Structural Context Research Articles

Talking about practice: agency and its structural context in regional healthcare practice change

ABSTRACT Ageing societies and rising instances of non-communicable diseases require changes in public healthcare service provision. Despite a plethora of propositions, most innovations never become practically applied. In understanding innovation as a place- and path-dependent change process which depends on actors’ agency to reconfigure routinised practices and their structural context, we show how actors create, perceive and act upon opportunities for change while tracing the development trajectories of two networks in the regions of Murcia (Spain) and Örebro (Sweden), respectively. The cases illustrate the role intermediary actors play in creating opportunities and shaping organisational and institutional context.

The Future Politics of Social Protection in Africa

International organisations and their local allies continue to press for the further expansion of social protection across Africa, often in the face of resistance. The future politics of social protection in Africa will be shaped by endogenous and exogenous changes. Endogenous changes involve feedback effects from the past and continuing expansion of social protection; these can be either positive or negative in terms of further expansion. Exogenous effects result from the changing structural context, including especially population growth, urbanisation, and climate change. As the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns showed, even those exogenous shocks which reveal gaps in current provision need not prompt enduring expansions of social protection. Neither endogenous nor exogenous changes are likely to shift African countries off their current varied pathways; considerable political obstacles to the further expansion of social protection will persist.

Graph masked self-distillation learning for prediction of mutation impact on protein–protein interactions

Assessing mutation impact on the binding affinity change (ΔΔG) of protein–protein interactions (PPIs) plays a crucial role in unraveling structural-functional intricacies of proteins and developing innovative protein designs. In this study, we present a deep learning framework, PIANO, for improved prediction of ΔΔG in PPIs. The PIANO framework leverages a graph masked self-distillation scheme for protein structural geometric representation pre-training, which effectively captures the structural context representations surrounding mutation sites, and makes predictions using a multi-branch network consisting of multiple encoders for amino acids, atoms, and protein sequences. Extensive experiments demonstrated its superior prediction performance and the capability of pre-trained encoder in capturing meaningful representations. Compared to previous methods, PIANO can be widely applied on both holo complex structures and apo monomer structures. Moreover, we illustrated the practical applicability of PIANO in highlighting pathogenic mutations and crucial proteins, and distinguishing de novo mutations in disease cases and controls in PPI systems. Overall, PIANO offers a powerful deep learning tool, which may provide valuable insights into the study of drug design, therapeutic intervention, and protein engineering.

The Impact of Inflation on Commercial Banks in China

Abstract: Inflation is an important issue that affects the profitability and operational stability of commercial banks. Conducting an in-depth analysis of these influences while putting forward effective countermeasures can be beneficial to ensuring the stable operation of commercial banks. This paper focuses on the period from 1937 to 1949 where the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, which had contributed to severe inflation and disrupted the banking sector, and the formation of the modern Chinese banking system. This study critically examines the main causes behind inflation, evaluates their implications on the functioning of commercial banks. It also assesses both the positive and negative impacts on commercial banks, pointing out the challenges commercial banks face during different periods. For example, the market turmoil and policy changes in the 1940s have made it difficult for commercial banks to retain normal operation; therefore are suffering from making profits and inflation has made the situation even worse. In addition, this paper provides short-run and long-run strategies for reducing the negative effects of inflation, with consideration of Chinas unique economic structure and historical context. By integrating insights from historical and contemporary perspectives, this analysis aims to offer valuable views on the micro and macro impacts inflation could bring.

The Secondary Sex Ratio and Male Mortality at Pre-Reproductive Ages: A Test of Selection In Utero.

The secondary sex ratio (i.e., the ratio of male to female live births; hereafter referred to as the SSR) falls in populations encountering ambient stressors. Much theory and some empirical work indicates that males born to low SSR cohorts may be "positively selected" in that excess culling in utero may correspond with greater than expected survival among live-born males in that cohort. We extend prior work by testing, in historical Utah, whether the SSR varies positively with male mortality at pre-reproductive ages. This study uses detailed records from the Utah Population Database to focus on Utahns born 1850-1940. We use rigorous time-series methods, which control for strong secular declines in mortality as well as ambient perturbations shared equally among males and females, to investigate the male culling inference. We observe a positive relation between the SSR and male mortality during youth (i.e., 5 to < 20 years; p < 0.05) but not in infancy or early childhood. In this historical population, the SSR appears to gauge hardiness of surviving male cohorts. However, whether the high fertility and/or family structure context of Latter-day Saints in historical Utah explains the age-specific pattern of male mortality warrants further scrutiny.

