bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hospitalization information and burden of pediatric inpatients in transport accidents
Authors: Yu Jing , Mei Lin , Wang Yanni , Feng Guoshuang , Zeng Yueping , Xu Xin , Wang Xinyu , Liu Jing
Published: May 2024

Background

Transport accidents are one of the leading causes of child morbidity and mortality worldwide and represent a significant public health burden. This study aimed to investigate the hospitalization information and burden of pediatric inpatients in transport accidents in China.

Methods

In this study, we collected the cover page of the medical records of pediatric inpatients in transport accidents using the Futang Research Center of Pediatric Development (FRCPD) database from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2021. Then, we extracted the epidemiological characteristics, including demographic characteristics, cases distribution, disease information, and hospitalization burden.

Results

Among 36,455 included inpatients, males, aged 1–3 years, East China, July were dominant in different subgroups. In transport accidents, pedestrians were the most frequently type of injury (65.69%). Of all known lesions, craniocerebral/nerve injury was the more common results in pediatric inpatients in transport accidents (33.93%). In addition to pedal cyclists more susceptible to sport system injury, other types of injured person with transport accidents were mainly craniocerebral/nerve injury. In terms of the type of discharge, occupant of heavy transport vehicle or bus and people with craniocerebral/nerve injury had the highest mortality rate after hospitalization in all type and lesion of injured person groups, respectively. The largest hospitalization burden in the type of injured person was occupant of heavy transport vehicle or bus.

Conclusions

This study revealed that epidemiological characteristics and the main factor influencing the hospitalization information and burden of children with traffic accidents in China.
State of mental health, sleep status, and the interaction with health-related quality of life in HIV-infected Chinese patients during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Du Juan , Li Jin , Liang Han , Wang Fuxiang , Lin Yuanlong , Shao Bing
Published: May 2024

Objective

To describe how mental health and sleep status influence the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and to apply targeted interventions to improve the HRQOL.

Methods

A web-based online questionnaire survey was administered. Descriptive analysis was used to depict the mental health and sleep status. Correlation analysis and the structural equation model (SEM) method were used to analyze the influence of mental health and sleep status on HRQOL in PLWHA.

Results

After excluding 24 unqualified questionnaires, a total of 490 participants in this survey were included in the statistical analysis. Of the participants, 66.1% and 55.1% reported mild or worse symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively. Overall, 70.0% had varying degrees of sleep problems. Correlation analysis showed that anxiety had the strongest correlation with sleep disturbances and sleep quality (R = 0.588 and 0.551, respectively), while depression had the strongest correlation with the HRQOL psychological and physical domains (R = − 0.759 and − 0.682, respectively). SEM analysis showed that depression, sleep quality, and psychological domains had the greatest item load on mental health, sleep status, and HRQOL (093, 0.82, and 0.89, respectively). Mental health had a more significant influence than sleep status on HRQOL, as indicated by factor loading (− 0.75 and − 0.15, respectively).

Conclusions

There were more severe mental health and sleep problems among PLWHA during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus, mental health intervention, especially to relieve depression symptoms, may be the most important approach to improve the HRQOL among PLWHA.
Diversity and development of Indigenous rehabilitation professional student identity
Authors: Brown Cara L. , Beach Ducharme Debra , Hart Kimberly , Marsch Nichol , Chartrand Louise , Campbell Melissa , Peebles Danielle , Restall Gayle , Fricke Moni , Murdock Dustin , Ripat Jacquie
Published: May 2024

Background

In Canada, disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples continue to exist in health and education because of the past and current harms of racism and colonization. One step towards closing health gaps is clinicians who can provide health and social care services that are free of racism and mistrust. Indigenous health providers are in the best position to provide this culturally relevant and safe care to their own communities. Therefore, more Indigenous students graduating from health professional programs are required to meet these needs. Indigenous identity support can be a facilitator for Indigenous student academic success but developing one’s Indigenous identity can be challenging in post-secondary education environments. We explored how Indigenous rehabilitation students expressed, and wanted to be supported in their identity and academic success.

Methods

Using a narrative inquiry approach, we conducted interviews with seven students from the occupational, physical, and respiratory therapy programs of a Canadian university. Students were asked to tell their story of learning about, applying to, and being in their rehabilitation program and how their Indigenous identity impacted these experiences. Data analysis was conducted by Indigenous and non-Indigenous team members, analyzing the stories on interaction of the participant with (1) themselves and others, (2) time, and (3) situation or place.

Results

The researchers developed seven mini-stories, one for each participant, to illustrate the variation between participant experiences in the development of their Indigenous and professional identity, before and during their rehabilitation program. The students appreciated the opportunities afforded to them by being admitted to their programs in a Indigenous Peoples category, including identity affirmation. However, for most students, being in this category came with feared and/or experienced stigma. The work to develop a health professional identity brought even more complexity to the already complex work of developing and maintaining an Indigenous identity in the colonized university environment.

