bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rabies in the SAARC region: An epidemiological study of disease burden and challenges
Authors: Mubashar Bareea , Iqbal Sidra , Noor Amna , Sarfraz Azza , Sarfraz Zouina
Published: June 2023

Our original study explored trends in rabies-related cases in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation region from 2017 to 2021. We analyzed population-level data from Global Health Observatory, World Animal Health Information Database and media reports using Microsoft Excel v.2016. Rabies prevalence varied with India experiencing the highest increase, while Bhutan reported a significant decrease. In contrast, Nepal and Pakistan observed fluctuations, emphasizing the need for ongoing intervention.
Are Healthcare Systems Failing Immigrants? Transnational Migration and Social Exclusion in the Workers’ Compensation Process in Québec
Authors: Côté Daniel , White Bob , Dubé Jessica , Gravel Sylvie
Published: June 2023

Background: The changing world of work, which increasingly depends on the use of temporary and atypical forms of employment, has had a disproportionate effect on the health and well-being of immigrants. When they have to find a health professional for the first time or report an accident at work, the journey through the maze of medical-administrative bureaucracy can be long and arduous. The aim of this article is to describe the analytical contribution of systems thinking by presenting three situations that illustrate the importance of connecting the individual, organizational, and societal levels, especially focusing on the interplay between these levels. Methods: The data analyzed in this article are taken from an initial qualitative exploratory study of a purposive sample of 40 individuals: (1) clinicians ( N = 15), (2) claims consultants and rehabilitation counselors ( N = 14), (3) employers ( N = 2), and (4) immigrant workers ( N = 9). Situations were analyzed using insights from grounded theory by identifying the interconnectedness of individual, organizational, and system-based factors that can have an impact on the return-to-work process. Results: By looking specifically at the context of occupational rehabilitation in contemporary Québec and the challenges faced by immigrant workers faced with multiple factors of precariousness, this article sets out to show how local healthcare systems are poorly equipped to respond to the new reality of transnational migration. Conclusion: Drawing from recent research in the area of systemic theory, this article posits that systems, which are poorly adapted to the new reality of transnational migration, have the unintended consequence of creating new forms of discrimination and social exclusion.
Aortic arch replacement with simultaneous antegrade cerebral and systemic perfusion using a single centrifugal pump driven ‘split arterial line’ extracorporeal circuit design
Authors: Satchwell Jack , Friar Rebecca , Chetty Govind , Sadeque Syed , Greco Renata , Knowles Patrick , Bowie James , Beatson Paul , Colley Sean
Published: June 2023

The ability to provide antegrade cerebral and systemic perfusion simultaneously may negate the requirement for any prolonged period of circulatory arrest during complex aortic arch reconstruction procedures, depending on the cannulation strategy. We describe the development and successful implementation of a custom ‘split arterial line’ extracorporeal circuit configuration to facilitate complex aortic surgery. This circuit design offers a wide range of cannulation and perfusion strategies, is safe, adaptable, simple to manage, and avoids the use of roller pumps for blood delivery, which are associated with deleterious haematological complications during prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass cases. The split arterial line approach has now become the standardised methodology for facilitating complex aortic surgery at our institution.
Validation of a new model of selective antegrade cerebral perfusion with circulatory arrest in rats
Authors: Linardi Daniele , Mani Romel , Di Nicola Venanzio , Perrone Fabiola , Martinazzi Sara , Tessari Maddalena , Faggian Giuseppe , Luciani Giovanni Battista , Rungatscher Alessio
Published: June 2023

Background

Selective antegrade cerebral perfusion (SACP) is adopted as an alternative to deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) during aortic arch surgery. However, there is still no preclinical evidence to support the use of SACP associated with moderate hypothermia (28–30°C) instead of DHCA (18–20°C). The present study aims to develop a reliable and reproducible preclinical model of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with SACP applicable for assessing the best temperature management.

Materials and methods

A central cannulation through the right jugular vein and the left carotid artery was performed, and CPB was instituted. Animals were randomized into two groups: normothermic circulatory arrest without or with cerebral perfusion (NCA vs SACP). EEG monitoring was maintained during CPB. After 10 min of circulatory arrest, rats underwent 60 min of reperfusion. After that, animals were sacrificed, and brains were collected for histology and molecular biology analysis.

Results

Power spectral analysis of the EEG signal showed decreased activity in both cortical regions and lateral thalamus in all rats during the circulatory arrest. Only SACP determined complete recovery of brain activity and higher power spectral signal compared to NCA ( p < 0.05). Histological damage scores and western blot analysis of inflammatory and apoptotic proteins like caspase-3 and Poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) were significantly lower in SACP compared to NCA. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and RNA binding protein 3 (RBM3) involved in cell-protection mechanisms were higher in SACP, showing better neuroprotection ( p < 0.05).

