Previous Experience Research Articles

Being tolerated as a minority group member: an experimental study with virtual teams

ABSTRACT Research on the experience of being tolerated has focused on single events, ignoring the important question of whether the experience of being tolerated depends on previous experiences. We examined whether the experience of being tolerated has a negative impact on minority team members depending on whether they had previously been rejected or fully accepted. In a pre-registered study with 440 participants, we used a recently developed experimental paradigm to simulate workstyle minority status in virtual teams. These participants were randomly assigned to experience rejection or acceptance followed by being tolerated. Experiencing tolerance after rejection was strongly positive, reducing negative well-being, increasing positive future expectations about interactions with majority team members, and reducing people’s intention to withdraw from their teams. By contrast, experiencing tolerance after acceptance was weakly but consistently negative, with increased negative well-being, increased negative future expectations, and increased withdrawal intentions. Lastly, despite tolerance being more harmful than acceptance, that harmfulness did not translate into greater willingness to raise one’s voice and express discontent about not being valued.

An Examination of Meaningful Experiences During Sport Education

Background: In recent research years, there has been an increasing focus on the meaningfulness of physical education experiences. While it has been suggested that certain curriculum models such as sport education or cooperative learning provide opportunities for meaningful engagement in physical education, to date there has been no empirical study of those claims. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine students’ perceptions of meaningfulness in two physical education contexts: traditional multi-activity format, and sport education. Methods: Sixty seventh-grade students aged 12 to 14 completed a 20-item survey titled "Meaningful Experiences in Physical Education Survey (MEPES)" prior to and at the completion of one of three sport education seasons. The analysis consisted of independent samples t-test comparisons between the two contexts (previous physical education experiences, and sport education) for each of the five dimensions of meaningfulness. A Pearson correlation was conducted to examine if there were significant relationships between the five dimensions. Results: Results of the independent samples t-test showed that significantly higher levels of meaningfulness were identified from participation in sport education than in previous physical education for four of the five dimensions. Pearson's coefficient results indicated significant positive correlations between all five meaningfulness dimensions. Conclusion: Sport education has structural elements that promote a sense of meaningfulness within physical education.

The reflections of health service providers on implementing contingency management for methamphetamine use disorder in Australia.

Contingency management (CM) is the most effective treatment for reducing methamphetamine use. We sought to understand why CM has not been taken up to manage methamphetamine use disorder in Australia. Six focus groups (4-8 participants per group) were conducted with health workers from agencies in Australia that provided drug-related health care to people who use methamphetamine. These agencies had no previous experience delivering CM for substance use. The potential acceptability and feasibility of implementing CM in their services were discussed. Participants felt that it would be beneficial to have an evidence-based treatment for methamphetamine use disorder. This sentiment was offset by concerns that CM conflicted with a client-centred harm-reduction approach and that it dictated the goal of treatment as abstinence. It was also perceived as potentially coercive and seen to reify the power imbalance in the therapeutic relationship and therefore potentially reinforce stigma. There was also concern about the public's perception and the political acceptability of CM, who would fund CM, and the inequity of providing incentives only to clients with a methamphetamine use disorder. Some concerns could be ameliorated if the goals and structure of CM could be tailored to a client's needs. Many healthcare workers were keen to offer CM as an effective treatment option for people with methamphetamine use disorder, but CM would need to be sufficiently flexible to allow it to be tailored to client needs and implemented in a way that did not adversely impact the therapeutic relationship.

Psychological distress mediates the link between bullying and truancy in Australian LGBQ+ adolescents with experiences of homelessness

ABSTRACT Homelessness is a high prevalence experience among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ+) youth, and potentiates both significant morbidity and future homelessness. While educational attainment is cited as a structural solution to homelessness, limited research exists on homeless LGBQ+ youths’ schooling experiences. A nationwide, cross-sectional survey involving 4,370 cisgender LGBQ+ participants aged 14–21 was conducted to address this gap. Regression analyses showed previous homelessness was associated with an increased odds of verbal, physical and sexual bullying and harassment within school contexts. Mediation analyses confirmed the mediating role of psychological distress on the associations between physical and sexual harassment and truancy, regardless of past homelessness. Previous experiences of homelessness are not associated with increased distress in relation to bullying or harassment. However, the indirect effect of harassment on truancy was significantly more pronounced for youth with past homelessness. Our findings crucially suggest that bullying presents both direct and indirect structural risks to cisgender LGBQ+ youth, and is particularly inconducive to continued engagement with schooling for youth with experiences of homelessness. Interventions aiming to address truancy among this group should aim to reduce the incidence of bullying within educational settings, whilst also providing assistance for managing the challenges associated with experiencing homelessness.

