Common Categories Research Articles

The potential of automated classification to categorise police force tweeting behaviours: leading the way to large scale analysis

ABSTRACT Police activity on social media has emerged as a significant and expanding area of research. However, the existing body of research has predominantly adopted qualitative methods or focused on small-scale samples for quantitative analysis. This study presents a novel approach to analysing police social media behaviours, employing automated classification methods to generate a substantial sample of categorised police tweets. Encompassing over 40,000 tweets from five United Kingdom forces, collected over a three-year period, this dataset represents one of the largest evaluated samples in the domain of police social media research. A core objective of this research is to investigate the extent to which police tweeting behaviours align with three common categories identified in the literature: providing information, engagement, and intelligence gathering. To achieve this, a two-pronged methodology is employed, combining manual content analysis and an applied automated classification approach. This comprehensive method aims to create a sample of classified police tweets, effectively representing their diverse tweeting behaviours. The classicisation process involves the training and testing of three automated models, namely naïve Bayes, logistic regression, and XGBoost, evaluating the accuracy of their results to ensure a robust and reliable classification outcome. Furthermore, the resulting sample is subject to additional in-depth analyses. The exploration encompasses various facets of tweet content, style, overall usage, and adaptability across different police forces. Additionally, the research considers public interactions with the police tweets. These analyses are conducted for each force and class, thereby establishing connections between social media interactions and their potential impact on highlighted agendas.

Automatic Extraction of Research Themes in Epidemiological Criminology From PubMed Abstracts From 1946 to 2020: Text Mining Study.

The emerging field of epidemiological criminology studies the intersection between public health and justice systems. To increase the value of and reduce waste in research activities in this area, it is important to perform transparent research priority setting considering the needs of research beneficiaries and end users along with a systematic assessment of the existing research activities to address gaps and harness opportunities. In this study, we aimed to examine published research outputs in epidemiological criminology to assess gaps between published outputs and current research priorities identified by prison stakeholders. A rule-based method was applied to 23,904 PubMed epidemiological criminology abstracts to extract the study determinants and outcomes (ie, "themes"). These were mapped against the research priorities identified by Australian prison stakeholders to assess the differences from research outputs. The income level of the affiliation country of the first authors was also identified to compare the ranking of research priorities in countries categorized by income levels. On an evaluation set of 100 abstracts, the identification of themes returned an F1-score of 90%, indicating reliable performance. More than 53.3% (11,927/22,361) of the articles had at least 1 extracted theme; the most common was substance use (1533/11,814, 12.97%), followed by HIV (1493/11,814, 12.64%). The infectious disease category (2949/11,814, 24.96%) was the most common research priority category, followed by mental health (2840/11,814, 24.04%) and alcohol and other drug use (2433/11,814, 20.59%). A comparison between the extracted themes and the stakeholder priorities showed an alignment for mental health, infectious diseases, and alcohol and other drug use. Although behavior- and juvenile-related themes were common, they did not feature as prison priorities. Most studies were conducted in high-income countries (10,083/11,814, 85.35%), while countries with the lowest income status focused half of their research on infectious diseases (47/91, 52%). The identification of research themes from PubMed epidemiological criminology research abstracts is possible through the application of a rule-based text mining method. The frequency of the investigated themes may reflect historical developments concerning disease prevalence, treatment advances, and the social understanding of illness and incarcerated populations. The differences between income status groups are likely to be explained by local health priorities and immediate health risks. Notable gaps between stakeholder research priorities and research outputs concerned themes that were more focused on social factors and systems and may reflect publication bias or self-publication selection, highlighting the need for further research on prison health services and the social determinants of health. Different jurisdictions, countries, and regions should undertake similar systematic and transparent research priority-setting processes.

