem , Bouwman R. Arthur , Versyck Barbara
Published: September 2023

Background

There is still room for improvement of pain management after spinal surgery. The goal of this study was to evaluate adding the erector spinae block to the standard analgesia regimen. Our hypothesis was that the erector spinae plane block will decrease length of hospital stay, reduce opioid need and improve numeric rating scale pain scores.

Methods

This was a single center retrospective cohort study. We included 418 patients undergoing laminectomy or discectomy from January 2019 until December 2021. The erector spinae plane block was introduced in 2016 by Forero and colleagues and added to our clinical practice in October 2020. Patients who did not receive an erector spinae plane block prior to its implementation in October 2020 were used as control group. The primary outcome measure was functional recovery, measured by length of hospital stay. Secondary outcome measures were perioperative opioid consumption, need for patient-controlled analgesia and numeric rating scale pain scores. Postoperative data collection time points were: at the PACU and after 3, 6, 12 and 24 h postoperatively.

Results

There was a significant shorter length of hospital stay in patients undergoing single level laminectomy (with erector spinae plane block 29 h (IQR 27–51), without block 53 h (IQR 51–55), p < .001), multiple level laminectomy (with erector spinae plane block 49 h (IQR 31–54), without block 54 h (IQR 52–75), p < .001) and discectomy (with erector spinae plane block 27 h (IQR 25–30), without block 29 h (IQR 28–49), p = .04).

Conclusions

Erector spinae plane block reduces length of stay after laminectomy surgery.
The STEPWISE study: study protocol for a smartphone-based exercise solution for people with Parkinson’s Disease (randomized controlled trial)
Authors: Schootemeijer Sabine , de Vries Nienke M. , Macklin Eric A. , Roes Kit C.B. , Joosten Hilde , Omberg Larsson , Ascherio Alberto , Schwarzschild Michael A. , Bloem Bastiaan R.
Published: September 2023

Background

Exercise has various health benefits for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, implementing exercise into daily life and long-term adherence remain challenging. To increase a sustainable engagement with physical activity of people with PD, interventions that are motivating, accessible, and scalable are needed. We primarily aim to investigate whether a smartphone app (STEPWISE app) can increase physical activity (i.e., step count) in people with PD over one year. Our second aim is to investigate the potential effects of the intervention on physical fitness, and motor- and non-motor function. Our third aim is to explore whether there is a dose-response relationship between volume of physical activity and our secondary endpoints.

Methods

STEPWISE is a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. We aim to include 452 Dutch people with PD who can walk independently (Hoehn & Yahr stages 1–3) and who do not take more than 7,000 steps per day prior to inclusion. Physical activity levels are measured as step counts on the participant’s own smartphone and scaled as percentage of each participant’s baseline. Participants are randomly assigned to an active control group with an increase of 5–20% (active controls) or any of the three intervention arms with increases of 25–100% (intermediate dose), 50–200% (large dose), or 100–400% (very large dose). The primary endpoint is change in step count as measured by the STEPWISE smartphone app from baseline to 52 weeks. For our primary aim, we will evaluate the between-group difference in average daily step count change from baseline to 52 weeks. For our second aim, measures of physical fitness, and motor- and non-motor function are included. For our third aim, we will associate 52-week changes in step count with 52-week changes in secondary outcomes.

Discussion

This trial evaluates the potential of a smartphone-based intervention to increase activity levels in people with PD. We envision that motivational apps will increase adherence to physical activity recommendations and could permit conduct of remote clinical trials of exercise for people with PD or those at risk of PD.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT04848077; 19/04/2021. Clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04848077.
Developing an evaluation indicators of health literacy for cervical cancer among Chinese women: a modified Delphi method study
Authors: He Chanchan , Pei Chenyang , Ma Jing
Published: September 2023

Background

Increasing women’s health literacy is the key to preventing cervical cancer, and various tools have been developed to assess women’s cancer health literacy. However, many of these tools come from other countries and have not been adapted to Chinese requirements. Furthermore, a system for evaluating cervical cancer health literacy among Chinese women has not been developed. Therefore, we sought to establish an evaluation index system for cervical cancer health literacy among Chinese women and to provide an effective evaluation tool for tertiary prevention of cervical cancer in China.

