Basic Survival Research Articles

A comprehensive assessment of environmental factors in aircraft cockpit based on fuzzy evaluation.

The cockpit of an aircraft is the main place where the pilot controls the aircraft on a mission. An excellent cockpit environment not only ensures the pilot's basic survival needs but also improves the comfort level and alleviates fatigue when performing missions. On the basis of domestic and international airworthiness standards, a top-down refinement method is deployed to determine the initial goal, and the environmental criteria are fully discussed and balanced in a dynamic process to build a comprehensive evaluation system for environmental factors in the aircraft cockpit. Based on the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation theory, an evaluation model for environmental factors is constructed by combining analytic hierarchical analysis (AHP) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Then the feasibility of the evaluation model is verified by an illustrative example. The results suggest that the light environment gains the highest score among the 4 environmental criteria followed by the thermal environment, while both sound environment and microenvironment have relatively low scores. As for the 27 environmental sub-criteria, temperature, illumination, lighting clarity, light-color coordination, noise duration and pressure score the highest. The evaluation findings can provide important environmental control criteria for the subsequent environmental control system in the cockpit of the aircraft.

Do patients with cN0 oral squamous cell carcinoma benefit from elective neck dissection? A large-scale population-based study

BackgroundThe neck management of clinical-nodal negative (cN0) oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains controversial. Elective neck dissection (END) and observation are the main strategies, but it is still not clear who could benefit the most from END. The purpose of this study was to clarify the potential clinical factors that affect the therapeutic value of END and to explore the actual characteristics associated with benefit from END.MethodsPatients with cN0 OSCC were identified in the SEER database from 2000 to 2019. 5-year Overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were analyzed using the Kaplan‒Meier method, and the hazard ratios (HRs) for survival were estimated using the Cox regression model. Multiple subgroup analyses of DSS and OS among different factors, comparing END and No END, were performed.ResultsA total of 17,019 patients with cN0 OSCC were included. The basic survival analysis and Cox regression model showed that END increased the probability of 5-year DSS and OS and was an independent prognostic factor. However, among patients who underwent only primary tumor surgery, no significant differences were found between the END and No END groups in 5-year DSS (P = 0. 585) and OS (P = 0.465). Further subgroup analysis showed that primary sites and T stage, but not other factors, might influence the benefit of END. Significant differences were found for T1 (P < 0.001 for OS) and T2 (P = 0.001 for DSS and < 0.001 for OS) tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) but not for other primary tumor sites.ConclusionThis large-scale retrospective population-based cohort study suggests that not all patients with cN0 OSCC could benefit from END. Patients with cN0 TSCC are recommended to undergo END, especially with early-stage tumors.

Body fat ratio as a novel predictor of complications and survival after rectal cancer surgery.

The present study aimed to evaluate the association between body fat ratio (BFR), visceral fat area (VFA), body mass index (BMI) and visceral fat density (VFD) and assess their reliability in assessing risk of postoperative complications and survival status in patients with rectal cancer (RC). The present study retrospectively included 460 patients who underwent surgical treatment for RC at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China) between September 2018 and July 2021. BFR, VFA, BMI, and VFD were measured and basic information, clinical data, complications and survival were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed to determine optimal BFR cut-off and evaluate group differences. BFR demonstrated a significant positive correlation with VFA (R = 0.739) and BMI (R = 0.783) and significant negative correlation with VFD (R = -0.773). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of BFR, VFA, BMI, and VFD in predicting postoperative complications in RC were all >0.7 and the optimal cut-off value of BFR was 24.3. Patients in the BFR-low group had fewer postoperative complications, lower intraoperative indices, shorter hospitalization times and lower costs than those in the BFR-high group. BFR predicted complications with high diagnostic significance and was validated by multiple models. Furthermore, patients in the BFR-high group had a longer overall survival compared with patients in the BFR-low group. BFR was associated with BMI, VFA, and VFD. A BFR threshold of 24.3 was correlated with decreased complications and enhanced long-term survival.