Preference and Associated Factors for Cesarean Delivery Among Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: A cesarean delivery is regarded as a comparatively favourable and secure approach to childbirth when contrasted with vaginal delivery. Over the past decade, its frequency has risen in both industrialized and developing nations. Maternal request for cesarean delivery has been explained for the escalating rate along with other factors like anxiety, fear of childbirth, previous cesarean delivery, previous negative vaginal birth experience, maternal age, maternal education, and socioeconomic factors. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess pregnant women's tendency to have a cesarean birth and to investigate the factors associated with the inclination for cesarean delivery. Materials and methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of a tertiary care hospital, a systematic sampling procedure was utilized, and 368 antenatal mothers after 36 weeks of gestation, who do not have any specific medical reasons against vaginal delivery were included in the study. Data collection was done by questionnaire. The information regarding socio-demographic factors, preexisting comorbidities, current obstetric risk factors, emotional factors, previous delivery experience, and their information preference toward the mode of delivery were collected. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to identify the independent variables associated with preference for cesarean delivery. Results: The preference for cesarean delivery and non-preference for cesarean delivery was 114 (30.9%) and 201 (54.6%), respectively whereas 53 (14.4%) participants remained neutral. The Chi-square analysis revealed a notable connection between the inclination towards a preference for cesarean delivery and factors such as obstetric score, parity, comorbidities, and among obstetric risk factors such as pregnancy after in-vitro fertilization (IVF), with a history of abortion, and having a prior history of cesarean delivery. Nevertheless, no meaningful association was observed between the preference for cesarean delivery and the remaining variables. On multivariate logistic analysis, independent variables like preexisting anxiety or depression, pregnancy through IVF, and having a history of previous cesarean delivery have increased the odds of preferring cesarean delivery. The independent variables like increasing gestational age, graduates, and unemployed have decreased the odds of preferring a cesarean delivery. Conclusion: In conclusion, the prevalence of cesarean delivery is influenced by a complex interplay of medical, cultural, socioeconomic, and healthcare system factors. While cesarean delivery is essential in cases of medical necessity, efforts should be made to avoid unnecessary cesarean delivery that does not provide clear benefits over vaginal delivery. Balancing the risks and benefits of cesarean delivery and promoting evidence-based obstetric practices are crucial for ensuring optimal maternal and infant outcomes.

92 Factors influencing bull selection in Illinois beef producers: Analysis of retained and non-retained ownership producers

Abstract The objective was to understand decision-making factors for bull selection of producers participating in the Illinois Performance Tested (IPT) bull sale. The IPT bull sale has served Illinois beef producers for the last 54 yr offering around 50 bulls annually. A comprehensive survey targeted a diverse group of beef producers that had previously attended the IPT bull sale. The survey was developed through Qualtrics and provided to producers via email. The survey consisted of 40 questions based on four categories: farm location, herd demographics, bull selection criteria, and feedback from previous experiences at the IPT bull sale. There were a variety of question types including multiple choice, select all that apply, open-ended, ranking of importance, and select on a scale from one to ten. Specific responses on bull selection criteria focused on expected progeny differences and functional traits. Survey results were grouped based on whether producers retained ownership of feedlot cattle; regularly retained ownership (RET; n = 12) and never retained ownership (NRET; n = 15). Data were analyzed with the MIXED and GLIMMIX procedures of SAS 9.4. For RET and NRET producers, there were no observed differences in mature cow body weight and herd size (P ≥ 0.42). Most producers responded that they calved in March and April. Producer groups did not differ (P = 0.99) in the percentage of respondents retaining replacement heifers, as 66% of RET and NRET producers retained replacements. However, RET producers tended to be more likely (P = 0.07) to regularly sell freezer beef. Specifically, 75% of RET producers regularly sell freezer beef compared with 13% of NRET producers. Additionally, RET producers tended to prioritize (P = 0.1) carcass trait expected progeny differences in bull selection more than NRET producers (66 vs 33%, respectively). There was no difference (P = 0.2) in the percentage of respondents that selected the weaning weight expected progeny difference in their top three traits. However, NRET producers were much more likely (P < 0.01) to prioritize yearling weight expected progeny difference in their bull selection decisions. Specifically, 66% of RET producers used yearling weight expected progeny difference in their bull selection compared with 0% of NRET producers. Lastly, there was no difference (P = 0.61) in the percentage of respondents who included docility in their top three functional traits. In conclusion, bull buyers at the IPT bull sale that regularly retain ownership of feedlot cattle were more likely to prioritize expected progeny differences for yearling weight and carcass traits while functional traits priorities were similar to producers that did not retain ownership of feedlot cattle.

Prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation in chronic patients with schizophrenia: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Background Prior studies seeking to identify factors associated with suicide in patients with schizophrenia have reported important, though limited, and controversial findings. Our aims were to examine the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) and investigate the relationship between SI and a variety of factors (such as insomnia, religious coping, previous life experiences, dependency in daily living activities, positivity) in patients with schizophrenia. Method This was a cross-sectional study carried out among Lebanese patients with schizophrenia during January 2022. Results Out of 196 patients, 17.3% had SI. Multivariable logistic regression found that more loneliness (aOR = 1.43) and more severe insomnia (aOR = 1.08) were substantially related with increased odds of reporting SI, whereas having more positive life experiences (aOR = 0.83) was associated with lower odds of occurrence of SI. Positive/negative religious coping, activities of daily living and positivity showed no significant association with SI in our sample and context. Conclusion Findings showed that SI is highly prevalent in chronic patients with schizophrenia. The study identified three important factors (insomnia, loneliness, and positive experiences in life) associated with SI in schizophrenia, which could be targeted in prevention and intervention strategies.

The IAEA remote audit of small field dosimetry for testing the implementation of the TRS-483 code of practice.

The TRS‑483, an IAEA/AAPM International Code of Practice on dosimetry of small static photon fields, underwent testing via an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP). Alongside small field output factors (OFs) measurements using active dosimeters by CRP participants, the IAEA Dosimetry Laboratory received a mandate to formulate a remote small field dosimetry audit method using its passive dosimetry systems. This work aimed to develop a small field dosimetry audit methodology employing radiophotoluminescent dosimeters (RPLDs) and radiochromic films. The methodology was subsequently evaluated through a multicenter pilot study with CRP participants. The developments included designing and manufacturing a dosimeter holder set and the characterization of an RPLD system for measurements in small photon fields using the new holder. The audit included verification of small field OFs and lateral beam profiles for small fields. At first, treatment planning system (TPS) calculated OFs were checked against a reference data set that was available for conventional linacs. Second, calculated OFs were verified through the RPLD measurement of point doses in a machine-specific reference field, 4cm × 4cm, 2cm × 2cm, and 1cm × 1cm, corresponding size circularfields or nearest achievable field sizes. Lastly, profile checks in in-plane and cross-plane directions were done for the two smallest fields by comparing film measurements with TPS calculations at 20%, 50%, and 80% isodose levels. RPLD correction factors for small field measurements were approximately unity. However, they influenced the dose determination's overall uncertainty in small fields, estimated at 2.30% (k=1 level). Considering the previous experience in auditing reference beam output following the TRS-398 Code of Practice, the acceptance limit of 5% for the ratio of the dose determined by RPLD to the dose calculated by TPS, DRPLD/DTPS, was considered adequate. The multicenter pilot study included 15 participants from 14 countries (39 beams). Consistent with the previous findings, the results of the OF check against the reference data confirmed that TPSs tend to overestimate OFs for the smallest fields included in this exercise. All except three RPLD measurement results were within the acceptance limit, and the spread of results increased for smaller field sizes. The differences between the film measured and TPS calculated dose profiles were within 3mm for most of the beams checked; deviated results revealed problems with TPS commissioning and calibration of the treatment unit collimation systems. The newly developed small field dosimetry audit methodology proved effective and successfully complemented the CRP OF measurements by participants with RPLD audit results.

