bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Encephalic meningioangiomatosis in a cat
Authors: Corbett Megan P. , Kopec Brianna L. , Kent Marc , Rissi Daniel R.
Published: July 2022

Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare proliferative meningovascular entity that has been described mainly in humans and dogs. Here we describe MA in a 13-y-old spayed female domestic shorthaired cat that died 5 d after acute change in behavior, open-mouth breathing, seizures, hyperthermia, and inability to walk. On MRI, the lesion appeared predominantly as extraparenchymal hemorrhage. Autopsy changes consisted of a dark-red, hemorrhagic plaque that expanded the leptomeninges and outer neuroparenchyma of the right piriform and temporal telencephalic lobes, chalky white nodules in the peripancreatic fat, and yellow fluid in the abdomen. Histologically, the lesion in the brain consisted of leptomeningeal thickening by spindle cells that effaced the subarachnoid spaces and extended perivascularly into the underlying cerebral cortex. Spindle cells were arranged as streams or whorls around blood vessels, and had slender eosinophilic cytoplasm and elongated nuclei with coarsely stippled chromatin and 1 or 2 distinct nucleoli. There was extensive hemorrhage, clusters of hemosiderin-laden macrophages, and mineralization throughout. Spindle cells had positive immunolabeling for vimentin. A striking MRI and gross feature in our case was the extensive hemorrhage associated with the MA lesion. Additional findings included suppurative pancreatitis with peritonitis and supraspinatus myonecrosis.
Associations of Content Domain-Specific Possible Selves with Adolescent Drinking Behaviors
Authors: Wu Yi-Chen , Lee Chia-Kuei
Published: July 2022

Alcohol use ranks as one of the most prevalent health-risk behaviors among Taiwanese adolescents. Possible selves—personalized future-oriented cognitions about the self—are significant motivators of one's actions, which may potentially influence adolescent drinking behavior. This study aimed to estimate the content domain-specific possible selves and their associations with drinking behaviors among Taiwanese adolescents. A total of 225 Taiwanese seventh and eighth graders from a public junior high school were recruited. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data during two time-points at six-month intervals. Results showed that having a “physical appearance” related hoped-for possible self and a “friendship” related feared possible self was associated with adolescent alcohol use after six months. Whereas, having the “physical appearance” related hoped-for and feared possible selves were associated with alcohol problems, at both, baseline and six months later. Future studies could clarify the meaning behind “physical appearance” related possible selves.
Appendiceal Endometriosis with Intestinal Metaplasia Mimicking Appendiceal Mucinous Neoplasm – A Case Report and a Concise Review for the Practicing Pathologist
Authors: Chitul Mirela , Chivu Madalina , Chitul Andrei , Popa Ileana , Becheanu Gabriel , Cristian Daniel , Grama Florin
Published: July 2022

Appendiceal endometriosis is a rare entity and, when accompanied by intestinal metaplasia, represents a challenging differential diagnosis with low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm (LAMN). We present the case of a 47 years-old woman, with multiple surgical interventions for endometriosis, with persistent symptoms despite chronic hormonal treatment, with imaging showing stage IV endometriosis. Hence, en bloc low rectum resection with total hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy was performed, followed by appendectomy. Unexpectedly, despite the gross normal macroscopic appearance of the appendix, microscopy showed multiple endometriosis foci, consisting of endometrial glands embedded in varying amounts of endometrial stroma. As some of these glands were bordered by mucinous-type epithelium containing intestinal cells, Goblet cells, Paneth cells in addition to the presence of mucus-filled microcysts, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed in order to differentiate between intestinal-metaplasia and LAMN. IHC showed positivity of the endometrial epithelium for KRT7, estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR). Both the appendiceal mucosa and the intestinal-type metaplastic epithelium of the glandular structures were positive for KRT20. Additionally, the endometrial stroma enclosing endometrial glands, as well as the stroma surrounding mucinous-type metaplastic epithelium, were positive for CD10, ER and PR. This patient's case draws attention to the rare occurrence of appendiceal endometriosis and the uncommon intestinal metaplasia, which can easily mimic LAMN, emphasizing the paramount importance of the differential diagnosis with this type of neoplasia.
Disruptions in Oncology Care Confronted by Patients with Gynecologic Cancer Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico
Authors: Calo William A. , Rivera Mirza , Mendez-Lazaro Pablo A. , Garcia-Camacho Sandra I. , Bernhardt Utz Yanina M. , Acosta-Perez Edna , Ortiz Ana P.
Published: July 2022

Background

In September 2017, hurricanes Irma and Maria affected Puerto Rico (PR) and the US Virgin Islands (USVI), causing major disruptions in basic services and health care. This study documented the stressors and experiences of patients with gynecologic cancer receiving oncology care in PR following these hurricanes.