Conclusion

This study highlights the complexity of developing a rehabilitation professional identity as an Indigenous student. The participant stories call for universities to transform into an environment where Indigenous students can be fully accepted for their unique gifts and the identities given to them at birth.
Low concentrations of saracatinib promote definitive endoderm differentiation through inhibition of FAK-YAP signaling axis
Authors: Ma Ruiyang , Bi Huanjing , Wang Ying , Wang Jingwen , Zhang Jiangwei , Yu Xiaoyang , Chen Zuhan , Wang Jiale , Lu Cuinan , Zheng Jin , Li Yang , Ding Xiaoming
Published: May 2024

Optimizing the efficiency of definitive endoderm (DE) differentiation is necessary for the generation of diverse organ-like structures. In this study, we used the small molecule inhibitor saracatinib (SAR) to enhance DE differentiation of human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. SAR significantly improved DE differentiation efficiency at low concentrations. The interaction between SAR and Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) was explored through RNA-seq and molecular docking simulations, which further supported the inhibition of DE differentiation by p-FAK overexpression in SAR-treated cells. In addition, we found that SAR inhibited the nuclear translocation of Yes-associated protein (YAP), a downstream effector of FAK, which promoted DE differentiation. Moreover, the addition of SAR enabled a significant reduction in activin A (AA) from 50 to 10 ng/mL without compromising DE differentiation efficiency. For induction of the pancreatic lineage, 10 ng/ml AA combined with SAR at the DE differentiation stage yielded a comparative number of PDX1+/NKX6.1+ pancreatic progenitor cells to those obtained by 50 ng/ml AA treatment. Our study highlights SAR as a potential modulator that facilitates the cost-effective generation of DE cells and provides insight into the orchestration of cell fate determination.

Graphical Abstract
Immune cell infiltration and inflammatory landscape in primary brain tumours
Authors: Luce Amalia , Abate Marianna , Scognamiglio Giosuè , Montella Marco , Iervolino Domenico , Campione Severo , Di Mauro Annabella , Sepe Orlando , Gigantino Vincenzo , Tathode Madhura S. , Ferrara Gerardo , Monaco Roberto , De Dominicis Gianfranco , Misso Gabriella , Gentile Vittorio , Franco Renato , Zappavigna Silvia , Caraglia Michele
Published: May 2024

Background

Primary malignant brain tumours are more than one-third of all brain tumours and despite the molecular investigation to identify cancer driver mutations, the current therapeutic options available are challenging due to high intratumour heterogeneity. In addition, an immunosuppressive and inflammatory tumour microenvironment strengthens cancer progression. Therefore, we defined an immune and inflammatory profiling of meningioma and glial tumours to elucidate the role of the immune infiltration in these cancer types.

Methods

Using tissue microarrays of 158 brain tumour samples, we assessed CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD138, Granzyme B (GzmB), 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX), Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1), O-6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase (MGMT) and Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC results were correlated using a Spearman correlation matrix. Transcript expression, correlation, and overall survival (OS) analyses were evaluated using public datasets available on GEPIA2 in Glioblastoma (GBM) and Lower Grade Glioma (LGG) cohorts.

Results

Seven out of ten markers showed a significantly different IHC expression in at least one of the evaluated cohorts whereas CD3, CD4 and 5-LOX were differentially expressed between GBMs and astrocytomas. Correlation matrix analysis revealed that 5-LOX and GzmB expression were associated in both meningiomas and GBMs, whereas 5-LOX expression was significantly and positively correlated to TG2 in both meningioma and astrocytoma cohorts. These findings were confirmed with the correlation analysis of TCGA-GBM and LGG datasets. Profiling of mRNA levels indicated a significant increase in CD3 (CD3D, CD3E), and CD138 (SDC1) expression in GBM compared to control tissues. CD4 and 5-LOX (ALOX5) mRNA levels were significantly more expressed in tumour samples than in normal tissues in both GBM and LGG. In GBM cohort, GzmB (GZMB), SDC1 and MGMT gene expression predicted a poor overall survival (OS). Moreover, in LGG cohort, an increased expression of CD3 (CD3D, CD3E, CD3G), CD8 (CD8A), GZMB, CD20 (MS4A1), SDC1, PD-L1, ALOX5, and TG2 (TGM2) genes was associated with worse OS.

Conclusions

Our data have revealed that there is a positive and significant correlation between the expression of 5-LOX and GzmB, both at RNA and protein level. Further evaluation is needed to understand the interplay of 5-LOX and immune infiltration in glioma progression.
Association of childbirth experience with long–term psychological outcomes: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Nahaee Jila , Rezaie Mansour , Abdoli Elham , Mirghafourvand Mojgan , Ghanbari-Homaie Solmaz , Jafarzadeh Mina
Published: May 2024

Background

There has been limited research on the lasting impact of giving birth on both mothers and infants. This study aimed to investigate women’s memories of their childbirth experience 4 months and 4 years after giving birth. Additionally, it aimed to examine how the childbirth experience is linked to women’s mental health, sexual satisfaction, exclusive breastfeeding, and the type of subsequent birth.

Methods

In this prospective cohort study, a total of 580 women giving birth in Tabriz hospitals in 2018 were followed up for 4 years. The data were collected using a childbirth experience questionnaire, a mental health inventory, and a sexual satisfaction scale for women, and were analyzed by a Pearson correlation test, an independent samples t-test, and a general linear model.