Abstract PO2-05-11: Patient Perspectives on the Value of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) in the Management of Breast Cancer: The PERSPECTIVE Study

Abstract Background: Oligometastatic disease describes limited metastases amenable to local therapy such as stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Within the UK National Health Service (NHS), SBRT is a standard of care for up to 3 metachronous sites of oligometastatic breast cancer (OMBC), offering high local control rates with low toxicity. The SABR-COMET study demonstrated improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) with SBRT compared to standard of care in a number of oligometastatic cancers, including breast cancer [1]. Conversely, the NRG-002 trial results suggest no PFS or OS improvement with the addition of SBRT to standard systemic therapy in OMBC [2]. The OS data for this study are yet to mature and in the meantime the results of other prospective studies are awaited. As patients’ attitudes and perspectives govern their preferences around treatment decisions, it is vital to understand whether PFS and OS are the most important considerations for patients. This study aims to explore patients’ perspective on the role of SBRT in breast cancer management. Their views will help inform future trial endpoints and support clinicians to support patients with their decision making and expectations. Methods: We conducted an exploratory qualitative study with focus groups and individual interviews, to understand participants knowledge, views and opinions on SBRT in treating breast cancer. All patients were asked to watch an educational video about SBRT in advance of participating in the interviews. An interview guide with open-ended questions was developed. Breast cancer patients were recruited using a purposive sampling matrix based on the patients age, presence of metastatic disease and previous experience with radiotherapy. Each focus group had at least two moderators and all interviews were digitally recorded and then transcribed. The data were managed and coded using NVivo version 12 and analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: A total of 18 breast cancer patients participated in this study, with 7 (39%) having primary disease and 11 (61%) with metastatic disease. The study included two focus groups (group one = 5 patients; group two = 9 patients) and four individual interviews conducted between May and June 2023. The participants had a median age of 54 years (range 38-74). The majority of participants (83%) had previous experience with radiotherapy, with 4 (27%) having received SBRT previously for their OMBC. Only 2 (2%) patients who had not previously received SBRT were aware of it before participating in this study. Most of the patients (78%) were Caucasian and 72% had attained at least an undergraduate degree level of education. Throughout the study, three main themes emerged: theme 1 - participants experience with radiotherapy; theme 2 - interests and considerations regarding SBRT (including desired treatment outcomes) and theme 3 - willingness to consider SBRT in absence of a survival benefit. Extending their life was unanimously described as the most important desired outcome of SBRT, followed by quality of life. Other desired treatment outcomes expressed included reduction of tumour size, minimal collateral damage/side effects, relief of symptoms, avoidance of recurrence and increase in time to change of systemic therapy. Conclusion: In our study, while extension of life was a desired treatment outcome of SBRT for OMBC, all participants expressed willingness to consider SBRT for its potential benefits in local control and durable pain control, even in absence of a survival benefit.

Abstract PO1-12-09: Doublet or triplet antiemetic prophylaxis for trastuzumab deruxtecan-induced nausea and vomiting: An open-label, randomized, multicenter, exploratory phase 2 study