Premenstrual syndrome symptoms in women of reproductive age – a preliminary report

Abstract: Most women experience at least one or more psychosomatic symptoms before their period, which are characteristic of premenstrual syndrome or premenstrual dysphoric disorder.Aim: This study aimed to investigate whether and to what extent women of childbearing age experience PMS and what is involved.Material and methods: The study was conducted between February and June 2019 at the Medical University of Lublin and the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, and at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic in Świdnik, among 252 women of reproductive age, aged 20-35. The paper uses the method of diagnostic survey, using its own questionnaire and the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale.Results: About half (45.2%) of the women had moderate severity of symptoms. In contrast, 40.5% of the respondents had no premenstrual syndrome symptoms (0.4%) or only mild symptoms (40.1%). The most common category of symptoms was physical symptoms, including the most common breast tenderness and swelling (52.8%), skin lesions (44%), and cravings for products with added salt and sugar (40.9%). The level of education of the women studied differentiated the perception of PMS symptoms (p = 0.001). The severity of the syndrome was not related to age (p = 0.097), physical activity (p = 0.054), dietary habits (p = 0.650), and vitamin D (p = 0.159) and B (p = 0.458) supplementation.Conclusions: The vast majority of women experience at least one symptom of premenstrual syndrome. Almost half of them have moderate premenstrual symptoms. The most common category of symptoms includes physical symptoms, especially breast tenderness and swelling, skin changes, and cravings for foods with added salt/sugar. Women's level of education makes a difference to their perception of PMS symptoms. The severity of the syndrome does not depend on age, physical activity, dietary habits or vitamin D and B supplementation.Keywords: menstrual cycle, premenstrual syndrome, dysphoric premenstrual disorder

Inductive reasoning in minds and machines.

Induction-the ability to generalize from existing knowledge-is the cornerstone of intelligence. Cognitive models of human induction are largely limited to toy problems and cannot make quantitative predictions for the thousands of different induction arguments that have been studied by researchers, or to the countless induction arguments that could be encountered in everyday life. Leading large language models (LLMs) go beyond toy problems but fail to mimic observed patterns of human induction. In this article, we combine rich knowledge representations obtained from LLMs with theories of human inductive reasoning developed by cognitive psychologists. We show that this integrative approach can capture several benchmark empirical findings on human induction and generate human-like responses to natural language arguments with thousands of common categories and properties. These findings shed light on the cognitive mechanisms at play in human induction and show how existing theories in psychology and cognitive science can be integrated with new methods in artificial intelligence, to successfully model high-level human cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A Knowledge Map of the Relationship between Diabetes and Stroke: A Bibliometric Analysis Study

Introduction: The correlation between diabetes and stroke has been studied extensively in epidemiological research. Here, we used bibliometric software to visualize and analyze the literature related to diabetic stroke to provide an overview of the current state of research, hotspots, and future trends in the field. Methods: Based on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, we collected studies related to diabetic stroke from 2007 to December 2022. We used CiteSpace (version 6.1.R5), VOSviewer, and Scimago Graphica to create knowledge maps and conduct visual analyses on authors, countries, institutions, cited references, and keywords, and Origin for statistical analysis. Results: We included a total of 5,171 papers on diabetic stroke from the WoSCC database. Overall, there was a steady increase in the number of publications, with a high number of emerging scientists. The USA was the most productive and influential country, which dominated national collaborations. The most common subject category was “neurology.” In total, 12 major clusters were generated from the cited references. Keyword analysis showed that keywords related to poststroke injury and treatment are those with the highest burst intensity and latest burst time. Conclusions: Individual disease treatment remains a hot topic, and how to balance acute stroke treatment and glycemic control is currently a difficult clinical problem. At the same time, the mechanism of their interaction and the prevention and treatment of related causative factors remain a hot topic of current and future research.

Common preventable errors in hand surgery: Analysis of NHS never events data and a proposed safety checklist.

Hand surgical procedures are common interventions in elective and emergency settings. The complex nature of the injuries and management by multiple specialities could be a potential source of medical errors and never events (NEs). Awareness of the common NEs could potentially help prevent their occurrence in the future. To analyse the NHS England database to identify the common NEs in hand surgery and present a simple, practical safety checklist for hand surgery. The NHS NEs database from 2012 to 2021 has been analysed to identify the common hand surgery-related never events. We identified the common categories and themes within. Our theme development process is based on anatomical considerations and the nature of the incidents. Additionally, we designed a simple Safety Checklist for hand surgery. We identified a total of 3742 never events with 50 incidents related to hand surgery, representing (1.3%). Wrong-site surgery was the commonest category (n =30), representing 60% of the hand surgery-related NEs. We identified seven different themes under wrong-site surgery. Wrong finger or digit surgery was the commonest theme, with 17 reported incidents representing 57% of wrong-site surgeries. This is followed by five wrong digits injections and three wrong k wire placements representing 16.6% and 10%, respectively. The second most common category was wrong incisions (n =15), representing 30%; 13 patients had wrong finger incisions. Two patients had carpal tunnel incisions before surgeons realised that the procedures were for trigger finger release.The third category included four wrong procedures, with two incidents of carpal tunnel release instead of trigger finger operation or Dequervain tendon release. Finally, one patient had an injection for carpal tunnel intended for another patient. Hand surgery-related NEs represent a small fraction (1.3%) of all NEs within the NHS database. We identified 50 hand surgery-related NEs arranged into 14 different themes. Additionally, we proposed a hand surgery-specific safety checklist to reduce the incidence of these incidents in the future.