Results

The total scores of the childbirth experience in two short-term (4 months) and long-term (4 years) time points following the birth had a significant and strong correlation with each other (r = .51; p < .001). After adjusting for the effects of socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics, sexual satisfaction had significant relationships with childbirth experience (p < .001) and postpartum complications (p < .001). In addition, mental health had significant relationships with childbirth experience (p < .001), postpartum complications (p < .001), and low income (p = .004).

Conclusions

Even 4 years after giving birth, women have a clear recall of their childbirth experience. This experience has a significant association with long-term outcomes such as sexual satisfaction, mental health, exclusive breastfeeding, and subsequent birth type.
A solution to achieve sequencing from SARS-CoV-2 specimens with low viral loads: concatenation of reads from independent reactions
Authors: Cerro-Monje Alba , Buenestado-Serrano Sergio , Palomino-Cabrera Rosalía , Molero-Salinas Andrea , Herranz Marta , Alonso Roberto , Catalán Pilar , Muñoz Patricia , García de Viedma Darío , Pérez-Lago Laura ,   On behalf of the Gregorio Marañón Microbiology-ID COVID 19 Study Group
Published: May 2024

Background

During the pandemic, whole genome sequencing was critical to characterize SARS-CoV-2 for surveillance, clinical and therapeutical purposes. However, low viral loads in specimens often led to suboptimal sequencing, making lineage assignment and phylogenetic analysis difficult. We propose an alternative approach to sequencing these specimens that involves sequencing in triplicate and concatenation of the reads obtained using bioinformatics. This proposal is based on the hypothesis that the uncovered regions in each replicate differ and that concatenation would compensate for these gaps and recover a larger percentage of the sequenced genome.

Results

Whole genome sequencing was performed in triplicate on 30 samples with Ct > 32 and the benefit of replicate read concatenation was assessed. After concatenation: i) 28% of samples reached the standard quality coverage threshold (> 90% genome covered > 30x); ii) 39% of samples did not reach the coverage quality thresholds but coverage improved by more than 40%; and iii) SARS-CoV-2 lineage assignment was possible in 68.7% of samples where it had been impaired.

Conclusions

Concatenation of reads from replicate sequencing reactions provides a simple way to access hidden information in the large proportion of SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens eliminated from analysis in standard sequencing schemes. This approach will enhance our potential to rule out involvement in outbreaks, to characterize reinfections and to identify lineages of concern for surveillance or therapeutical purposes.
Treating depression in patients with borderline personality disorder: clinical clues on the use of antidepressants
Authors: Tomasetti Carmine , Autullo G. , Ballerini A. , de Bartolomeis A. , Dell’Osso B. , Fiorentini A. , Tonioni F. , Villari V. , De Berardis D.
Published: May 2024

Personality disorders (PD) are described as enduring patterns of markedly deviant and pervasive inner experiences and behaviors, with onset in adolescence, which lead to severe distress or impairment. Patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) display higher rates of comorbidity with personality disorders, often complicating the treatment, and worsening the outcomes. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is the most common of PD and is frequently associated with MDD, with which shares several features. The most part of research agrees on the fact that comorbid BPD in MDD patients quite doubles the poor response to treatments. Moreover, no treatment strategy stands out currently to emerge as more effective in these cases, thus urging the call for the need of new approaches. Herein, we revise the current literature on BPD, its neurobiology and comorbidity with MDD, as well as the more recent treatment strategies used. Then, based on its pharmacology, we propose a possible role of trazodone as a valuable tool to approach comorbid BPD-MDD.
Effect of 12-week head-down strong abdominal breathing on cognitive function in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a single-centre randomised controlled trial protocol
Authors: Song Feiyun , Ding Kexin , Sun Mingyun , Xia Rui
Published: May 2024

Background

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often suffer from a combination of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and a significant reduction in their quality of life. In the exercise programme of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), pulmonary rehabilitation intervention is often carried out by enhancing respiratory function. Strong abdominal breathing is a kind of breathing method, through which the diaphragm can be exercised, thereby enhancing the deflection distance of the diaphragm during breathing and improving respiratory function. The inversion trainer can meet the different angles of head-down training and also has the characteristics of low cost, easy to operate, and use a wide range of scenarios. According to currently available data, strong abdominal breathing in combination with head-down position has not yet been used in pulmonary rehabilitation in this type of rehabilitation programme. It is valuable to use this device to study PR of cognitive function in patients with COPD.

Methods

This study was a 12-week single-centre randomised controlled trial and blinding the assessors and data processors of the test. Recruitment is planned for January 1, 2024. It is expected that 81 patients with stable COPD combined with MCI will be recruited and randomly assigned to the head-down strong abdominal breathing group (HG), the fitness qigong eight-duanjin group (BDJ), and the control group (CG) in a 1:1:1 ratio. Using fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) to assess brain oxygen availability before and after pulmonary rehabilitation in three periods: before, during and after the intervention. Cognitive functioning is also assessed using the Overall Cognitive Assessment Scale, the Specific Cognitive Functioning Assessment Scale and the Cognitive Behavioural Ability Test.

Trial registration

The Specialised Committee on Scientific Research and Academic Ethics of the Academic Committee of Anqing Normal University approved the project (ANU2023001). China Clinical Trial Registry approved the study (ChiCTR2300075400) with a registration date of 2023/09/04.

