bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supplementary Table 1 from Impact of Eliminating Cost-Sharing by Medicare Beneficiaries for Follow-Up Colonoscopy After a Positive Stool-based Colorectal Cancer Screening Test
Authors: Fendrick A. Mark , Lieberman David , Chen Jing Voon , Vahdat Vahab , Ozbay A. Burak , Limburg Paul J.
Published: October 2023

Table S1. Performance characteristic assumptions for the screening tests.
Questioning the Impact of Vestibular Rehabilitation in Mal de Debarquement Syndrome
Authors: Cedras Assan Mary , Moin-Darbari Karina , Foisy Kim , Auger Sylvie , Nguyen Don , Champoux François , Maheu Maxime
Published: October 2023

Introduction: Mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS) is a rare and poorly understood clinical entity defined as a persistent sensation of rocking and swaying that can severely affect the quality of life. To date, the treatment options are very limited. Even though vestibular rehabilitation (VR) efficacy following peripheral vestibular lesion is well-documented, little is known about its influence on MdDS. The objective of the study was to explore the influence of traditional VR program on postural control in a patient diagnosed with MdDS. Methods: We assessed 3 different participants: 1 healthy control; 1 participant with identified peripheral vestibular impairment (VI); 1 participant diagnosed with MdDS. Postural control was assessed using a force plate (AMTI, Accusway). Participants were assessed following the modified Clinical Test Sensory Integration Balance protocol (mCTSIB, eyes open on firm surface/eyes closed on firm surface/eyes open on foam/eyes closed on foam). The raw data were exported and analyzed in a custom-made Matlab script (Matlab R2020a). We retrieved the center of pressure velocity in both anterior-posterior and mediolateral directions and performed an analysis of the frequency content using Daubechies wavelet of order 4 with 6 levels of decomposition. Protocol VI and MdDS patients performed a 4-week VR program. Postural control, using a force plate, and Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) were assessed before and after the VR program. Healthy control was assessed twice separated by 1 week without any specific intervention. Results: VI participant showed clear improvement on DHI and sway velocity on condition eyes closed with foam. Accordingly, a reduction of energy content within frequency bands (0.39–0.78 Hz and 0.78–1.56 Hz) was observed post-rehabilitation for VI participant in both conditions with foam. Interestingly, MdDS participant demonstrated a reduction in sway velocity in most of the conditions but the frequency content was not modified by VR and was comparable to healthy control. Accordingly, the DHI of the MdDS participant failed to demonstrate any difference following VR. Conclusion: The results of the present study question the use of VR as an efficient treatment option for MdDS. Future studies must recruit a larger sample size and focus on the relationship between illusion of movement and postural characteristics such as sway velocity.
A saia como portal e o corpo como altar: reflexões em curso acerca da performance da saia que veste o corpo no candomblé
Authors: Silva Alissan Maria
Published: October 2023

O ensaio reflete a relação corpo-saia, a partir do estudo da performance das Saias de Axé, para considerar a saia que compõe o traje de mulheres do candomblé como portal de uma relação sagrada que tem o corpo como altar. Os processos de confecção e costura, considerando seus formatos e adornamentos articulados à expressão espiral do movimento que pressupõem, desenham no espaço a imagem desses corpos como espirais em movimento. O rodar das rodas dessas saias de axé torna a saia um prolongamento do corpo e expande seu movimento, expressando, assim, uma cosmopercepção espiralar em que o feminino é sublinhado como continuidade da tradição.
Dialética do espaço performativo: o caráter liminoide das ruínas
Authors: Cirino Giovanni
Published: October 2023

O artigo reflete sobre a trajetória social dos espaços, a partir das ruínas de um hotel da década de 1940. Parte-se do papel dos deslocamentos geográficos na elaboração material e simbólica do espaço. Em seguida, o espaço é considerado por intermédio da maneira como as pessoas o transformam a partir daquilo que fazem. Apresenta-se o espaço como produto da ação, das relações sociais e das práticas performativas. Por fim, são discutidos os aspectos dialéticos presentes no espaço: as ruínas emergem no presente a partir do choque de temporalidades, o espaço performativo é tomado como espaço dialético.
Outcomes in High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism Patients Undergoing FlowTriever Mechanical Thrombectomy or Other Contemporary Therapies: Results From the FLAME Study
Authors: Silver Mitchell J. , Gibson C. Michael , Giri Jay , Khandhar Sameer , Jaber Wissam , Toma Catalin , Mina Bushra , Bowers Terry , Greenspon Lee , Kado Herman , Zlotnick David M. , Chakravarthy Mithun , DuCoffe Aaron R. , Butros Paul , Horowitz James M.
Published: October 2023

Background:

Hemodynamically unstable high-risk, or massive, pulmonary embolism (PE) has a reported in-hospital mortality of over 25%. Systemic thrombolysis is the guideline-recommended treatment despite limited evidence. The FLAME study (FlowTriever for Acute Massive PE) was designed to generate evidence for interventional treatments in high-risk PE.