Modulation of tumor plasticity by senescent cells: Deciphering basic mechanisms and survival pathways to unravel therapeutic options.

Senescence is a cellular state in which the cell loses its proliferative capacity, often irreversibly. Physiologically, it occurs due to a limited capacity of cell division associated with telomere shortening, the so-called replicative senescence. It can also be induced early due to DNA damage, oncogenic activation, oxidative stress, or damage to other cellular components (collectively named induced senescence). Tumor cells acquire the ability to bypass replicative senescence, thus ensuring the replicative immortality, a hallmark of cancer. Many anti-cancer therapies, however, can lead tumor cells to induced senescence. Initially, this response leads to a slowdown in tumor growth. However, the longstanding accumulation of senescent cells (SnCs) in tumors can promote neoplastic progression due to the enrichment of numerous molecules and extracellular vesicles that constitutes the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Among other effects, SASP can potentiate or unlock the tumor plasticity and phenotypic transitions, another hallmark of cancer. This review discusses how SnCs can fuel mechanisms that underlie cancer plasticity, like cell differentiation, stemness, reprogramming, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We also discuss the main molecular mechanisms that make SnCs resistant to cell death, and potential strategies to target SnCs. At the end, we raise open questions and clinically relevant perspectives in the field.

THE IMPACTS OF AGE AND PREPARATION INFORMATION ON PREPAREDNESS FOR PANDEMIC: A LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS

Abstract This study examined the age differences in perceived and actual preparedness for a pandemic, as well as the moderating effect of preparation information. Data used was from 2021 FEMA National Household Survey (N = 6,305). Latent class analysis was first conducted to explore the typologies of the information respondents received about how to prepare for a pandemic based on eight indicators (e.g., basic survival, planning/preparation, testing, vaccines). With the adjustment of sample weights, four latent classes were identified: class 1 “insufficient information”, class 2 “information emphasizing disaster preparedness”, class 3 “information emphasizing disease preparedness”, and class 4 “comprehensive information”. Subsequently, the results of logistic regression and Poisson regression using sample weights showed that compared to those aged 60 and older, people aged 18-39 and aged 40-59 tended to perceive a lower level of preparedness but were more likely to engage in actual preparedness activities for a pandemic. Relative to those in “insufficient information” class, people in “information emphasizing disease preparedness” class and “comprehensive information” class were more likely to perceive a higher level of preparedness and take actual preparations for a pandemic. In terms of the interactions between age and preparation information, the gap narrowed between people aged over 60 and their younger counterparts in taking actual preparations if they were in “comprehensive information” class. These findings highlighted the age patterns in pandemic preparedness and the impacts of different preparation information strategies, which provided imperative implications for disaster preparedness education and communication campaigns.

Glimpse of New Woman &amp; Evolution of Feminine Power in Manju Kapur's "Difficult Daughters"

The purpose of this paper is to study the evolution of feminist power and the emergence of new woman in the novel "Difficult Daughter's". Manju Kapur is an eminent novelist who can be put in the category of those women writers who brought a remarkable transformation in the representation of women characters. As a woman she is concerned with the problems of Indian woman in the patriarchal family and deals with various feminist Issues as gender equality, freedom from discrimination,right to education, marriage, abortion, autonomy, women's property rights, oppression etc. In the novel *Difficult Daughter's* Virmati is a typical daughter to her mother as she opposes the patriarchal norms for self identity. Women are discriminated and devoid of their basic rights in the patriarchal society Her female protagonists are educated women with independent thinking who follow their own ideology. Her novels present the position of women and their struggle in the contemporary Indian society .As a woman, she successfully highlights the feminist struggle against patriarchy, exploitation. Her female characters reveal feminist power and represent the new women who are thinking, questioning and rational beings and raise a voice for basic rights, self identity and Survival.

Clinical and genetic characteristics of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia combined with left ventricular non-compaction.

