Interest Groups Research Articles

Research on irregular sponge layout system based on heuristic algorithms

Abstract A layout optimization method that integrates No-Fit Polygons (NFP) positioning and a genetic algorithm is proposed for the two-dimensional irregular sponge packing problem. Firstly, according to the geometric characteristics of the parts, they are classified and encoded to calculate the NFP between part classes, avoiding redundant NFP calculations. Simultaneously, heuristic rules aimed at minimizing the packing height are introduced to provide a comprehensive evaluation function for part positioning strategies, thus improving packing efficiency. Secondly, in the optimization of part sorting, a genetic algorithm is introduced to optimize the sponge packing algorithm. Finally, several standard cases provided by the European Special Interest Group on Cutting and Packing (ESICUP) are used to test the proposed packing method. The results show that compared to the traditional Bottom-Left algorithm, the computational efficiency of the proposed packing method is improved by 4.20% to 22.73%.

Knowledge Organization Systems and Provenance: Experiences and Challenges

ABSTRACTThis panel is situated at the intersections of Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS) and provenance research. In this panel, we will share experiences and challenges in documenting the changes of a KOS The panelists will provide real‐world examples drawn from their research and practice. These examples range from KOSs used in LIS, such as the Dewey Decimal Classifications, Homosaurus, and Library of Congress Subject Headings; to extended information science research fields, such as digital preservation metadata standards, biodiversity taxonomies, and ontologies. Currently, the models and practices for documenting changes in KOSs fall short in supporting even simple provenance queries like “who made the change?”“what are the reasons for the change?”or“when was the change made?” The panelists will collectively discuss examples of queries we have faced, as well as the implications for provenance for KOS research and practice.This panel is sponsored by Classification & Metadata Research Special Interest Group (SIG‐CMR).

Patient Preferences for Attributes of Androgen Deprivation Therapies in Prostate Cancer: A Discrete Choice Experiment with Latent Class Analysis.

Medical androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) options have expanded for patients with advanced prostate cancer (PC). Historically, ADT was primarily available in long-acting injectable formulations. In 2020, the first oral formulation was US Food and Drug Administration-approved for adults with advanced PC. This study's aim was to assess patient preferences for attributes of medical ADT, including mode of administration, side effects, impact on sexual interest, and out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, and to segment respondents into distinct groups based on their treatment choice patterns. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among US residents aged > 40years with PC, employing a discrete choice experiment to assess preferences for ADT attributes. For each choice task, respondents were asked to select the hypothetical treatment profile that they preferred out of two presented. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to estimate attribute-level preference weights and calculate attribute relative importance for groups of respondents with similar treatment preferences. A total of 304 respondents completed the survey (mean age 64.4years). LCA identified four preference groups, named according to the attribute each group considered most important: Sexual interest, Cost-sensitive, Favors daily pill, and Favors injection. Most respondents in the Sexual interest group were < 65years, while the Cost-sensitive group was mostly ≥ 65years. Favors daily pill had the highest proportion of ADT-naïve individuals. On average, respondents in these groups preferred an oral medication. Favors injection, which had the highest proportion of ADT-experienced individuals, preferred infrequent intramuscular injections, lower chance of post-ADT testosterone recovery, and lower OOP cost. Respondents differed in their preferences regarding ADT attributes, highlighting the need for patient involvement in their treatment decisions. Effective communication between healthcare providers and patients about the benefits and risks of available therapies should be encouraged to ensure that patients receive the PC treatment that best meets their needs.

A review of the 21st Annual Meeting of the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group of the World Federation of Neuro-rehabilitation (NR-SIG WFNR) in Coimbra, Portugal, 30 June–1 July 2024: ‘Music to the Brain’

A review of the 21st Annual Meeting of the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group of the World Federation of Neuro-rehabilitation (NR-SIG WFNR) in Coimbra, Portugal, 30 June–1 July 2024: ‘Music to the Brain’

Advanced Practice Providers in Cellular Therapy: Survey Results from the ASTCT APP Special Interest Group Exploring Clinical Roles, Compensation, and Job Satisfaction