Comparative life cycle assessment of single-use cardiopulmonary bypass devices

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impacts of the common cardiopulmonary bypass device over its life cycle. This represents the first such assessment of a complex medical device, to the best of the authors’ knowledge. This study was motivated by practitioners’ concerns over cardiopulmonary bypass devices constructed mainly of single-use plastics, such as polyvinyl chloride and polycarbonate. The open-source software OpenLCA was used to perform each life cycle assessment with respect to ten common impact categories: global warming, eutrophication, acidification, smog, human health cancer, human health non-cancer, water intake, human health air pollutants, ecotoxicity, and natural resource depletion. The environmental impact was evaluated using the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability impact assessment method. To quantify the uncertainty in the results, Monte Carlo simulation was used using 5000 runs. A comparative assessment was conducted to determine the potential trade-offs in each impact category of using alternative construction materials. Incineration as a common disposal option could contribute up to 33 % of total CO2 equivalent emissions over the life cycle of the device. Another 33% of total CO2 equivalent emissions are attributed to polycarbonate used in the construction of devices. Polycarbonate was also implicated as the top contributor to the other impact categories considered, except for human health cancer, which is almost entirely affected by the use of polyvinyl chloride in the device, primarily in the tubes. The accuracy of these results is corroborated by the uncertainty analysis. Lastly, the results show that replacing polycarbonate with polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, or polyethylene would be no worse than polycarbonate and provide a significant decrease in almost every impact category. Cardiopulmonary bypass devices are constructed primarily of single-use plastics that have relatively significant impacts in the 10 common categories considered. Alternative disposal methods and replacement of polycarbonate with alternative plastics could dramatically reduce the effects in most impact categories.

Prevalence and Identification of Nasal Airway Obstruction in Patients Presenting to Otolaryngology Clinics: Results From a Large Descriptive Practice Survey.

Objective: Determine the prevalence of nasal airway obstruction (NAO) in patients presenting to general otolaryngology clinics using the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation Scale (NOSE) score as a screening tool. Study Design: The clinic staff at 149 otolaryngology specialty clinics geographically distributed in the United States administered the NOSE Scale assessment to 3533 patients presenting to the clinics over a period of 1 week, regardless of the reason for the visit. All patients completed the NOSE Scale score, and additional data were collected, including the primary reason for the visit. Demographic and patient characteristics were summarized using frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Results: The overall mean NOSE Scale score for the 3533 patients surveyed was 37.6 (SD 31.5). A total of 37.4% (1320/3533) of surveyed patients, regardless of visit reason, had severe/extreme NAO symptoms. Overall, the most common visit reason category was "Other" (61.2%, 2162/3533), followed by "NAO" (22.6%, 798/3533) and "Sinus" (16.2%, 573/3533). The mean NOSE scores for patients in each of the visit categories were 23.4 (SD 25.9), 64.7 (SD 23.3), and 53.3 (SD 28.1); for "Other," "NAO," and "Sinus," respectively. Among the patients coming in with "NAO" or "Sinus" as a primary complaint, 76.2% (608/798) and 57.2.% (328/573) had severe or extreme NOSE scores. A total of 17.8% (384/2162) of patients coming in for "Other" reasons had NOSE scores indicating severe/extreme NAO symptoms. Conclusions: The findings of this large, descriptive otolaryngology practice survey found a high prevalence of moderate to severe/extreme NAO among patients presenting to otolaryngology practices. Incorporating assessments, such as the NOSE Scale score and other diagnostic practices into the patient intake workflow and assessments, could help identify symptomatic NAO patients that might otherwise be overlooked.

