Complex Facets Research Articles

Risk Factors for Failure of Non-operative Management in Isolated Unilateral Non-displaced Facet Fractures of the Subaxial Cervical Spine: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

systematic review. To evaluate risk factors associated with failure of non-operative management of isolated unilateral facet fractures of the subaxial cervical spine in neurologically intact patients. A systematic review of the PubMed, Embase, LILACS, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted in order to determine risk factors associated with failure of non-operative management in isolated unilateral facet fractures of the subaxial cervical spine without facet and/or vertebral displacement, in neurologically intact patients. Our research was in line with the PRISMA Statement and registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023405699). A total of 1639 studies were identified through a database search on May 5, 2023. In total, 7 studies from the databases were included, along with 1 study found through a manual citation search. The evidence showed high clinical heterogeneity, a serious risk of bias according to the ROBINS-I tool, and a predominance of retrospective cohort studies. In comparison to less complex facet fractures, lateral floating mass fractures were found to have 5.41 times higher odds of failure of non-operative management (OR = 5.41; 95% CI = 1.32, 22.19). We calculated the potential association between lower absolute fracture height and non-operative treatment success [Fracture height (percentage) Mean Difference = -17.51 (-28.22, -6.79 95% CI); Absolute height Mean Difference: -0.46 (-0.60, -0.31 95% CI)]. Other risk factors were not included in the meta-analysis due to lack of data. The level of certainty was rated as "very low". Lateral floating mass cervical facet fractures and larger fracture fragment size (measured either in absolute terms or as a percentage) are significant risk factors for failure of non-operative treatment.

Elegizing an Aristocracy: The Anglo-Irish Protestant Gentry in the Poetry of Richard Murphy

The Irish poet Richard Murphy was a minority within a minority: an Anglo-Irish Protestant of the landed gentry. His privilege, property, and Anglican background set him apart from the common people of an independent Ireland which was Catholic, Gaelic, and nationalist in character. As the last major poetic representative of his culture, Murphy holds a special place in the Irish literary tradition. However, he lived and wrote during a time of significant decline for his patrician caste. His poems documenting the decay of Ireland’s once powerful and prominent Protestant elite is the subject of this paper’s critical inquiry. With greater consideration for the cultural climate and historical circumstances of his time, a clearer and more accurate understanding of Murphy’s conception of the complex facets of Irish identity will be achieved in this analysis.

Sleep Bruxism in Adults: A Comprehensive Review of Enduring but Evolving Issues for Clinicians

This review delves into the complex facets of sleep bruxism (SB), concentrating on its diagnosis, epidemiology, orofacial consequences, comorbidities including sleep disorders, and management strategies. Diverse studies have highlighted the difficulties associated with accurately diagnosing SB, the shifting perceptions surrounding it, variations in prevalence based on age and SB definitions, insights obtained from polysomnography, current knowledge on orofacial impact, and approaches to management. Notably, the association between SB and sleep disorders, especially obstructive sleep apnea, and its possible physiological roles are examined. This review underscores the necessity of a balanced appreciation for SB, accentuating the need for comprehensive evaluations and tailored management strategies. It emphasizes the continual reshaping of SB concepts and the critical need for further research to differentiate between physiological and pathological manifestations of SB, with the goal of optimizing treatment methods.

A comparative study on breast cancer classification with stratified shuffle split and K-fold cross validation via ensembled machine learning

In breast cancer, early diagnosis and treatment method hold paramount significance for the augmented survival rates. Through a comprehensive dataset including clinical and genomic information, this study assesses the diverse analytical techniques used in breast cancer classification by the employment of four different machine learning algorithms. There were notable differences in classification findings, emphasizing the necessity of using adept analytical tools to improve the accuracy of breast cancer classification. Among individual algorithms, LGBM has the highest F1 score of 99.2% and a remarkable accuracy of 98.9%. Ensembles comprising AdaBoost, GBM, and RGF outperformed individual techniques with an astonishing 99.5% accuracy. The best ensemble algorithms prioritize features like worst texture, worst concave points, mean concave points, and mean texture, crucial for the classification. The examination of the advantages of ensemble learning methods, which combine predictions from many classifiers to improve classification performance, is at the heart of this the study. In particular, it is revealed how the k-fold and stratified shuffle split cross-validation methods differ in the classification results, providing clinicians a thorough understanding of the clinical ramifications to decipher the complex facets of breast cancer classification and identify crucial tumor traits that can distinguish malignant from benign cases.