Conclusions

SACP by cannulation of the left carotid artery guarantees good perfusion of the whole brain in this rat model of CPB with circulatory arrest. The present model of SACP is reliable, repeatable, and not expensive, and it could be used in the future to achieve preclinical evidence for the best temperature management and to define the best cerebral protection strategy during circulatory arrest.
Predicting Ballast Fouling Conditions Through RGB-Based Statistical Quantity Analysis
Authors: Gong Yufeng , Qian Yu
Published: June 2023

Evaluating railway ballast fouling is critical to assessing track conditions and planning proper ballast maintenance. Varying material properties associated with different ballast fouling conditions can be used to evaluate the severity of fouling. Although approaches using ground penetration radar, impulse response, surface wave, and SmartRock have been developed to estimate the fouling conditions, these methods require special sensors and equipment, or well-trained technicians. Recently, convolutional neural network (CNN) based computer vision approaches have become popular in performing particle segmentation to obtain the ballast grain size distribution. The coarse aggregate fraction can be evaluated by the CNN method, but it is not easy to segment fine particles accurately with these approaches. This study proposes a novel image analysis approach to directly estimate the ballast fouling conditions. First, fouled ballast images with different fouling conditions are taken as references. The RGB (red, green, blue) color distributions of the fouled ballast images are then processed through statistical analysis. A strong linear correlation is found between Fouling Index (FI) and variance and this is used to establish the FI prediction model. The established FI prediction model is tested and validated by additional fouled ballast samples. The FI prediction model proposed in this study can be used to quantify ballast fouling conditions with promising performance.
Mechanistic Code for Asphalt Pavements Loaded by Farming Vehicles
Authors: Levenberg Eyal , Hesthaven Mantas , Andersen Sebastian
Published: June 2023

Farming vehicles are relatively heavy and slow-moving machines, typically equipped with rubber tracks or flotation tires (or both). The objective of this study was to develop, validate, and openly share a new mechanistic code for calculating asphalt pavement responses under the loading conditions of such vehicles. For a given farming vehicle, the loading geometry was modeled by exploiting symmetry considerations and representing tread contact areas as groups of rotated rectangular patches. For the purpose of calculating responses, the pavement system was modeled as a layered elastic half-space, loaded vertically by many small identical circular areas—collectively approximating the patches. Computational efficiency was sought by solving the layered model for one circular area and executing a series of coordinate transformations, interpolations, and translations, to represent the entire vehicle loading. The new code is named LynFarm; it was validated through its ability to reproduce mechanical responses generated by farming vehicles as they were driven over an instrumented asphalt pavement section. LynFarm is openly shared on GitHub for further verification, validation, and improvement by the pavement engineering community.
Improving waste management by focussing on goals: A mini review of the publication sector
Authors: Brunner Paul H , Unterberger Astrid , Fellner Johann
Published: June 2023

The rationale for this article is that often, decision-makers in waste management (wm) tend to neglect goals and confuse them with means like circular economy or waste hierarchy. Because clear goals are crucial for developing effective wm strategies, the objectives of this mini review are (1) to clarify wm goals in a historical context by a literature review, (2) to investigate how (a) these goals have been observed in general scientific publishing and (b) specifically in Waste Management and Research ( WM&R) and (3) to recommend measures for better consideration of wm goals by the publication sector. Based on general as well as specific bibliographic analyses of databases in Scopus and Google Scholar, the study confirms that little attention was given to wm goals in scientific publishing. For instance, during the first 40 years of WM&R, 63 publications and eight editorials were found containing terms related to wm goals, but only 14 respectively and eight explicitly discuss wm goals. We recommend focussing more on wm goals. Editors, authors, reviewers and professional associations in the field of wm should become aware of this challenge and react. If WM&R decides to become a strong platform for the issue wm goals, it will be in a unique selling proposition and more authors, articles and readers are likely to result. This article aims at setting a starting signal for such an endeavour.
What Does Linguistic Distance Predict When It Comes to L2 Writing of Adult Immigrant Learners of Spanish?
Authors: Mavrou Irini , Chao Javier
Published: June 2023

This study examined whether the linguistic distance between the first (L1) and second (L2) language is a significant determinant of L2 writing skills of 292 adult immigrants from 39 different source countries, who were beginner learners of Spanish L2. Gender, age, length of residence in Spain, education level as a proxy for literacy skills in L1, enrolment in Spanish language courses, and overall communicative competence in Spanish were also considered. Using both standard procedures for assessing L2 writing and performance-based psycholinguistic measures of accuracy and text-production fluency, the findings highlight the important role of linguistic proximity in achieving greater accuracy, text-production fluency, and overall L2 writing scores. Other significant predictors were age, enrolment in Spanish courses, and education level for accuracy; and length of residence in Spain and education level for text-production fluency. Although length of residence in Spain was negatively associated with text-production fluency in L2 writing, mediation analyses revealed that the effect of age on text-production fluency was mediated by length of residence in Spain and that L2 proficiency level mediated the link between linguistic distance and text-production fluency. Furthermore, most of the errors that these immigrants made were morphosyntactic and spelling errors, while vocabulary errors were rare.
“Don’t Tell Them What You Told Me”: Negotiating Paperwork in Mexico City
Authors: Kalman Judy , Valdivia Patricia , Miranda Marino
Published: June 2023