BackgroundAdvanced practice providers (APPs), which include physician assistants/associates and advanced practice nurses, are critical members of the transplant and cellular therapy (TCT) care team. Despite broad utilization in transplant centers, there is little published literature on the clinical roles and responsibilities, staffing models, compensation structure, and job satisfaction of TCT APPs. This study represents the results of a national survey administered by the APP Special Interest Group to better characterize the TCT APP workforce. ObjectiveTo characterize the TCT APP workforce by investigating clinical roles and responsibilities, compensation and institutional support, and job satisfaction. MethodsA 25-item web-based survey addressing four domains (transplant center data, APP roles and responsibilities, compensation and institutional support, and job satisfaction). Surveys were sent to participants through a chain-referral sampling method. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression. ResultsA total of 198 responses were analyzed, representing 64 transplant centers of varying size from 29 states. APPs report working in inpatient and outpatient settings and performing a broad array of TCT-associated procedures including bone marrow biopsy (78%), lumbar puncture (43.2%), intrathecal chemotherapy (47.0%), and cellular infusions (45.9%). Median salary of respondents was $110,000-$119,000 and was significantly associated with geographic location of transplant center and years of experience. A minority of respondents reported no funding (4.2%) or time (9.8%) supporting continuing education. A majority of APPs (55.1%) do not feel they are appropriately paid. A majority (54.3%) did not feel that their center supported a good work-life balance. Nearly 35.4% of respondents did not feel valued in their role. ConclusionsThis survey represents the first to characterize the TCT APP workforce in the United States. APPs are highly integrated into the TCT care team and can serve as means to improve patient access to TCT therapies given a worsening physician shortage. However, the lack of satisfaction with compensation and work-life balance could represent barriers to recruitment and retention of TCT APPs and warrant future studies to better characterize.

Virtual/Mobile Overdose Response in Canada: A Social Return on Investment Analysis

The overdose epidemic continues to be one of the leading causes of death in North America and continues to contribute to high healthcare costs. While harm reduction initiatives have significantly reduced the aforementioned costs, there is a dearth of evidence regarding overdose response hotlines and applications. We aim to evaluate the social return on investment (SROI) from a payer perspective of one such overdose response hotline, Canada's National Overdose Response Service, and its implications for service users, service operators, the Canadian healthcare system, and program funders. Outcome variables determined from theory of change models were developed in consultation with the aforementioned vested interest groups. Proxy values were attributed to each variable identified through values present within existing literature and databases. These values were then compared to operational costs accounting for deadweight, attribution, and displacement to determine a final SROI ratio. A discount rate was then applied based on the influence of risk on the outcome achieved. The ratio illustrating the value created for all stakeholders, resulting from the $1,592,00 investment made over two years, is $15.84 per single dollar invested. The value generated stems primarily from overdose prevention, mental health support, staff employment, reductions in emergency service utilization, service referrals, and volunteer well-being, which outweigh costs including operational funding, work-related stressors, compassion fatigue, and false calls. The results of our study demonstrate that the National Overdose Response Service provides a social value that far outweighs the costs attributed to the program's operation.

Side-effects of Phytotherapeutics in Cancer Care - A Review of Inconsistencies in National and International Databases.

The interest in phytotherapy in patients with cancer is immensely high. When using herbal medicine, knowledge of potential side-effects is essential as part of counselling the patient. The aim of this study was therefore to collect information on the side-effects of popular medicinal plants and to compare different official and the most popular sources of information reporting the side-effects of phytotherapeutics. Four different databases were reviewed from 09 February 2021 to 01 March 2022. These were the German monographs of the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, the European monographs of the European Medicines Agency, the website About Herbs (https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/diagnosis-treatment/symptom-management/integrative-medicine/herbs) and the German Red List. A total of 171 medicinal plants were chosen from the German monographs. These plants were relevant for supportive cancer treatment, targeting symptoms e.g. pain, nausea, vomiting, mucositis or fatigue. Out of the 171 selected plants, only 20 were found in all four sources. The compilation of the data showed there to be a huge disparity in the number of plants listed by each database and the type and frequency of the side-effects described. The reasons for this are manifold: Lack of interest, different interest groups, different origins (Europe versus America) and no standardized terminology. Physicians should not rely exclusively on one source to inform themselves about potential side-effects of phytotherapeutics but should use several sources to ensure the best possible safety of the patient. Since there seems to be too few data on certain medicinal plants for which no side-effects have been documented, more clinical studies are needed.