Unveiling the Landscape of Brazilian Clinical Oncologists: Challenges, Diversity, and Quality Care

AbstractCancer remains a significant public health challenge in Brazil, with an estimated 704 thousand new cases annually. Clinical oncology, a pivotal specialty in cancer diagnosis and treatment, has evolved since its formal establishment in 1946. Recent recognition by the Brazilian Federal Board of Medicine solidified its status, culminating in normative resolution nr. 2,162/2017. The present study aims to characterize Brazilian clinical oncologists and analyze their epidemiological and structural contexts using data from the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology's 2023 census and secondary sources, including the National Cancer Institute (Instituto Nacional de Câncer [INCA], in Portuguese) and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica [IBGE], in Portuguese). A cross-sectional design employing qualitative-quantitative methods surveyed 761 clinical oncologists, revealing insights into demographics, workload, stress levels, and challenges. The results highlight regional disparities in cancer mortality rates despite the concentration of oncology services in the South and Southeast. Challenges include access to new treatments, late diagnoses, and systemic underfunding. Moreover, this study underscores gender and racial disparities within the specialty, indicating a predominantly white and heterosexual profile among practitioners. Addressing these issues is crucial for enhancing healthcare equity and improving patients' outcomes in oncology practice.

EEG-based patient-specific seizure prediction based on Spatial–Temporal Hypergraph Attention Transformer

Background and Objectives:Patient-specific seizure prediction based on Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a challenging and significant neuromedicine study, which could potentially safeguard drug-resistant patients from unforeseen risks in their daily lives. However, prevalent seizure prediction frameworks based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) prioritize local information while overlooking long-range global dependencies and high-order spatial correlations prevalent among brain leads. Methods:To address the limitations above, we propose a novel Spatial–Temporal Hypergraph Attention Transformer (STHAT) framework for extracting the key features in EEG signals. Aimed at the characteristics of epilepsy EEG data, our framework comprises two primary branches: (1) Long-range Temporal Feature Dependencies: This branch aims to capture temporal dependencies within EEG signals by leveraging Swin Transformer and 2D-CNN. Utilizing shifting windows and convolution operations, we encode local and global content dependencies within segmented EEG samples. (2) High-Order Spatial Information Correlations: We construct a raw graph structure using the Pearson correlation coefficient, enabling the extraction of initial node embeddings through graph convolution operations (GCO). Subsequently, a dynamic hypergraph is formed using K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) and K-means clustering, allowing us to employ a Hypergraph Attention Network (HAN) to capture structural context relationships among brain regions. By integrating information from both branches, we utilize a linear layer to derive the final seizure prediction outcome. Experiment and Results:Extensive evaluations are conducted on the widely used CHB-MIT dataset. Our comprehensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in achieving superior performance in automatic seizure data prediction, outperforming state-of-the-art algorithms. The STHAT framework effectively exploits both temporal and spatial information within EEG signals, enhancing seizure prediction accuracy.

INTERSECCIONALIDADE E ORGANIZAÇÕES: UMA ANÁLISE DAS PUBLICAÇÕES DOS ENCONTROS DA ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE PÓS‐GRADUAÇÃO E PESQUISA EM ADMINISTRAÇÃO

AbstractThe aim of this research is to understand whether gender issues and their intersections have been incorporated into the production of knowledge coming from the meetings of the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Administration in Brazil (ANPAD) over the years. A literature review of papers published in the proceedings of ANPAD Meetings (EnANPAD) between 1997 and 2021 was conducted to identify the presence of the thematic axes: gender, sexuality, class, and race. Titles and abstracts of 21,057 papers were analyzed. Were classified 682 papers, in at least one of the axes. The analysis presents quantitative data that shows the volume of scientific work per thematic axis. In addition, the qualitative analysis of the texts identified as intersectional was carried out. The results showed that intersectionality is still not very present in the research presented at EnANPAD, evidencing a weak connection with the social and economic structural context of the country. However, a growing movement, albeit slow, was noted from 2005. The theoretical contribution of this study consists in highlighting an overview of intersectionality in the field of studies in Administration in Brazil. This study can guide future research agendas and Graduation Policies.

How Motivations Inform the Experiences of French and American Child Welfare Employees in a Fractured Foster Care System

Both the French and American child welfare systems struggle with employee turnover. To address this issue, more research is needed on child welfare employees’ motivations to start and continue working in the child welfare system, as well as the factors that cause them to leave the field. This qualitative study examined the following research question: What are the differences and/or similarities between child welfare employee motivations in France and the United States? The research design analyzed twelve American child welfare employee interviews through thematic and open qualitative coding methods and twelve French videos about child welfare employees’ career motivations and experiences, through a content analysis. The findings for this study are that French and American child welfare employees express similar motivations for beginning and continuing to work in the child welfare system, such as building relationships with children and families. However, their inhibitors to motivation vary, based on the cultural and structural contexts of their respective child welfare systems. Understanding child welfare employees’ motivations in both countries will offer human resource policy implications to guide employers in retaining and supporting high-quality employees.