Volatile organic compounds emitted by conventional and “green” cleaning products in the U.S. market

Exposure to cleaning products has been associated with harm to the respiratory system, neurotoxicity, harm to the reproductive system, and elevated risk of cancer, with greatest adverse impacts for workers exposed in an occupational setting. Social and consumer interest in cleaning products that are safer for health created a market category of “green” products defined here as products advertised as healthier, non-toxic, or free from harmful chemicals as well as products with a third-party certification for safety or environmental features. In the present study we examined the air quality impacts of cleaning products and air fresheners, measuring the number, concentrations, and emission factors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in an air chamber following product application. Across seven common product categories, 30 products were tested overall including 14 conventional, 9 identified as “green” with fragrance, and 7 identified as “green” and fragrance-free. A total of 530 unique VOCs were quantified with 205 additional VOCs detected below the limits of quantification. Of the quantifiable VOCs, 193 were considered hazardous according to either the California's Department of Toxic Substances Control Candidate Chemicals List or the European Chemical Agency's Classification and Labeling Inventory. The total concentration of VOCs and total emission factors across all products with detections ranged from below limits of detection to 18,708 μg/m3, 38,035 μg/g product and 3803 μg/application. Greater total concentration, total emission factors, and numbers of VOCs were generally observed in conventional cleaning products compared to products identified as “green”, particularly compared to fragrance-free products. A hazard index approach was utilized to assess relative risk from measured VOC emissions. The five products with the highest hazard indices were conventional products with emissions of 2-butoxyethanol, isopropanol, toluene and chloroform. Overall, this analysis suggests that the use of “green” cleaning products, especially fragrance-free products, may reduce exposure to VOC emissions.

Secular Trends in Central Nervous System-Active Polypharmacy Among Serial Cross-Sections of US Adults, 2009-2020.

Data comprehensively examining trends in central nervous system (CNS)-active polypharmacy are limited. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to characterize the composition of and trends in CNS-active medication use in US adults. We included all participants ≥ 18 years old in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES), 2009-2020. The primary outcome was the percent of adults with CNS-active polypharmacy. This was defined as ≥ 3 medications among antidepressants [tricyclic, selective and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs), opioids, antiepileptics, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and nonbenzodiazepine receptor agonists ("Z-drugs")]. Secondary outcomes included prevalence of any CNS-active medication and specific medications and classes over time, and their indications. Percentages were weighted according to NHANES's nationally representative sampling frame. log binomial regressions evaluated the relative risk (RR) for each outcome, comparing the last (2017-2020) versus the first (2010-2011) survey cycle. We included 34,189 adults (18.8% at least 65 years old) from five serial cross-sections (survey cycles). The prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy was 2.1% in 2009-2010 and 2.6% in 2017-2020 [RR 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94-1.47]. The prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy did not significantly change within any specific age group (e.g., age at least 65 years: RR 1.29, CI 0.74-2.24). The prevalence of any CNS-active medication was 21.0% in 2009 and 24.6% in 2017-2020 (RR] 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.25). A substantial increase occurred for antiepileptics (5.1-8.3%), specifically among participants aged 65 years and older (8.3-13.7%). This was largely driven by increasing gabapentin prevalence (1.4-3.6% overall; 3.3-7.9% age 65 years and older). Anticholinergic, SSRIs/SNRIs, antiepileptics, and benzodiazepines were elevated in most cycles for participants at least 65 years old compared with participants less than 65 years, and opioid use was increased in several cycles for older participants as well. Alprazolam was the most common benzodiazepine and third most common medication for anxiety/depression. Gabapentin was the most common CNS-active medication (3.6% of all participants in 2017-2020), followed by sertraline, citalopram, and acetaminophen-hydrocodone (each ~2%). The most common categories were antidepressants (13.7% in 2017-2020), followed by opioids (5.1% in 2017-2020). CNS-active medications are increasingly common, particularly gabapentin, and use of any CNS-active medication increased by 12%. Numerous CNS-active classes also increased in older adults throughout the years. Increasing suboptimal medication use highlight the need for further investigation into causes for potentially inappropriate prescribing, particularly for older adults.