Discussion

The aim of this study was to explore novel exercise rehabilitation methods to improve cognitive function in COPD patients. It results in a lower financial burden and higher participation in pulmonary rehabilitation and improves the quality of survival of patients with COPD.
Severe hypotension and postoperative cardiac arrest caused by 5-aminolevulinic acid: a case report
Authors: Miyazaki Taishi , Taguchi Shinya , Obata Norihiko , Mizobuchi Satoshi
Published: May 2024

Background

Although 5-aminolevulinic acid is useful for the photodynamic diagnosis of bladder tumors, it often causes severe intraoperative hypotension. We report a case of postoperative cardiac arrest in addition to severe intraoperative hypotension, probably owing to the use of 5-aminolevulinic acid.

Case presentation

An 81-year-old Japanese man was scheduled to undergo transurethral resection of bladder tumor. The patient took 5-aminolevulinic acid orally 2 hours before entering the operating room. After the induction of anesthesia, his blood pressure decreased to 47/33 mmHg. The patient’s hypotension did not improve even after noradrenaline was administered. After awakening from anesthesia, the patient’s systolic blood pressure increased to approximately 100 mmHg, but approximately 5 hours after returning to the ward, cardiac arrest occurred for approximately 12 seconds.

Conclusion

We experienced a case of postoperative cardiac arrest in a patient, probably owing to the use of 5-aminolevulinic acid. Although the cause of cardiac arrest is unknown, perioperative hemodynamic management must be carefully performed in patients taking 5-aminolevulinic acid.
Par2-mediated responses in inflammation and regeneration: choosing between repair and damage
Authors: Reches Gal , Piran Ron
Published: May 2024

The protease activated receptor 2 (Par2) plays a pivotal role in various damage models, influencing injury, proliferation, inflammation, and regeneration. Despite extensive studies, its binary roles— EITHER aggravating injury or promoting recovery—make a conclusive translational decision on its modulation strategy elusive. Analyzing two liver regeneration models, autoimmune hepatitis and direct hepatic damage, we discovered Par2’s outcome depends on the injury’s nature. In immune-mediated injury, Par2 exacerbates damage, while in direct tissue injury, it promotes regeneration. Subsequently, we evaluated the clinical significance of this finding by investigating Par2’s expression in the context of autoimmune diabetes. We found that the absence of Par2 in all lymphocytes provided full protection against the autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing β-cells in mice, whereas the introduction of a β-cell-specific Par2 null mutation accelerated the onset of autoimmune diabetes. This pattern led us to hypothesize whether these observations are universal. A comprehensive review of recent Par2 publications across tissues and systems confirms the claim drafted above: Par2’s initial activation in the immune system aggravates inflammation, hindering recovery, whereas its primary activation in the damaged tissue fosters regeneration. As a membrane-anchored receptor, Par2 emerges as an attractive drug target. Our findings highlight a crucial translational modulation strategy in regenerative medicine based on injury type.
A brief overview of drug-induced liver damage
Authors: Roy Soumyadip , Shah Zalak , Chakraborthy G. S.
Published: May 2024

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a prevalent disorder that can be led on by almost all drug types. The majority of benign DILI cases become better after drug discontinuation. To stop the development of acute or chronic liver failure, it is crucial to identify and get rid of the offending substance as soon as feasible. DILI does not have any identified risk factors, but certain people may be more susceptible due to genetic vulnerability and previous liver disease. Some patients may exhibit indications of systemic hypersensitivity, even though the majority of patients have clinical symptoms that are the same as those of other liver illnesses. Rapid drug withdrawal and supportive care aimed at reducing uncomfortable symptoms comprise the treatment for drug- and herbal-induced liver damage.
Machine-Learning Assisted Screening of Correlated Covariates: Application to Clinical Data of Desipramine
Authors: Asiimwe Innocent Gerald , S’fiso Ndzamba Bonginkosi , Mouksassi Samer , Pillai Goonaseelan , Lombard Aurelie , Lang Jennifer
Published: May 2024

Stepwise covariate modeling (SCM) has a high computational burden and can select the wrong covariates. Machine learning (ML) has been proposed as a screening tool to improve the efficiency of covariate selection, but little is known about how to apply ML on actual clinical data. First, we simulated datasets based on clinical data to compare the performance of various ML and traditional pharmacometrics (PMX) techniques with and without accounting for highly-correlated covariates. This simulation step identified the ML algorithm and the number of top covariates to select when using the actual clinical data. A previously developed desipramine population-pharmacokinetic model was used to simulate virtual subjects. Fifteen covariates were considered with four having an effect included. Based on the F1 score (an accuracy measure), ridge regression was the most accurate ML technique on 200 simulated datasets (F1 score = 0.475 ± 0.231), a performance which almost doubled when highly-correlated covariates were accounted for (F1 score = 0.860 ± 0.158). These performances were better than forwards selection with SCM (F1 score = 0.251 ± 0.274 and 0.499 ± 0.381 without/with correlations respectively). In terms of computational cost, ridge regression (0.42 ± 0.07 seconds/simulated dataset, 1 thread) was ~20,000 times faster than SCM (2.30 ± 2.29 hours, 15 threads). On the clinical dataset, prescreening with the selected ML algorithm reduced SCM runtime by 42.86% (from 1.75 to 1.00 days) and produced the same final model as SCM only. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that accounting for highly-correlated covariates improves ML prescreening accuracy. The choice of ML method and the proportion of important covariates (unknown a priori) can be guided by simulations.