A Palimpsestuous Interpretation of Ramin Bahrani’s Fahrenheit 451

A Palimpsestuous Interpretation of Ramin Bahrani’s Fahrenheit 451. Drawing on a poststructuralist approach to adaptation as an instance of intertextuality (Stam 2000) and Linda Hutcheon’s metaphorical description of adaptations as palimpsests (2006), this paper will analyse the ways in which Ramin Bahrani, director and co-writer of the script of Fahrenheit 451 (2018, HBO), rewrote Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel by the same name, leaving only traces of the source text visible in his appropriation. Supposedly reimagining Bradbury’s text for a new generation of viewers, digital natives of the online virtual worlds, the film reads more like a heavy-handed filmic palimpsest that allows only some of the book’s ideas and memorable lines to resurface from underneath the new writing. Relying mostly on visual spectacle and the screenwriter-director’s own concerns about the fragility of civil rights, democracy and humaneness in a world increasingly controlled by certain interest groups through the internet and social media, the film leaves audiences wondering about the appropriateness of the title—an anchoring device promising a straightforward adaptation of the text—and the film’s actual relation with Bradbury’s novel. Keywords: palimpsestuous interpretation, appropriation, Fahrenheit 451, Ramin Bahrani, Ray Bradbury, dystopia, technology

Modelling the Influence of Management Practices on Sustainable Market Performance in Serbian Enterprises

In the evolving global market, new business conditions necessitate that enterprises adapt and construct organizational structures grounded in new principles and the implementation of contemporary management methods. This is particularly crucial for enterprises in transitional economies, which need to be highly flexible and innovative to meet the increasing demands of users swiftly, employ modern management techniques, and gain a competitive edge. The modern business environment assumes that there are very few products, technologies, services, knowledge areas, or procedures unavailable to interested groups worldwide. This study examines the influence of modern management methods and techniques (MMMTs), human resource management (HRM), quality management (QM), and intellectual capital management (ICM) on the sustainable market performance (SMPC) of these enterprises. A structured survey was conducted among 146 managers from various Serbian industrial enterprises, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, linear regression, and multicollinearity tests. The results revealed significant positive correlations between MMMTs, HRM, QM, ICM, and SMPC, with quality management having the highest impact. These findings provide valuable insights for improving business competitiveness in Serbia’s industrial sector. The results also support the development of an integrated model for sustainable management practices in transitional economies.

Exploring Barriers to Timely Administration of Intravenous Zoledronic Acid following Hip Fracture

Abstract Background In the Age &amp; Ageing paper “Call to action: A five nations consensus on the use of intravenous zoledronate after hip fracture” 2023, the authors addressed key reasons that might underpin orthogeriatricians’ reluctance to offer intravenous zoledronate (IV Zol) while patients were still in hospital after a hip fracture. Methods The paper was presented at the Global Congress of the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN), October 2023, the Orthogeriatrics day of the British Geriatrics Society (BGS) Autumn conference 2023 and the Bone Health Special interest group meeting at the Irish Gerontological Society (IGS) 2023. At the start of each meeting, a survey of attendees was carried out on their attitudes to, and current use of IV Zol following hip fracture. Here we present results IGS survey results. Results N=37 responded, 85% were concerned that early administration of IV Zol might impair its effectiveness, similarly to FFN and BGS respondents but 42% said they would not administer IV Zol within 14 days of a hip fracture vs. 29% of FFN, 24% of BGS respondents. Forty-two percent also said they would not give vitamin D loading without blood levels vs. 24% of FFN, 24% of BGS respondents and 29% acknowledged that laboratory waiting times for Vitamin D frequently delay IV Zol. There were 8% using a CrCl threshold of 30ml/min, 35% using eGFR threshold of 30ml/min and 41% an eGFR of 35mls/min. eGFR overestimates CrCl, suggesting that the vast majority of clinicians already use IV Zol at below licenced CrCl threshold of 35ml/min. Conclusion Following hip fracture, IV Zol appears widely-used used in those with CrCl of 30-35ml/min, in line with threshold in the original clinical trial. We identified a number of factors impeding early administration however, one being the perceived need for vitamin D results beforehand. Education around its safe use will enable more patients to benefit.

How dare they? Neoliberal resentment and carbon taxes in Alberta, Canada

ABSTRACT Policies that put a price on carbon dioxide emissions have long been favored in economic circles for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Yet when such policies were deployed in Alberta, Canada, they sparked passionate opposition by conservative politicians, pundits, and interest groups. The opposition revealed that while carbon taxes remain firmly within a market-based neoliberal policy framework, many of those who opposed them are committed to market-based policies. Drawing on legislative debates and media commentary, I argue that the answer can be found in anti-elitist resentment. I contend that anti-elitist resentment served as a component of the affective formations that underwrote the emergence of expertise and policymaking in the 1970s and 1980s, only to now be taken up in opposition to neoliberal policy expertise.