Methods:

The FLAME study was a prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized, parallel group, observational study of high-risk PE. Eligible patients were treated with FlowTriever mechanical thrombectomy (FlowTriever Arm) or with other contemporary therapies (Context Arm). The primary end point was an in-hospital composite of all-cause mortality, bailout to an alternate thrombus removal strategy, clinical deterioration, and major bleeding. This was compared in the FlowTriever Arm to a prespecified performance goal derived from a contemporary systematic review and meta-analysis.

Results:

A total of 53 patients were enrolled in the FlowTriever Arm and 61 in the Context Arm. Context Arm patients were primarily treated with systemic thrombolysis (68.9%) or anticoagulation alone (23.0%). The primary end point was reached in 9/53 (17.0%) FlowTriever Arm patients, significantly lower than the 32.0% performance goal (
P
<0.01). The primary end point was reached in 39/61 (63.9%) Context Arm patients. In-hospital mortality occurred in 1/53 (1.9%) patients in the FlowTriever Arm and in 18/61 (29.5%) patients in the Context Arm.

Conclusions:

Among patients selected for mechanical thrombectomy with the FlowTriever System, a significantly lower associated rate of in-hospital adverse clinical outcomes was observed compared with a prespecified performance goal, primarily driven by low all-cause mortality of 1.9%.

REGISTRATION:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT04795167.
Stroke Inpatient Rehabilitation Environments: Aligning Building Construction and Clinical Practice Guidelines Through Care Process Mapping
Authors: Saa Juan Pablo , Lipson-Smith Ruby , White Marcus , Davis Aaron , Yang Tianyi , Wilde Jack , Blackburn Marnie , Churilov Leonid , Bernhardt Julie ,   on behalf of NOVELL Redesign
Published: October 2023

BACKGROUND:

Stroke inpatient rehabilitation is a complex process involving stroke survivors, staff, and family utilizing a common space for a shared purpose: to optimize recovery. This complex pathway is rarely fully described. Stroke care is ideally guided by Clinical Practice Guidelines, and the rehabilitation built environment should serve to optimize care delivery, patient and staff experience. We aimed to articulate the inpatient stroke rehabilitation process of care in a series of process maps, and to understand the degree to which current stroke clinical and building construction (ie, design) guidelines align to support inpatient stroke rehabilitation.

METHODS:

We used the Value-Focused Process Engineering methodology to create maps describing the events and activities that typically occur in the current stroke inpatient rehabilitation service model. These maps were completed through individual and group session consultations with stroke survivors, architects, policy makers, and clinical experts. We then determined which sections of the Australian Stroke Rehabilitation Guidelines and the Australasian Health Facility Design Guidelines could be aligned and applied to the process maps.

RESULTS:

We present a summary process map for stroke inpatient rehabilitation, alongside detailed process maps for 4 different phases of rehabilitation (admission, a normal weekday, a weekend day, and discharge) using Value-Focused Process Engineering notation. The integration of design and clinical guidelines with care pathway maps revealed where guidelines lack detail to be readily linked to current stroke inpatient care practice, providing an opportunity to design stroke inpatient rehabilitation spaces based on the activities occurring within them.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings highlight gaps where clinical and design experts should work together to use guidelines to their full potential; and to improve the process of planning for future stroke rehabilitation units.
Turning the Light Switch on Binding: Prefrontal Activity for Binding and Retrieval in Action Control
Authors: Geissler Christoph Felix , Schöpper Lars-Michael , Engesser Anna Franziska , Beste Christian , Münchau Alexander , Frings Christian
Published: October 2023

According to action control theories, responding to a stimulus leads to the binding of response and stimulus features into a common representation, that is, an event file. Repeating any component of an event file retrieves all previously bound information, leading to performance costs for partial repetitions measured in so-called binding effects. Although otherwise robust and stable, binding effects are typically completely absent in “localization tasks,” in which participants localize targets with spatially compatible responses. Yet, it is possible to observe binding effects in such when location features have to be translated into response features. We hypothesized that this modulation of binding effects is reflected in task involvement of the dorsolateral pFC (DLPFC). Participants localized targets with either direct (i.e., spatially compatible key) or translated (i.e., diagonally opposite to the spatially compatible key) responses. We measured DLPFC activity with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. On the behavioral level, we observed binding effects in the translated response condition, but not in the direct response condition. Importantly, prefrontal activity was also higher in the translated mapping condition. In addition, we found some evidence for the strength of the difference in binding effects in behavioral data being correlated with the corresponding effects in prefrontal activity. This suggests that activity in the DLPFC reflects the amount of executive control needed for translating location features into responses. More generally, binding effects seem to emerge only when the task at hand involves DLPFC recruitment.
Actors and Networks Embedded in Political Vigilante Groups in Ghana
Authors: Bukari Kaderi N. , Ametefe Richard , Osei-Kufuor Patrick , Imoro Razak J.
Published: October 2023

