bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Authentic assessment in medical education: exploring AI integration and student-as-partners collaboration
Authors: Fatima Syeda Sadia , Sheikh Nabeel Ashfaque , Osama Athar 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Background
Traditional assessments often lack flexibility, personalized feedback, real-world applicability, and the ability to measure skills beyond rote memorization. These may not adequately accommodate diverse learning styles and preferences, nor do they always foster critical thinking or creativity. The inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially Generative Pre-trained Transformers, in medical education marks a significant shift, offering both exciting opportunities and notable challenges for authentic assessment practices. Various fields, including anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, dentistry, and pathology, are anticipated to employ the metaverse for authentic assessments increasingly. This innovative approach will likely enable students to engage in immersive, project-based learning experiences, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and providing a platform for real-world application of knowledge and skills.

Methods
This commentary paper explores how AI, authentic assessment, and Student-as-Partners (SaP) methodologies can work together to reshape assessment practices in medical education.

Results
The paper provides practical insights into effectively utilizing AI tools to create authentic assessments, offering educators actionable guidance to enhance their teaching practices. It also addresses the challenges and ethical considerations inherent in implementing AI-driven assessments, emphasizing the need for responsible and inclusive practices within medical education. Advocating for a collaborative approach between AI and SaP methodologies, the commentary proposes a robust plan to ensure ethical use while upholding academic integrity.

Conclusion
Through navigating emerging assessment paradigms and promoting genuine evaluation of medical knowledge and proficiency, this collaborative effort aims to elevate the quality of medical education and better prepare learners for the complexities of clinical practice.
A Phenomenological Exploration of Physicians’ Moral Distress: Situating Emotion Within Lived Experiences
Authors: Chang Derek C. , Kelly Martina , Eva Kevin W. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Purpose
Physicians often experience moral distress from being prevented from taking what they believe to be the right course of action. Although causes and consequences of moral distress have been studied, little research offers insight into the significance of feeling morally challenged, especially in medicine. This study was undertaken to advance understanding of what physicians experience when encountering morally challenging situations and to examine how those experiences influence their interactions with the world of health care.

Method
Guided by hermeneutic phenomenology, the authors conducted semistructured interviews with purposefully sampled Canadian physicians from September 2022 to January 2023. Analysis used Van Manen’s 6 activities of hermeneutic research and included “story crafting” to sharpen insights. Late in that process, Van Manen’s “lived existentials” was determined to provide a strong framework for physicians’ experiences of moral distress.

Results
Of the 12 physicians interviewed, all experienced varied and long-lasting emotional reactions to morally challenging experiences. The emotions associated with moral distress, reported as inevitable, were experienced in ways that aligned with the lived existentials of body, space, time, and relations.

Conclusions
A richer understanding of physicians’ lived experiences with moral distress can help mentors and educators more thoughtfully engage in conversations about it with colleagues and learners. This study highlights the core dimensions of moral distress through body, space, time, and relations, thereby providing a means to enrich discussion about emotions and their transformational power. Through such nuanced consideration, calls for emotional candor may be strengthened to enhance practice by acknowledging the scope of impact that efforts to deliver care are likely to provoke.
Using digital communication tools to improve interprofessional collaboration and satisfaction in a student-run free clinic
Authors: Alam Tracy , Pardee Michelle , Ammerman Beth , Eagle Megan , Shakoor Kelly , Jones Heather 
Published: July 2024

Background:
Interprofessional collaboration can improve the quality of care in complex health conditions often seen in underserved populations. Communication is key to effective collaboration, and digital communication tools can enhance information sharing, collaboration, and satisfaction between professionals, especially when teams are distanced.

Local problem:
In a semirural student-run free clinic that provides care to uninsured and underinsured patients with multifaceted health issues, there is a gap in communication and collaboration across interprofessional teams because of the frequent rotation of various staff, part-time hours, and electronic health record (EHR) function and interoperability limitations.

Methods:
The aim of this nurse practitioner-led quality improvement project was to determine whether implementing digital communication tools could enhance communication and improve provider collaboration and satisfaction during clinical decision-making among the several interprofessional teams at the student-run free clinic.

Interventions:
Digital communication tools were implemented in a two-part intervention: (1) virtual case conferences to discuss patient care plans and (2) an EHR-linked tool to document the care plans.

Results:
Survey evaluation across six virtual case conferences found above-average ratings for collaboration, satisfaction, and usability of the EHR-linked tool. There was a 15.78% improvement in global collaboration from the first to third conference, with a sustained improvement of 11.49%. Satisfaction improved by 4.62% from the first to the fourth conference.