The Many Shades of the Vegetation–Climate Causality: A Multimodel Causal Appreciation

The causal relationship between vegetation and temperature serves as a driving factor for global warming in the climate system. However, causal relationships are typically characterized by complex facets, particularly within natural systems, necessitating the ongoing development of robust approaches capable of addressing the challenges inherent in causality analysis. Various causality approaches offer distinct perspectives on understanding causal structures, even when experiments are meticulously designed with a specific target. Here, we use the complex vegetation–climate interaction to demonstrate some of the many facets of causality analysis by applying three different causality frameworks including (i) the kernel Granger causality (KGC), a nonlinear extension of the Granger causality (GC), to understand the nonlinearity in the vegetation–climate causal relationship; (ii) the Peter and Clark momentary conditional independence (PCMCI), which combines the Peter and Clark (PC) algorithm with the momentary conditional independence (MCI) approach to distinguish the feedback and coupling signs in vegetation–climate interaction; and (iii) the Liang–Kleeman information flow (L-K IF), a rigorously formulated causality formalism based on the Liang–Kleeman information flow theory, to reveal the causal influence of vegetation on the evolution of temperature variability. The results attempt to capture a fuller understanding of the causal interaction of leaf area index (LAI) on air temperature (T) during 1981–2018, revealing the characteristics and differences in distinct climatic tipping point regions, particularly in terms of nonlinearity, feedback signals, and variability sources. This study demonstrates that realizing a more holistic causal structure of complex problems like the vegetation–climate interaction benefits from the combined use of multiple models that shed light on different aspects of its causal structure, thus revealing novel insights that are missing when we rely on one single approach. This prompts the need to move toward a multimodel causality analysis that could reduce biases and limitations in causal interpretations.

Beyond memory: The transcendence of episodic narratives.

Humans have a proclivity for storytelling and narration. Although a lot of attention in the field of episodic memory focuses on the mnemonic content of narratives, memory narratives are not just for conveying the past. Instead, narratives provide a vehicle for meaning-making, social connection, and other complex facets of human cognition and thinking. This short reflection piece discusses the importance of narratives in these diverse realms. In addition, it briefly touches on the role of memory narration in the modern digital era. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Utilizing engineered extracellular vesicles as delivery vectors in the management of ischemic stroke: a special outlook on mitochondrial delivery.

Ischemic stroke is a secondary cause of mortality worldwide, imposing considerable medical and economic burdens on society. Extracellular vesicles, serving as natural nano-carriers for drug delivery, exhibit excellent biocompatibility in vivo and have significant advantages in the management of ischemic stroke. However, the uncertain distribution and rapid clearance of extracellular vesicles impede their delivery efficiency. By utilizing membrane decoration or by encapsulating therapeutic cargo within extracellular vesicles, their delivery efficacy may be greatly improved. Furthermore, previous studies have indicated that microvesicles, a subset of large-sized extracellular vesicles, can transport mitochondria to neighboring cells, thereby aiding in the restoration of mitochondrial function post-ischemic stroke. Small extracellular vesicles have also demonstrated the capability to transfer mitochondrial components, such as proteins or deoxyribonucleic acid, or their sub-components, for extracellular vesicle-based ischemic stroke therapy. In this review, we undertake a comparative analysis of the isolation techniques employed for extracellular vesicles and present an overview of the current dominant extracellular vesicle modification methodologies. Given the complex facets of treating ischemic stroke, we also delineate various extracellular vesicle modification approaches which are suited to different facets of the treatment process. Moreover, given the burgeoning interest in mitochondrial delivery, we delved into the feasibility and existing research findings on the transportation of mitochondrial fractions or intact mitochondria through small extracellular vesicles and microvesicles to offer a fresh perspective on ischemic stroke therapy.

Managing next generation BP-x initiatives

Past generations of BPM involved the efficient and effective management of business processes. Yet, we currently face a turning point. The technological facets of data-driven BPM add complexity to traditional BPM applications. As a result, organizations face intended and unintended technology-related changes across all business process initiatives. Using the term BP-x, we summarize the recent changes in BPM knowledge that has hitherto been fragmented across academic literature. To address the challenges of BP-x initiatives, we envision a holistic model that focuses on managing related cutting-edge technologies and BPM. Thus, we propose the operationalized BP-x management model as a valuable IT meta-artifact. We develop the model using a two-cycled Design Science Research methodology and conduct a threefold summative evaluation. The results of our study indicate that creating awareness of potentials and opportunities accelerates the process toward action and fosters new business outcomes in terms of performance and innovation. By strategically aligning BP-x endeavors, organizations promote visibility, shared understanding, and culture among stakeholders. Our model guides managers throughout the BP-x adoption journey in conjunction with organizational, managerial, and technological prerequisites.