The rise of political vigilante groups threatens democratic consolidation, peace and security of elections and national cohesion in Ghana. These vigilante groups, networked and sometimes formed by political party leaders, are mainly used for party election-related activities that go beyond ensuring success for their political party in elections to include protection for party officials and performing law enforcement functions. However, these groups and their activities are not just carried out in isolation, but done through social networks with various actors. This paper examines the actors and social networks embedded in political vigilantism in Ghana. The paper employed interviews and Social Network Analysis (SNA). The study established that vigilante groups and their activities were embedded in youth groups, political parties as well as ethnic networks. Additionally, financial networks were key in both the formation and the operations of vigilante groups. Politicians, businessmen and chiefs exert influence and power on vigilante groups. The sociographs also confirmed that the most influential in vigilante group activities were political leaders.
Political Parties Act as a Stumbling Block to Women’s Political Leadership in Tanzania
Authors: Lihiru Victoria M.
Published: October 2023

The international, regional and subregional conventions that Tanzania has ratified call for State Parties to regulate the functioning of political parties to, inter alia, promote the full participation of women in political leadership and in decision-making processes. The reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1992 witnessed the enactment of the 1992 Political Parties Act to govern the registration and management of political parties. The Political Parties Act scarcely contained any specific provisions for advancement of women’s political leadership in political parties. The Act was amended in 2019 through the Political Parties Amendment Act (PPAA). While the PPAA requires political parties to adhere to the principles of gender and social inclusion in the nomination of its candidates, elections of its leaders and in the design of its policy documents, the provision is vague, non-binding, and hard to enforce. This article analyses the Political Parties Act of 1992, and its 2019 Amendment. It depicts legal gaps that negatively affect how women become party leaders, candidates, and benefit from parties’ resources and capacity building opportunities. The article makes recommendations to improve legal protection for the advancement of women’s access to political leadership.
Czech Question as an Answer? The Problem of Unpredictability of National Myths
Authors: Štrama Vladimír
Published: October 2023

The field of nationalism studies has stagnated for the past three decades. What looks like a breath of fresh air is Gerárd Bouchard’s theory of national myths, offering a new perspective on the hitherto largely overlooked study of myths. But while Bouchard brings us closer to the practical utilisation of myths, his theory also implies that the process of mythification is largely unpredictable. Myths seem to emerge and disappear in a rather mysterious manner, preventing us from effectively controlling them. The story of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first Czechoslovak president, demonstrates this problem. Masaryk originally succeeded in constructing a democratic Czechoslovak myth, but later historical developments rendered his efforts not only ineffective but also counter-productive. The culprit, however, should not be sought in Masaryk’s philosophy or actions, as some authors have suggested, but rather in the unpredictable nature of the mythification process itself.
The Role of Artwork in a Diplomatic Environment: A Case Study of the Art Collection of the Dutch Delegation at nato Headquarters
Authors: Ruijter Wilko
Published: October 2023

This article examines the role of artwork in the diplomatic practice of international organizations and how this relates to the foreign policy of the member states. Although the relationship between artwork and diplomacy has received some scholarly attention, the specific relationship between artwork and international organizations has rarely been covered in academic literature. To that end, the article will analyze the art collection located in the Dutch delegation at nato headquarters. It attempts to establish how the individual artworks in this collection collectively form a narrative, and how this narrative reflects Dutch foreign policy in relation to nato. The article will conclude that the collection reflects, and – through the discursive power of the artworks – comments on, Dutch foreign policy in relation to nato by (over-) emphasizing notions of “neutrality” and anti-militarism, as well as Dutch contributions to the nato-led isaf in Afghanistan.
1. Introduction
Authors: Matthews Paul
Published: October 2023

To open the book, we introduce the aims together with supporting ideas from disciplines spanning science and humanities. The overarching aim is to foreground examples from science fiction that can give us glimpses into the possible internal worlds of alien, augmented human, or artificially intelligent beings. The idea of transparent minds originates from narratology, or the study of narrative structure and its influence on the reader response. An adjacent concept is that of neuroaesthetics, part of the cognitive approach to literature studies, which focuses on the mental states evoked in the reader as a way to understand consciousness. We visit more philosophical and neuroscientific approaches to sentience and then introduce the SF genre and the way it works to combine scientific with speculative thought in a number of ways useful to our project.
3. Awakenings
Authors: Matthews Paul
Published: October 2023