Conclusion:
Digital communication tools can facilitate efficient communication and collaboration among staff while providing a more streamlined approach to patient care. These technologies can be useful in similar settings, especially when teams are distanced.
Caregiver Intent and Willingness to Accept COVID-19 Vaccine in the Pediatric Emergency Department
Authors: Hart Rebecca J. , Srivisetty Harshini , Ahmed Anam , Kerley Taryn , Swartz Madison , Bryant Kristina A. , Stevenson Michelle D. 
Published: July 2024

Background
While COVID-19 vaccine (CV) acceptance is improving, little is known about parental acceptance of CV in the pediatric emergency department (PED).

Objectives
The aims of the study are to assess rates of CV uptake among eligible children presenting to the PED, describe caregiver willingness to accept CV in the PED, and assess potential ED-based interventions to increase CV acceptance.

Methods
We surveyed caregivers of 384 children aged ≥6 months presenting to the PED for minor illness/injury. Demographics, COVID-19/other vaccine history, and intent/willingness to receive CV were recorded. Participants were recontacted by phone 6–12 months after vaccine eligibility to assess CV status, barriers to CV, willingness to receive CV in the ED, and preferences for ED-based vaccine-related interventions. Data were analyzed using standard descriptive statistics.

Results
In initial surveys, 31.6% of caregivers planned to vaccinate their child; 32.2% would likely accept CV in the PED. Follow-up data was available for 302 (78.6%) previously unvaccinated participants; only 59 (19.5%) had received CV at follow-up. Of those unvaccinated at follow-up, 27 (28.7%) intended to vaccinate, nearly all of whom would accept CV in the PED. Factors associated with increased likelihood of vaccination included initial intent to vaccinate (P = 0.004), definite/probable acceptance of CV in the PED (P = 0.035), and child age 5+ (P = 0.005). Nearly one-fourth of unvaccinated families reported barriers to CV access. Interventions most likely to persuade families to vaccinate included: discussing CV with a provider (25.5%), receiving an information sheet (23.4%), and offering CV without an ED visit (22.3%).

Conclusions
CV acceptance was low in this cohort. A gap population of unvaccinated children whose caregivers intend to vaccinate exists, and many of these would accept CV in the ED. This data supports the presence of CV programs in the ED to close this gap.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the State Enteric Disease Public Health Workforce in the Western United States, March-April 2022
Authors: Zarella Olivia , White Alice E. , Ramsey Eliza , Elson Gabriel , Melius Beth , Hewitson Ingrid , Baseman Janet , Walter Elaine Scallan 
Published: July 2024

Objective:To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the state-level enteric disease workforce and routine enteric disease surveillance and outbreak investigation activities in the western United States.Design and Setting:Key informant interviews conducted using bidirectional video from March to April 2022.Participants:Enteric disease epidemiologists at state public health agencies in the western states served by the Colorado and Washington Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence.Main Outcomes:Key themes were identified using grounded theory.Results:Nine themes were identified including excessive workload, shifts in local and state responsibilities, challenges with retention and hiring, importance of student teams, laboratory supplies shortages, changes to case and outbreak investigation priorities, transitioning back to enterics, adoption of new methods and technology, and current and future needs.Conclusions:The COVID-19 pandemic response had a substantial impact on state-level enteric disease activities in western states, with many staff members diverted from routine responsibilities and a de-prioritization of enteric disease work. There is a need for sustainable solutions to address staffing shortages, prioritize employee mental health, and effectively manage routine workloads when responding to emergencies.
Lessons From Leading During a Pandemic: An Exploratory Study of Public Health Leadership Insights on Training, Preparation, and Experiences From the Field During COVID-19
Authors: Singh Amay V. , Niu Lijie , Johnson C. Anderson , Orr Jay E. , Palmer Paula H. 
Published: July 2024