Middle Passages: The Multiple Forced Migrations of Enslaved Africans

ABSTRACT This article proposes a linguistic shift for scholars of trans-Atlantic slavery regarding the quintessential term ‘the Middle Passage' to the plural ‘Middle Passages'. As a singular noun, ‘the Middle Passage' conforms with the ‘triangular trade' which represented the three-way relationship between Europe, Africa and the Americas. The term almost exclusively encompasses the North Atlantic, failing to explore South Atlantic trading routes. By changing our language, we can look deeper into the multiple forced journeys of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic world. Through application of plurality, we can better study people's multiple ‘Middle Passages' from the ancient silk roads to the slave castles and forts along the African littoral in a system of movement that does not belittle the horrors of the Atlantic oceanic passages. Indeed, multiple ‘Middle Passages' as a concept exacerbates the experiences of enslaved persons through continual uprooting and journeys. ‘The Middle Passage' is evocative of a peregrination preceded with a beginning and succeeded with an ending; while the pluralistic ‘Middle Passages’ forces us to recognize the multiple complex facets of journeys. For many enslaved persons, there existed no end to continual relocations on arrival in the Americas and people were in a constant state of flux.

Unveiling the Complex Facets of Poverty: Unidimensional and Multidimensional Insights from Rural Areas of Suri Sadar Sub-Division, Birbhum District, Eastern India

Poverty, particularly in developing regions, is a complex, multifaceted issue deeply embedded in various interrelated factors. It extends beyond mere financial insufficiency, encompassing limited access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and overall living standards. This study examines both the unidimensional and multidimensional aspects of rural poverty in Suri Sadar Sub-Division, located in Eastern India. For the unidimensional aspect, this study employs the poverty headcount ratio and the Poverty Gap Index to gauge the incidence and intensity of poverty. In contrast, the multidimensional approach utilized three dimensions and 12 indicators to assess the incidence, severity, and multidimensional poverty index utilizing the Alkire–Foster (AF) methodology. The unidimensional analysis, focusing on income and consumption, highlights significant economic disparities, particularly in the western Community Development Blocks, namely, Khoyrasole, Md. Bazar, and Rajnagar. The highest levels of multidimensional poverty are generally consistent with the unidimensional findings, particularly in the western blocks. These results underscore the need for comprehensive poverty reduction strategies that address both economic and broader aspects of poverty. In areas like the western blocks, where both income-based and multidimensional poverty rates are high, strategies should integrate economic development, improved healthcare access, enhanced educational quality, and living standards improvement. Therefore, this study serves not only as an academic endeavor but also as a vital tool for informed policymaking in poverty alleviation, providing planners, administrative officials, and researchers with essential insights to develop effective, localized, and sustainable poverty reduction strategies.

Stations Along the Via Dolorosa Towards Good-Enough Endings.

This article focuses on the prevailing aspiration to reach a "good-enough ending" in analysis, a concept that is partly realistic and partly illusional. I discuss some of the obstacles that interfere with achieving this yearned for goal, and lead to endings that are far from the misleading illusion of the good-enough termination, that many of us believe we have achieved and are many more than it is commonly reported. I describe characteristics, obstacles, blockages, dreads within the analysand, within the analyst and in the space in between, which lead to endings which are far from good enough, by any criteria we might choose. These obstacles include the failure to distinguish between "real" versus "similar to"; emotional excess; emptying out of internal resources and toxemia of therapy/analysis; a fascination with certain levels of mind versus a neglect of others; osmotic pressure for oneness and the terror of perfection; and malignant nostalgia. Reflecting on such complex facets in the analytic process is relevant not only for a deeper understanding of illusions that we and our analysands hold with regard to endings, but also, implicitly, to the understanding of illusions, beliefs, and myths we and our patients have regarding beginnings.

Skin Deep: The Potential of Microbiome Cosmetics.