Abstract Background: Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) is classified as an anticancer agent that poses a moderate emetic risk according to international guidelines for antiemetic therapy, which recommend emesis prophylaxis using a two-drug combination therapy comprising 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 receptor antagonist (5-HT3RA) and dexamethasone (DEX). The incidence rates of nausea and vomiting in patients in DESTINY BREAST01 and DESTINY BREAST03 were 77.7%, 45.7%, 72.8%, and 44%, respectively. However, no effective antiemetic therapy was observed. The high nausea and vomiting incidence associated with T-DXd is problematic. Hence, this exploratory phase 2 study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of treatment with 5-HT3RA and DEX, with or without a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist (NK1RA), in preventing T-DXd-induced nausea and vomiting. Methods: We conducted an open-label, randomized exploratory phase 2 study at 14 centers in Japan. Patients with breast cancer scheduled to receive T-DXd were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive granisetron and dexamethasone (arm GD) or granisetron, dexamethasone, and aprepitant (fosaprepitant; arm GDA). Patients in both treatment arms were administered granisetron (1 mg i.v. 30 min before T-DXd on day 1). Those in the GD arm were administered DEX (6.6 mg i.v. 30 min before T-DXd on day 1 and 8 mg p.o. on days 2–3). The patients in the GDA arm were administered DEX (9.9 mg i.v. 30 min before T-DXd on day 1) and NK1-RA (125 mg of aprepitant p.o. 60 min before chemotherapy on day 1 and 80 mg p.o. on days 2 and 3, or 150 mg fosaprepitant i.v. 60 min before T-DXd on day 1). The primary endpoint was complete response (CR; no emesis or rescue therapy) during the overall phase (0–120 h after the start of T-DXd). The primary endpoint was estimated using the CR rate and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) following the Pearson–Clopper method. The Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test was used to compare the exploratory results between the two treatment arms with age strata and previous experience with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factors associated with the non-achievement of CR, non-achievement of complete control (CC), and non-achievement of total control (TC) in the overall and long-overall phases. Results: Between September 2020 and March 2023, 40 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the GD (n = 19) or GDA (n = 21) arm. In the GDA group, one patient who did not complete the rescue medication listed in the diary was excluded from the efficacy analysis, including rescue medication use. The CR rates during the overall phase were 36.8% and 70.0% in the GD and GDA groups, respectively (odds ratio [OR], 0.1334; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.0232–0.7672; P = 0.0190), with a difference of 33.2%. The CR rates during the long-overall phase were 31.6% in the GD arm and 70.0% in the GDA arm (OR, 0.1073; 95% CI, 0.0185–0.6239; P = 0.0087), a difference of 38.4%. NK1RA use was associated with a significant decrease in the non-achievement of CR, CC, and TC in the overall and long-overall phases. Only patients in the GDA arm (33.3%) reported being “very satisfied” with the treatment. No grade 3 or 4 toxicities related to antiemetic therapy were observed. Conclusions: Breast cancer patients receiving T-DXd require triple therapy, including mandatory NK1RA administration, for antiemetic prophylaxis. Further investigation is needed to explore the development of more appropriate combination therapies for T-DXd-induced nausea and vomiting. Citation Format: Manabu Futamura, Hirotoshi Iihara, Hiroko Bando, Yoshihiro Kawaguchi, Yutaka Mizuno, Akari Murakami, Masaaki Kawai, Tomokazu Iyoda, Kazshige Ishida, Kazuhiro Ishihara, Takumi Nakada, Makoto Takeuchi, Mika Kitahora, Yoshihisa Tokumaru, Mototsugu Shimokawa, Nobuhisa Matsuhashi. Doublet or triplet antiemetic prophylaxis for trastuzumab deruxtecan-induced nausea and vomiting: An open-label, randomized, multicenter, exploratory phase 2 study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO1-12-09.

Uncertainty-modulated attentional capture: Outcome variance increases attentional priority.

Our prior experiences shape the way that we prioritize information from the environment for further processing, analysis, and action. We show in three experiments that this process of attentional prioritization is critically modulated by the degree of uncertainty in these previous experiences. Participants completed a visual search task in which they made a saccade to a target to earn a monetary reward. The color of a color-singleton distractor in the search array signaled the reward outcome(s) that were available, with different degrees of variance (uncertainty). Participants were never required to look at the colored distractor, and doing so would slow their response to the target. Nevertheless, across all experiments, participants were more likely to look at distractors associated with high outcome variance versus low outcome variance. This pattern was observed when all distractors had equal expected value (Experiment 1), when the difference in variance was opposed by a difference in expected value (i.e., the high-variance distractor had a low expected value, and vice versa: Experiment 2), and when high- and low-variance distractors were paired with the maximum-value outcome on an equal proportion of trials (Experiment 3). Our findings demonstrate that experience of prediction error plays a fundamental role in guiding "attentional exploration," wherein priority is driven by the potential for a stimulus to reduce future uncertainty through a process of learning, as opposed to maximizing current information gain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Abstract PO4-03-11: Discerning the impact of ctDNA detection on patient decisions in early-stage breast cancer