Like parents, like children… this is not always the case! Alongitudinal study on the family transmission of intergroupcontact.

During adolescence, opportunities for interethnic interactions can shape future attitudes toward diversity. However, it is unclear how family can influence adolescents' quality of contact in different life contexts. This study aims to fill this gap. A sample of 702 Italian adolescents (Mage = 15.61, SDage = 1.11, 48.58% girls) and their parents (615 mothers, Mage = 48.45, SDage = 4.34; 487 fathers, Mage = 51.22, SDage = 4.92) completed questionnaires at two time points. Cross-lagged models indicated that adolescents' intergroup contact at T1 was associated with mothers' contact over time, mainly in structured (i.e., school and work) contexts. No significant associations were found regarding fathers' intergroup contact and unstructured contexts. These results shed new light on the process of family transmission during adolescence, particularly regarding intergroup dynamics.

The use of respiratory patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) in the management of COPD: Perceptions of Australian osteopaths

BackgroundPatient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are widely used to capture patients' perspectives of their health status and treatment outcomes and to enable practitioners to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. The aim of this study was to explore Australian osteopaths’ perceptions of the use of respiratory PROMS in the management of chronic lung conditions. MethodsThis study drew on the social ecological model (SEM), which highlights the interdependence of contextual structures and processes. Osteopaths who were initially part of a larger mixed-methods study were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were thematically analysed using the SEM. ResultsSeven of the original study osteopaths were interviewed. When presented with a patient who had a co-morbid respiratory condition, they focused on the musculoskeletal aspects of that condition (intrapersonal factors). Participants described sporadic use of musculoskeletal and quality of life PROMs in practice, and scarce use of respiratory PROMs (intrapersonal and organizational factors). Participants’ perceptions of their scope of practice strongly influenced their use of respiratory PROMs (environmental factors). ConclusionIntrapersonal and environmental factors were dominant drivers for participants’ scant use of respiratory PROMs. Further education on the scope and contribution of osteopaths to the management of chronic lung conditions and the use of respiratory PROMS is called for to promote multidisciplinary patient care.

Missed Appointments and the Potential Correlation between Personal Characteristics, Personality, and Familial Characteristics and Missed Appointments for Adults with Diabetes Mellitus at the Primary Care Unit of Khon Kaen Province.

Regular follow-up treatment is important for the management of diabetes and to reduce the risk of complications. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the proportion of adult diabetic patients who miss appointments, in addition to the potential correlation between personal characteristics, personality, and the context of family structure and characteristics and missed appointments by adult patients with type 2 diabetes. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The data were gathered through self-administered questionnaires and the patient medical records of 106 individuals who received healthcare services at the Khon Kaen Province primary care unit. Data were gathered from 1 November 2023 to 28 December 2023. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and Chi-Square statistics were used to evaluate the relationships with multivariate analyses via multinomial logistic regression and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The majority of patients in the sample, 39.62%, regularly missed appointments. There was a significant association between occasionally missed appointments and middle adulthood (p-value 0.013) and regular exercise (p-value 0.025). A moderate level of the agreeableness personality trait showed a significant association with missed appointments (p-value 0.042). It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the patient's personality and family characteristics to effectively plan their healthcare and provide optimal support for diabetes treatment.

Variscan basement tectonics and Alpine shear zones in the external Balkanides: Structural data from the Vezhen Massif, Central Stara Planina Mts., Bulgaria