The interplay between the skin microbiome and its host is a complex facet of dermatological health and has become a critical focus in the development of microbiome cosmetics. The skin microbiome, comprising various microorganisms, is essential from birth, develops over the lifespan, and performs vital roles in protecting our body against pathogens, training the immune system, and facilitating the breakdown of organic matter. Dysbiosis, an imbalance of these microorganisms, has been implicated in a number of skin conditions such as acne, atopic dermatitis, and skin cancer. Recent scientific findings have spurred cosmetic companies to develop products that preserve and enhance the skin's microbial diversity balance. These products may incorporate elements like prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics, which are beneficial for the skin microbiome. Beyond topical products, there's increasing interest in ingestible beauty supplements (i.e. oral probiotics), highlighting the connection between the gut and skin. This review examines the influence of the microbiome on skin health and the emerging trends of microbiome skincare products.

Innovations in Ergonomic Risk Assessment and Intervention in Material Handling

This review paper delves into the complex facets of ergonomic risk evaluation and reduction across various industrial sectors. The focus is on identifying the hazards linked to manual labor, especially those contributing to physical risks and musculoskeletal disorders among workers, and proposing inventive solutions to mitigate these threats. The review brings together insights from different studies, emphasizing the application of automation, virtual modeling, Kinect-based evaluations, and other innovative tools in repetitive tasks and material handling operations. It also explores the usage of back-support exoskeletons, observational checklists, and workspace redesigns to decrease risks in construction, manufacturing, vegetable transportation, clothing accessories, and other sectors. The development of risk assessment frameworks for specific roles such as container terminal operators and the examination of musculoskeletal disorders in diverse worker demographics, including older female farmers and factory workers, are also featured. The comprehensive approach of the journal sets the stage for future research, aiming to further reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders through continued innovation and cross-sector collaboration.

Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Green Consumption in Tourism

This paper aims to systematically review the existing literature to better understand multiple, complex facets of green consumption behaviour in the tourism sector and identify areas for future research. This review followed the PRISMA approach and analysed 92 studies published between 2009 and 2023 in high-impact journals. The present systematic review of scholarly studies on green consumption behaviour in tourism contributes to the existing literature, providing up-to-date research findings. Research has shown that studies on green consumption behaviour have predominantly centred on the accommodation industry. The Theory of Planned Behaviour has been widely utilised as a theoretical framework for such research. However, previous findings lack generalisability, and cross-cultural comparisons are insufficient. As a result, it is imperative to conduct additional research to create frameworks and models that can assist marketers in diverse cultural contexts. Additionally, expanding the scope of inquiry into green consumption behaviour within the tourism sector is crucial.

Spirende professionelle

Society's complexity and constant movement place great demands on education programs to train competent, reflexive, robust and committed students who can think, act and act in a qualified and professional manner. In this article, we will examine the students' experience of professional identity formation during practicum. Educating into a profession and developing a professional identity is a transition that contains many complex facets in the form of developing expert knowledge, skills, behavior, attitudes, and professionalism (Wilson et al., 2013). Barnet (2012) describes this transition as a dynamic journey without a specific destination, which is influenced by both the individual's personal characteristics and the professional practice that the individual participates in. The starting point is impact in practice courses on the Social Education and the Medical Education, where social identities is articulated and the formation of professional identity is the focal point (Rothuizen, 2015; Van den Broek et al., 2020; Rothuizen & Togsverd, 2020a). Based on an analysis of field studies and focus group interviews with students, an argument is made for understanding the concept as social identity based on the general picture drawn from the data. The understanding of social identity contains adjustment of the self in relation to the profession and the exercise thereof (action). Knowledge that is essential in the debate about how professions are trained for a complex and changing world.

Will a large complex system be productive?

While the relationship between food web complexity and stability has been well documented, how complexity affects productivity remains elusive. In this study, we combine food web theory and a data set of 149 aquatic food webs to investigate the effect of complexity (i.e. species richness, connectance, and average interaction strength) on ecosystem productivity. We find that more complex ecosystems tend to be more productive, although different facets of complexity have contrasting effects. A higher species richness and/or average interaction strength increases productivity, whereas a higher connectance often decreases it. These patterns hold not only between realized complexity and productivity, but also characterize responses of productivity to simulated declines of complexity. Our model also predicts a negative association between productivity and stability along gradients of complexity. Empirical analyses support our predictions on positive complexity-productivity relationships and negative productivity-stability relationships. Our study provides a step forward towards reconciling ecosystem complexity, productivity and stability.