Abstract Background: Detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after neoadjuvant therapy for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with increased risk of recurrence. Ongoing trials aim to determine whether knowledge of specific genomic mutations in ctDNA can inform targeted adjuvant therapy to improve prognosis. The impact of knowledge of ctDNA status on patient treatment decisions weighing benefit and toxicity is unknown. Methods: 401 women were recruited via the Research Advocacy Network from Young Survivors’ Coalition, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, and Pink-4-Ever Ending Disparities. Participants had to self-report a history of non-metastatic breast cancer and have received chemotherapy in the prior 6 months to 10 years to be eligible. Participants completed a 27 question Qualtrics survey detailing demographics and experience with prior chemotherapy. Based on estimations from prior data, participants were presented with scenarios mimicking residual TNBC and unknown, negative, or positive ctDNA status with corresponding risk of recurrence of 40%, 20%, or 55% respectively. Participants were then presented with 12 scenarios (in random order) combining various degrees of absolute risk reduction (5%, 15%, 35%) with established toxicity profiles of four possible post-neoadjuvant therapies (capecitabine, immunotherapy, PARP inhibitor, and PI3K inhibitor). Participants rated scenarios in terms of acceptability from 0-100. A general linear model with repeated measures (3 × 4) was used to determine the contributions of risk reduction and toxicity to acceptability. Models were also run with the addition of between subject factors: age group (< 40; >40), stage of cancer (Stage 1; Stage 2/3), and previous experience with toxicity (Yes; No), to examine whether any of these factors moderated the effects of risk reduction and toxicity. Effect sizes were determined by partial h2. Results: 286 eligible respondents completed the survey with evaluable responses. Average age was 41.2 (range 27-75). When the hypothetical risk of recurrence decreased from 40% (ctDNA-unknown) to 20% (ctDNA-negative), significantly less participants preferred adjuvant capecitabine vs. no therapy (95.1% versus 63.3%, p< 0.001). Across the 12 scenarios, both benefit (F=448.5, p< 0.001; preference for greater benefit) and toxicity (F=33.64, p< 0.001; preference for lower toxicity) significantly influenced acceptability, but benefit had a much larger effect size than toxicity (h2=0.76 and 0.26, respectively). There was no significant interaction effect, and the pattern of results was not moderated by age, stage of cancer, or prior experience with chemotherapy toxicity. The most preferred scenario (greatest benefit, lowest toxicity) had a mean rating of 87.8/100; however, even when presented with the scenario with the lowest benefit and highest toxicity, the mean rating was still 31.5/100, suggesting that this combination would be acceptable to some individuals. Conclusions: Knowledge of ctDNA-negative status significantly reduced the number of participants preferring adjuvant capecitabine over no further therapy. When faced with ctDNA-positive status, participants preferred maximum risk reduction regardless of toxicity profile. As genomic technology advances, it is imperative that researchers and treating physicians understand its impact on patient decision making. Citation Format: Tarah Ballinger, Gregory Zimet, Elda Railey, Mary Lou Smith, Bryan Schneider. Discerning the impact of ctDNA detection on patient decisions in early-stage breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-03-11.

Abstract PO4-05-04: Comparative effectiveness of Palbociclib plus Aromatase inhibitor versus fulvestrant alone as initial endocrine therapy for HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer in Chinese clinical practice: a real-world study

Abstract Background: In the real world, there are still a large number of HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients receiving initial endocrine therapy with fulvestrant monotherapy in China, especially patients with bone metastases only. It is due to lack of data comparing the effective between Palbociclib combined with AI and fulvestrant monotherapy as initial endocrine therapy. On the other hand, there are economic factors and access issues. According to the National Cancer Center's previous clinical experience, Palbociclib combined with AI is superior to fulvestrant monotherapy in HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients receiving initial endocrine therapy. Therefore, we collected and summarized the previous clinical data in our center to compare the effective of Palbociclib combined with AI and fulvestrant monotherapy for HR+/HER2-advanced breast cancer patients receiving initial endocrine therapy in China. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective real-world study of multicenter studies. It aimed at verifying the effective of Palbociclib combined with AI and fulvestrant monotherapy for HR+/HER2-advanced breast cancer patients receiving initial endocrine therapy in China. A total of 392 patients with ≥3 months of follow-up received Palbociclib plus AI or fulvestrant alone in the first-line setting between April 1, 2015 and February 1, 2023. Stabilized inverse probability treatment weighting (sIPTW) was used to balance baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. Real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Results: After sIPTW adjustment, a median follow-up of 37 months (range 34-40) in the Palbociclib group and 59 months (range 56-61) in those taking fulvestrant alone. Palbociclib combination regiment was associated with significantly longer median rwPFS compared to fulvestrant alone (22.0 vs 14.0 months; HR,0.469;95% CI 0.370–0.594, p< 0·0001). Median OS was not reached in the Palbociclib group and was 57 months (95% CI 54.0–66.0) in the fulvestrant group(HR,0.666; 95% CI 0.437–1.017, p< 0·94). Conclusion: In the real-world population of patients, palbociclib combined with AI endocrine therapy is superior to fulvestrant monotherapy in HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients receiving initial endocrine therapy. PFS and OS before IPTW PFS and OS after IPTW Table patient characteristics Citation Format: Jian Yue, Xue Wang, Jie Ju, Zixiang Yang, Tong Wei, Peng Yuan, Min Gao, Ling Xu, Yin Guan. Comparative effectiveness of Palbociclib plus Aromatase inhibitor versus fulvestrant alone as initial endocrine therapy for HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer in Chinese clinical practice: a real-world study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-05-04.