Errors of professional activity of transport system operators in conditions of high information load

Introduction. Ensuring traffic safety on the railway network involves the development of complex predictive models that take into account both the state of technology and the influence of the "human factor" in order to minimize the risk of erroneous actions and prevent accidents.
 The study aims to research the mistakes of railway transport operators (using the example of locomotive crew workers).
 Materials and methods. The authors have conducted the study on the basis of analysis of the database of erroneous actions of employees of locomotive crews (2020–2021), submitted by the Research Institute of Railway Transport (according to the agreement on joint scientific cooperation between the Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health and Research Institute of Railway Transport).
 Results. The database recorded 104,515 cases attributed to 291 types of erroneous actions with qualitative differences that reflected the degree of risk to the safety of train traffic. The most common categories of violations related to the maintenance of train documentation, errors in locomotive control, non-compliance with the speed limit, disconnection of locomotive safety devices, speeding, brake control violations, violations of the rules of negotiations, the passage of a forbidding signal. In relation to employees who committed violations, the most common disciplinary penalties were identified (analysis of the case in technical classes, deprivation of an employee of a bonus in the amount of 25, 50 and 100%). In a number of cases, several different disciplinary penalties were applied to one employee at the depot for the same violation.
 Limitations. Inability to get access to the protocols of psychophysiological examination of employees of locomotive crews.
 Conclusion. The obtained scientific results allow us to assert that the productivity and safety of the operator's activity correlates with the level of professional training and the mechanisms of its inclusion in the activity. The prospects for further research of the problem of ensuring the safety of locomotive crews' employees consist in a detailed study of the combined effect of factors of the working environment and the labor process in conditions of increasing labor intensity, increasing speeds and volumes of railway transportation. It is necessary to study the ratio and role of such indicators as reliability, professional suitability and readiness of the employee to perform functional duties in the event of an emergency.
 Ethics. The study was carried out on the basis of documents submitted by JSC "Russian Railways". The documents contained the number and typology of mistakes made by employees of locomotive crews in the period 2020-2021. The scientists have conducted the study in accordance with the Ethical principles of anonymity, confidentiality, respect for the rights of the subject of the study, the principles of scientific and impartiality.

The Norwegian Memory Tasks: Using Pensioner Auto-Biographies to Study Religion in a Secularizing Country

Declining traditional religious practice and beliefs have been observed in Norwegian survey data since the mid-twentieth century. Individual-level data before that time, when higher religiosity may have been more normative, is lacking. We introduce a unique autobiographic database consisting of 1270 digitized entries written by Norwegian pensioners in 1964 and 1981, called “Memory Tasks,” and assess its potential to study religion in the daily lives of Norwegians. We sample from the Memory Tasks ( n = 45), and code religion mentions falling into six categories: identity, public participation, private practice, personal importance of religion, supernatural worldview, and miscellaneous mentions. We report the frequency of each category and present excerpts to highlight the depth of available information on religion. Nearly all Memory Tasks from our sample included at least one mention of religion. The most common categories are identity, public participation, and miscellaneous religious activities such as Christmas celebrations. Selected excerpts describe confirmation requirements, religious activities and social life, revivals, and folk beliefs. The Memory Task data can extend our understanding of individual-level perspectives on religion in Norway for a time period when survey data is unavailable. We invite other researchers to design studies using this data source.

Incidence and risk factors of in-hospital prosthesis-related complications following total shoulder arthroplasty.

The occurrence of prosthesis-related complications after total shoulder arthroplasty is devastating and costly. The purpose was to determine the incidence and risk of in-hospital prosthesis-related complications after total shoulder arthroplasty utilizing a large-scale sample database. A retrospective database analysis was performed based on Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2010 to 2014. Patients who underwent total shoulder arthroplasty were included. Patient demographics, hospital characteristics, length of stay, economic indicators, in-hospital mortality, comorbidities, and peri-operative complications were evaluated. A total of 34,198 cases were capture from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. There were 343 cases of in-hospital prosthesis-related complications after total shoulder arthroplasty and the overall incidence was 1%, with a more than 2.5-fold decrease from 2010 to 2014. Dislocation was the most common category among prosthesis-related complications (0.1%). The occurrence of in-hospital prosthesis-related complications was associated with significantly more total charges and slightly longer length of stay while less usage of Medicare. Risk factors of prosthesis-related complications were identified including younger age (<64years), female, the native American, hospital in the South, alcohol abuse, depression, uncomplicated diabetes, diabetes with chronic complications, fluid and electrolyte disorders, metastatic cancer, neurological disorders, and renal failure. Interestingly, advanced age (≥65years) and proprietary hospital were found as protective factors. Furthermore, prosthesis-related complications were associated with aseptic necrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, rotator cuff tear arthropathy, Parkinson's disease, prior shoulder arthroscopy, and blood transfusion. It is of benefit to study risk factors of prosthesis-related complications following total shoulder arthroplasty to ensure the appropriate management and optimize consequences although a relatively low incidence was identified.