The Alpine Balkanides in Bulgaria are developed over Variscan orogenic fragments, which are variously affected by late-stage thick-skinned thrust tectonics. Often, these fragments hold both Variscan and Alpine structural records. А key area to shed light on important aspects of the tectonic evolution of the external parts of the Alpine Balkanide orogen is the Vezhen Massif in the Central Stara Planina Mountains. Although it is built exclusively of Paleozoic crystalline rocks, its structure was long considered as an example of intense mid Eocene to early Oligocene (Late Alpine) shortening. Detailed fieldwork in the area shows a more complicated tectonic framework and provides evidence of a polyphase structural evolution, involving an important stage of Variscan metamorphism and deformation and two stages of north-vergent Alpine shortening. The Stargel-Boluvanya Tectonic Zone that affects the western Vezhen Massif is one of the most important Variscan structures in the Balkan fold-and-thrust belt. Structural data indicate that the metamorphic basement records initial top-to-north thrusting, followed by further shortening, which led to folding and localized strike-slip deformation. The Variscan syn-metamorphic fabric is cross-cut by several post-kinematic igneous bodies of late Carboniferous to Permian ages. The tectonic history continues with a development of a network of greenschist facies north-vergent mylonitic zones for which an Early Alpine (post-late Permian but pre-Late Cretaceous) age is assumed. Late Alpine north-vergent thrusting is evident only on the eastern and northern flanks of the Vezhen Massif. In a broad structural context, the documented record in the basement rocks of the Vezhen Massif is comparable with those of the external massifs of the Alps and Iberia.

Different power perceptions based on socially situated needs: Findings from a qualitative study among Asian Americans.

While power is often defined and operationalized as control or influence over others, alternative conceptualizations define power as the ability to meet various fundamental needs. We argue that this conceptualization may better capture how marginalized minority group members understand their group's power or powerlessness. However, there is little research examining how people themselves construe group-based power. The present study, therefore, used qualitative inquiry to examine perceived ingroup power among Asian Americans, an underrepresented racial minority group with an ambivalent power status in society. Reflexive thematic analysis of 25 interviews illustrated the relevance of Prilleltensky's (J. Community Psychol., 36, 2008, 116) psychopolitical conceptualization of power. Specifically, we identified eight themes that reflect various context-specific construals of power as oppression, wellness and liberation. Additionally, the findings suggest the need to consider intragroup heterogeneity in power and to situate how power is understood in the given sociopolitical, structural context.

Assessment of recycling and repair methods for discontinuous glass fiber reinforced vitrimer composites with reclaimed parts

In the context of fiber-reinforced polymer composites, the pursuit of sustainability is of paramount importance to promote environmentally responsible practices. Vitrimer materials have recently gained significant attention for their potential to enable repair and recycling, rendering them an attractive choice for manufacturing eco-friendly composites while maintaining mechanical strength akin to a thermoset resin like epoxy. This study specifically focuses on glass fibers, and delves into the examination of mechanical properties using both chemical and mechanical recycling methods for quasi-isotropic, randomly dispersed discontinuous glass fiber-reinforced vitrimer composites. It places specific emphasis on the optimization of factors to promote sustainable production. The findings indicate that chemical recycling methods are remarkably effective, resulting in the almost complete restoration of mechanical properties when appropriately selected process parameters are applied. Additionally, this study investigates diverse repair techniques, with the overlap repair method exhibiting the highest degree of recovery. These findings underscore the remarkable potential of glass fiber reinforced vitrimer composites, characterized by their high mechanical properties, for applications in various industries, particularly in structural contexts. Overall, this study highlights the significant reduction in composite waste achievable through recycling and repair strategies, aligning with the broader goal of advancing sustainability within the domain of engineering and manufacturing.

Confronting (Post-)War Precariousness and Precarity: Socialist Yugoslav Literature for Children

In this article I examine how literature for children re-established itself in the socially, economically, and institutionally devastated and nascent revolutionary precarious situation of the post-war period. I draw on a larger study of socialist Yugoslav literature for children (1945–91) and with reference to the first post-WWII issues of the Slovenian children's magazines Ciciban (1945–present) and Pionir (1945–90). I also explore how the emergent literature for children, particularly magazines, addressed a generation who had experienced violence, persecution, orphanhood, flight, internment, famine, occupation, and armed resistance, followed by post-war daily life. I draw on the concepts of ‘precariousness’ and ‘precarity’ (Butler) in the sense of an insecure existential state and the conditions for it. Instead of a top-down approach derived from totalitarianism research (usually employed in the examination of immediate post-war socialist production), a bottom-up approach that considers the complex relationships between (cultural)-political, (infra)structural, material, interpersonal, and affective contexts (as well as the historical objectifications that are embodied in the post-war production for children discussed here) allows a consideration of the past in a more complex light. It also highlights the overdue need for discussion on how to approach the topic of war with children in times of ‘more or less permanent war’ (Butler).