Methods

We conducted 4 focus groups (December 2018-April 2019) among women aged ≥21 years from PR who were diagnosed with gynecological cancer between September 2016 and September 2018 (n = 24). Using the same eligibility criteria, we also interviewed patients from the USVI (n = 2) who were treated in PR. We also conducted key-informant interviews with oncology care providers and administrators (n = 23) serving gynecologic cancer patients in PR. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded to identify emergent themes using a constant comparison method.

Results

Analyses of focus group discussions and interviews allowed us to identify the following emergent themes: 1) disruptions in oncology care were common; 2) communication between oncology providers and patients was challenging before and after the hurricanes hit; 3) patient resilience was key to resume care; and 4) local communities provided much-needed social support and resources.

Conclusions

This study provides firsthand information about the disruptions in oncology care experienced by and the resiliency of women with gynecologic cancer following hurricanes Irma and Maria. Our findings underscore the need to incorporate oncology care in the preparedness and response plans of communities, health systems, and government agencies to maintain adequate care for cancer patients during and after disasters such as hurricanes.
Inflammation Markers Have Important Value in Predicting Relapse in Patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma: A Long-Term Follow-Up Retrospective Study
Authors: Huang Yanyi , Liu Yushu , Mo Guoheng , Zhou Tao , Hou Qian , Shi Chaoqun , Jiang Qunguang , Lv Yunxia
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Many markers of inflammation are increasingly found to have prognostic significance in some cancers. This study investigated the prognostic value of albumin/globulin (AGR), lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), and other inflammatory markers, including neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the data of 764 patients newly diagnosed with PTC (608 women, 156 men) aged 10-83 years. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to analyze recurrence rates and assess potential prognostic factors. Furthermore, we used random survival forests to construct a random survival forest score (RSFscore). The correlations between various inflammatory factors and traditional prognostic factors were analyzed. We also compared the areas under the curve (AUCs) of the RSFscore and 4 inflammation-based markers.

Results

AGR, NLR, PLR, and LMR were strongly associated with invasive clinicopathological features (tumor size, lesions, lymph node metastasis, and lymph node metastasis rate) and postoperative recurrence. In the multivariate analysis, AGR and LMR were independent prognostic markers for recurrent PTC. Higher NLR and PLR values indicated a higher risk of recurrence, while higher LMR and AGR values suggested a lower recurrence risk. The predictive power of the combined indicators was stronger than that of single indicators alone.

Conclusion

Compared to the analysis of a single indicator, the combination of inflammatory markers was more helpful in determining the risk of PTC recurrence, which has an important impact on predicting patients’ cancer-free survival and quality of life.
Brother’s Room
Authors: Simmonds Janette Graetz
Published: July 2022

The memory of inhabiting the room of a departed brother is explored in this narrative poem.
Hope for the Twin Cities: Poetic Reflections Amid Systemic Racism
Authors: Butala Megan , Baker J. Scott
Published: July 2022

This article is an example of how one preservice teacher utilizes poetry as a platform to convey emotion over time. Through reflection— retrospective and prospective—the following poetic triptych examines the past, present, and possible selves of one future educator and her hopes of beginning a teaching career, amid amplified visibility of systemic racism afflicting the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN metroplex since the murder of George Floyd and subsequent racial strife in the community. Providing poetry as an avenue to discuss emotions of crises and stressors facing society—in teacher education and elsewhere—allows for in-depth self-reflexivity, essential to articulating emotional health and well-being.
Three-dimensional dynamic Green’s functions in exponentially graded transversely isotropic tri-material composites
Authors: Zarrineghbal Amirhosein , Khojasteh Ali , Rahimian Mohammad , Pak Ronald YS
Published: July 2022

This paper presents an analytical formulation for deriving the three-dimensional (3D) elastodynamic Green’s functions of functionally graded transversely isotropic tri-material composite under time-harmonic loading. With the aid of a complete set of displacement potentials, Fourier expansions, and Hankel integral transforms, displacement and stress components of 3D point-load, patch-load, and ring-load are obtained in the form of complex-plane infinite line-integrals. By virtue of a reliable and fast numerical scheme, i.e., the contour integration method, they are numerically treated, and its accuracy is achieved by comparison with some special cases. Finally, some numerical results are selected to demonstrate the influences of the material inhomogeneity and vibration frequency on the displacement and stress components. Particularly, the dependency of the stress transfer process at the interface of the mediums on the degree of inhomogeneity is presented, which is of high importance in evaluating the performance of composite materials.
Police Chief Culture: A View From the Top
Authors: Ingram Jason R. , Paoline Eugene A. , Rockwell Alexis R. , Azimi Andia M.
Published: July 2022