This article examines how participants in literacy events mediate the validation and legitimacy of official documents. Through articulating the perspectives of literacy as a social practice, paperwork studies, and the analysis of administrative burdens, we argue that the value of official documents is unstable and can fluctuate between valid and invalid each time applicants and frontline workers redefine the context of use. Through ethnographic observation, we gathered data on the historical production of birth certificates and the social construction of their meaning. We documented a participant’s unsuccessful efforts to renew her voter’s ID card over several years and in different government offices. We show how government employees rejected or accepted the same official birth certificate she presented, depending on how she framed her paperwork. Its meaning relied on the articulation of the negotiated administrative purpose, the definition of the context of use, and the document’s materiality.
“A radical point of view”: The discursive construction of the political identity of student activists
Authors: Sierra Sylvia
Published: June 2023

Recently there has been renewed interest in the intersection of identity and epistemics in social interaction, yet epistemics has still rarely been analyzed in political identity construction. This paper combines research on identity from a sociocultural linguistic perspective with epistemics using Conversation Analysis. The focus here is on understanding how a small group of student activists construct their shared political identities through epistemic stances towards their academic majors and career goals. Through a discourse analytic study of conversational data among these activists, I demonstrate the validity of the relationality principle of identity in accounting for how identities are constructed as related to one another. Furthermore, I examine the relational process of authentication in epistemic stances to legitimate claims to knowledge regarding political and academic identities, as well as alignment of stances in building group solidarity and shared political identity.
Believing in science: Linking religious beliefs and identity with vaccination intentions and trust in science during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Tippins Emily , Ysseldyk Renate , Peneycad Claire , Anisman Hymie
Published: June 2023

Despite evidence supporting numerous scientific issues (e.g. climate change, vaccinations) many people still doubt the legitimacy of science. Moreover, individuals may be prone to scepticism about scientific findings that misalign with their ideological beliefs and identities. This research investigated whether trust in science (as well as government and media) and COVID-19 vaccination intentions varied as a function of (non)religious group identity, religiosity, religion–science compatibility beliefs, and/or political orientation in two online studies (N = 565) with university students and a Canadian community sample between January and June 2021. In both studies, vaccination intentions and trust in science varied as a function of (non)religious group identity and beliefs. Vaccine hesitancy was further linked to religiosity through a lack of trust in science. Given the ideological divides that the pandemic has exacerbated, this research has implications for informing public health strategies for relaying scientific findings to the public and encouraging vaccine uptake in culturally appropriate ways.
Observing resuscitative practice. A novice researcher’s experience of obtaining ethics approval
Authors: Riley Katherine , Molloy Luke , Wilson Val , Middleton Rebekkah
Published: June 2023

Undertaking research involving vulnerable groups, such as those requiring resuscitation involves careful analysis during the ethical review process. When a person lacks the capacity to make an informed choice about their participation in a research study, a waiver of consent offers an alternative. This paper is based on a doctoral research study using ethnography to explore the resuscitative practices and experiences of rural nurses through observation and interviews. This paper aims to explore the ethical issues raised by the Human Research Ethics Committee relating to consent of vulnerable patients requiring resuscitation within a rural context. In particular, the challenges of addressing risk (privacy) vs benefit (public) associated with a waiver of consent. This paper will consider why the rural context should be championed during the ethical review process, when decisions about public benefit are being deliberated. Utilising a communitarianism approach that advocates for greater rural representation during the ethical review processes will ensure that rural research involving vulnerable groups can be addressed safely and benefit not only the experiences and practices of rural nurses but also the wider rural communities they serve.
Gamification and Sustainable Water Use: The Case of the BLUTUBE Educational Program
Authors: Di Paolo Roberto , Pizziol Veronica
Published: June 2023

Background

In a world increasingly stressed by climate change and scarcity of natural resources, the prosocial behaviors of new generations become increasingly essential, especially when aimed at sustainability. This study aims to investigate the gamified system applied to the game-based educational program BLUTUBE, designed to promote better practices regarding virtuous water usage in the primary schools of the Municipality of Lucca.

Methods

We analyze the self-reported sustainable behaviors of almost 800 students of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades, using a survey about water consumption and awareness of related topics. We examine the association between the increase in the self-reported prosocial behaviors, which occurs after the end of the educational program, and participation in different activities - measured by the number of accumulated points - stimulated through gamification.