Context:The public health workforce encountered challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic that exposed areas for improvement in preparation for future public health threats. Key among these is well-trained public health leaders equipped with an array of crisis leadership skills.Objectives:To examine the training background, assess the perceived preparedness, and garner recommendations for training of the future public health workforce from public health leaders who navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.Design:This exploratory research gleaned information by utilizing an online questionnaire and interviews to provide lessons learned regarding improvements needed for public health leader preparedness.Setting:Three California public health departments representing urban, suburban, and rural populations.Participants:Thirty public health leaders who were directly involved in public health work for ≥3 years in a leadership/management role and involved in COVID-19-related work for at least 6 months participated.Results:Questionnaire findings revealed gaps in crisis leadership, communication, and collaboration training. Interview results supported and expanded upon the quantitative findings, including the value of various competencies and recommendations to improve the preparedness of future public health leaders.Conclusions:The findings suggested that although many of the skills needed are competencies for accredited public health training programs, effective leadership during public health emergencies may require additional training beyond what is generally provided. Recommendations include integrating study findings into public health training programs to address competency gaps, leveraging results to enhance leadership skills, and promoting collaboration between public health departments and academic institutions to develop evidence-informed crisis leadership training. These findings inform strategies to ensure the preparedness of the public health workforce for future crises.
Local Excision for Early-Stage Rectal Adenocarcinomas
Authors: Donohue Kristen , Rossi Alexander , Deek Matthew P. , Feingold Daniel , Patel Nell Maloney , Jabbour Salma K. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractAlthough total mesorectal excision (TME) remains the standard of care for rectal cancer, including early-stage T1/T2 rectal adenocarcinoma, local excision may be warranted for these early-stage tumors in a select group of patients who may decline surgery or may be nonoptimal surgical candidates. Operative approaches for transanal local excision include transanal endoscopic microsurgery or transanal minimally invasive surgery for tumors <4 cm, occupying <40% of the rectal circumference and <10 cm from the dentate line. The use of preoperative chemoradiation therapy may help to downstage tumors and allow for more limited resections, and chemoradiation may also be employed postoperatively. Local excision approaches appear to result in improved quality of life compared with TME, but limited resections may also compromise survival rates compared with TME. Multidisciplinary management and shared decision-making can allow for the desired patient outcomes.
Enhanced nutrient supply promotes mutualistic interactions between cyanobacteria and bacteria in oligotrophic ocean
Authors: Liu Weiyue , Zhao Feng , Li Xuegang , Zheng Shan , Li Longzhao , Zhao Rongjie , Xu Kuidong 
Published: July 2024

Cyanobacteria can form complex interactions with heterotrophic microorganisms, but this relationship is susceptible to nutrient concentrations. Disentangling the cyanobacteria–bacteria interactions in relation to nutrient supply is essential to understanding their roles in geochemical cycles under global change. We hypothesize that enhanced nutrient supply in oligotrophic oceans can promote interactions among cyanobacteria and bacteria. Therefore, we investigated the planktonic bacteria and their interactions with cyanobacteria in relation to elevated nutrients caused by enhanced upwelling around a shallow and a deep seamount in the tropical western Pacific Ocean. We found obviously higher complexity of network occurred with significantly more cyanobacteria in the deep chlorophyll maximum layer of the shallow seamount when compared with that of the deep seamount. Cyanobacteria can shape bacterial interaction and community evenness in response to relatively high nutrient concentrations. The effects of the nutrients on cyanobacteria-related networks were further estimated based on the
Tara
Oceans data. Statistical analyses further showed a facilitative effect of nitrate concentrations on cyanobacteria–bacteria mutualistic interactions in the global oligotrophic ocean. By analysing the
Tara
Ocean macrogenomic data, we detected functional genes related to cyanobacteria–bacteria interactions in all samples, indicating the existence of a mutualistic relationship. Our results reveal cyanobacteria–bacteria interaction in response to nutrient elevation in oligotrophic ocean and highlight the potentially negative effects of global change on the bacterial community from the view of the bio-interaction.
Planococcus shenhongbingii sp. nov., Planococcus shixiaomingii sp. nov. and Planococcus liqunii sp. nov., isolated from soil of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Authors: Ning Shuo , Hou Qiang , Yang Jing , Ma Caiyun , Chen Yulu , Liu Yue , Zhou Huimin , Ma Jiajia , Huang Yuyuan , Cao Linglin , Liu Xiaorui , Pu Ji , Jin Dong , Lu Shan , Xu Jianguo 
Published: July 2024

Six novel bacterial strains, designated N016T, N017, N022T, N028, N056T, and N064, were isolated from soil sampled on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Cells were aerobic, orange or yellow, globular or rod-shaped, non-motile, non-spore-forming, Gram-stain-positive, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. All the isolates were salt-tolerant and could grow in the range of 4–42 °C. Results of phylogenomic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and core genomic genes showed that the three pairs of strains (N016T/N017, N022T/N028, and N056T/N064) were closely related to the members of the genus Planococcus, and clustered with Planococcus ruber, Planococcus glaciei, and Planococcus chinensis. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values of the six novel strains with other members of the genus Planococcus were within the ranges of 18.7–53 % and 70.58–93.49 %, respectively, all below the respective recommended thresholds of 70.0 % and 95–96 %. The genomic DNA G+C content of the six strains ranged from 43.5 to 46.0 mol%. The major fatty acids of the six strains were anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C14 : 0, and C16 : 1
ω7c alcohol. The predominant polar lipids of strains N016T, N022T, and N056T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylethanolamine. Menaquinones 7 and 8 were the respiratory quinones. The results of the above analyses indicated that the six strains represent three novel species of the genus Planococcus, for which the names Planococcus shenhongbingii sp. nov. (type strain N016T=GDMCC 1.4062T=JCM 36224T), Planococcus shixiaomingii sp. nov. (type strain N022T=GDMCC 1.4063T=JCM 36225T), and Planococcus liqunii sp. nov. (type strain N056T=GDMCC 1.4064T=JCM 36226T) are proposed.
Deep Neural Networks to Register and Annotate the Cells of theC. elegansNervous System
Authors: Atanas Adam A. , Lu Alicia Kun-Yang , Kim Jungsoo , Baskoylu Saba , Kang Di , Kramer Talya S. , Bueno Eric , Wan Flossie K. , Flavell Steven W. 
Published: July 2024