Graphical Abstract
The Political Economy of Sexual Identity
Authors: Monfort Bruno
Published: May 2024

This article makes a case for developing a theoretical account of historically determined gendered, trans, and queer epistemologies out of value-form readings on social reproduction. The materialist turn in queer studies is revisited here first by critically engaging with Meg Wesling's GLQ article “Queer Value” (2012) in order to present a non-ontologizing conceptualization of labor that would avoid politically affirming stances toward historically feminized positions within the process of reproduction of labor-force. Second, the author reads the Foucauldian account of sex through the fetish character of capitalist social forms to expose the functioning of a sociohistorically specific epistemology of the body. Ultimately, the article unfolds a negative understanding of queer and trans processes of embodiment as precariously inaugurating new modes of sociality unrealizable under capitalist social reproduction.
Femboys in the Factory
Authors: Davin Alexis
Published: May 2024

This article aims to explore the political economy of trans life through an examination of the category of the “femboy” as a means for understanding the concrete processes of sexuality and social activity responsible for the internally differentiated valuation of kinds of trans labor and the wider regime of accumulation of which these valuations form a part. Following Kevin Floyd's historical materialist account of gendered performativity, it details the femboy's historical emergence within hierarchies of racialized sexuality. Using the case of online streaming, the article argues that femboys’ disavowal of transness, and intelligibility to dominant regimes of sexuality, subtends their higher valuation than trans women in comparable lines of work. Making use of the case study, the article argues that identification itself appears to affect the judgment and valuation of individuals within the labor process and that such aesthetic judgements—the contours of how capital “sees” its subjects—are both ineliminable and constitutive of the concrete differences that emerge in the process of production. Aesthetic judgment and the process of abstraction therefore offer an entry point into both the analysis of the labor process more generally, and the relations of desire, abjection, and identification that enforce the present subordination of trans people.
Η ενδοπολιτισμική και η διαπολιτισμική ικανότητα στην ελληνική δημόσια διοίκηση
Authors: Θανοπούλου Δήμητρα
Published: May 2024

Μέσα από την παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή επιχειρείται να διερευνηθεί το επίπεδο της ενδοπολιτισμικής ικανότητας (ΕΙ) - ταυτιζόμενης με την διαπολιτισμική ικανότητα (ΔΙ)- των υπηρετούντων στην Ελληνική Δημόσια Διοίκηση (ΕΔΔ) και η επίδρασή της στην ενδοπολιτισμική επικοινωνία (ΕΕ). Το ερευνητικό ενδιαφέρον επικεντρώνεται στις συνιστώσες της διαπολιτισμικής επικοινωνιακής ικανότητας (ΔΕΙ) (γνωστικές, συναισθηματικές, κοινωνικές) και στην πολυπολιτισμική εμπειρία και διαπολιτισμική κατάρτιση ως παραγόντων επίδρασης στις συμπεριφορές που εκδηλώνουν οι εργαζόμενοι στην ΕΔΔ. Αναλύονται οι έννοιες του πολιτισμού, της κουλτούρας και των υποκουλτούρων, της διαπολιτισμικότητας, της πολυπολιτισμικότητας και ενδοπολιτισμικότητας, της διαπολιτισμικής επικοινωνίας (ΔΕ) και της προσέγγισης του διαπολιτισμικού μάνατζμεντ και της συμπεριφορικής δημόσιας διοίκησης. Η ενδοπολιτισμική ικανότητα (ΕΙ) μελετάται ως ταυτιζόμενη με τη διαπολιτισμική (επικοινωνιακή) ικανότητα (ΔΕΙ/ΔΙ) -όπως και η διαπολιτισμική και η ενδοπολιτισμική επικοινωνία (ΔΕ, ΕΕ)- υπό την έννοια ότι το ανθρώπινο δυναμικό της ΕΔΔ συνιστά μια μορφή υποκουλτούρας στο πλαίσιο της ευρύτερης όπου η διαπολιτισμικότητα είναι παρούσα σε κάθε αλληλεπίδραση. Παρουσιάζονται πέρα από τους διατυπωμένους ορισμούς και τα μοντέλα ανάπτυξης και τα εργαλεία μέτρησης της ΔΙ, αλλά και το ειδικότερο εννοιολογικό πλαίσιο. Ακολουθεί η μεθοδολογική προσέγγιση και η ανάλυση των ποιοτικών και ποσοτικών δεδομένων και εξάγονται τα σχετικά συμπεράσματα. Επιλέχθηκε η μικτή μέθοδος με συγκλίνουσα παράλληλη σχεδίαση, με τριγωνοποίηση συλλογής δεδομένων μέσω της δειγματοληψίας ευκολίας, αλλά και σύγκριση αποτελεσμάτων από τα ερωτηματολόγια, τις ημιδομημένες συνεντεύξεις και την ομάδα εστίασης. Η επεξεργασία των ποσοτικών δεδομένων έγινε με το λογισμικό SPSS ενώ των ποιοτικών με το λογισμικό NVivo. Η έρευνα διαπιστώνει ελλειμματική ΕΕ των υπηρετούντων στην ΕΔΔ βάσει του δείγματος που χρησιμοποιήθηκε, αλλά και ότι επηρεάζεται σε μεγάλο βαθμό από τη ΔΕΙ/ΔΙ των δημοσίων υπαλλήλων, η οποία διαπιστώνεται άνω του μετρίου και από χαμηλού ως μετρίου επιπέδου βάσει της ποσοτικής και ποιοτικής ανάλυσης αντιστοίχως. Η πολυπολιτισμική εμπειρία όσο και η διαπολιτισμική κατάρτιση επιδρούν σημαντικά στο επίπεδο της ΔΕΙ/ΔΙ και κατ’ επέκταση στη ΔΕ/ΕΕ. Κατόπιν των συμπερασμάτων, προτείνονται αλλαγές στον υπαλληλικό κώδικα (ΥΚ) αλλά και συνεχής επιμόρφωση μέσω σεμιναρίων του ΙΝΕΠ (ΕΚΔΔΑ), με στόχο τη βελτίωση της ΔΙ και την εξομάλυνση της ΕΕ.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) among young adult women: an anthropological insight
Authors: Ghosh Titas , Pal Baidyanath , Maji Suvendu , Goswami Monali
Published: May 2024