Prior research on police culture has focused primarily on line officers. This study examined culture at the upper administrative level by identifying a taxonomy of police chiefs based on their role orientations. Relevant predictors of culture types based on chief, department, and jurisdiction characteristics were also tested. Data come from a survey of 460 local police chiefs in Texas and 2013–2017 census estimates from the American Community Survey. Five groups of chiefs were observed in the data: service-oriented, peace-keeper, law and order professionals, lay-lows, and traditionalists. Having a graduate education, being an internal hire, total years of experience in law enforcement, department size, and residential instability levels significantly differentiated the groups. This study sheds insight into occupational culture from the upper administrative level of police organizations.
Nephrotoxic Biomarkers with Specific Indications for Metallic Pollutants: Implications for Environmental Health
Authors: Pócsi István , Dockrell Mark E , Price Robert G
Published: July 2022

Environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals and metalloids is a major global health risk. The kidney is often a site of early damage. Nephrotoxicity is both a major consequence of heavy metal exposure and potentially an early warning of greater damage. A paradigm shift occurred at the beginning of the 21st century in the field of renal medicine. The medical model of kidney failure and treatment began to give way to a social model of risk factors and prevention with important implications for environmental health. This development threw into focus the need for better biomarkers: markers of exposure to known nephrotoxins; markers of early damage for diagnosis and prevention; markers of disease development for intervention and choice of therapy. Constituents of electronic waste, e-waste or e-pollution, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (HG), arsenic (As) and silica (SiO2) are all potential nephrotoxins; they target the renal proximal tubules through distinct pathways. Different nephrotoxic biomarkers offer the possibility of identifying exposure to individual pollutants. In this review, a selection of prominent urinary markers of tubule damage is considered as potential tools for identifying environmental exposure to some key metallic pollutants.
Utilization of a neurology specialty service by primary care providers for headache management at a tertiary care hospital
Authors: Vazirian Samra , Ho Travis , Weideman Rick A. , Salinas Meagen R. , Hurd Paul W. , Stuve Olaf
Published: July 2022

Background

Recent data indicate that the three-month prevalence of severe headaches or migraines in the US general population is close to 25%. Participation of primary care providers will therefore be critical in providing care to affected individuals.

Objective

To determine the number of headache disorder consult requests to a neurology outpatient service in a tertiary medical center, the appropriateness of the consult requests, and the effectiveness of a lecture series on headache diagnosis and management in preventing inappropriate consult requests from non-neurology providers.

Methods

Clinical data on US Veterans is captured and documented in the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA). The Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) electronic medical record (EMR) was used for data entry and retrieval. All consult requests for the study period within the VA North Texas Health Care System were identified in VISTA, and the clinical information reviewed in CPRS. Based on a defined algorithm, headache consult request were categorized as appropriate or inappropriate. A board-certified neurologist provided four in-person/virtual lectures to ambulatory care providers, primary care providers, internal medicine residents, and emergency room providers within the VA North Texas Health Care System on the diagnosis and management of headaches. Prior and post the lecture series, the total number of headache consults per day was assessed over 45-day periods.

Results

The number of daily headache consult requests in the 45-day period prior to the lecture series was 3.6 per day (standard deviation 2.7), and 6.0 per day after the lecture series (standard deviation 2.1). The difference was not statistically significant. There were as many inappropriate headache consult requests after the lecture series as appropriate ones (50% each).

Conclusion

We found that a short-term educational initiative that instructed primary care providers on the diagnosis and management of common headache disorders did not reduce the number of consultation requests and, surprisingly, it did not improve the appropriateness of the consults. Given the prevalence of headaches in the general population, better training of all primary care providers in headache management should be pursued.
Making leadership as practice development visible: Learning from Activity Theory
Authors: Willocks Katie E
Published: July 2022

Across the globe, organisations are facing significant challenges and operating in increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments. In the context of such complexity, effective leadership is ever more important. Recently, a body of work known as ‘Leadership as practice’ and leadership as practice development has been developed as a useful way of thinking about leadership that is shared across organisational members as opposed to being inherent in the traits of individual leaders. At present methodological approaches for capturing and exploring leadership as practice remain in their infancy. This article contributes to leadership learning by arguing that we can learn a great deal about how leadership unfolds and is developed in practice by utilising a theoretical framework called Cultural Historical Activity Theory. Data from two leadership workshops are drawn upon to demonstrate the value of Cultural Historical Activity Theory for making visible the specificities of leadership that emerge collectively and collaboratively in practice. The article concludes with a critical discussion of what we can learn from the Cultural Historical Activity Theory approach and how this can be applied to the study of leadership, leadership learning and leadership development.
Addressing discourse differences in the writing of Russian engineering students and international researchers
Authors: Shpit Elena I. , McCarthy Philip M.
Published: July 2022