Results

We find that higher participation in gamified activities corresponds more likely to a higher increase in reported sustainable behaviors. Moreover, we observe that this result is led by specific activities - playing the board game Blutube at school, playing the urban game, and taking pictures of virtuous actions - rather than others - playing the board game at home. Lastly, given the difference between genders in the perceived benefits from gamification, we find that males increase more their awareness about sustainable behaviors by playing more the board game than females. In contrast, females raise their awareness when playing the urban game more.

Discussion

We suggest that playing the board game in a broader social context, such as school, can enhance the perception of children’s behaviors’ impacts on the external environment. Also, to effectively promote sustainable behaviors, educators should consider using game-based learning materials that incorporate rewards mechanisms into the activities.

Conclusions

This work sheds light on the relationship between gamification and pro-environmental behaviors, laying the ground for future research.
Perspectives on environment and health research in Denmark
Authors: Horsdal Henriette T. , Pedersen Marianne G. , Schullehner Jörg , Østergaard Cecilie S. , Mcgrath John J. , Agerbo Esben , Timmermann Allan , Closter Ane Marie , Brandt Jørgen , Christensen Jesper H. , Frohn Lise M. , Geels Camilla , Ketzel Matthias , Khan Jibran , Ørby Pia V. , Olsen Yulia , Levin Gregor , Svenning Jens-Christian , Engemann Kristine , Gyldenkærne Steen , Hansen Birgitte , Hertel Ole , Sabel Clive E. , Erikstrup Christian , Sigsgaard Torben , Pedersen Carsten B.
Published: June 2023

Aims:

We provide an overview of nationwide environmental data available for Denmark and its linkage potentials to individual-level records with the aim of promoting research on the potential impact of the local surrounding environment on human health.

Background:

Researchers in Denmark have unique opportunities for conducting large population-based studies treating the entire Danish population as one big, open and dynamic cohort based on nationally complete population and health registries. So far, most research in this area has utilised individual- and family-level information to study the clustering of disease in families, comorbidities, risk of, and prognosis after, disease onset, and social gradients in disease risk. Linking environmental data in time and space to individuals enables novel possibilities for studying the health effects of the social, built and physical environment.

Methods:

We describe the possible linkage between individuals and their local surrounding environment to establish the exposome – that is, the total environmental exposure of an individual over their life course.

Conclusions:

The currently available nationwide longitudinal environmental data in Denmark constitutes a valuable and globally rare asset that can help explore the impact of the exposome on human health.
In different worlds: The contributions of polarization and platforms to partisan (mis)perceptions
Authors: Overgaard Christian Staal Bruun , Collier Jessica R
Published: June 2023

Partisanship, polarization, and platforms are foundational to how people perceive contentious issues. Using a probability sample ( n  = 825), we examine these factors in tandem across four political claims concerning US presidential elections and the COVID-19 pandemic. We find Democrats and Republicans differ in their belief in true and false claims, with each party believing more in pro-attitudinal claims than in counter-attitudinal claims. These results are especially pronounced for affectively polarized partisans. We also find interactions between partisanship and platform use where Republicans who use Google or Twitter are more likely to believe in false claims about COVID-19 than Republicans who do not use these platforms. Our findings highlight that Americans’ beliefs in political claims are associated with their political identity through both partisanship and polarization, and the use of search and social platforms appears critical to these relationships. These findings have implications for understanding why realities are malleable to voter preferences in liberal democracies.
A context-aware progressive attention aggregation network for fabric defect detection
Authors: Liu Zhoufeng , Tian Bo , Li Chunlei , Li Xiao , Wang Kaihua
Published: June 2023

Fabric defect detection plays a critical role for measuring quality control in the textile manufacturing industry. Deep learning-based saliency models can quickly spot the most interesting regions that attract human attention from the complex background, which have been successfully applied in fabric defect detection. However, most of the previous methods mainly adopted multi-level feature aggregation yet ignored the complementary relationship among different features, and thus resulted in poor representation capability for the tiny and slender defects. To remedy these issues, we propose a novel saliency-based fabric defect detection network, which can exploit the complementary information between different layers to enhance the representation features ability and discrimination of defects. Specifically, a multi-scale feature aggregation unit (MFAU) is proposed to effectively characterize the multi-scale contextual features. Besides, a feature fusion refinement module (FFR) composed of an attention fusion unit (AFU) and an auxiliary refinement unit (ARU) is designed to exploit complementary important information and further refine the input features for enhancing the discriminative ability of defect features. Finally, a multi-level deep supervision (MDS) is adopted to guide the model to generate more accurate saliency maps. Under different evaluation metrics, our proposed method outperforms most state-of-the-art methods on our developed fabric datasets.
Classification of male upper body shape: An innovative approach
Authors: Kousar Sahar , Babar Ramzan Muhammad , Arif Cheema Salman , Ahmad Sheraz , Rasheed Abher , Nasir Nadeem
Published: June 2023