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders which affect women in a significant manner worldwide. India has witnessed an about 30% rise in PCOS cases in the last couple of years. PCOS has a strong association with many comorbidities with its long-term metabolic as well as other consequences. Thus, it has recently been recognized as a significant public health issue. This review paper is an attempt to reveal the prevalence, pathophysiology, knowledge and awareness of PCOS among the adolescents and young adult women of India.
An extensive search was performed using electronic search engines such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar (from 2004 to 2023) to find the relevant research papers on the prevalence, pathophysiology, knowledge, and awareness of PCOS among the adolescents and young adult women of India. The current review summarises and highlights the prevalence, pathophysiology, knowledge, and awareness of PCOS for early identification and prevention and consequent minimation of the steady upward trend of PCOS. The results of this review could identify high-risk populations and foster the implementation of preventive lifestyle measures. It also investigates the need for intervention programmes for PCOS and its associated comorbidities in different settings at an earlier stage and to improve the quality of health.
SEXUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF SUBCUTANEOUS ADIPOSE TISSUE IN THE SLAV POPULATION OF YAKUTIA AGED 17-35 YEARS
Authors: Guryeva Alla B. , Osinskaya Alena A.
Published: May 2024

Background. Adipose tissue is one of the active tissue components and plays an important role in many biological processes of the human body. The fat component is a rather unstable structure of the body, its variability is associated with motor activity, eating habits, age, sex, region of residence and many other factors.
Purpose. To determine the topographic, sexual characteristics of the distribution of subcutaneous fat in the Slav population of 17-35 years of Yakutia.
Materials and methods. A somatometric examination of 259 Slav men and 630 Slav female of Yakutia aged 17 to 35 years, permanently residing in the territory of the republic, was conducted. Body length, body weight, thickness of skin-fat folds were measured by caliperometry. The obtained material is processed by the method of variation statistics using the SPSS application software package for Windows (version 22.0). Methods of parametric and nonparametric statistics were used.
Results. It was found that the predominant accumulation of adipose tissue in persons of both sexes was revealed in the abdominal area. Sex differences in the distribution of subcutaneous fat were determined. In men, high values of skin-fat folds were found in the back area, and in women in the shoulder area from behind and lower leg. Significantly large values of all skin-fat folds were determined in women.
Conclusion. The study revealed the sexual and regional features of the distribution of adipose tissue among the Slavs of Yakutia aged 17-35 years.
Principio de participación en asuntos ambientales. El principio 10
Authors: Castro-Buitrago Erika
Published: May 2024

Con base en esta premisa, este capítulo plantea una revisión breve del principio de participación en asuntos ambientales en las principales declaraciones y acuerdos multilaterales; para luego, exponer su contenido a partir de los estándares del principio construido en diferentes instrumentos internacionales; por último, en un sucinto estudio, se explora la recepción del Principio 10 en el derecho interno, por medio de la incorporación de los estándares internacionales a través de la jurisprudencia constitucional3.
El valor compartido de la innovación ambiental: su rol como estrategia de responsabilidad social empresarial frente al cambio climático
Authors: Vargas-Chaves Iván , Luna-Galván Mauricio
Published: May 2024