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia is an ion channelopathy, caused by mutations in genes coding for calcium-handling proteins. It can coexist with left ventricular non-compaction. We aim to investigate the clinical and genetic characteristics of this co-phenotype. Medical records of 24 patients diagnosed with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in two Chinese hospitals between September, 2005, and January, 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. We evaluated their clinical and genetic characteristics, including basic demographic data, electrocardiogram parameters, medications and survival during follow-up, and their gene mutations. We did structural analysis for a novel variant ryanodine receptor 2-E4005V. The patients included 19 with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia mono-phenotype and 5 catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia-left ventricular non-compaction overlap patients. The median age of onset symptoms was 9.0 (8.0,13.5) years. Most patients (91.7%) had cardiac symptoms, and 50% had a family history of syncope. Overlap patients had lower peak heart rate and threshold heart rate for ventricular tachycardia and ventricular premature beat during the exercise stress test (p < 0.05). Sudden cardiac death risk may be higher in overlap patients during follow-up. Gene sequencing revealed 1 novel ryanodine receptor 2 missense mutation E4005V and 1 mutation previously unreported in catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, but no left ventricular non-compaction-causing mutations were observed. In-silico analysis showed the novel mutation E4005V broke down the interaction between two charged residues. Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia overlapping with left ventricular non-compaction may lead to ventricular premature beat/ventricular tachycardia during exercise stress test at lower threshold heart rate than catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia alone; it may also indicate a worse prognosis and requires strict follow-up. ryanodine receptor 2 mutations disrupted interactions between residues and may interfere the function of ryanodine receptor 2.

Essential proteins discovery based on dominance relationship and neighborhood similarity centrality.

Essential proteins play a vital role in development and reproduction of cells. The identification of essential proteins helps to understand the basic survival of cells. Due to time-consuming, costly and inefficient with biological experimental methods for discovering essential proteins, computational methods have gained increasing attention. In the initial stage, essential proteins are mainly identified by the centralities based on protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, which limit their identification rate due to many false positives in PPI networks. In this study, a purified PPI network is firstly introduced to reduce the impact of false positives in the PPI network. Secondly, by analyzing the similarity relationship between a protein and its neighbors in the PPI network, a new centrality called neighborhood similarity centrality (NSC) is proposed. Thirdly, based on the subcellular localization and orthologous data, the protein subcellular localization score and ortholog score are calculated, respectively. Fourthly, by analyzing a large number of methods based on multi-feature fusion, it is found that there is a special relationship among features, which is called dominance relationship, then, a novel model based on dominance relationship is proposed. Finally, NSC, subcellular localization score, and ortholog score are fused by the dominance relationship model, and a new method called NSO is proposed. In order to verify the performance of NSO, the seven representative methods (ION, NCCO, E_POC, SON, JDC, PeC, WDC) are compared on yeast datasets. The experimental results show that the NSO method has higher identification rate than other methods.

Assessment of salivary levels of ErbB2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral cancer is the sixth-most common cancer globally. The survival rate of oral cancer is 5 years, depending on the stage it is diagnosed. To diagnose in the early stage, specialised tumour markers may assist and also help in improving the survival rate of oral cancer. ErbB2 is a transmembrane cell surface receptor required in signal transduction and an essential part of signalling pathways that take part in controlling the basic cellular processes like cell cycle, migration, metabolism and survival, besides cellular proliferation and differentiation. It is over-expressed in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and is directly proportional to the poor prognosis, as it is expressed at a very low concentration in a healthy individual. Due to this, ErbB2 could be used as a diagnostic marker in OSCC. Nowadays, the search for tumour expression in the saliva with the use of salivary biomarkers could aid in the diagnosis of the OSSC. To assess the expression of ErbB2 in the saliva of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma by correlating the ErbB2 level in the disease group with the healthy group. To determine the diagnostic significance of ErbB2 in OSCC. The study comprises 20 salivary samples from OSCC patients and 20 salivary samples from healthy individuals. The salivary level of ErbB2 was estimated using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. To analyse the data, SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Released 2019) is used. The significance level is fixed at 5% (α = 0.05). P value <0.05 is considered to be statistically significant. To compare the mean values of mean and concentration, an unpaired/independent sample t-test was used. The mean age of OSCC and control were found to be 57 ± 8.13 and 26.6 ± 1.51, respectively. The mean age was compared between OSCC and control by the Chi-square test, and the P value was <0.01, which was found to be statistically significant. The salivary levels of ErbB2 in the OSCC and control groups were measured by an unpaired sample t-test. The mean salivary ErbB2 level in the OSCC group is 3.20 ng/ml ± 0.57, and in the control group, it is 2.43 ng/ml ± 0.13. When a pairwise comparison of ErbB2 concentration was performed between OSCC and control, it showed a statistically significant difference with a P value of 0.007, which is P < 0.05. The present study has demonstrated an increased salivary expression of ErbB2 in OSCC patients when compared to healthy individuals. This suggests that ErbB2 could aid in the diagnosis of OSCC and could be used as a diagnostic marker in the early detection of oral cancer, a finding that has to be further established with a larger sample size.