This study aims at the proposition of a novel strategy to classify the upper body silhouette of the male population into different shapes. Instead of using an existing measuring scheme based on linear evaluation of the body, we devise the use of angle-based anthropometric data to capture the exhibited curvature of the upper body. The objectives are attained by quantifying and employing the chest-waist (CW) angle and hip-waist (HW) angle in the instigation of a more appropriate classification of the upper body. A sample of 241 males aged 17–29 years was scanned through a 3D body scanner to gather the anthropometric data including chest girth, waist girth, and hip girth and their respective heights. In the next phase, the extracted information was used to calculate the angles. Based on the empirical realizations of the resulting indices, criteria defining the classifications of the body shape were determined. The operational environment is further enriched by considering varying levels of angular differences capable of offering more notable stratification of the upper male body shapes. It is realized that the angular difference of 10° between the CW and HW angles results in the more prominent classification of the upper male body. The proposed body classification technique classifies the sample of 241 males into three body shapes that are, straight (61%), hourglass (36.51%), and torch shape (2.48%). The classification scheme proposed in this study is a step toward achieving a high degree of customer satisfaction regarding clothing fit. It is a reference for coming research in body shape classification to achieve clothing fit in customized clothing.
The dynamics of envy in the street field: A sociology of emotions approach to violence in retail drug market
Authors: Nelson Ediomo-Ubong E
Published: June 2023

Although emotions are integral to criminal violence, little research has explicitly explored the role of emotions in drug market violence. This study uses the ‘sociology of emotions’ and the concept of ‘street field’ to understand how envy shapes conflicts in a retail drug market. The study draws upon 31 in-depth interviews conducted with male retail drug dealers in Uyo, Nigeria. Envy, a pervasive feature of a highly conflictual street market field, was contextualized by conditions of structural inequality. Specifically, relatively successful dealers, envied due to their monopoly of respect, status and ostentatious lifestyle, were targets of covert acts of violence and sabotage expressed through set-ups by envious rivals. Dealers who were victimized out of envy often responded in skilful ways that reduced risk and costs through de-escalation of violence. The findings have implications for violence prevention, including the importance of providing alternative means of livelihoods and social recognition for drug dealers.
Sicilians’ knowledge, perceptions, prevention and practices during the pandemic in relation to vaccination: A questionnaire-based survey
Authors: Basha Sami , Salameh Basma
Published: June 2023

Background:

COVID-19 has influenced Sicily, Italy as any other part of the world, and people had various types of reactions to this global epidemic. This study aimed to assess the behavior, perception, and willingness of the Sicilian population to accept vaccination, as well as their attitudes toward conspiracy theories, which have been a concern for governments around the globe.

Methods:

Study design: cross sectional-descriptive study. The data were collected through a survey developed based on a protocol from the World Health Organization’s regional office in Europe, which was distributed in two waves. The first wave took place in April and May 2020, and a modified survey was distributed during June and July.

Results:

Sicilians showed a very good knowledge of the virus, while their positive attitude has changed toward vaccination in the second wave. Furthermore, Sicilians showed an average trust in the governmental institutions, which allow the doubts of conspiracy to exist in the population.

Conclusions:

Although the results indicate a good level of knowledge and positive attitude toward vaccination, we believe that further studies should be conducted in the Mediterranean to better understand how to face future epidemics with limited resources in the healthcare system, as compared with other countries.
The Importance of Fructosamine for Monitoring the Compensation and Effectiveness of Diabetes Treatment
Authors: Akhetova Natalya , Abylaiuly Zhangentkhan , Bolshakova Svetlana
Published: June 2023

Background:

The use of fructosamine to assess the glycemic control represents a new step in diagnostics, and it has been accompanied by the active scientific discussion in recent years. That is why the purpose of this work is to study the average level of fructosamine in apparently healthy individuals and individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM), as well as the possibility to use it when evaluating the effectiveness of inpatient treatment of patients with hyperglycemia on the seven to ten days of hospitalization.

Methods:

This research work was carried out in Alma-Ata, Republic of Kazakhstan, based on the endocrinology department in the period from 2020 to 2022. The work consists of a retrospective analysis of previously examined patients and a prospective stage. The statistical evaluation was carried out with the calculation of reliability coefficient, confidence interval, and criteria for testing for normality. The level of fructosamine in healthy individuals in the corresponding region was analyzed in this article for the first time, and the correlation between this indicator and the level of glycated hemoglobin was found.

Results:

The effectiveness of treatment of the Type 2 DM (according to the treatment protocol) has also been studied in stationary conditions for the seven to ten days, which makes it possible to judge the effectiveness of the prescribed therapy.