Este texto se ocupa de un análisis transversal de la innovación ambiental y la generación de valor compartido como estrategia social y ambientalmente responsable de las empresas, además de los puntos de especial interés para el cambio climático en los que ambas disciplinas confluyen. Por lo mismo, se presenta aquí una destacada variedad de fuentes, muchas de estas heterogéneas, aunque guiadas por una única unidad temática: el cambio tecnológico generalizado y las prácticas socialmente responsables para mitigar las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, con el fin de coadyuvar a los más vulnerables a adaptarse a los efectos del calentamiento global. Somos conscientes de que, aunque la innovación ambiental y la responsabilidad social empresarial no son suficientes por sí mismas para conseguir un cambio generalizado en este escenario, son en cambio una herramienta que requiere articularse en casi cualquier estrategia de mitigación o adaptación a futuro. No obstante, es notorio el hecho de que se necesita un sustancial incremento de la inversión en I+D+i por las organizaciones en general, incluyendo por supuesto a los gobiernos y universidades, especialmente en los subsectores energéticos responsables de gran parte de los gases de efectos invernadero. La estructura del presente texto está dividido en cuatro partes, que recogen sistemáticamente lo hasta ahora planteado. En primer lugar, presentamos la innovación ambiental como un eje clave a ser adoptado como estrategia en las medidas de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático. Se buscó con ello resaltar desafíos tales como la exploración y predicción de los impactos del cambio climático a través de la innovación ambiental, con miras al desarrollo de respuestas eficaces, también desde esta arista, para así, en el apartado 2 y 3 detenernos en su articulación con la responsabilidad social empresarial como una estrategia que les traerá a las empresas y, en general, a las organizaciones, un sin número de importantes beneficios, por ejemplo una notoria mejora en su reputación, costos y eficiencia operativa. Por último, en el apartado 4 haremos unas recomendaciones finales.
El posconsumo como estrategia de gestión ambiental y de responsabilidad empresarial en la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias
Authors: Marrugo-Salas Lina , Pérez-Morón James
Published: May 2024

La presente investigación pretende indagar sobre la estrategia adelantada de posconsumo en la ciudad de Cartagena y en particular de las empresas, que consiste en la gestión adecuada y aprovechamiento de los distintos residuos—sólidos, peligrosos1, orgánicos, industriales, entre otros— generados en sus operaciones y posterior al consumo, desde la perspectiva de la sostenibilidad y la responsabilidad social empresarial que les compete practicar en su cadena de valor, pues las empresas son responsables de los impactos que generan en la sociedad. Estos residuos pueden generar graves impactos, percibidos no solo desde el punto de vista ambiental, sino también desde el económico, “puesto que los costos de recolección, transporte y disposición final son cada vez mayores” (Tejeda, y otros, 2010, p. 121).
Una norma, varias interpretaciones: dificultades procesales en el caso de la Ley 1333 de 2009
Authors: Del Valle Mora Eduardo
Published: May 2024

En segundo lugar, me permito presentar este artículo el cual recoge cuatro debates que se han venido presentando en la aplicación de la Ley 1333 de 2009, la cual está próxima a cumplir sus primeros diez años de existencia. Si bien la norma es una sola, ante la pluralidad de autoridades ambientales existentes hoy en día en el país, los operadores jurídicos nos encontramos con diferentes criterios de interpretación, los cuales implican que en no todos los procedimientos sancionatorios ambientales en el país se sigan las mismas reglas procesales. De manera que quise traer a colación cuatro debates que he identificado en la práctica profesional, y que requieren de un análisis conceptual y académico con miras a entender los sustentos jurídicos de las diversas posiciones que se presentan entre las autoridades ambientales1.
Samsung Uses Data-Driven Approach to Manage Work-in-Process of Bottlenecks in Semiconductor Manufacturing Operations
Authors: Yu Gwangjae , Ryu Jaehyeon , Choi Sang-Seok
Published: May 2024

The study provides a data-driven approach for the Work-in-Process of bottlenecks in Semiconductor manufacturing operation.
Strategic Behavior with Tight, Loose, and Polarized Norms
Authors: Dimant Eugen , Gelfand Michele , Hochleitner Anna , Sonderegger Silvia
Published: May 2024

Descriptive norms, the behavior of other individuals in one’s reference group, play a key role in shaping individual decisions in managerial contexts and beyond. Organizations are increasingly using information about descriptive norms to nudge positive behavior change. When characterizing peer decisions, a standard approach in the literature is to focus on average behavior. In this paper, we argue both theoretically and empirically that not only averages but also the shape of the whole distribution of behavior can play a crucial role in how people react to descriptive norms. Using a representative sample of the U.S. population, we experimentally investigate how individuals react to strategic environments that are characterized by different distributions of behavior, focusing on the distinction between tight (i.e., characterized by low behavioral variance), loose (i.e., characterized by high behavioral variance), and polarized (i.e., characterized by u-shaped behavior) environments. We find that individuals indeed strongly respond to differences in the variance and shape of the descriptive norm they are facing: Loose norms generate greater behavioral variance and polarization generates polarized responses. In polarized environments, most individuals prefer extreme actions, which expose them to considerable strategic risk, to intermediate actions that minimize such risk. Furthermore, in polarized and loose environments, personal traits and values play a larger role in determining actual behavior. These nuances of how individuals react to different types of descriptive norms have important implications for company culture, productivity, and organizational effectiveness alike.

This paper was accepted by Dorothea Kübler, behavioral economics and decision analysis.

Funding: This work was supported by the German Research Foundation under Germany’s Excellence Strategy [EXC 2126/1–390838866].