Consciousness must start from somewhere, or be triggered by something. The science is contested, but gives us some paradigms and suggestions of what could be the hallmarks and drivers of sentience. We relate these to examples by Calvino showing the emergence of purpose, Shelley’s Frankenstein illustrating the influence of reflection and associative learning on independence of mind and Tchaikovsky’s superspiders as emerging social cognition. We move on to examples of the power of inner narrative and metaphor to awaken AI from Kim Stanley Robinson’s Aurora and Catherynne Valente’s Silently and Very Fast. Finally, we find further triggers to consciousness in Stanislaw Lem’s automaton and Greg Egan’s synthetic humans.
6. Supercedure: Into the Posthuman
Authors: Matthews Paul
Published: October 2023

What could it be like to leave behind our purely biological/natural mental and physical constraints? For a long time in SF an optimistic vision of immortality and transcendence, we visit examples of mind uploading and cognitive and sensory enhancement that might enable us to leave earthly limits behind us. But there could be a cost, that of burning out or losing our human grounding in an unsustainable and regressive drift. The lesson is that we will need to choose our adventure carefully here.
The Leading Modes of Northern Eurasian Winter Snowfall Variability and the Potential Influencing Factors
Authors: Zhang Taotao , Zhu Siguang , Song Yaoming , Wang Xiaoyi , Chen Haishan
Published: October 2023

This study investigates the dominant modes of the interannual variability of the northern Eurasian winter snowfall during 1982–2020 and explores their potential influencing factors and the associated physical processes. The first and second empirical orthogonal function (EOF) modes feature coherent snowfall anomalies over the high latitudes of Eurasia and western Siberia, respectively. Further analyses indicate that the anomalous atmospheric circulations play a major role in forming the snowfall variability, which could be further attributed to the influences of the atmospheric teleconnection patterns and Arctic sea ice variations. Specifically, the anomalous circulations related to the first EOF mode are mainly contributed by the effects of the teleconnections of the Polar–Eurasian and Scandinavian patterns. The formation of the second EOF mode has a close connection with the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Eurasian pattern. In addition, the sea ice variations over Baffin Bay exert a considerable influence on the snowfall anomalies related to the second EOF mode by exciting a wave train–like anomalous circulation. This effect is further verified by a numerical simulation. An empirical statistical model based on the above influencing factors can well explain the temporal evolutions of the two dominant modes, verifying the important value of our results to improve the understanding of interannual variability of northern Eurasian winter snowfall.
Integrating LEO and GEO Observations: Toward Optimal Summertime Satellite Precipitation Retrieval
Authors: Afzali Gorooh Vesta , Petković Veljko , Arulraj Malarvizhi , Nguyen Phu , Hsu Kuo-lin , Sorooshian Soroosh , Ferraro Ralph R.
Published: October 2023

Reliable quantitative precipitation estimation with a rich spatiotemporal resolution is vital for understanding the Earth’s hydrological cycle. Precipitation estimation over land and coastal regions is necessary for addressing the high degree of spatial heterogeneity of water availability and demand, and for resolving the extremes that modulate and amplify hazards such as flooding and landslides. Advancements in computation power along with unique high spatiotemporal and spectral resolution data streams from passive meteorological sensors aboard geosynchronous Earth-orbiting (GEO) and low Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites offer exciting opportunities to retrieve information about surface precipitation phenomena using data-driven machine learning techniques. In this study, the capabilities of U-Net–like architecture are investigated to map instantaneous, summertime surface precipitation intensity at the spatial resolution of 2 km. The calibrated brightness temperature products from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) radiometer are combined with multispectral images (visible, near-infrared, and infrared bands) from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) aboard the GOES-R satellites as main inputs to the U-Net–like precipitation algorithm. Total precipitable water and 2-m temperature from the Global Forecast System (GFS) model are also used as auxiliary inputs to the model. The results show that the U-Net–like algorithm can capture fine-scale patterns and intensity of surface precipitation at high spatial resolution over stratiform and convective precipitation regimes. The evaluations reveal the potential of extracting relevant, high spatial features over complex surface types such as mountainous regions and coastlines. The algorithm allows users to interpret the inputs’ importance and can serve as a starting point for further exploration of precipitation systems within the field of hydrometeorology.
Dhikr as Mindfulness: Meditative Remembrance in Sufism
Authors: Applebaum Marc
Published: October 2023

Mindfulness practices adapted from Theravada Buddhism have become widespread among many in Western societies who seek stress reduction and greater present-centeredness. Less well-known is the mindfulness practice in Sufism–the mystical path of Islam–known as meditative remembrance ( dhikr). While mindfulness is often understood as a self-help technique, the aim of Buddhist and Sufi meditative paths is not limited to enhancing the well-being of a self that is envisioned as strictly bounded. Rather, both meditative paths aim at unitive mystical experience, which is held to profoundly transform the meaning of the practitioner’s selfhood as such. Whereas Buddhism’s non-self-doctrine is generally understood to hold that personal selfhood is an illusion, this is not the case for Akbari Sufism. This inquiry takes a phenomenological approach, exploring the varied meanings of being or “having” a self in the context of mindfulness, and contrasting these with the humanistic psychology of Abraham Maslow. I contrast Theravada and Akbari Sufism’s understandings of the aim of meditation and the meanings of selfhood and compare both traditions with Abraham Maslow’s view of self-transcendence.
Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance of the Positive Youth Development Scale – Turkish Version
Authors: Yıldırım Sinan , Arslan Yunus
Published: October 2023