Conclusions:

These results will allow identifying the irrationality of the prescribed therapy at an early stage, which is especially important for the correct management of patients with this pathology, and minimizing the possible complications.
Restorative neurostimulation for chronic mechanical low back pain – Three year results from the United Kingdom post market clinical follow-up registry
Authors: Thomson Simon , Williams Adam , Vajramani Girish , Sharma Manohar , Love-Jones Sarah , Chawla Rajiv , Eldabe Sam
Published: June 2023

Introduction

Mechanical chronic low back pain is often associated with impaired neuromuscular control of the lumbar multifidus muscles, the most important stabilizers of the lumbar spine. Restorative neurostimulation is a modality for the treatment for this specific subset of patients aimed to facilitate restoration of neuromuscular control by bilateral stimulation of the L2 medial branches. Evidence from both prospective and randomised clinical trials to date has demonstrated substantial improvements in clinical outcomes such as pain, disability and health-related quality of life.

Methods

This study is an open label prospective follow-up for the treatment of chronic mechanical low back pain of nociceptive origin with restorative neurostimulation. Patients completed assessments for pain, disability and health-related quality of life. Outcomes were collected at 45, 90 and 180 days, and 1, 2 and 3 years after the activation visit.

Results

Forty-two patients were implanted with the device and 33 (79%) were available at the 3-year appointment. Patients in this cohort presented with severe chronic low back pain (NRS = 7.0 ± 0.2) and severe disability (ODI 46.6 ± 12.0). The health-related quality of life was also severely impacted at baseline (EQ-5D 0.426 ± 0.061). Changes in pain, disability and quality of life at three-year follow-up demonstrated a statistically significant improvement between baseline and 1, 2 and 3 years. After 3 years of therapy, average NRS scores had reduced to 2.7± 0.3 and mean ODI score to 26.0 ± 3.1 while EQ-5D-5L index improved to 0.707 ± 0.036.

Conclusions

The ongoing follow-up of this post market cohort continues to demonstrate that restorative neurostimulation provides a statistically significant, clinically meaningful and durable response across pain, disability and quality-of life scores for patients suffering chronic mechanical low back pain that has been refractory to conventional management.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01985230.
The experiences of the caregivers caring for the patients in persistent vegetative state due to traumatic brain injury
Authors: Alimohammadi Ehsan , Arast Atefeh , Vlaisavljevic Zeljko , Abdi Alireza , Ramadhan Haider
Published: June 2023

Objective:

Persistent vegetative state often occurs as a result of traumatic brain injuries; these patients are usually hospitalized for sustained periods, and the family caregivers are the main care providers in Iranian hospitals, especially for chronic and persistent vegetative state patients. The current study was conducted to investigate the family caregivers’ experiences of caring for persistent vegetative state patients following traumatic brain injury.

Methods:

This descriptive phenomenological study was carried out in 2019. Semi-structured interviews were done with 12 family caregivers caring for the patients in persistent vegetative state, hospitalized in a trauma center, after taking informed written consent and assuring about anonymity and confidentiality of their personal information. The interviews were analyzed using the Colaizzis҆ method.

Results:

After analysis of 12 interviews, 5 themes, and 10 subthemes were extracted from 428 codes. Five themes include “uncountable struggles/challenges,” “looking for peace,” “therapeutic concerns,” “preserving the connection,” and “unheard sounds.”

Conclusion:

In this study, the family caregivers of the persistent vegetative state patients in the hospital experienced some challenges, and looked for peace by doing some work, for example, praying. They had some therapeutic concerns and unheard sounds and tried to fulfill them. We recommend, by using the results of this study and other related research, necessary care and facilities would be provided for the family caregivers of persistent vegetative state patients in hospitals.
Fatal outcome due to aluminum phosphide poisoning in an old man with a psychiatric disorder as a latent post-COVID-19 challenge: A case report
Authors: Sadeghi Mahdieh , Zakariaei Zakaria , Rashidian Hale , Soleymani Mostafa
Published: June 2023

Aluminum phosphide is a metal phosphide widely implemented as a pesticide. In the country of Iran, it is recognized by the colloquial name of rice pill. Any trace of accidental or intentional ingestion of aluminum phosphidecan result in severe hemodynamic disorders and metabolic acidosis, ultimately leading to the patient’s mortality. In this report, we document the unfortunate demise of an 85-year-old man who lived in isolation, having lost his wife to COVID-19. The patient consumed aluminum phosphide tablets and, despite resuscitation efforts, inevitably succumbed to the toxic effects.
Surgical treatment of post-menopausal ovarian hyperandrogenism improves glucometabolic profile alongside clinical hirsutism
Authors: De Taddeo Sofia , Andreadi Aikaterini , Minasi Alessandro , D’Ippolito Ilenia , Borelli Barbara , Meloni Marco , Romano Maria , Ruotolo Valeria , Cacciotti Laura , Rizzo Giuseppe , Patrizi Lodovico , Bellia Alfonso , Lauro Davide
Published: June 2023