ABSTRACTAligning and annotating the heterogeneous cell types that make up complex cellular tissues remains a major challenge in the analysis of biomedical imaging data. Here, we present a series of deep neural networks that allow for automatic non-rigid registration and cell identification in the context of the nervous system of freely-movingC. elegans. A semi-supervised learning approach was used to train aC. elegansregistration network (BrainAlignNet) that aligns pairs of images of the bendingC. eleganshead with single pixel-level accuracy. When incorporated into an image analysis pipeline, this network can link neuronal identities over time with 99.6% accuracy. A separate network (AutoCellLabeler) was trained to annotate >100 neuronal cell types in theC. eleganshead based on multi-spectral fluorescence of genetic markers. This network labels >100 different cell types per animal with 98% accuracy, exceeding individual human labeler performance by aggregating knowledge across manually labeled datasets. Finally, we trained a third network (CellDiscoveryNet) to perform unsupervised discovery and labeling of >100 cell types in theC. elegansnervous system by analyzing unlabeled multi-spectral imaging data from many animals. The performance of CellDiscoveryNet matched that of trained human labelers. These tools will be useful for a wide range of applications inC. elegansresearch and should be straightforward to generalize to many other applications requiring alignment and annotation of dense heterogeneous cell types in complex tissues.
Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase transforms carotid occlusion-mediated benign oligemia intode novolarge cerebral infarction
Authors: Kim Ha , Chung Jinyong , Kang Jeong Wook , Schellingerhout Dawid , Lee Soo Ji , Jang Hee Jeong , Park Inyeong , Kim Taesu , Gwak Dong-Seok , Lee Ji Sung , Hong Sung-Ha , Je Kang-Hoon , Bae Hee-Joon , Sung Joohon , Lo Eng H. , Faber James , Ayata Cenk , Kim Dong-Eog 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIt remains unclear why unilateral proximal carotid artery occlusion (UCAO) causes benign oligemia, without progressing to cerebral infarction, in mice, yet leads to a wide variety of outcomes (ranging from asymptomatic to death) in humans. We hypothesized that inhibition of NOS both transforms UCAO-mediated oligemia into full infarction and expands pre-existing infarction. In support, intraperitoneal administration of Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) followed by UCAO induced large-arterial infarction in mice, unlike UCAO alone. Six-hour laser-speckle-contrast imaging detected spreading ischemia in mice with infarction as assessed at 24h. In agreement with vasoconstriction/microthrombus formation shown by intravital microscopy, the NO-donor, molsidomine and the endothelial-NOS- activating antiplatelet, cilostazol, attenuated or prevented progression to infarction. Moreover, UCAO without L-NAME caused infarction in mice with hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, which, in turn, were associated with greater symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) levels. Further, increased levels of glucose and cholesterol associated with significantly larger infarct volumes in 438 consecutive patients with UCAO-mediated infarction. Lastly, Mendelian randomization identified a causative role of NOS inhibition, particularly in elevated SDMA concentration, in ischemic stroke risk. Therefore, NOS activity is a key factor determining the fate of hypoperfused brain following acute carotid occlusion, where SDMA could be a potential risk predictor.
A Comprehensive Framework for Spatio-Temporal Analysis of DNA Damage Foci in Tumor Spheroids
Authors: Cazalès Martine , Liu Théo , Bernard David , Jullien Denis , Lorenzo Corinne 
Published: July 2024

SUMMARYThe evaluation of DNA damage response, particularly DNA damage foci formation, is crucial for understanding tumor biology and assessing the impacts of various drugs. We have developed a sophisticated semi-automated image analysis pipeline which generates quantitative map of the spatiotemporal distribution of DNA damage foci within live tumor spheroids. Our framework seamlessly integrates live imaging of tumor spheroids via Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy with a DNA damage foci formation assay using a genetically encoded fluorescently labeled DNA damage sensor. By combining advanced imaging techniques with computational tools, our framework offers a powerful tool for studying DNA damage response mechanisms in complex 3D cellular environments.MOTIVATIONThe motivation of this work is to propose a comprehensive framework that facilitates the study of DNA repair mechanisms within 3D contexts, specifically using tumor spheroid models. By integrating advanced imaging technologies and genetically encoded fluorescent sensors, our goal is to offer researchers a robust methodology for observing and analyzing DNA damage dynamics in realistic tissue-like environments. This framework is designed to enhance accessibility and streamline data processing, thereby empowering the scientific community to investigate DNA repair processes in 3D with greater precision and efficiency.