Methods

We invited 20 recognized experts to participate in two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, and the modified Delphi process with percentage weighting and multiplication was used. A literature review identified 67 potential indicators. Subsequent discussions within our research team led to the retention of 48 indicators following a rigorous screening process. On this basis, two rounds of Delphi expert consultation were conducted to rate and screen the indexes. Percentage weighting and multiplication were used to determine index weights.

Results

Twenty experts participated in the first-round Delphi consultations (95.23% recovery rate). In the second-round Delphi consultations, 20 questionnaires were returned (100%), and the expert authority coefficient was 0.93 ± 0.02. After both rounds of Delphi consultation, 4 first-level indicators, 9 second-level indicators, and 32 third-level indicators were identified for cervical cancer literacy among Chinese women. On a five-point scale, importance ratings ranged from 3.76 to 4.95 points, with variation coefficients ranging from 0.06 to 0.25, while sensitivity ratings ranged from 3.71 to 4.83 points, with variation coefficients ranging from 0.08 to 0.24. Across both rounds, Kendall’s W coefficients ranged from 0.168 to 0.248. The weights of first-level indicators of basic knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer, primary prevention of cervical cancer literacy, secondary prevention of cervical cancer literacy, and tertiary prevention of cervical cancer literacy were 0.257, 0.249, 0.251, and 0.243, respectively.

Conclusions

We have developed the first tertiary prevention-based, comprehensive evaluation index system for cervical cancer literacy among Chinese women, which will provide theoretical support for cervical cancer prevention and health education programs.
Integrative analysis of the prognostic value and immune microenvironment of mitophagy-related signature for multiple myeloma
Authors: Jia Yachun , Liu Rui , Shi Luyi , Feng Yuandong , Zhang Linlin , Guo Ni , He Aili , Kong Guangyao
Published: September 2023

Background

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a fatal malignant tumor in hematology. Mitophagy plays vital roles in the pathogenesis and drug sensitivity of MM.

Methods

We acquired transcriptomic expression data and clinical index of MM patients from NCI public database, and 36 genes involved in mitophagy from the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) database. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis was conducted to construct a risk score prognostic model. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and receiver operation characteristic curves (ROC) were conducted to identify the efficiency of prognosis and diagnosis. ESTIMATE algorithm and immune-related single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was performed to uncover the level of immune infiltration. QRT-PCR was performed to verify gene expression in clinical samples of MM patients. The sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs was evaluated upon the database of the genomics of drug sensitivity in cancer (GDSC).

Results

Fifty mitophagy-related genes were differently expressed in two independent cohorts. Ten out of these genes were identified to be related to MM overall survival (OS) rate. A prognostic risk signature model was built upon on these genes: VDAC1, PINK1, VPS13C, ATG13, and HUWE1, which predicted the survival of MM accurately and stably both in training and validation cohorts. MM patients suffered more adverse prognosis showed more higher risk core. In addition, the risk score was considered as an independent prognostic element for OS of MM patients by multivariate cox regression analysis. Functional pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on risk score showed terms of cell cycle, immune response, mTOR pathway, and MYC targets were obviously enriched. Furthermore, MM patients with higher risk score were observed lower immune scores and lower immune infiltration levels. The results of qRT-PCR verified VDAC1, PINK1, and HUWE1 were dysregulated in new diagnosed MM patients. Finally, further analysis indicated MM patients showed more susceptive to bortezomib, lenalidomide and rapamycin in high-risk group.