Community Engagement, Jurisdictional Experience, and Previous Tobacco-Related Ordinances in Neighboring Communities as Drivers of Flavored Tobacco Bans in Los Angeles County.

We examined whether a community engagement approach and jurisdictional attributes were associated with local action to restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products in Los Angeles County during 2019-2022. We estimated crude and adjusted risk ratios to examine these associations. Jurisdictions that used an active community engagement approach to adopt a flavored tobacco ban ordinance, those with previous experience adopting other tobacco-related ordinances, and those located next to communities that have an existing tobacco retail license ordinance were more likely than jurisdictions without these attributes to adopt a new ordinance to restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products. Efforts to adopt such an ordinance were generally more successful in jurisdictions where community members were engaged and policy makers were familiar with the adoption of public health ordinances.

Outlining the Hidden Curriculum: Perspectives on Successfully Navigating Scientific Conferences.

Scientific conferences and meetings are valuable opportunities for researchers to network, communicate, and develop knowledge. For early career scientists, conferences can also be intimidating, confusing, and overwhelming, especially without having adequate preparation or experience. In this Perspective, we provide advice based on previous experiences navigating scientific meetings and conferences. These guidelines outline parts of the hidden curriculum around preparing for and attending meetings, navigating conference sessions, networking with other scientists, and participating in social activities while upholding a recommended code of conduct.

JobEdKG: An uncertain knowledge graph-based approach for recommending online courses and predicting in-demand skills based on career choices

Modern job markets often require an intricate combination of multi-disciplinary skills or specialist and technical knowledge, even for entry-level positions. Such requirements pose increased pressure on students, new graduates, and job seekers to find suitable sources of information to enhance their employability. Unlike standard competence management systems, this paper presents JobEdKG, which helps job seekers from various backgrounds choose online courses based on their prospective careers in addition to predicting different skills that may be required in their chosen career path. While existing solutions focus on internal institutional data, such as previous student experiences and a fixed set of skills provided by curated datasets, JobEdKG considers external data, recommending online courses that best cover the knowledge and skills required by selected job roles, in addition to extracting and predicting skills of that particular job roles. To achieve this, we first extract skills from job postings and online courses. These skills are linked to job titles, online courses, and other concepts in order to create a knowledge graph (KG). We assign an uncertainty score to each fact in the KG based on the prevalence of the fact in the source data (i.e. job listings and online courses), which results in an uncertain KG (UKG). Finally, we model the constructed UKG in order to infer different relations between the different concepts. The code and the data are available on our GitHub repository (https://github.com/team611/JobEd) and a user interface to browse the KG is available at (http://jobed.datanets.org/).

Obstacles and Threats for Developing Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in a Developing Country: Iran

Abstract: The development of entrepreneurship which is a requirement for the commercialization of academic findings in each society depends on many influencing factors. In this paper, these influencing variables on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in IRAN (in general and with a special focus on food technology) have been discussed. Furthermore, the ecosystem, and situations of the food industry in Iran as well as the barriers to the development of entrepreneurship have been described. After a review of the key success of succeeding countries, then, obstacles and approaches in Iran have been described. Also, the method and manner of ecosystem development, as well as effective components in the entrepreneurship ecosystem are introduced. Finally, the key success factors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and evaluation criteria are described. Both academic and food industries may benefit from this study, especially start-ups, which want to start a business in this ecosystem and similar ones. Based on previous experiences a questionnaire has been recommended for the development of a new network, e.g. food technology network.