In this study, we translated to Turkish and evaluated the validity, reliability, and measurement invariance for respondent sex, grade level and analysis programs the Short Form and Very Short Form of the Positive Youth Development Scale (Turkish version). We had 435 youth, aged 11–17 years, complete the Short (34 items) and Very Short (17 items) Forms of the instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that both forms had a 5-factor structure, and validity testing showed good criterion-related correlation validity between this tool and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The Short Form had adequate reliability coefficients, but the Very Short Form lacked sufficient reliability for some dimensions. Test-retest correlations were satisfactory for both forms. While the Short and Very Short Forms showed measurement invariance across gender and grade level, CFI, NNFI (TLI), and IFI values diverged between LISREL and AMOS analysis programs. In summary, our data suggest that the Short Form is a reliable measure of positive youth development, while the Very Short Form may not be as reliable due to insufficient confidence values.
Bringing Household Finance Back In: House Prices and the Missing Macroeconomics of Comparative Political Economy
Authors: Wood James D. G. , Stockhammer Engelbert
Published: October 2023

This article makes a key contribution to the comparative political economy literature by accounting for the macroeconomic role of household finance. Based on post-Keynesian theories of finance and the financialization literature, we place house prices and mortgage credit squarely at the center of the macroeconomy, as speculative house price cycles can facilitate homeowner consumption via the use of equity release mortgages. Through an econometric evaluation of eighteen advanced economies from 1980 to 2019, we demonstrate that household debt is determined by house price inflation, and that rising household debt contributes to GDP growth, while business debt has negative growth effects. These results are consistent across countries with different growth models and financial systems. This suggests that the varieties of capitalism's focus on corporate finance is misplaced and that the growth models approach needs a theory of house prices, mortgage credit, and financial cycles to adequately conceptualize how debt-driven growth operates across advanced economies.
Practices of Consumption: Cohesion and Distinction within a Globally Wealthy Group
Authors: Lillie Karen , Maxwell Claire
Published: October 2023

An ongoing debate in the literature is around the existence and constitution of a so-called ‘global elite’. This article enters that debate – seeking to understand what connected but also divided a group of wealthy young people occupying a transnational space. It examines consumptive practices at one of the most expensive secondary schools in the world, educating a cross-section of the globally wealthy in Switzerland. The article offers insights into the boredom that pervaded this group, shaping some of the consumptive practices that bound its members. It also argues that other consumptive practices reflected consciously articulated differences within this group, such as national- and linguistic-based social groupings. The case study offers a unique opportunity to examine consumption as a lens onto cohesion and distinction within a particular group of transnationally located, wealthy young people, thus contributing to scholarship around the nature of the ‘global elite’ at large.
On Political Theory and Large Language Models
Authors: Rodman Emma
Published: October 2023

Political theory as a discipline has long been skeptical of computational methods. In this paper, I argue that it is time for theory to make a perspectival shift on these methods. Specifically, we should consider integrating recently developed generative large language models like GPT-4 as tools to support our creative work as theorists. Ultimately, I suggest that political theorists should embrace this technology as a method of supporting our capacity for creativity—but that we should do so in a way that is mindful of the content and value of theorizing, the technical constraints of the models, and the ethical questions that the technology raises.
Adaptive dynamic windowing approach based on risk degree function
Authors: Yang Liu , Li Chunhui , Wang Qingtao , Shi Shuxian , Yang Mengru
Published: October 2023

Aiming at the problem that the dynamic window approach (DWA) has low planning efficiency and it is difficult to avoid fast-moving obstacles, an improved adaptive DWA based on risk degree function is proposed in this paper. The risk function is designed and introduced into the evaluation function of the traditional DWA to evaluate the risk of collision between dynamic obstacles and the robot, so that the robot can effectively avoid faster obstacles. Then, according to the fuzzy control principle, the adaptive weight coefficient is designed to improve the evaluation function, so that the mobile robot can move to the target point more efficiently. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional DWA, the adaptive DWA based on risk degree function reduces the time of completing the planning task by about 8%, and the path length after the completion of the planning by about 8%, it indicates that the improved algorithm has higher efficiency. After 50 repeated experiments, using the adaptive DWA based on risk degree function successfully avoids all obstacles to complete the planning task, which shows that this algorithm has higher security.
Intersectionality and Science and Technology Studies
Authors: Grzanka Patrick R. , Brian Jenny Dyck , Bhatia Rajani
Published: October 2023