Social Singularities in Cosmic Environments: Engendering Big History

According to archaeologist André Leroi-Gourhan, humanized space can be understood on multiple levels – for meeting basic survival needs, to establish a social system, and as a starting point for understanding the wider conceptual universe. In our own social ecology work, we have found that gender is integral to the spatial dimensions of human life, and so the question arises: Is Gender also Central to the Study of Big History? Can we represent gender, so it addresses synergies and symbiotic relationships of the cosmos, as well as concerns for the conservation of ecology and heritage? These questions correlate well with Big History’s consideration of the universe’s varied environments, making the study of humanized space a key factor in self-understanding.

Engaging and assessing students via a museum educational program

Many museums offer educational programs encouraging visitors to “interact” with the subjects in a meaningful way. Students’ visit to a museum can be an effective means of introducing them to important science concepts through contact with actual specimens. As part of a properly designed educational program, students’ contact with realia can be an invaluable aid to engaging their interest and achieving corresponding learning goals. The present paper details a research project relating to the concept of evolutionary adaption. A worksheet was developed requiring students to work collaboratively during a museum visit to complete activities progressively leading them to the target goals of correlating: (i) the structure of certain physical features of birds with their function and (ii) the structure and function of those features with their respective habitats. The final worksheet activity was an open-ended assessment task aiming to identify the level of learning students had achieved from participating in the program. The results were statistically analyzed and indicated that students had grasped the concept of structure and function of specific traits and their importance to basic survival, but they had not been able to correlate the adaptation with other challenges presented by the habitat.

Overall Survival Prediction in Stereotactic Radiosurgery Patients with Glioblastoma Via a Deep-Learning Approach

Accurate and automated early survival prediction is critical for glioblastoma (GBM) patients as their poor prognosis requires timely treatment decision-making. We have developed a deep learning (DL)-based GBM overall survival (OS) prediction model based on a multi-institutional public dataset using only pre-operative basic structural multi-parametric magnetic resonance images (MRIs). The purpose of this study is to evaluate this DL-based OS prediction model with an institutional stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) clinical trial dataset. The task of this study is to classify GBM patients into 3 OS classes: long-survivors (>15 months), mid-survivors (between 10 and 15 months) and short-survivors (< 10 months). The proposed OS prediction model is an ensemble of a ResNet-based classifier and a K-NN classifier. The ResNet-based classifier is trained in a Siamese fashion to explore inter-class differences. During testing, training sample features are implemented with a K-NN classifier to ensemble with the ResNet-based classifier. A public dataset from Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) challenge 2020 (235 patients) were used for model establishing and initial validation. Then the validated model was evaluated on 19 GBM patients from an institutional SRS clinical trial. Each data entry consists of pre-operative basic structural multi-parametric MRIs and survival days, as well as patient ages for BraTS data and basic clinical characteristics for institutional data. GBM sub-regions, including contrast-enhancing tumor, peri-tumoral edema, and necrotic/non-enhancing tumor core, were segmented in the multi-parametric MRIs by an in-house DL model for both datasets. The OS prediction model was trained on 90% of the segmented BraTS data and validated on the rest 10%, then further evaluated on the institutional data. The model performance was assessed by prediction accuracy (ACC) and the area under the curve (AUC). For this 3-class OS classification task, our DL-based prediction model achieved an ACC of 65.22% and an AUC of 0.81 on the BraTS dataset compared with the top-ranked result from the BraTS challenge 2020 (Rank 1st: ACC 61.7%), and an ACC of 52.63% and an AUC of 0.69 on the institutional dataset. Further analysis of the institutional dataset found that the predicted OS class had a statistically significant correlation with treatment volume (p = 0.012) and age (p = 0.006), which matches the analysis that the patients' ground truth OS class is statistical significantly correlated with treatment volume (p = 0.045). Our DL-based OS prediction model for GBM using basic structural multi-parametric pre-operative MRIs has demonstrated promising performance in both public and institutional dataset with minimal manual processing requirements. This OS prediction model can be potentially applied to assist timely clinical decision-making.