Conclusion

Our research provided a neoteric prognostic model of MM based on mitophagy genes. The immune infiltration level based on risk score paved a better understanding of the participation of mitophagy in MM.
Association of waist-calf circumference ratio, waist circumference, calf circumference, and body mass index with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults: a cohort study
Authors: Dai Miao , Xia Bin , Xu Jiangqi , Zhao Weiyun , Chen Dongdong , Wang Xiang
Published: September 2023

Background

Waist circumference (WC), calf circumference (CC), and body mass index (BMI) have been independently linked to mortality. However, it's not yet clear how the waist-calf circumference ratio (WCR) relates to mortality. This study aims to investigate the relationship between WCR, WC, CC, and BMI with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults.

Methods

In the 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, 4627 participants aged 65 years and older were included, and they were subsequently followed up in 2018. Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality, based on WCR, WC, CC, and BMI.

Results

During a median follow-up of 3.4 years, 1671 deaths (36.1%) occurred. Compared to the second quartile of WCR, the highest quartile had a higher risk of mortality from all causes (HR 1.42, 95%CI 1.24–1.64), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR 1.88, 95%CI 1.38–2.56), and other causes (HR 1.37, 95%CI 1.15–1.63). The first and fourth quartiles of WC had HRs of 2.19 (1.00–4.79) and 2.69 (1.23–5.89), respectively, for cancer mortality. The highest quartile of CC was associated with a lower risk of all-cause and other-cause mortality, whereas the lowest quartile was associated with a higher risk of all-cause, CVD, and other-cause mortality compared to the second CC quartile. Additionally, the lowest quartile of BMI was associated with a higher risk of all-cause and respiratory disease mortality. Interaction analyses showed that the effects of CC on all-cause and CVD mortality were more pronounced in adults aged ≥ 80 years (P-interaction < .05).

Conclusions

Higher WCR and lower CC increased the risk of all-cause, CVD, and other-cause mortality. Lower BMI was associated with higher all-cause and respiratory disease mortality risk, while WC only predicted cancer mortality.
A prospective study of extraesophageal reflux and potential microaspiration in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Jordan
Authors: Al-Momani Hafez , Mashal Safaa , Al Balawi Dua’a , Almasri Muna , AL-Shudifat Abdel-Ellah , Khasawneh Ashraf I , Pearson Jeffrey , Ward Christopher
Published: September 2023

Background

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lung infection has represented a global challenge. Intriguingly, it has been shown that the alveolar lung epithelium expresses little Angiotensin Converting Enzyme receptor protein (ACE2), the entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2. Upper airway establishment of infection and translocation to the lung is well documented but other anatomical niches may be relevant to potentially serious lung infection. ACE2 is heavily expressed in the gastrointestinal tract and gastrointestinal symptoms support a clinical diagnosis of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This suggests a research question and the need to gather patient data exploring potential aerodigestive links in SARS-CoV-2 tranlocation and infection which may be relevant in the peripheral lung. This recognizes anatomical proximity and concepts of bi-directional movement between the Gastrointestinal and lung systems in normal physiology and disease. We have therefore explored the potential for gastro oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) micro aspiration and aeorodigestive pathophysiology in a novel prospective investigation of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Methods

This is a prospective descriptive cohort study of 210 patients who were hospitalized with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. The cohort was divided into three groups of patients based on symptom severity and radiological results. The Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) was used to evaluate the presence and severity of GOR. An RSI greater than 13 is considered to be abnormal. Patients’ saliva samples were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the level of salivary pepsin among the cohort of patients.

Results

A total of 210 patients with COVID-19 were enrolled in the study with 55.2% (116/210) classified as mildly ill, 31.9% (67/210) moderately ill and 12.9% (27/210) as severely ill. 34% (72/210) of the patients had an RSI score of over 13 and a median salivary pepsin value of 54 ± 29 ng/ml which suggested an incidence of extraesophageal reflux (EOR) in around a third of patients. The presence of respiratory comorbid conditions, an RSI score of over 13 and a salivary pepsin level of > 76ng/ml increased the risk of developing a more severe COVID-19 infection.

Conclusion

The study showed a high prevalence of EOR among the study cohort and provide the first prospective evidence suggesting the potential for aerodigestive pathophysiology including microaspiration in COVID-19 disease. We believe that the results of our study support the need for more extensive research.