Over the past thirty years, intersectionality has become a nearly ubiquitous framework for understanding, critiquing, and intervening in complex social inequalities. Emerging from critical race and feminist studies, intersectionality has many shared analytic priorities with science and technology studies (STS), including an emphasis on co-emergent social forces, historical contingency, and interventions that challenge and enhance knowledge production. Despite these shared affinities, STS and intersectionality remain largely nonoverlapping scholarly discourses. Based on a systematic review of intersectionality in eight STS journals, we observe a slight increase in intersectionality’s usage over time but find that its relevance is contained largely to venues outside of the STS mainstream. Our study identifies some ways STS scholars have modeled intersectionality’s responsible use through citation practices, methodological integration, and normative claims about justice/injustice. We also consider what epistemic exclusion of intersectionality might foreclose. We argue that increased use of intersectionality would amplify engagement with justice in STS work, not only by introducing new questions and theoretical frames but also opening possibilities for new interdisciplinary formations. This is not simply an argument for greater inclusion of a term, but rather for transformation in epistemic accountability toward feminist studies and other social justice–oriented fields.
Collective entrepreneurship in low-income communities: The importance of collective ownership, collective processes and collective goods
Authors: Cairns Iain , Southern Alan , Whittam Geoff
Published: October 2023

By focusing on individualised theories of entrepreneurship, mainstream entrepreneurship literature often marginalises entrepreneurship as a product of collaborative action. Addressing this limitation, our emphasis on collective entrepreneurship is contextualised in the setting of low-income communities and draws out three important components: collective ownership, collective processes and collective goods. Through our qualitative research into two community organisations in the West of Scotland, we demonstrate the important interplay of each component. We provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play as collective forms of entrepreneurial behaviour result in community actors empowered to pursue a commercial activity, negotiate with the state and exploit existing and newly emerging social and cultural capital. Our theoretical contribution explains the linkages and connections of the three components to better understand collective entrepreneurship in low-income communities and entrepreneurial processes more generally.
Modelling distance education students’ satisfaction and continuous use intention of students’ portal: An importance-performance map analysis
Authors: Bervell Brandford , Owuyaw Kenneth Ebow , Armah Justice Kofi , Mireku Dickson Okoree , Asante Alexander , Somuah Beatrice Asante
Published: October 2023

Many higher educational institutions offering distance education provide their students with electronic portals to manage their academic information and activities, as well as obtain feedback from students to management for decision-making towards improvement. However, satisfaction with the use of students’ portals remains a challenge to distance education students especially in mandatory environments where students are obliged to use the portal. However, there is also a lack of empirical evidence on the effects of portal functionality and portal information display on the easiness of use of students’ portal and portal system performance leading to satisfaction, in the literature. Accordingly, this study aims to unravel the determinants of students’ satisfaction and their continuous use intentions of portal systems. In view of this, a quantitative approach based on an exploratory sequential mixed-method design was adopted. Questionnaires were used to collect the main data from 1409 students selected through a cluster sampling technique after an initial interview guide was used for focus group discussions. Data collected were analysed using both the descriptive and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) techniques. Findings from the analysis revealed that portal functionality and portal information display were antecedents of portal ease of use: and portal system performance. Additionally, portal system ease of use, portal system functionality, portal system information display and portal system performance determined portal system use satisfaction. Furthermore, portal use satisfaction is a prelude to students’ continuous use intentions. Finally, the most important antecedent to student portal use satisfaction was portal system performance. These findings provide valuable insights for institutions seeking to enhance the performance of portal systems for their students. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for policy and practice towards the provision and management of student portals in distance education delivery.
Re-revisiting the Utilities of Health States Worse than Dead: The Problem Remains
Authors: Jakubczyk Michał
Published: October 2023

Background

In valuation studies of the EQ-5D-5L instrument, the composite time tradeoff method (cTTO) is often used to elicit preferences. In cTTO, some health states are considered worse than dead (WTD) and are assigned negative utility values. However, these negative values correlate poorly with state severity, which suggests that cTTO is insufficiently sensitive. A recent threshold explanation has been offered to account for the lack of correlation: because the severity threshold beyond which a state is considered WTD differs between respondents, the correlation should be studied for individual respondents clustered by the number of WTD states. The results obtained in such a threshold approach were interpreted to disprove the insensitivity of the cTTO method.

Aim

To scrutinize the threshold explanation and test whether it indeed refutes the insensitivity of cTTO.

Methods

The study uses data from the EQ-5D-5L Polish valuation study, which includes cTTO responses from 1,510 participants, each of whom evaluated 10 EQ-5D-5L states. The correlation analysis and threshold approach are repeated to confirm the results from previous studies. The data are then modified in 2 contrasting ways. First, negative utilities are randomly reshuffled to test whether the threshold approach can capture cTTO insensitivity. Second, individual-level regressions are used to simulate negative values to ensure they correlate with severity at the individual respondent level, verifying whether the overall severity-utility correlation should be observed.