Disability, Human Rights and Vulnerability in Linda McLean’s Any Given Day

Linda McLean’s Any Given Day (2010) delineates the act of violence inflicted on the characters with learning disability by touching on its physical, emotional, and psychological impacts. The violence directed at disabled characters is motivated by social alienation, which renders disabled characters vulnerable and fragile, as well as a lack of responsibility and care. The incidence of violence reveals the complex facets of the relationship between the abled and the disabled in a particular cultural arena where preconceived notions of the body operate to determine their social interactions, their experiences of their bodily impairment, and the distribution of health care and justice. This essay, therefore, aims to analyze McLean’s play in the context of debates concerning disability violence, human rights, and vulnerability, and what abuses of disability rights speak about the social and cultural margins that place disabled individuals in a vulnerable and powerless position. Furthermore, it examines the ways violations of disability rights reveal the insufficiency of care and lack of social responsibility which hugely affect how disabled characters experience an embodied life.

Ecological restoration promotes zooplankton network complexity in Mediterranean coastal lagoons

Ecological recovery following restoration is typically evaluated using metrics based on species diversity and composition. However, increasing evidence suggests the success of long‐term ecological recovery increases when more complex attributes such as biotic interaction networks are targeted. In created lagoons, the influence of nearby habitats can generate early similarities in the community structure, but communities often diverge from surrounding water bodies at later successional stages. These changes have been attributed to the effect of biotic interactions, but few studies have tested this assumption. Here, we analyze the zooplankton community recovery after the creation of new lagoons in a Mediterranean coastal wetland using beta diversity approaches and mixed graphical models to infer interaction networks from abundance data. Increasing differences in the community structure between new and old lagoons were detected the second year after their creation. The overall interaction network was more complex in new than in old lagoons. Interestingly, the network structure in old lagoons increased its complexity during the third and fourth years after restoration. The creation of new lagoons with overall milder environmental conditions contributed to a greater differentiation of the zooplankton community structure between new and old lagoons. Moreover, our results suggest that the creation of a heterogeneous and more connected landscape can increase the interaction network in newly created and pre‐existing habitats, even if environmental conditions remain unchanged. We show how the inclusion of interaction networks for the monitoring of ecosystem recovery reflects unique facets of community complexity, otherwise overlooked when targeting diversity metrics alone.

The Development and Standardization of an Indian Positive Body Image Scale: An Exploratory Research

Background: Body image is an integral component of the self-concept that significantly shapes human functioning and people’s life outcomes. Although negative body image is well-studied, there is little research on positive body image. This study examined the basic characteristics of positive body image to standardize a scale for it. Methods: We used an exploratory research design, a variant of mixed methods design. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, 17 men and 18 women aged 21 to 30 years were selected according to the screening criteria based on the results of the body mass index and the Body Appreciation Scale. The semi-structured interviews were conducted, followed by their verbatim description of developing themes and basic descriptions of positive body image. The second phase involved 507 participants (268 males and 239 females) aged 20 to 35 years, who were administered the newly developed positive body image scale and general health and quality of life measures for validation. Results: Several theoretically sound and practically relevant positive body image characteristics were identified. The main themes identified in the first phase were a phenomenon with complex facets, connected to the self, social realities, life outcomes, health practices, and social relevance. The second phase led to developing a new 24-item positive body image scale that included two components: body appreciation and body effectiveness. It had desirable psychometric properties. Test-retest reliability showed significant levels, while correlation coefficients of the derived measure with general health and quality of life demonstrated its validity. Conclusion: A positive body image is a multifaceted construct associated with self-enhancement, health, life success, and relationships. A psychometrically appropriate measure of positive body image was standardized. The study results can have implications for health research and practice.

Probabilistic K-means with Local Alignment for Clustering and Motif Discovery in Functional Data

We develop a new method to locally cluster curves and discover functional motifs, that is, typical shapes that may recur several times along and across the curves capturing important local characteristics. In order to identify these shared curve portions, our method leverages ideas from functional data analysis (joint clustering and alignment of curves), bioinformatics (local alignment through the extension of high similarity seeds) and fuzzy clustering (curves belonging to more than one cluster, if they contain more than one typical shape). It can employ various dissimilarity measures and incorporate derivatives in the discovery process, thus exploiting complex facets of shapes. We demonstrate the performance of our method with an extensive simulation study, and show how it generalizes other clustering methods for functional data. Finally, we provide real data applications to Italian Covid-19 death curves and Omics data related to mutagenesis. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.