Up-skilling women or de-skilling patriarchy? How TVET can drive wider gender transformation and the decent work agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite decades of focus on gender and skills training, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa remains deeply gendered and rooted in wider structures of patriarchal inequality and exploitation. Engaging with recent theoretical moves toward gender-transformative and gender-just TVET programming, this paper explores how a gradual revisioning of TVET can be mobilised to challenge broader gender inequality and discrimination in precarious settings. Bringing together insights from feminist scholarship and the UN’s decent work agenda, which seeks to align fair and secure working conditions with the aspirations of workers, we ask what a gender-transformative future for TVET might look like where labour rights, sustainable livelihoods and wellbeing are incorporated from the ground up. Drawing on findings from Cameroon and Sierra Leone, from the innovative ‘Gen-Up’ project which aims to investigate possible gender-responsive TVET programmes and policies in collaboration with the TVET provider, the Don Bosco network we ask what is both possible and permissible in the fractious economic climate, where the focus on basic survival and income generation inhibits a genuine challenge to entrenched gender norms and stereotypes. For young women especially whose aspirations are multiply damaged by persistent discriminatory frameworks and who become further vulnerable at times of economic and social crisis, we ask whether current TVET programming is helping them escape the multiple forms of marginalisation they face. Even in cases where women may be portrayed as successful entrepreneurs or achieving sustainable livelihoods, the evidence suggests these individualistic narratives are leaving many young women behind. In this context of instability, precarity and increasing global and local socio-economic and gender inequalities we argue that only holistic TVET programming based on social and moral values and empowerment and proposing diverse pathways to decent work, creating forms of solidarity, collaboration and a contextualised enabling environment can act as both a lever for gender transformation and also an engine for broader socio-economic change fitting the ‘Decent Work’ vision and a constantly changing world of work.

Characteristics of Molecular Genetic Mutations and Their Correlation with Prognosis in Adolescent and Adult Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Introduction: The prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adolescents and adults is poor, and recurrence is an important cause of their death. Changes of genetic information play a vital role in the pathogenesis and recurrence of ALL; however, the impact of molecular genetic mutations on disease diagnosis and prognosis remains unexplored. This study aimed to explore the frequency spectrum of gene mutations and their prognostic significance, along with the minimal residual disease (MRD) level and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), in adolescent and adult patients aged ≥15 years with ALL. Methods: The basic characteristics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, MRD level, treatment regimen, and survival outcome of patients with untreated ALL (≥15 years) were collected, and the correlation and survival analysis were performed using the SPSS 25.0 and R software. Results: This study included 404 patients, of which 147 were selected for next-generation sequencing (NGS). NGS results revealed that 91.2% of the patients had at least one mutation, and 67.35% had multiple (≥2) mutations. NOTCH1, PHF6, RUNX1, PTEN, JAK3, TET2, and JAK1 were the most common mutations in T-ALL, whereas FAT1, TET2, NARS, KMT2D, FLT3, and RELN were the most common mutations in B-ALL. Correlation analysis revealed the mutation patterns, which were significantly different between T-ALL and B-ALL. In the prognostic analysis of 107 patients with B-ALL, multivariate analysis showed that the number of mutations ≥5 was an independent risk factor for overall survival and the RELN mutation was an independent poor prognostic factor for event-free survival. Discussion: The distribution of gene mutations and the co-occurrence and repulsion of mutant genes in patients with ALL were closely related to the immunophenotype of the patients. The number of mutations ≥5 and the RELN mutation were significantly associated with poor prognosis in adolescent and adult patients with ALL.