Virtually all researchers understand the requirement of presenting their studies in peer-reviewed English-medium journals. Russian scientific writers understand this necessity too; however, evidence suggests that these particular researchers are under-performing relative to similar non-native English speakers. The considerable challenge Russians face centers on articulating their ideas in English in the way that meets the norms and expectations of their international discourse community. That is, their writing is characterized as wordy, cumbersome, too academese, and syntactically complex. These issues need to be addressed in the early stages of developing writing skills. In this study, we address discourse differences between the scientific writing of Russian engineering students and that of international experts. Using the computational linguistics tools Coh-Metrix and Gramulator, we compare a corpus of students’ manuscripts with a similar corpus of experts’ published papers. We focused on six conceptual categories: readability, writing quality, cohesion, syntax, word choice, and genre purity. The overall results suggest that student writing differs significantly for multiple characteristics of text and discourse. A discriminant analysis provided a model that successfully predicts group membership and helps identify the most important issues in Russian student writing. Measures such as noun phrase density, genre purity, word age of acquisition, and variance in sentence length were found to be significant positive predictors of Russian student writing, whereas lexical diversity, adversative/contrastive connectives, adverbial phrase density, and word concreteness were significant positive predictors of expert writing. Our analysis allowed us to provide guidance for instructors, materials designers, as well as for technological assessment tools.
Workplace well-being and support systems in journalism: Comparative analysis of Germany and the United Kingdom
Authors: Šimunjak Maja , Menke Manuel
Published: July 2022

Contemporary thinking of journalism as a high emotional labour profession calls into question the systems that are, or should be, in place to support journalists with this labour and in this way mitigate any of its potentially negative consequences, such as those on well-being, mental and physical health, and job performance. By drawing on organisational and social support theories, this article examines the perceptions, expectations, and support needs of journalists in Germany and the United Kingdom, the two European countries with the biggest bodies of practising journalists. Qualitative interviews with 32 German and 34 British journalists reveal important similarities but also differences between the two countries. Specifically, in both countries journalists reported primarily relying on their psychological capital to deal with emotional labour, although many were unsure what exactly constitutes it or how it has been developed. In Germany the social and supervisor support were often mentioned as effective, while in the UK social support was at times found to be hindered by newsroom culture and supervisors’ lack of understanding of the job pressures. Finally, it has been suggested by journalists in both countries that organisational support could be improved by an offer of training in emotional literacy for both journalists and managers, establishment of a point of contact tasked with pastoral care, and fair, transparent and formal structures that encourage and enable journalists to effectively deal with emotional stressors in the job.
The Riverine Archive: Nausea and information loss on the neoliberal ship of fools
Authors: Antonopoulou Alexandra , Dare Eleanor
Published: July 2022

Within academia, as in other corporatized environments, there are irreconcilable tensions embedded in the managerial data imaginary, in contrast to the messy reality of lived experience and increasingly precarious working conditions for those at the coalface of Higher Education. Combined with student debt and escalating surveillance via so-called ‘artificially intelligent’ transactional data analysis, fantasies of control and domination converge on platitudes about Big Data and computational information, often presented as unambiguously neutral via idealized visualizations and ‘dashboards’ such as those commonly provided by Tableau and Google. As a structure, the digital archive is no different, open to fantasies of secure representation but, in fact, always unstable, subject to the materiality and flux of electronic, symbolic and social processes. As academics exposed to intensified metricization within increasingly data driven institutions, how can we counter the reduction of our qualitative research and experience to dashboards and scores? Drawing upon the work of Fleming’s Dark Academia: How Universities Die (2021), Poster’s The Mode of Information (1990), Cascella’s En Abime: Listening, Reading, Writing: An Archival Fiction (2012) and Bayne et al.’s The Manifesto for Teaching Online (2020) among others, and focusing on work developed by the authors from 2008 onwards, they discuss their contingent, often nauseating virtual reality information repository, the Riverine Archive, developed to hold and withhold information about their writing and art within the ugly hulk of what they define as a ‘neoliberal ship of fools’. The work seeks to offer a counter to prevailing platitudes and fantasies about the neutrality and realism of data to directly represent a stable, singular reality. The authors concur that information is not beautiful, but rather a fallacy of stability, servicing a rapacious, anti-academic neoliberal ideology that needs to be brought to the surface and subjected to honest discourse, away from hype and managerial wishful thinking. Truth and beauty cannot be framed as stable, monolithic or universal; to do so is to replicate a colonial projection of knowledge, a mono-logic, centring all truth upon the Global North.
Urinary AD7c-NTP Evaluates Cognition Impairment and Differentially Diagnoses AD and MCI
Authors: Xu Ming-Ran , Dai Rong-Fang , Wei Qing-Qi , Wang Jun , Feng Yue-Ying , Hu Ying
Published: July 2022