Analysis of Discrepancy Index between Clinical and Histopathological Diagnosis of Oral Lesions.

To analyze the discrepancy index between the clinical and histological diagnosis of oral lesions. A sample of 910 cases from year 2013-2021 were analyzed using non probability convenience sampling technique. This included patient records and histopathological reports of patients treated at IIDC & H and FUCD & H. Clinical presentations were classified under five categories; growth/swelling, vesico-ulcerative, white, red/pigmented, and cystic lesions. To evaluate the details of diagnostic discrepancies, the data was categorized into 4 major groups: 1) Neoplastic-Neoplastic,2) Non-Neoplastic-Non-Neoplastic ,3) Neoplastic-Non-Neoplastic and 4) Non-Neoplastic-Neoplastic. The association between clinical diagnosis and histopathological diagnosis was calculated by using pearson chi square test and statistical significance was considered with the p value less than (0.05). Most common clinical presentation was swelling/growth; 601 (66%), followed by ulceration; 223 (24.5%). There were 528 (58%) incisional and 382 (42%) excisional biopsies. The definitive diagnosis based on histopathological findings showed malignant neoplasms as the commonest category; 287 (31.5%) followed by inflammatory/reactive lesions 271 (29.8%). A consensus was noted between the clinical and histologic diagnosis in 74.8% cases, while a discrepancy index of 25.1 % was calculated. Regarding diagnostic discrepancy among four major categories of our research, maximum discrepancy was noted in neoplastic-nonneoplastic category (29.6%) and minimum discrepancy was noted in malignant - benign category (2.7%). Statistically significant difference between the clinical and histopathological diagnosis was observed with a p value of 0.000. Considerable amount of diagnostic discordance was observed in all types of pathologies analyzed in the study.

An Analysis on the Cognitive Structure and Opinions of Pre-Service Science Teachers on the Concept of Micro Teaching

In this study, it is aimed to examine the cognitive structures of pre-service science teachers regarding the concept of “micro teaching”. The study was carried out with 25 teacher candidates studying in the 4th grade of science teaching at Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Faculty of Education in a 4-week period within the scope of the teacher practice course in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. In the study, since it was aimed to reveal the cognitive structures of pre-service science teachers regarding the concept of “micro teaching”, screening method was used. In the collection of the study data, “independent word association test, drawing-writing and concept map” were used. Content analysis was performed in the analysis of the data obtained from the study. When the findings obtained as a result of the study were examined, the categories obtained from three different measurement tools had features that support and explain each other. “Part of micro teaching, teaching practice, self-assessment and tools used in micro teaching” obtained from all three measurement tools emerged as common and dominant categories. The most commonly used answer words by pre-service teachers for the category of “part of micro teaching” were determined as “pre-service teacher, planning, presentation, group work, lesson, student, teaching, information, education, registration, teaching, self-evaluation, class, re-teach and re-plan”. The most commonly used answer words for the category of “teaching practice” by pre-service teachers were determined as “skill, development, experience, technique, experimentation, performance, ability, observation, reducing anxiety and practice”. The most commonly used answer words by pre-service teachers for the category of “self-evaluation” were determined as “evaluation, review, feedback, monitoring and feedback”. The most common answer words used by teacher candidates for the category of “tools used in micro teaching” were determined as “video, camera and tape”. When the drawings made by the pre-service teachers for approximately micro teaching are examined according to the levels, the drawings of 50% of them are partial drawings and conceptual representative drawings. They explained the concept of micro teaching in ways related to scientific facts. This situation can be evaluated as the cognitive structures of pre-service science teachers related to the concept of micro teaching are sufficient.