Revisiting Conversation Discourse for Dialogue Disentanglement

Dialogue disentanglement aims to detach the chronologically ordered utterances into several independent sessions. Conversation utterances are essentially organized and described by the underlying discourse, and thus dialogue disentanglement requires the full understanding and harnessing of the intrinsic discourse attribute. In this paper, we propose enhancing dialogue disentanglement by taking full advantage of the dialogue discourse characteristics. First of all, in feature encoding stage , we construct the heterogeneous graph representations to model the various dialogue-specific discourse structural features, including the static speaker-role structures (i.e., speaker-utterance and speaker-mentioning structure) and the dynamic contextual structures (i.e., the utterance-distance and partial-replying structure). We then develop a structure-aware framework to integrate the rich structural features for better modeling the conversational semantic context. Second, in model learning stage , we perform optimization with a hierarchical ranking loss mechanism, which groups dialogue utterances into different discourse levels and carries training covering pair-wise and session-wise levels hierarchically. Third, in inference stage , we devise an easy-first decoding algorithm, which performs utterance pairing under the easy-to-hard manner with a global context, breaking the constraint of traditional sequential decoding order. On two benchmark datasets, our overall system achieves new state-of-the-art performances on all evaluations. In-depth analyses further demonstrate the efficacy of each proposed idea and also reveal how our methods help advance the task. Our work has great potential to facilitate broader multi-party multi-thread dialogue applications.

초등학교 학생평가 정책에 대한 역사적 신제도주의 분석: 1999년 ~ 2024년을 중심으로

This study analyzed the evolution of elementary school student assessment policies from 1999, when performance assessment was introduced, through June 2024. It focused on structural, institutional, and actor contexts, dividing the analysis into three phases: the introduction of performance assessment, the abolition of summative assessment, and the development of assessment practices. Initially, both “path creation” and “path dependence” were observed, as performance assessments were introduced while traditional assessments persisted. In the abolition phase, process-oriented assessments marked a “fork in the path.” Finally, the development phase saw performance assessments becoming established, with new adaptive and customized assessments emerging, driven by edu tech companies. Although these changes haven’t led to institutional reforms yet, shifts in assessment paradigms were evident. The study recommends future policies consider the structural context and incorporate feedback from educators.

Understanding the Effects of Spacecraft Trajectories through Solar Coronal Mass Ejection Flux Ropes Using 3DCOREweb

This study investigates the impact of spacecraft positioning and trajectory on in situ signatures of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Employing the 3DCORE model, a 3D flux rope model that can generate in situ profiles for any given point in space and time, we conduct forward modeling to analyze such signatures for various latitudinal and longitudinal positions, with respect to the flux rope apex, at 0.8 au. Using this approach, we explore the appearance of the resulting in situ profiles for different flux rope types, with different handedness and inclination angles, for both high- and low-twist CMEs. Our findings reveal that CMEs exhibit distinct differences in signatures between apex hits and flank encounters, with the latter displaying elongated profiles with reduced rotation. Notably, constant, nonrotating in situ signatures are only observed for flank encounters of low-twist CMEs, suggesting the existence of untwisted magnetic field lines within CME legs. Additionally, our study confirms the unambiguous appearance of different flux rope types in in situ signatures in all of the cases, barring some indistinguishable cases, contributing to the broader understanding and interpretation of observational data. Given the model assumptions, this may refute trajectory effects as the cause for mismatching flux rope types as identified in solar signatures. While acknowledging limitations inherent in our model, such as the assumption of constant twist and a nondeformable torus-like shape, we still draw relevant conclusions within the context of the global magnetic field structures of CMEs and the potential for distinguishing flux rope types based on in situ observations.

Mut-Map: Comprehensive Computational Pipeline for Structural Mapping and Analysis of Cancer-Associated Mutations.

Understanding the functional impact of genetic mutations on protein structures is essential for advancing cancer research and developing targeted therapies. The main challenge lies in accurately mapping these mutations to protein structures and analysing their effects on protein function. To address this, Mut-Map (https://genemutation.org/) is a comprehensive computational pipeline designed to integrate mutation data from the Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer database with protein structural data from the Protein Data Bank and AlphaFold models. The pipeline begins by taking a UniProt ID and proceeds through mapping corresponding Protein Data Bank structures, renumbering residues, and assessing disorder percentages. It then overlays mutation data, categorizes mutations based on structural context, and visualizes them using advanced tools like MolStar. This approach allows for a detailed analysis of how mutations may disrupt protein function by affecting key regions such as DNA interfaces, ligand-binding sites, and dimer interactions. To validate the pipeline, a case study on the TP53 gene, a critical tumour suppressor often mutated in cancers, was conducted. The analysis highlighted the most frequent mutations occurring at the DNA-binding interface, providing insights into their potential role in cancer progression. Mut-Map offers a powerful resource for elucidating the structural implications of cancer-associated mutations, paving the way for more targeted therapeutic strategies and advancing our understanding of protein structure-function relationships.