ANALYSIS OF FACTORS RELATING TO PREGNANT WOMEN'S IRRANGEMENT IN CARRYING OUT PREGNANCY EXAMINATION AT THE KRUENG BARONA JAYA PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER, ACEH BESAR

Pregnancy is a physiological process that requires special attention in efforts to maintain the health of both mother and baby. One of the efforts that can be done is regular antenatal care (ANC) check-ups. However, there are still many pregnant women who have not undergone ANC with the desired regularity. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify factors related to the irregularity of prenatal check-ups. This study is a quantitative analytic study with a cross-sectional approach. The population in this study consisted of 294 pregnant women who had given birth in the Krueng Barona Jaya region, Aceh Besar. The sampling method used total sampling, where out of 294 pregnant women, 7 of them did not have or bring their KIA book, 39 could not be found or contacted, and 3 individuals were unwilling to become respondents. Hence, a total sample of 245 respondents was used in this study. The results of the analysis showed that factors related to the irregularity of ANC check-ups were poor knowledge (OR=15.61; 95% CI=2.50-97.39; P=0.003), lack of media exposure (OR=4.87; 95% CI=1.51-15.70; P=0.008), and previous experience (OR=2.99; 95% CI=1.02-8.76; P=0.046). The conclusion of this study is that knowledge, media exposure, and prior experiences influence the irregularity of prenatal check-ups. Here, prior experiences refer to the healthcare experiences received during previous check-ups or pregnancies. Attitude, as well as pregnancy intentions and planning, do not significantly correlate with irregular ANC check-ups. Therefore, efforts are needed to enhance knowledge and provide better media resources regarding the importance of prenatal examinations, as well as to improve the overall healthcare experience for pregnant women.

Optimizing Irrigation Efficiency using Deep Reinforcement Learning in the Field

Agricultural irrigation is a significant contributor to freshwater consumption. However, the current irrigation systems used in the field are not efficient. They rely mainly on soil moisture sensors and the experience of growers, but do not account for future soil moisture loss. Predicting soil moisture loss is challenging because it is influenced by numerous factors, including soil texture, weather conditions, and plant characteristics. This paper proposes a solution to improve irrigation efficiency, which is called DRLIC . DRLIC is a sophisticated irrigation system that uses deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to optimize its performance. The system employs a neural network, known as the DRL control agent, which learns an optimal control policy that considers both the current soil moisture measurement and the future soil moisture loss. We introduce an irrigation reward function that enables our control agent to learn from previous experiences. However, there may be instances where the output of our DRL control agent is unsafe, such as irrigating too much or too little water. To avoid damaging the health of the plants, we implement a safety mechanism that employs a soil moisture predictor to estimate the performance of each action. If the predicted outcome is deemed unsafe, we perform a relatively conservative action instead. To demonstrate the real-world application of our approach, we develop an irrigation system that comprises sprinklers, sensing and control nodes, and a wireless network. We evaluate the performance of DRLIC by deploying it in a testbed consisting of six almond trees. During a 15-day in-field experiment, we compare the water consumption of DRLIC with a widely-used irrigation scheme. Our results indicate that DRLIC outperforms the traditional irrigation method by achieving water savings of up to 9.52%.

A path model analysis of preform students’ factors and comprehension strategies on cognitive learning outcomes associated with text comprehension

IntroductionThe ability to understand text is influenced by various factors, including the learner’s cognitive abilities and previous experiences. This study examined the correlation between two pre-existing learner characteristics, three comprehension strategies used while reading, and two cognitive outcomes related to text comprehension.MethodsThe study involved 109 undergraduate Biology students, who were instructed to perform think-aloud exercises while reading biology texts and complete post-reading tests. The participants typed out their thoughts about the text when prompted. Their verbal protocols were coded and analyzed.ResultsStatistically significant correlations were only observed between prior knowledge, presage skill, recall, and comprehension. The direct relationships between prior knowledge and cognitive strategies were not significant, and the relationship between participants’ presage skills and the comprehension strategies they employed while reading was not significant.DiscussionThe study revealed that prior knowledge had a more significant impact on cognitive learning outcomes than the students’ prior cognitive skills and the comprehension strategies they employed while reading. Additionally, the participant’s performance on the learning outcomes was influenced by at least one of the comprehension strategies and their prior knowledge.