Liberal Intergovernmentalism Under Revision: The EEAS and the Creation of a Supra-State Diplomatic Body

Summary Why do Member States agree to create supra-state institutions? Do institutional frameworks affect outcomes? This study employs theory-testing process tracing to contribute to liberal intergovernmentalism by examining the configuration process of the European External Action Service, negotiated within two innovative institutional settings: the Convention and the Quadrilogue. The study concludes that liberal intergovernmentalism needs to be nuanced, as institutional settings are crucial in building supra-state institutions by shaping actors’ behaviour through available choices and conclusions. The bargaining was supra-state rather than intergovernmental. Preference formation was domestic but not liberal, as no interest group, other than the diplomatic corps, was involved. The European External Action Service was agreed upon as a package deal based on benefits to Member States and EU institutional actors, along with control mechanisms. Evidence comes from sixty in-depth elite interviews with EU officials and member state representatives directly involved in the negotiations.

Semisynthesis, Structure Elucidation and Anti-Mycobacterium marinum Activity of a Series of Marine-Derived 14-Membered Resorcylic Acid Lactones with Interesting Ketal Groups.

The incidence of Mycobacterium marinum infection is on the rise; however, the existing drug treatment cycle is lengthy and often requires multi-drug combination. Therefore, there is a need to develop new and effective anti-M. marinum drugs. Cochliomycin A, a 14-membered resorcylic acid lactone with an acetonide group at C-5' and C-6', exhibits a wide range of antimicrobial, antimalarial, and antifouling activities. To further explore the effect of this structural change at C-5' and C-6' on this compound's activity, we synthesized a series of compounds with a structure similar to that of cochliomycin A, bearing ketal groups at C-5' and C-6'. The R/S configuration of the diastereoisomer at C-13' was further determined through an NOE correlation analysis of CH3 or CH2 at the derivative C-13' position and the H-5' and H-6' by means of a 1D NOE experiment. Further comparative 1H NMR analysis of diastereoisomers showed the difference in the chemical shift (δ) value of the diastereoisomers. The synthetic compounds were screened for their anti-microbial activities in vitro. Compounds 15-24 and 28-35 demonstrated promising activity against M. marinum, with MIC90 values ranging from 70 to 90 μM, closely approaching the MIC90 of isoniazid. The preliminary structure-activity relationships showed that the ketal groups with aromatic rings at C-5' and C-6' could enhance the inhibition of M. marinum. Further study demonstrated that compounds 23, 24, 29, and 30 had significant inhibitory effects on M. marinum and addictive effects with isoniazid and rifampicin. Its effective properties make it an important clue for future drug development toward combatting M. marinum resistance.

Re: Do we need to separate pharmacy advocacy associations?

Re: Do we need to separate pharmacy advocacy associations?

Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in Maxillofacial Surgery.

The aim of this article is to conduct a literature review concerning the need for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis among patients undergoing maxillofacial surgery. This article addresses the diagnosis of VTE, patient risk stratification, and prophylactic measures suitable for the various groups of interest in maxillofacial surgery. From a pool of 44 articles identified, nine were chosen as the most pertinent to the aims of this review.Despite limited data on this topic, individuals undergoing oral and maxillofacial surgery generally exhibit a low risk of VTE. This review emphasizes the importance of implementing prophylactic measures tailored to individual risk factors. Pharmacological prophylaxis merits consideration, particularly when the Caprini score is ≥7. However, further research is needed to optimize prophylactic strategies in maxillofacial surgery.

Listening to regulators about the challenges in regulating emerging disruptive technologies

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the regulatory challenges of emerging disruptive Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Brazil and the strategies regulators use to address them.Design/methodology/approachIt is an empirical qualitative research on Brazil’s three administrative levels, focusing on the legislative houses’ specialised Science and Technology Committees. It combines archival analysis of public meeting records with elite interviews of parliamentarians and technocrats who participated in Public Hearings in 2019, which results in this paper analysed through the Theory of Communicative Action with a critical stance.FindingsThe research reveals that regulatory challenges gain new dimensions by involving discussions about emerging ICT. Factors such as time constraints, rapid technological evolution and widespread adoption compound these challenges, straining the preference for the incremental pace of regulation and the traditional model of specialised regulatory agencies. The research captures some regulators’ values, underlying concerns and perceived necessities for surmounting these challenges. It also outlines the preferred process for ICT regulation, revealing parliamentary assistants and executive intermediate-level specialists as gateways for interest groups’ action.Social implicationsThe study's findings highlight the crucial role of specific actors as gateways to the covert action of interest groups, particularly Big Tech firms. This contribution is significant as it empowers civil society and academia to monitor and mitigate the risk of regulatory capture, thereby promoting a more transparent and equitable regulatory environment.Originality/valueThis research is original in directly engaging with the key figures (lawmakers, legislative assistants and specialised bureaucrats) involved in the critical and timely issue of regulating emerging disruptive technologies.