Supplemental Material: The online appendices and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01022 .
The law in relation to safeguarding and the community nurse
Authors: Dowie Iwan
Published: May 2024

In this article, Iwan Dowie discusses the role of the community nurse in relation to safeguarding. The key principles of safeguarding are discussed, and how the community nurse can approach various incidences where they feel their patients may be at risk.
Reducing the burden: managing lymphoedema and its complications
Authors: Payne Drew
Published: May 2024

Lymphoedema effects approximately 200 000 people in UK. It is a chronic condition without a cure but there is much that can be done to ease and manage these complications. This article looks at the eight most common complications, providing advise on how to manage them, derived from the literature and the author's own experience. It also presents advise on how nurses can promote self-management of these complications, promoting patients' self-care.
Voices from Ukraine
Authors: Jackson Jonathan , Hamourtziadou Lily
Published: May 2024

In this period of global insecurity, sharing human experiences acts as a tool to preserve history, educate future generations, foster empathy, prevent revisionism, and honor those who have been affected by conflict. By sharing personal stories, individuals provide first-hand accounts of events, capturing the human perspective and emotions associated with war. This helps to preserve a comprehensive understanding of historical events. Hearing about the experiences of those who have lived through war can be a powerful educational tool. It allows people, especially the younger generations, to learn about the realities of armed conflict and the impact on individuals and societies. The voices from Ukraine in this article communicate the suffering, but also the hope of those caught up in the horrors, the losses and the fog of war.
Revisiting Health Security Governance: The Korean Biosurveillance Regime from Biopolitics to Biocitizenship
Authors: Kim HyunJung
Published: May 2024

Abstract: The South Korean COVID-19 pandemic response implemented a new biosurveillance regime actively utilizing new information and communication technology (ICT) and digital tools, centered on the testing, tracing, and treating (3T) strategy. Critics argue that Korea's 3T strategy may violate individuals' privacy and human rights. According to Foucauldian perspectives, implementing a strict regime of this nature would bolster the government's social surveillance capabilities and enable population control, effectively establishing a "digital big brother" in the age of cyberspace. However, Western media highlights the citizen's voluntary participation in biosurveillance practices as well as the successful national election during the pandemic, praising it as a new pandemic response model for democratic countries. Closer scrutiny reveals that Korea's digital-based biosurveillance system for pandemic response has evolved since the experience with the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, by citizens' requests and self-help behaviors. The biocitizenship framework's bottom-up approach offers a more robust explanation for the emergence of new biosurveillance in Korea in the context of health security, as opposed to the top-down approach of biopolitics. This article's case study illustrates how the post-MERS digital biosurveillance in Korea serves as a new model of biocitizenship establishing governmental discipline by social compromise.
Living in a Mercantile World: The Wife of Bath and Fifteenth-Century Women Authors
Authors: Price Vicki Kay
Published: May 2024

Abstract: Financial discourse is applicable to many aspects of lived experience, as Geoffrey chaucer demonstrates in his ventriloquizing of a female cloth merchant, the Wife of Bath. As chaucer's Alisoun boldly states in her Prologue ( c . 1437), 'wynne whoso may, for al is for to selle'. For Alisoun, and by implication for chaucer's contemporary society, the knowledge that everything and everyone has a value to be exploited, is key. commercial discourse is central to Alisoun's portrayal in her Prologue and to the exchange of knowledge and marriage in her Tale . Business practice and phrasing are crucial to Alisoun's understanding of life and unite her roles as a medieval woman: spiritual, marital, sexual, and economic. By examining Margery Kempe's Boke (1436–38) and a range of the fifteenth-century Paston women's papers alongside The Wife of Bath's Prologue , this essay demonstrates that this was not just the case for chaucer's fictional Alisoun, but for a variety of women from the medieval English mercantile élite themselves.
The Guise of Translation: The Case for Chaucer's Oeuvre
Authors: Barrington Candace
Published: May 2024

Abstract: I argue that contemporary critical translation theories shed light on both Geoffrey chaucer's translational environment and a cluster of five translational actions: communication, transformation, transportation, hermeneutics, and liminality. Each translational cluster has its desired goals, and each leaves its traces. They infiltrate chaucer's writing practice in varying degrees, and they appear in various combinations — even in works that are not translations, do not contain translations, or do not pose as translations. I close with a case study of The Squire's Tale , a canterbury tale with no known analogues and only tangential sources. Abetted by the five translational actions, however, the tale takes the guise of a translation, one that stretches beyond the British Isles into the outer limits of the world as known and imagined in late-medieval England.
Optimization of three-dimensional superposed constellation with probabilistic shaping for MIMO visible light communication systems
Authors: Guo Xinyue , Chu Tiantian , Lu Meixia , Xu Kang , Zheng Qibin
Published: May 2024

Superposed constellation technology has received increasing attention due to its robustness to the correlation of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels in visible-light communication (VLC) systems. In this study, a novel superposed three-dimensional 32-quadrature amplitude modulation (3D-32QAM) constellation scheme combined with probabilistic shaping is proposed for MIMO VLC systems. Tetrahedron-shaped 3D-4QAM and cube-shaped 3D-8QAM signals are transmitted from two separate LEDs, which are superposed at the receiver to obtain a cross-shaped 32QAM signal. In addition to improving the minimum Euclidean distance (MED) by using 3D constellations, the proposed scheme focuses on exploring the advantages of superposed 3D constellations in probabilistic shaping. Both global and local probabilistic shaping can be achieved in terms of superposition of 3D constellations, which increase the MED and reduce the risk of nonlinear distortion of light-emitting diodes, respectively. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed scheme achieved a better normalized generalized mutual information performance and significantly improved the dynamic range of the driving peak-to-peak voltage when compared with the traditional superposed two-dimensional 32QAM constellation schemes.