Hyperandrogenism during menopause is often underestimated by clinicians and attributed to the natural aging process. Hyperandrogenism can be associated with some metabolic abnormalities linked together in a vicious circle by insulin resistance. We present the case of an elderly woman affected with type 2 diabetes and obesity who reported the occurrence of clinical hirsutism after physiological menopause at the age of 47 years. At presentation, physical examination and Ferriman-Gallwey score revealed a condition of moderate hirsutism, with markedly increased levels of plasma testosterone and delta-4-androstenedione, obesity (body mass index 31.9), and inadequate glycemic control (glycated hemoglobin 65 mmol/mol). The patient underwent a thorough differential diagnosis by a multidisciplinary team approach, including the various causes of hyperandrogenism during menopause. After choosing surgical option as the appropriate treatment, clinical resolution of hirsutism was observed alongside patient satisfaction and marked improvement of the glucometabolic profile.
Assessing the use of a noninvasive monitoring system providing multiple cardio-pulmonary parameters following revascularization in STEMI patients
Authors: Sharabi Itzhak , Merin Roei , Gluzman Yuri , Grinshpan Rozi , Shtivelman Angelika , Eisenkraft Arik , Rubinshtein Ronen
Published: June 2023

Background

Continuous monitoring of ECG, respiratory rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, cardiac output, and cardiac index is important in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) admitted to the intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU). However, monitoring these parameters in this setting and in these patients using noninvasive, wireless devices has not been conducted so far. We aimed to assess the use of a novel noninvasive continuous monitoring device in STEMI patients admitted to the ICCU.

Methods

Participants included STEMI patients that were admitted to the ICCU after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). Patients were continuously monitored using a novel wearable chest patch monitor.

Results

Fifteen patients with STEMI who underwent PPCI were included in this study. The median age was 52.8 years, the majority were males, and the median body mass index (BMI) was 25.7. Monitoring lasted for 66  ±  16 hours, and included the automatic collection and recording of all vitals, freeing the nursing staff to focus on other tasks. The user experience of nurses as reflected in filled questionnaires showed high satisfaction rates in all aspects.

Conclusion

A novel noninvasive, wireless device showed high feasibility in continuously monitoring multiple crucial parameters in STEMI patients admitted to the ICCU after PPCI.
Networked Responses to Networked Harassment? Creators’ Coordinated Management of “Hate Raids” on Twitch
Authors: Meisner Colten
Published: June 2023

This study investigates how social media creators navigate and respond to severe cases of ongoing, networked harassment. Drawing on 19 in-depth interviews with Twitch streamers who experienced a form of networked harassment known as “hate raids” on the platform, including three creators who built and shared tools to combat these attacks, this analysis pays particular attention to the nature and coordination of responses to networked harassment and the extent to which creators’ responses are also networked. This study’s findings suggest that, in the absence of communication and technical support from Twitch, creators started ad hoc networks for sharing technical tools, offering strategies for managing audiences during attacks, and providing emotional support for peer creators. Yet these networks of support were unevenly accessed across the streamers interviewed in this study and often existed only temporarily. This study’s findings furthermore indicate that communities on Twitch form primarily around individual streamers, which fosters supportive connections within that streamer’s audience community but limits opportunities for solidarities to form across streamers as a class of creative workers. I conclude by considering more broadly how platform infrastructures can facilitate or constrain different forms of community building among creators and their audiences.
School Counselor Leadership and Program Implementation Revisited: Findings From a National Sample
Authors: Mason E. C. M. , Michel Rebecca E. , Young Anita A. , Olsen Jacob , Tillery Christina A. , Kim Chang Mia
Published: June 2023

This replication study examines the relationship between school counselor leadership and school counseling program implementation, but with a larger sample and additional measures of leadership. In the original study (Mason, 2008) using Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Practices Inventory (2003), only Model the Way and Enable Others to Act subscales were predictors of program implementation, while in this study all subscales were predictors. The findings extend prior research, specifically that school counselor transformational leadership behavior strongly predicted comprehensive school counseling program implementation. We also found that specific leadership practices and behaviors, including modeling and systematic collaboration, accounted for the greatest variance in program implementation. Finally, exposure to the American School Counselor Association’s ASCA National Model and working in a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) predicted program implementation. We discuss the implications of the findings with respect to today’s educational climate.
More Happiness or Less Comparison? Unpacking Associations Between Life Satisfaction, Negative Comparison and Mobile Social Networking Use Among Sojourning Students
Authors: Pang Hua , Qiao Yuxin , Xiao Yi , Hu Xiang
Published: June 2023