Changing Politics for Changing Times: Rethinking Research Stakeholders and Strategies for Environmental Education

Abstract The history of environmental education in Australia is political, and fraught with power battles. Indeed, environmental education in Australia (as in many places elsewhere) has always been political. The early calls for environmental education came as a response to the perceived growing environmental crises on the 1960s. At this time, it was seen as a scientific and social priority by scientists, environmentalists and academics, but it was not seen as an educational priority by education departments. Rather, environmental educators were treated as yet another adjectival education lobby group wanting space in an already overcrowded curriculum. There was a time when most state education authorities were engaging with environmental education, but the politicisation of the placement of sustainability as (an optional) cross-curriculum priority has enabled avoidance of the politics of environmental issues and thereby a political stance that is tacitly supporting the status quo of the current neoliberal political systems. This article argues that the times have changed and so has the nature of politics and power bases, and it is time to rethink approaches to environmental education research and recognise that the politics of the past may not be the politics of the future as the generations grow different.

Case Studies on Changes and Proposed Process Development Approaches reflecting applicability of PDA Technical Report No. 89 Strategies for Vaccine Development and Lifecycle Management.

Vaccines are complex and a very diverse group of products with relatively long product lifecycles. The manufacturing programs for these vaccines need to be continually updated to comply with evolving regulatory expectations. Members of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) Vaccines Interest Group (VIG) authored and published PDA Technical Report No. 89 Strategies for Vaccine Development and Lifecycle Management (TR 89) which seeks to provide context to vaccine developers and manufacturers regarding key aspects of new or legacy vaccines such as control strategy from process development to vaccine lifecycle management, comparability and lifecycle management including technical, validation, quality and regulatory perspectives. To further explain and illustrate the concepts and topics discussed, seven relevant situations were selected as either case studies associated with changes implemented or proposed process development strategies, which are discussed in this article. The situations described are: working cell bank, modification or update of externally supplied product contact components for vaccine manufacturing, raw material change, new product at an existing site, vaccine development acceleration by leveraging existing platforms, selection and implementation of potency method, and modeling for stability forecast prediction. For each situation, the applicable key concepts from TR#89 are discussed as follows: Control Strategy, Prior Knowledge, Relying on PQS, Classification of Parameters, Validation Approach, Use of a Risk-based Approach, Comparability, Use of ICHQ12 and Additional Regulatory Considerations.

Using an interactive simulation tool of national energy and climate policy planning to explore environmental policy options from the perspectives of different interest groups

AbstractTo reach the Paris Agreement goals, European governments have defined national contributions to the EU binding climate goals and have developed national climate and energy plans for 2021–2030 (NECPs). NECPs are detailed strategies in which governments can flexibly emphasize specific sectors, technologies and national energy policy choices. Every country has built its own energy modelling capacity for forecasting purposes. In most countries, this national modelling relies on optimization tools such as Markal or TIMES. For Latvia's energy sector, a system dynamics (SD) model was built to complement the TIMES model. The SD model deals with an integrated energy system, including the primary energy supply and transformation sector; energy distribution and storage system; and energy demand sectors (residential, tertiary, public, industry and transportation). Sectoral policies are presented in the Stella Architect interface. This study demonstrates how the interactive simulation tool was used in the Environmental Engineering Master level course ‘Environmental Policy and Economics’ as an experiential learning approach. The student assignment involved applying this tool to develop and analyse the energy transition policy package for one of four ideological interest groups: deep greens, bright greens, light greens and greys. Students had to assume a role and adopt its perspective by applying their border‐crossing competence and reflecting on selected policy mixes for that ideology. Various transition pathways, based on different ideologies, illustrate the possibilities for application. Results show that students were successful in fulfilling the assignment.

Becoming propaganda: critical race theory and the effect of fiction on education

ABSTRACT How does a social cause like race in public education get revived and reinvented? How do political interest groups mount a campaign that flows internationally from the United States to Australia and leads to the political exclusion of Critical Race Theory from the Australian Curriculum? This article addresses these questions by examining how social media has been used to distribute propaganda that infers racial literacy education is a problem for Australian schools. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s theories of propaganda and using artefacts from multiple Internet websites, including social media, this article examines how conservative lobbyists in education have adjusted claims from the United States to suit the highly mediated political culture of Australia in 2021. These conservative groups worked to gain political ground by deliberately subverting Critical Race Theory, turning it into a political weapon that has been deployed by political actors across the US, UK and Australia. This article traces the subversion of CRT and efforts by social media creators, editors and academics to control the meaning of the Law School concept. It concludes by discussing the consequences the use of CRT as a political weapon has had on Australian education.