A retrospective study of structural brain lesions identified by magnetic resonance imaging in 114 cats with neurological signs.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used as a non-invasive modality to evaluate neurological organ structures. However, brain MRI studies in cats with neurological signs are limited. This study evaluated the association between patient characteristics, neurological signs, and brain lesion locations identified by MRI. Blood profiles of cats with presumptive inflammatory and structural brain lesions were also determined. Medical records of 114 cats that underwent brain MRI were retrospectively reviewed. Cats were categorized into five groups based on the location of their lesion: Cerebrum, brainstem, cerebellum, multifocal, and non-structural. Patient characteristics, neurological signs, and hematological profiles were obtained from their medical records. Disease classification was categorized based on their etiologies. Associations were determined using Fisher's exact test. Blood parameters were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. A total of 114 cats met the inclusion criteria. Lesions were identified in the cerebrum (21.1%), brainstem (8.8%), cerebellum (6.1%), multifocal (39.5%), and non-structural (24.6%) of the cats. Common neurological signs included seizure activity (56.1%), cerebellar signs (41.2%), and anisocoria (25.4%). The most common brain abnormality was inflammation (40.4%). There was no significant difference in hematological profiles between cats with presumptive inflammatory and non-inflammatory brain lesions. Neutrophils, platelets, total protein, and globulin concentrations were higher in cats with structural brain lesions. The most common neurological signs and brain disease category were seizure activity and inflammation, respectively. However, the hematological profile did not predict inflammatory and structural brain lesions.

Hospitalization and the Risk of Initiation of Antipsychotics in Persons With Parkinson's Disease.

The use of antipsychotics in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) is common, although their use may aggravate the symptoms of PD. Clozapine and quetiapine are the only antipsychotics recommended in PD treatment guidelines. Information on factors associated with initiation of antipsychotics is needed. We investigated whether recent hospitalization is associated with initiation of antipsychotics in persons with PD, and whether discharge diagnoses differ between those who had antipsychotics initiated and those who did not. Nested case-control study in the nationwide register-based Finnish Study on Parkinson's disease (FINPARK). The FINPARK study includes 22,189 persons who received an incident, clinically verified PD diagnosed during 1996-2015 and were community-dwelling at the time of diagnosis. The cases were 5088 persons who had antipsychotics initiated after PD diagnosis, identified with 1-year washout. The controls were 5088 age-, sex-, and time from PD diagnosis-matched persons who did not use antipsychotics on the matching date (antipsychotic purchase date). Recent hospitalization was defined as discharge in the 2-week period preceding the matching date. Associations were investigated with conditional logistic regression. Quetiapine was the most commonly initiated antipsychotic (72.0% of cases), followed by risperidone (15.0%). Clozapine was initiated rarely (1.1%). Recent hospitalization associated strongly with antipsychotic initiation [61.2% of cases and 14.9% of controls, odds ratio (OR) 9.42, 95% CI 8.33-10.65], and longer hospitalizations were more common among cases. PD was the most common discharge diagnosis category (51.2% of hospitalized cases and 33.0% controls), followed by mental and behavioral disorders (9.3%) and dementia (9.0%) among cases. Antidementia and other psychotropic medication use were more common among cases. These results suggest that antipsychotics were initiated because of neuropsychiatric symptoms or aggravation of those symptoms. Antipsychotics should be prescribed after careful consideration to avoid adverse effects in persons with Parkinson's disease.

Anatomical variations of the frontal sinus: A computed tomography-based study.

Background: The pneumatization of the frontal sinus is variable between individuals, including monozygotic twins. The volumetric anatomic variants of the frontal sinus are classified into aplasia, hypoplasia, medium-sized, and hyperplasia. We aimed to study the frontal sinus morphology in Omani patients using computed tomography (CT) evaluations. Methods: Retrospectively, 1220 frontal sinus CT scans from 610 patients investigated at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman, from January 2019 to December 2020 were reviewed. The frontal sinus morphology was classified according to the classification proposed by Guerram et al. The Chi-square test was used to determine the influence of sex. Results: With regard to the unilateral occurrence, the most prevalent frontal sinus category observed was medium-sized (13.3%), followed by hyperplasia (7.9%), hypoplasia (5.4%), and aplasia (2%) categories. Similarly, in bilateral occurrence, the most common frontal sinus category observed was medium-sized (53%), followed by hyperplasia (13.1%), hypoplasia (3.4%) and aplasia (2%) categories. Right and left frontal sinus aplasia were observed in 2.1% and 1.8% of cases, respectively. In terms of sex influence, the left unilateral ( p<0.01) and the bilateral hypoplasia ( p<0.05) were significantly higher in females. On the other hand, the left unilateral ( p<0.01) and the bilateral hyperplasia ( p<0.05) were higher in males. Conclusions: The baseline data of frontal sinus category frequencies reported in the present study is helpful in the diagnostic evaluation of sinusitis in the clinical setting. The preoperative recognition of frontal sinus types, particularly frontal sinus aplasia in multiplanar CT scans, is crucial to avoid unexpected complications while performing endoscopic sinus surgery.