The AD7c-NTP is a promising biomarker for AD diagnosis. However, the exact urinary AD7c-NTP concentration to differentiate AD from the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains inconclusive. We enrolled 98 and 90 clinical defined AD and MCI patients, respectively, and access their cognition impairment with Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and Mental State Examination (MMSE) along with their urinary AD7c-NTP. We demonstrated that urinary AD7c-NTP level in sequence from high to low was AD, MCI, and healthy groups ( P < .01), and the AD7c-NTP was positively and negatively correlated with the NPI and MMSE scores, respectively. Additionally, AD7c-NTP well-matched NPI subscale scores, including agitation, depression, and apathy ( P < .05). Importantly, the optimal cut-off AD7c-NTP level to distinguish the AD and MCI was .94 ng/mL (sensitivity 85.71% & specificity 73.91%). Conclusively, urinary AD7c-NTP could be used for cognition impairment evaluation and differentiated diagnosis of AD and MCI.
At-home Topical Sevoflurane Added to the Conventional Analgesic Treatment for Painful leg Ulcers Greatly Improved the Analgesic Effectiveness and Reduced Opioid Consumption in a Single-Center Retrospective Comparative Study with one-Year Follow-up
Authors: Cortiñas-Sáenz Manuel , Dámaso Fernández-Ginés F. , Selva-Sevilla Carmen , Gerónimo-Pardo Manuel
Published: July 2022

The general anesthetic sevoflurane is being repurposed as a topical analgesic for painful chronic wounds. This study was aimed to compare the analgesic effectiveness and safety of systemic analgesics alone or plus at-home topical sevoflurane for the management of patients with painful nonrevascularizable leg ulcers who were referred to a Pain Clinic by their attending vascular surgeons. We reviewed charts of patients treated in a single Pain Clinic with analgesic Standard of Care either alone (group SoC) or plus at-home topical sevoflurane (group SoC + Sevo), according to safety criteria. The area under the curve of pain over a year (AUC-Pain) was the primary outcome for analgesic effectiveness. Opioids were converted into Oral Morphine Milligram Equivalents. Groups SoC (n = 26) and SoC + Sevo (n = 38) were similar in baseline characteristics. Compared to SoC, median values [interquartile range] of area under the curve of pain for one-year follow-up were markedly lower for SoC + Sevo (54 [35-65] vs. 15 [11-23]; p < 0.000001, U Mann-Whitney test). Oral Morphine Milligram Equivalents were similar at baseline (SoC: 78.5 [22.5-135] vs. SoC + Sevo: 101.3 [30-160]; p = 0.753), but significantly lower for SoC + Sevo at three (120 [22.5-202.5] vs. 30 [0-80]; p = 0.005), six (120 [11.3-160] vs. 20 [0-67.5]; p = 0.004), nine (114.4 [0-154] vs. 0 [0-37]; p = 0.018), and 12 months (114.4 [0-154] vs. 0 [0-20]; p = 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed the addition of sevoflurane to be the most likely variable to explain this difference in outcome (ß:−33.408; p < 0.000001). Nine patients (24%) in SoC + Sevo had adverse effects attributed to sevoflurane, but only one patient needed to stop using sevoflurane due severe dermatitis. In conclusion, the addition of topical sevoflurane to the analgesic standard of care in patients with painful nonrevascularizable leg ulcers was a well-tolerated therapy that significantly improved pain control and allowed for a significant reduction in opioid consumption.
Deletion of ghrelin alters tryptophan metabolism and exacerbates experimental ulcerative colitis in aged mice
Authors: Tuchaai Ellie , Endres Valerie , Jones Brock , Shankar Smriti , Klemashevich Cory , Sun Yuxiang , Wu Chia-Shan
Published: July 2022

A major component of aging is chronic, low-grade inflammation, attributable in part by impaired gut barrier function. We previously reported that deletion of ghrelin, a peptidergic hormone released mainly from the gut, exacerbates experimental muscle atrophy in aged mice. In addition, ghrelin has been shown to ameliorate colitis in experimental models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), although the role of endogenous ghrelin in host–microbe interactions is less clear. Here, we showed that 22-month-old global ghrelin knockout ( Ghrl−/−) mice exhibited significantly increased depressive-like behaviors, while anxiety levels and working memory were similar to littermate wild-type (WT) mice. Furthermore, old Ghrl−/− mice showed significantly increased intestinal permeability to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran, significantly higher colonic interleukin (IL-1β) levels, and trends for higher colonic IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) compared to WT mice. Interestingly, young Ghrl−/− and WT mice showed comparable depressive-like behavior and gut permeability, suggesting age-dependent exacerbation in gut barrier dysfunction in Ghrl−/− mice. While fecal short-chain fatty acids levels were comparable between old Ghrl−/− and WT mice, serum metabolome revealed alterations in metabolic cascades including tryptophan metabolism. Specifically, tryptophan and its microbial derivatives indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-lactic acid were significantly reduced in old Ghrl−/−mice. Furthermore, in an experimental model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, Ghrl−/− mice showed exacerbated disease symptoms, and higher levels of chemoattractant and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the colon. Overall, these data demonstrated that ghrelin deficiency is associated with gut barrier dysfunction, alterations in microbially derived tryptophan metabolites, and increased susceptibility to colitis. These data suggested that endogenous ghrelin contributes to maintaining a healthy host–microbe environment, ultimately impacting on brain function.
Metric based virtual simulation training for endovascular thrombectomy improves interventional neuroradiologists’ simulator performance
Authors: Schneider Magnus Sundgot , Sandve Knut Olav , Kurz Kathinka Dæhli , Dalen Ingvild , Ospel Johanna , Goyal Mayank , Kurz Martin W , Fjetland Lars
Published: July 2022

Objective

Metric based virtual reality simulation training may enhance the capability of interventional neuroradiologists (INR) to perform endovascular thrombectomy. As pilot for a national simulation study we examined the feasibility and utility of simulated endovascular thrombectomy procedures on a virtual reality (VR) simulator.