Survival Analysis for Cohort of Bhopal Gas Disaster Victims during 1985-2015.

After the gas tragedy on the night of December 2/3, 1984, at Bhopal, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) started following up on four population cohorts with different levels of post-disaster mortality from December 3-6, 1984. The present study was undertaken to estimate the survival time of the cohort, and investigate the risk of mortality based on exposure, gender, and median age. Survival analysis is generally used to evaluate factors associated with the time to an event of failure or death among any covered population. To know the cause of death and mortality rate, a retrospective cohort analysis was conducted on the outcomes of 92,320 individuals with an exposed and non-exposed group from 1985 to 2015 in Bhopal, India. Basic survival analysis method, Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox proportional hazard regression model were used to analyze the mortality risk. During the past 30 years, the survivability was 87.25%, and the mortality rate was 7.2% for the cohort population of Bhopal gas survivors. Cox regression analysis showed that exposed, males, and individuals above 21 years (at the time of the disaster) were at higher risk of mortality from 1985 to 2015. During the initial two phases, the mortality was higher in the exposed group, but over time, their survival turned out to be the same in both groups.

Response to Bagan, Danylevska, and Ilyukhina: The drones of Thanatos

ABSTRACT Our Ukrainian colleagues write from the epicenter of a war that ripples outward, touching us too as distant neighbors in a global economy and community. This response summarizes their experience and focuses on a significant pattern that stands out amongst the many ordeals: the impact of multiple, simultaneous, and cumulative losses which combine, becoming a “complex-context,” a disturbing addition to stress on relational connections. The implications of this are explored along with the way self-experience is affected. These therapists offer poignant glimpses into the difficulties of being a “Relational Home” to patients when both are thrown into a collective tragedy. We in the US, may wish to respond in kinship, in turn becoming their Relational Homes, but we must then in addition to understanding the existential phenomenology that is integral to all human lives, find analogs relevant to their gritty experience: uncertainty about basic survival, ruination of home and other symbolic objects, brutal intrusions including the news of atrocities, and the terrifying destabilization of familiar selfhood. Using an intersubjective-systems theory perspective on working with trauma I offer a possible way that we in the USA can derive analogs from recent American experience.

Update on the outcome of patients with metastatic prostate cancer in Kentucky: A Kentucky Cancer Registry (KCR) study.