Evaluation Strategies for Understanding Experiences With Virtual Care in Canada: Mixed Methods Study.

Virtual care was rapidly integrated into pediatric health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. While virtual care offers many benefits, it is necessary to better understand the experiences of those who receive, deliver, and coordinate virtual care in order to support sustainable, high-quality, and patient-centered health care. To date, methods implemented to evaluate users' experiences of virtual care have been highly variable, making comparison and data synthesis difficult. This study aims to describe evaluation strategies currently used to understand personal experiences with pediatric virtual care in Canada. In this mixed methods environmental scan, we first distributed a web-based questionnaire to clinical, research, and operational leaders delivering and evaluating pediatric virtual care in Canada. The questionnaire collected information about how experiences with virtual care have been or are currently being evaluated and whether these evaluations included the perspectives of children or youth, families, providers, or support staff. Second, respondents were asked to share the questions they used in their evaluations, and a content analysis was performed to identify common question categories. Third, we conducted semistructured interviews to further explore our respondents' evaluation experiences across 4 domains-evaluation approaches, distribution methods, response rates, and lessons learned-and interest in a core set of questions for future evaluations. There were 72 respondents to the web-based questionnaire; among those who had conducted an evaluation, we identified 15 unique evaluations, and 14 of those provided a copy of the tools used to evaluate virtual care. These evaluations measured the virtual care experiences of parents or caregivers (n=15, 100%), children or youth (n=11, 73%), health care providers (n=11, 73%), and support staff (n=4, 27%). The most common data collection method used was electronic questionnaires distributed by email. Two respondents used validated tools; the remainder modified existing tools or developed new tools. Content analysis of the 14 submitted questionnaires revealed that the most common questions were about overall participant satisfaction, the comparison of virtual care to in-person care, and whether participants would choose virtual care options in the future. Interview findings indicate respondents frequently relied on methods used by peers and that a standardized, core set of questions to evaluate experiences with virtual care would be helpful to improve evaluation practices and support pediatric health care delivery. At our institution and elsewhere in Canada, experiences with pediatric virtual care have been evaluated using a variety of methods. A more consistent evaluation approach using standardized tools may enable more regular comparisons of experiences with virtual care and the synthesis of findings across health care settings. In turn, this may better inform our approach to virtual care, improve its integration into health systems, and facilitate sustainable, high-quality, patient-centered care.

Prescription Error

Objective: This research study aimed to investigate prescription errors and their intervention outcomes at Zewditu Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the year 2023. The study assessed the prevalence of prescription errors, identified contributing factors, evaluated the effectiveness of medication safety interventions, and examined the impact of adverse drug events on patient outcomes and healthcare costs. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed, and data were collected from the hospital's prescription files. Prescription errors were classified into various categories, and the frequency and proportion of errors were calculated. The study also evaluated different medication safety interventions' effectiveness in reducing prescription errors and assessed healthcare professionals' adherence to medication safety protocols. Additionally, the study conducted a cost analysis of adverse drug events to assess their financial implications. Results: The study revealed a prescription error rate of 25.1%, with wrong dosage, drug omission, drug-drug interactions, and illegible prescriptions being the most common error categories. Adverse drug events resulting from prescription errors affected 12.2% of patients, leading to patient harm and increased healthcare utilization. The electronic prescribing system emerged as the most effective intervention, reducing prescription errors by 60.1%. High adherence rates were observed for double-checking high-risk medications and conducting medication safety huddles. However, there was room for improvement in implementing barcoding technology and tall man lettering. Conclusion: Prescription errors and adverse drug events pose significant challenges to medication safety at Zewditu Memorial Hospital. Implementing electronic prescribing systems and enhancing medication reconciliation processes can significantly reduce prescription errors and improve patient outcomes. Furthermore, fostering a culture of safety, promoting interprofessional collaboration, and investing in education and training programs are essential to enhance medication safety practices. Continuous quality improvement initiatives and regular audits should be conducted to address medication safety challenges and support a culture of learning from errors. Policymakers should be engaged to support medication safety initiatives, and multi-center studies are recommended to enhance generalizability.