Methods

Six INR and four residents participated in the thrombectomy skill training on a VR simulator (Mentice VIST 5G). Two different case-scenarios were defined as benchmark-cases, performed before and after VR simulator training. INR performing endovascular thrombectomy clinically were also asked to fill out a questionnaire analyzing their degree of expectation and general attitude towards VR simulator training.

Results

All participants improved in mean total procedure time for both benchmark-cases. Experts showed significant improvements in handling errors (case 2), a reduction in contrast volume used (case 1 and 2), and fluoroscopy time (case 1 and 2). Novices showed a significant improvement in steps finished (case 2), a reduction in fluoroscopy time (case 1), and radiation used (case 1). Both, before and after having performed simulation training the participating INR had a positive attitude towards VR simulation training.

Conclusion

VR simulation training enhances the capability of INR to perform endovascular thrombectomy on the VR simulator. INR have generally a positive attitude towards VR simulation training. Whether the VR simulation training translates to enhanced clinical performance will be evaluated in the ongoing Norwegian national simulation study.
Correlates of palpitations during menopause: A scoping review
Authors: Carpenter Janet S , Sheng Ying , Pike Caitlin , Elomba Charles D , Alwine Jennifer S , Chen Chen X , Tisdale James E
Published: July 2022

Objective:

Palpitations during peri- and post-menopause are common. It is unclear what variables are related to palpitations in peri- and post-menopausal women. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize potential correlates of palpitations in women transitioning through menopause.

Methods:

The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Authors included English-language, full-length, peer-reviewed, cross-sectional research articles on palpitations in menopausal women published through December 18, 2021, from PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PsycINFO searches. Following de-duplication, screening of titles and abstracts, and review of full-texts, independent reviewers extracted data on variables studied in relationship to palpitations from 84 articles and resolved discrepancies. Authors extracted data on (1) demographic, clinical, biomarker, and symptom/quality of life variables and (2) data analysis method (bivariate, multivariate). Authors classified each variable as a likely, unlikely, or unclear correlate of palpitations.

Results:

Articles were diverse in region of origin, sample sizes, and variables assessed in relationship to palpitations. Evidence for any one variable was sparse. Likely correlates of palpitations included race/ethnicity, lower physical activity, worse vasomotor symptoms (VMSs), worse sleep, and worse quality of life. Unlikely correlates included age, employment, education, marital status, socioeconomic status, comorbidities, body mass index, and sexual difficulties. Unclear correlates due to equivocal evidence were menopausal status, smoking, and depression. Unclear correlates due to insufficient evidence (less than three articles) included all of the assessed biomarkers, anxiety, and stress.

Conclusion:

Likely correlates were identified including race/ethnicity, physical activity, VMS, sleep, and quality of life. However, additional research is needed to better understand potential correlates of palpitations.
The association of coffee consumption rate with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, non-HDL levels, and TC/HDL ratio in females with vitamin D deficiency
Authors: Habash Maha , Al-shakhshir Sami , Abusamak Mohammad , Mohammad Mohammad Yasin , AbuSamak Mahmoud
Published: July 2022

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of coffee consumption rate with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio in females with vitamin D deficiency.

Methods:

This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out by studying the records of 270 Jordanian females aged 18–65 years with varying degrees of vitamin D deficiency. Following completion of the questionnaire regarding their anthropometric characteristics and coffee consumption rate during the preceding 3 months, the participants were required to provide blood samples for analysis to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D and lipid profile levels including non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio.

Results:

The current study demonstrated that coffee consumption rate and vitamin D deficiency were significantly positively connected with the total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio ( p = .003) in women with vitamin D deficiency. In addition, vitamin D deficiency alone correlated positively with non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and the total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio ( p = .010) and ( p = .002), respectively.