e17121 Background: Overall survival (OS) of metastatic Prostate Cancer (mPC) in USA has improved by 3.6% during 2011–2016 compared to 2001–2005 (CDC, Oct 2020). Improvements in OS for mPC might reflect changes in clinical management, with approval of several new treatments. We aim to analyze if there is an improvement in OS of mPC in Kentucky between 2004-2011(T1) and 2012-2019(T2) and also analyze the impact of socioeconomic status as defined by Area Deprivation Index (ADI) on survival of mPC. Methods: All Kentucky male patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2019 who were &gt; 20 years old at diagnosis with first primary of metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma were extracted from the Kentucky Cancer Registry (KCR) data. Basic demographics and survival outcomes were compared between two time periods - T1 vs T2 and by Appalachian status. Kaplan Meir (KM) and Multivariate Cox Regression (MCR) were used to examine OS. ADI is divided into three groups – bottom tertile (low deprivation-ADI 1-3, Gr 1), middle tertile (ADI 4-6, Gr 2), and top tertile (high deprivation-ADI 7-10, Gr 3). Results: A total of 2619 patients with mPC were included in this retrospective analysis, of which 69.3% were Non-Appalachian (Non-AP) and 30.7% were Appalachian (AP). Caucasians predominated in both time periods (89.2% vs 90%). T2 had a higher proportion of patients aged 50-74 years (72.5% vs 64.2%), and private insurance (31.4% vs 27.1%) compared to T1. T1 had more patients who were &gt; 75 years (31.6% vs 24.8%), smokers (51.2% vs 47.4%), had medicare (59.6% vs 56.8%) and no insurance (4.2% vs 1.5%) compared to T2. KM showed improved OS in T2 (p &lt; 0.0001). Non-AP had better OS compared to AP and improved more between T1 &amp; T2. Median OS in months(95% CI) in T1 vs T2 for Non-AP was - 30(27-38) vs 58(53-69), p &lt; 0.0001 &amp; for AP was -34 (27-39) vs 44 (37-51), p = 0.0163. MCR showed that younger age, private insurance, being a nonsmoker, and receiving treatment, contributed to better OS. Gr 3 had higher proportion of African Americans (10.7% vs 6.5%), less private insurance (23.9% vs 39.7%) and more patients receiving no treatment (10.9% vs 7.5%) compared to Gr 1. AP Kentucky had more patients in Gr 3 (60.5% vs 39.5%) compared to Non-AP. KM showed OS had improved for all ADI groups in T2 vs T1. Within ADI groups, Gr 3 had significantly lower OS compared to Gr 1 &amp; Gr 2 (p = 0.04) in T2. In T1, OS was not different within ADI groups. In MCR, race and ADI did not impact OS. Conclusions: OS has improved in mPC patients in Kentucky during 2012-2019, likely due to new treatments being available. There is improvement in OS in Appalachian Kentucky but numerically lower than Non-Appalachian, and worse OS in Gr 3 during 2012-2019 which could be partially due to differences in access to new treatments (or quality of care). Interestingly, race did not impact survival.

The Problem with the Anthropocene: Kainos, Not Anthropos

The Problem with the Anthropocene: <i>Kainos</i>, Not <i>Anthropos</i>

An Exploratory Study on the Adjustment Experiences of Refugees Living in South Korea: Focusing on a positive perspective

Although there has been a global rise in the number of refugees forcibly displaced from their homes, much of what we know about the refugee adjustment are based on those who resettle in neighboring nations or in the West. Little is known about how refugees and asylum seekers fare as they seek safety and new opportunities in an ethnically homogeneous East Asian context. In 2012, South Korea became one of the first Asian nations to pass a legislation to provide legal basis for protecting refugee rights and protocols for resettlement assistance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the narratives of adjustment of international refugees living in Korea and to draw meaningful insights from their experiences. We conducted in-depth interviews with five international refugees with at least five years of residency in Korea and had obtained legal recognition as a refugee. The interviews were analyzed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers, &amp; Larkin, 2009). The results showed four primary themes underlying the adjustment experiences narrated by international refugees: 1) Warriors fighting for survival and faith, 2) Wounds of loss and difference, 3) Unfolding new life and opportunities, and 4) Life beyond the refugee status. The international refugees’ narratives reflected their determination to resist political persecution in their homeland, their willingness to undertake an arduous process to gain recognition as refugees in South Korea, their sense of cultural dislocation, and their appreciation for new opportunities in Korea beyond basic survival.

Research on the Security System of Social Assistance in Rural China

China's rural social assistance security system is a national system that meets the basic survival needs of the rural poor, safeguards their rights to survival, and helps them get out of the survival crisis. It is the last layer of safety net to maintain social stability, promote rural economic development, and guarantee the basic living for peasants. China's rural social assistance security system has gone through decades of the development from emergency relief to guaranteed assistance, and many experts and scholars have conducted in-depth research and discussions on it. On the basis of fully searching for domestic and foreign literature, systematic reading of literature content, careful analysis and screening of experts' views, this paper classifies and summarizes the views and discussion of experts and scholars, trying to reflect the development of China's rural social assistance security system and running status. It can make readers further study China's rural social security system, at the same time, providing a reference for other developing countries in the world to improve the progress of social security.