Although the swift proliferation of mobile technology has attracted considerable scholarly attention during the past few decades, relatively few studies have been devoted specifically to the potential influence of life satisfaction on mobile social media engagement among sojourning students. To address this research gap, the current study proposed a conceptual model to empirically explore how overall life satisfaction was associated with social comparison, fear of missing out and mobile social networking engagement. In a web-based survey, a total of 335 Chinese international students aged between 18 and 32 years old completed a battery of online questionnaires. Utilizing structural equation modeling, the results demonstrated that overall life satisfaction was negatively associated with users’ mobile social media use intensity. Additionally, overall life satisfaction positively and significantly predicted both fear of missing out and negative social comparison. Furthermore, fear of missing out and negative social comparison could conceivably mediate the relationships between overall life satisfaction and mobile social media engagement. Therefore, the current article study may shed light on new directions for deeper understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms of mobile technology communication among sojourners and also of the comparatively new phenomenon of fear of missing out and negative comparison in contemporary mobile-saturated society.
Gamified Entrepreneurship Courses Motivate College Students’ Satisfaction: An Integrated Flow Framework
Authors: He Zhihua , Liu Yong , Wang Xiaolan , Li Runqi , Lv Na
Published: June 2023

Since the Gamified Entrepreneurship Courses have been applied to college students’ entrepreneurship courses, it has provided interactive and immersive course experiences to help improve the effect of course teaching. From the perspective of college students, Gamified Entrepreneurship Courses are a novel teaching method, and the satisfaction of college students with Gamified Entrepreneurship Courses will determine the future development of this course model. However, current research shows that college students’ satisfaction with Gamified Entrepreneurship Courses has not yet reached the desired level. Therefore, this study aims to study the factors and mechanisms that affect college students’ satisfaction with gamification entrepreneurship courses by constructing an integrated flow framework. A total of 205 college students who participated in the Gamified Entrepreneurship Courses were obtained, and the study used partial least squares (PLS) to analyze the measurement and structural models. The results show that the satisfaction of Gamified Entrepreneurship Courses is affected by presence and the competence needs, autonomy needs, and related needs in Self-determination Theory (SDT), and this effect is generated through the mediating variable of flow. Therefore, we verified that competence, autonomy, relatedness, and presence are key determinants in helping college students enter a state of flow, flow, in turn, reflects the level of satisfaction with the course. Our research provides empirical evidence for entrepreneurship curriculum teachers to improve college students’ satisfaction with the curriculum and continuous learning.
The Common Point of Countries Successful Policies in the Struggle Against COVID-19: Women Leaders
Authors: Erbilen Süheyla Üçışık , Uysal Merve
Published: June 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which is one of the biggest epidemics of the last century and can be regarded as a global tragedy, leaders had to mobilize many resources of their countries quickly and persuade their citizens to change their routine behavior. The approach followed by the leaders of the country in their efforts to convince their people has been an important factor in their success or failure. This paper aims to examine with Michel Foucault’s notion of biopower, and discourses and behaviors of women leaders in countries against the global pandemic which cost high life tool gave harsh messages to the humanity. For this purpose, leadership examples in Finland, Iceland, Taiwan and New Zealand will be examined in detail using the discourse analysis technique. As a result, in current times when populist and autocratic leader style is on the rise, women leaders not only took their countries to success, but they also managed to inspire other countries. More importantly, the struggle of women leaders against the pandemic revealed that a different management style is possible.
Comparative Study on Accuracy of Intra-Operative Computed Tomography-Navigation Based Pedicle Screw Placement With Skin vs Bone Fixed Dynamic Reference Frame in Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion
Authors: Degulmadi Devanand , Dave Bharat R , Chauhan Vikrant , Krishnan Ajay , Mayi Shivanand C , Rai Ravi , Dave Mirant Bharat , Bali Shivkumar , Charde Pranav , Anil Abhijith
Published: June 2023

Study Design

Retrospective comparative study.

Objective

To compare the accuracy of intra-operative navigation-assisted percutaneous pedicle screw insertion between bone fixed and skin fixed dynamic reference frame (DRF) in Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF).

Methods

Between October 2018 and September 2022, patients who underwent MIS-TLIF were included in this study with DRF fixed either on bone (group B) or skin (group S). Pedicle screws were inserted under the guidance of intra-operative Cone bean Computed tomography (cbCT) based navigation. Accuracy of pedicle screw placement was immediately checked by a final intra-operative cbCT Spin.

Results

Among 170 patients, group B included 91 patients and group S included 79 patients. Out of total 680 screws, 364 screws (group B) and 316 screws (group S) were placed. Patient’s demographic data and distribution of screws showed no statistically significant difference. The accuracy showed no significant difference between both the groups (94.5% in group B and 94.3% in group S).

Conclusion

Skin fixed DRF can serve as an alternate way for placement and avoids extra incision with similar accuracy in pedicle screw insertions with bone fixed DRF using intra-operative CT guided navigation in MIS TLIF.