Conclusion:

Higher coffee consumption rate among women with vitamin D deficiency significantly elevated total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio that may increase woman’s risk of hyperlipidemia.
Two Different Mismatches: Integrating the Developmental and the Evolutionary-Mismatch Hypothesis
Authors: Hoogland Marèn , Ploeger Annemie
Published: July 2022

Evolutionary psychology aims to understand the origins of the human mind, including disease. Several theories about the origins of disease have been proposed. One concerns a developmental mismatch—a mismatch might occur at the individual level between the environment experienced during childhood and the environment the adult finds herself in, possibly resulting in disease. A second theory concerns the idea of an evolutionary mismatch—humans are adapted to ancestral conditions so they might now experience a mismatch with their modern environment, possibly resulting in disease. A third theory—differential susceptibility—outlines how genetic and epigenetic differences influence the extent to which humans are susceptible to rearing, including positive and negative experiences. Because of these differences, some individuals are more prone to develop disease than others. We review empirical studies that substantiate these theories and argue that an overarching theory that integrates these three lines into one provides a more accurate understanding of disease from an evolutionary perspective.
Balancing sport and academic development: Perceptions of football players and coaches in two types of Norwegian school-based dual career development environments
Authors: Sæther Stig Arve , Feddersen Niels , Andresen Eirik , Bjørndal Christian Thue
Published: July 2022

Sports-friendly and elite sport schools seek to support pupils by providing balanced support which is intended to facilitate success both in sport and in academic work. This study investigates how ambitious football players in Norway experience the advantages and challenges of undertaking a ‘dual career’ as student-athletes. Eight players and five coaches (two club coaches and three school coaches) in total were interviewed from two sports-friendly schools and two elite sports schools, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. In the Elite Sport Programmes, the close integration of the school and club settings enabled coaches and student-athletes to plan and manage the overall workload and development of the student-athletes more easily. In contrast, players in the less structured Sports-Friendly Programmes experienced more concerns related to workload coordination but were also given more responsibility for their own decision making. This helped to facilitate better self-determination among the student-athletes but also increased their risk of overuse injuries. Our results indicate how different dual career development environments offer varying benefits, risks and developmental opportunities for student-athletes.
From desistance narratives to narratives of rehabilitation: Risk-talk in groupwork for addressing sexual offending
Authors: Mullins Eve , Kirkwood Steve
Published: July 2022

Risk has become a dominant focus in criminal justice practice. While this can improve the effectiveness of practices for reducing offending, it can also stigmatise and create barriers for those attempting to desist from crime. To explore this apparent dilemma, we applied conversation analysis and discursive psychology to examine risk-talk in 12 video-recorded sessions of a groupwork programme for addressing sexual offending. We found both practitioners and clients oriented to notions of risk in their talk. They drew on risk-talk as a resource to construct narratives that support desistance, emphasising awareness of risks, having control, and gaining hope and agency over the future. However, risk-talk was resisted when it challenged the client’s self-presentation. Building on previous empirical and theoretical work on desistance and criminal justice practice, we found it is possible for people to incorporate aspects of risk into their personal narratives in order to weave a narrative of rehabilitation.
Toward an Integrated Context-Based Design Approach for Dementia Residential Care Homes: A Review of Key Operational Design Problems
Authors: Shabha Ghasson , Edwards David J. , Gaines Kristi , Laycok Paul
Published: July 2022

Objectives, Purpose, or Aim:

This article seeks to develop a context-based management system focusing on assessing key operational and design problems and affecting wayfinding in dementia residential care homes.

Background:

Dementia is multifaceted neurocognitive impairments largely attributed to cognitive deterioration manifested in memory loss and visuospatial deficit which have wider practical implications to both environmental safety and wayfinding and navigation of dementia user. Two key questions were addressed in this context: (1) How can cognitively facilitating assistive technology (AT) be made more user-focused to mitigate the impacts of cognitive impairments on environmental safety and wayfinding? (2) How can design intervention and changes in design topology, colors and texture, and internal finishing aid wayfinding, navigation, and orientation in dementia residential care homes?

Method:

A systematic literature review and analysis was undertaken to assess the efficacy of key cognitively-related AT to support activities of daily living and environmental safety of dementia sufferers in a care home and aid wayfinding, navigation, and orientation.

Results:

Several key design variables to facilitate wayfinding and spatial orientation were identified which include design topology, floor finishing, signposting, and use of color and texture strengthened by meaning, emotional connection to places and cognitively focused intervention via memory cueing and objects-centered recognition.

Conclusions:

Key operational and design guidelines were proposed to assist built environment, care home developers, clinicians and healthcare professionals, and care services providers. There is a need to move toward a dementia-centered design to address the challenges facing people living with dementia in care homes. This should be based on the interrelated behavioral, cognitive, and communication factors.
Nursing Home Adoption of CDC and ASHRAE COVID-19 Built Environment Recommendations: A Characterization Study of Colorado Nursing Home Facilities
Authors: Goldman Cedra , Czaja Christopher , Moses X. J. Ethan , Van Dyke Mike
Published: July 2022

Background:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and ASHRAE provided infection control recommendations for the built environments and ventilation systems of nursing homes (NHs). The level of adoption of the suggested strategies is unknown, as little information has been obtained from NHs identifying the strategies that were implemented.