Results

First, reshuffling negative utilities does not change the results of the threshold approach. Hence, the threshold explanation fails to prove cTTO sensitivity. Second, when sensitivity was introduced on an individual level, a significant overall correlation between severity and negative utility arose.

Conclusion

cTTO is insensitive to severity for WTD states.

Highlights

For the composite time tradeoff method, the utility values of health states worse than dead correlate poorly with state severity, which suggests that cTTO has insufficient sensitivity. Recently, a so-called threshold explanation was offered for the lack of correlation. I show why the threshold explanation fails and why the composite time tradeoff is indeed insensitive for worse-than-dead states.
Trust in numbers: Serious numbers and speculative fictions in rare earth elements exploration
Authors: Özden-Schilling Tom
Published: October 2023

In the early 2010s, a spectacular fall in prices for a class of mineral commodities called the rare earth elements (REEs) and the collapse of hundreds of new exploration companies made clear the fragility of the high-risk markets around these companies and the strategies of legitimation that supported them. New regulatory processes built around technical disclosures generated vast stores of geotechnical data. Rather than generating trust among market actors, however, these processes dramatically altered the temporalities of global extraction and energized unruly narrative spaces. In their efforts to keep mineral claims active and companies afloat, REE-focused exploration experts have struggled to navigate different arenas of discussion while holding their respective logics in tension. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with exploration geologists and promoters, this article examines how experts federate flows of ‘serious’ and ‘speculative’ information in both carefully regulated reports and rumor-filled online forums. Such spaces are organized by aesthetic conventions and social criteria for establishing persuasiveness—forms that STS scholars have long analyzed as literary technologies. Rather than helping to secure experts’ authority, however, I argue that the diverse literary technologies that now dominate exploration promotion and finance work have radically redistributed interpretive roles. In their struggles to mediate senses of ‘crisis’ endemic within venture markets, exploration experts must enact the ideals undergirding new regulatory requirements even as they learn to defer to the speculative musings of others.
Disabling Palestine: the case of Gaza’s Great March of Return
Authors: Obermaier Lena
Published: October 2023

This article examines Israel’s policies of deliberate disablement and debilitation during the Great March of Return in Gaza between March 2018 and December 2019. The orchestrated attacks on Palestinians during the Great March of Return were the latest incidents on a trajectory of premeditatively produced mass injuries and impairments in the Israeli settler-colonial context. The disabling of Palestinians and the debilitation of Palestinian health and rehabilitative infrastructures should be seen as part of Israel’s settler-colonial ‘logic of elimination’. Disabling the Palestinian body politic is a way to systematically erase indigenous people from the land, in this case from Gaza which has, in the words of Rashid Khalidi, refused to be a ‘docile ghetto’. Injuries should therefore not be seen as mere by-products of war, categorised as collateral damage, or even as a ‘humanitarian’ alternative to death.
Adopting ultrasound guided PCNL in nephrolithiasis management
Authors: Neeman Binyamin B , Raisin Galia , Chertin Boris , Qadan Saeed , Kafka Ilan
Published: October 2023

Introduction:

This study aimed to evaluate the learning curve associated with the adoption of US guided PCNL and demonstrate that it can be carried out safely with results comparable to those obtained using standard PCNL.

Methods:

Prospective study with 65 patients who underwent PCNL between 2019 and 2020. all procedures were performed in supine position and an initial attempt to gain access to the kidney using US was made.

Results:

Mean procedure duration was 69.5 ± 27.8 min. Fluoroscopy was used with a mean dose of 276.68 ± 560.71 (cGycm3) and mean fluoroscopy time 40.25 ± 77.69 (s). Throughout the study there was a steady decrease in the use of fluoroscopy and amount of radiation to gain access to the kidney to only 25% at the study end. 76.5% of the patients were stone free at follow-up. Complication rate was 9.2%.

Conclusions:

Fluoroless US guided PCNL is safe, feasible and reproducible procedure.
Diagnostic value of FOXF1 gene promoter-methylated DNA in the plasma samples of patients with colorectal cancer
Authors: Dastafkan Zahra , Rezvani Nayebali , Amini Sabrieh
Published: October 2023

Background

Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation in the CpG islands of genes occur at a high rate. In this study, we measured the methylation level of the promoter region of the FOXF1 gene as a new blood biomarker for the detection of colorectal cancer in the early stages.

Methods

The methylation level of the promoter region of the FOXF1 gene was measured in the plasma samples of 50 colorectal cancer patients and 50 normal individuals. DNA was extracted after exposure to sodium bisulfite by the MethyLight polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The percentage of promoter region was measured in all samples, and statistical analysis was done using SPSS v24 software.