Objective:

The primary goal of our study was to characterize the built environments of Colorado NHs during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the level of adoption of CDC and ASHRAE recommendations. Our secondary goal was to identify opportunities and barriers that NHs face as they work to create health-protective built environments in the future.

Method:

We used the Nursing Home Built Environment survey to obtain data related to three main categories of CDC and ASHRAE recommendation for Colorado NHs: Resident Isolation, Improved Indoor Air Quality, and Staff Separation/Support.

Results:

Key findings included: (1) On average, NHs had 34% of their beds located in single-occupancy rooms; (2) seven (9%) NHs had designated COVID-positive “neighborhoods”; (3) 14 (20%) NHs had common area ventilation systems that were utilizing filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value 13 rating, or higher.

Conclusion:

Most Colorado NHs did not fully implement the COVID-19 built environment strategies recommended by CDC and ASHRAE. While there are barriers to the adoption of many of the strategies, there are also opportunities for immediate improvements that can support the health of vulnerable NH populations as we continue to see high rates of aerosolized infectious disease spread in NH facilities.
Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgery Leadership Trends: A Cross-Sectional Study of Fellowship Directors and Division Chiefs
Authors: Chopra Aman , Fletcher Amanda N. , Madi Naji , Parekh Selene G.
Published: July 2022

Background: In orthopaedic surgery departments, foot and ankle fellowship directors are tasked to create a robust clinical curriculum for trainees, while division chiefs manage the division’s delivery of patient care. The primary aim of this study was to describe characteristics of foot and ankle surgery fellowship directors and division chiefs in an effort to recognize trends or disparities in leadership traits. Methods: The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) fellowship directory for 2021 to 2022 was reviewed for AOFAS-recognized fellowship programs in the United States. Between March 2021 and June 2021, 48 fellowship directors and 23 publicly recognized division chiefs were administered an electronic survey to collect demographic, educational, and professional data. Univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results: A total of 42 of the 48 (87.5%) fellowship directors and 18 of the 23 (78.3%) division chiefs responded to the questionnaire. Of the 48 fellowship directors, 45 (93.8%) were male, 43 (89.6%) identified as Caucasian, their average age at leadership appointment was 42.6 ± 7.5 (range, 32-70) years, and the average time between fellowship graduation and leadership appointment was 9.9 ± 7.8 (range, 0-36) years. Of the 23 chiefs, 22 (95.7%) were male, 20 (87.0%) identified as Caucasians, their average age at leadership appointment was 41.7 ± 7.8 (range, 32-53) years, and the average time between fellowship graduation and leadership appointment was 9.8 ± 6.8 (range, 2-21) years. The average H-index for the chiefs was greater than that of the fellowship directors (18.4 vs 13.4, P = .0373) when controlling for years of training>. Conclusion: The majority of current leaders identify as middle-age Caucasian males, demonstrate high research productivity, and have attended a select number of the same residency and fellowship training programs. By demonstrating the lack of diversity within foot and ankle surgery leadership, this study serves as a call to action for making inclusivity a priority.

Levels of Evidence: Level IV: Cross-sectional study
Towards an effective framework for integrating patient-reported outcomes in electronic health records
Authors: Wang Panzhang , Li Tao , Yu Lei , Zhou Liang , Yan Tao
Published: July 2022

Background

In the past decade, electronic modalities are increasingly deployed to integrate patient-reported outcomes into electronic health records. Most popularly, patient portals are used for remote questionnaires, and tablets are provided to patients in-office in case they need help. They are both useful. But some barriers are still in the way, which place burdens on patients and clinicians in the process of routine data collection.

Objective

This study aims to describe a portable and scalable framework which can simplify the patient-reported outcome integration by mitigating the related burdens.

Methods

A framework was proposed to use a modular approach to replace the tethered approach. The framework was open-sourced on GitHub. After development and testing, it was evaluated on an instrument with 24 questions in a real clinical setting. Patients were randomly selected in every modality-based group. For objective analysis, completion time and response rate were collected. No-show data was collected and analyzed. For subjective analysis, the NASA Task Load Index was used to measure workload, and the Net Promoter Score was used to assess user satisfaction.

Results

The model could contain 46,656 questions. A quick response code could store 1120 encoded items. For remote visits, the response rate was improved compared to the portal group (76.6% vs. 61.1%). The completion time was reduced by 37.5% when compared to the tablet group and was reduced by 43.4% when compared to the portal group. The workload for clinicians and patients was both reduced significantly ( p < 0.001). A higher Net Promoter Score was rated by both clinicians (89.3%) and patients (86.5%). Compared to the portal group, the no-show rate was reduced (11.7% vs. 8.6%).

Conclusions

Collecting patient-reported outcomes over a quick response code appears to be an alternative modality to enable a simplified integration. This study provides new insights to collect patient-reported outcomes with interoperability and substitutability in mind.