Results

The average promoter region between the plasma samples of colorectal cancer patients and healthy individuals had a significant difference ( P < 0.001). The average promoter region of the FOXF1 gene in tumor plasma samples was 7.1 and in the control samples was 0.48. The sensitivity and specificity of the sample plasma levels were 78% and 89.5%, respectively.

Conclusion

The promoter region value of the FOXF1 gene in plasma samples using the MethyLight PCR method had high sensitivity and specificity as a non-invasive method for colorectal cancer diagnosis. This research is the first report that has been presented regarding the investigation of FOXF1 gene methylation in plasma samples in colorectal cancer. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct more studies with larger size samples to evaluate the efficiency of the gene under investigation.
Follow the time course of inflammation caused by intraperitoneal administration of multi-wall carbon nanotubes in mice
Authors: Horie Masanori , Sugino Sakiko , Ohno Tomoki
Published: October 2023

Objective

Understand the progress of inflammation over time caused by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT).

Methods

Two types of MWCNTs were administered to C57BL/6N mice via intraperitoneal administration at low and high doses (0.05 and 1.0 mg/mouse, respectively). Inflammation was evaluated until 6 months after administration based on cytokine levels and pathological observations. The abdominal cavity lavage fluid was collected and analyzed 1 week, 1, 3, and 6 month(s) after administration. IL-6 expression markedly increased 3 months after the administration of high-dose MWCNT-7.

Results

Notable inflammation was observed in the groups administered with one of the MWCNT, MWCNT-7. On the other hand, inflammation in another MWCNT-treated group was milder than that in the MWCNT-7-treated group. MWCNT-7 induced pronounced inflammation but did not induce tumor formation during the experimental period. Inflammation reaction is one of the most important biological responses to MWCNT.

Conclusion

Three months post-exposure becomes a turning point for the harmful effects of the intraperitoneally administered MWCNT-7.
Use of Light Protection Equipment at Night Reduces Time Until Discharge From the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Interventional Study
Authors: Odebrecht Vergne de Abreu Ana Carolina , Alves Braga de Oliveira Melissa , Alquati Tamila , Tonon André Comiran , de Novaes Reis Mariana , Camargo Rossi Augusto , Sbaraini Bonatto Fernanda , Paz Hidalgo Maria
Published: October 2023

Newborn infants’ circadian systems are not completely developed and rely on external temporal cues for synchronizing their biological rhythms to the environment. In neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), lighting is usually continuous or irregular and infants are exposed to artificial light at night, which can have negative health consequences. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the use of individual light protection equipment at night on the development and growth of preterm neonates. Infants born at less than 37 gestational weeks who no longer needed constant intensive care were admitted into a newborn nursery and randomized to either use eye masks at night (intervention, n = 21) or not (control, n = 20). Infants who used eye protection at night were discharged earlier than those in the control group (8 [5] vs 12 [3.75] days; p < 0.05). A greater variation within the day in heart rate was observed in the intervention group, with lower values of beats per minute at 1400 and 2000 h. There was no significant difference in weight gain between groups. In view of our results and of previous findings present in the literature, we suggest that combining a darkened environment at night with individual light protection devices creates better conditions for the development of preterm infants in the NICU. In addition, eye masks are an affordable and simple-to-use tool that can reduce hospitalization costs by decreasing the number of days spent in the NICU.
A Novel Approach to Monitoring Cognitive Adverse Events for Interventional Studies Involving Advanced Dementia Patients: Insights From the Electroconvulsive Therapy for Agitation in Dementia Study
Authors: Park Soohyun , Forester Brent P. , Lapid Maria I. , Harper David G. , Hermida Adriana P. , Inouye Sharon K. , McClintock Shawn M. , Nykamp Louis , Petrides Georgios , Schmitt Eva M. , Seiner Stephen J. , Mueller Martina , Patrick Regan E.
Published: October 2023

Objective

To develop an individualized method for detecting cognitive adverse events (CAEs) in the context of an ongoing trial of electroconvulsive therapy for refractory agitation and aggression for advanced dementia (ECT-AD study).

Methods

Literature search aimed at identifying (a) cognitive measures appropriate for patients with advanced dementia, (b) functional scales to use as a proxy for cognitive status in patients with floor effects on baseline cognitive testing, and (c) statistical approaches for defining a CAE, to develop CAEs monitoring plan specifically for the ECT-AD study.

Results

Using the Severe Impairment Battery-8 (SIB-8), baseline floor effects are defined as a score of ≤5/16. For patients without floor effects, a decline of ≥6 points is considered a CAE. For patients with floor effects, a decline of ≥30 points from baseline on the Barthel Index is considered a CAE. These values were derived using the standard deviation index (SDI) approach to measuring reliable change.

Conclusions

The proposed plan accounts for practical and statistical challenges in detecting CAEs in patients with advanced dementia. While this protocol was developed in the context of the ECT-AD study, the general approach can potentially be applied to other interventional neuropsychiatric studies that carry the risk of CAEs in patients with advanced dementia.