Western Countries Research Articles

A case report of urogenital schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease widespread in tropical regions, is primarily caused by Schistosoma haematobium. Although rare in Western countries like France, it remains a major public health issue. Diagnosis relies on detecting the parasite's eggs in urine and bladder biopsies. Prevention involves awareness campaigns, annual treatment with praziquantel in high-prevalence areas, and treatment of infested waters. The case of a 17-year-old Senegalese girl presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) was reported. Analyses revealed the presence of schistosomiasis eggs in her urine. After treatment with praziquantel and corticosteroids, she developed acute urinary retention requiring catheterization. Further examinations confirmed urogenital schistosomiasis, necessitating surgical intervention.

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to portal hypertension in a patient with primary myelofibrosis: A case report

BACKGROUND Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a common medical emergency that has a 10% hospital mortality rate. According to the etiology, this disease can be divided into acute varicose veins and nonvaricose veins. Bleeding from esophageal varices is a life-threatening complication of portal hypertension. Portal hypertension is a clinical syndrome defined as a portal venous pressure that exceeds 10 mmHg. Cirrhosis is the most common cause of portal hypertension, and thrombosis of the portal system not associated with liver cirrhosis is the second most common cause of portal hypertension in the Western world. Primary myeloproliferative disorders are the main cause of portal venous thrombosis, and somatic mutations in the Janus kinase 2 gene (JAK2 V617F ) can be found in approximately 90% of polycythemia vera, 50% of essential thrombocyrosis and 50% of primary myelofibrosis. CASE SUMMARY We present a rare case of primary myelofibrosis with gastrointestinal bleeding as the primary manifestation that presented as portal-superior-splenic mesenteric vein thrombosis. Peripheral blood tests revealed the presence of the JAK2 V617F mutation. Bone marrow biopsy ultimately confirmed the diagnosis of myelofibrosis (MF-2 grade). CONCLUSION In patients with acute esophageal variceal bleeding due to portal hypertension and vein thrombosis without cirrhosis, the possibility of myeloproliferative neoplasms should be considered, and the JAK2 mutation test should be performed.

Different trends in stomach and pancreatic cancer mortality rates.

Not so long ago stomach cancer used to be the most frequent digestive cancer in both sexes in Spain and other Western countries. However, due to the decreasing trend of this disease over the last few decades, gastric cancer ranks seventh and eighth in Spanish women and men, respectively, as a cancer-related cause of death, while being the fourth most frequent digestive cancer, after colorectal, pancreatic and liver cancer. On the other hand, pancreatic cancer mortality figures have been continually increasing, and nowadays this malignancy ranks second among digestive cancers in terms of mortality in both sexes. The distinct trends of stomach and pancreatic cancer mortality rates might be explained by changes in exposure to risk factors, mainly to H. pylori eradication. Notably, these tumors share several modifiable risk factors, such as tobacco consumption, obesity, and physical inactivity. Since these risk factors are also associated with many other cancers, effective cancer prevention strategies are needed to reduce the risk of developing cancer in the population.

Digital Anthropology Manifesto

The manifesto format was not chosen by chance. As a rule, manifestations are not acceptable in the scientific community and are practiced to proclaim a new order of things. Historically, social groups have declared their intentions in manifestos of various kinds. This circumstance is also true for contemporary cases such as manifestos of cyborgs, hackers, “Evolution 2045”, etc. Digital anthropology as a subject of manifestation looks anomalous, since it is not related to the interests of a specific social group or force. The intentions of the authors of this manifesto are to proclaim an alternative to the scientific research mainstream. The subject area and thesaurus of digital anthropology historically began to take shape in the Western countries. Due to qualitative and quantitative empirical research, the network has become a kind of analogue of a “field” for the study of behavioral practices, the specifics of thinking, and mythology that makes its way into virtual communication and Internet content. In an attempt to maintain ideological continuity with ethnographic and field research, digital anthropology ignored the conceptual and generalizing statement about a person. The latter was formed in the discourse of philosophical anthropology, not only a historical philosophical movement, but also a current field of knowledge that produces reflexive generalized knowledge about human beings. In the manifesto, the subject of digital anthropology is significantly clarified, and its definition is also given as a result of the reassembly of the subject.

Gender in Cross-Cultural Encounters: Orientalism and Self-Orientalisation in Chinese-Language Young Adult Fiction

AbstractIn this article, we read and analyse selected young adult novels by Chinese-German author Wei Cheng that address the dilemmas faced by young female Chinese immigrants in Western countries. The aim is to explore the ways in which the construction of femininity and gender are inextricably bound up with categories of race and ethnicity in China-West encounters, and to probe the dynamics of such encounters embedded in the larger socio-political power structures. Through a critical analysis of the representation of Chinese femininity vis-à-vis Western masculinity, the essay interrogates the workings of the “Orientalist gaze” in relation to patriarchy and gender politics. The portrayals of the cross-racial encounter in Shaonv de Hong Chenyi (The Girl’s Red T-Shirt), which reiterate received ideas about the Orient, may be read as a product of self-Orientalisation, where the intriguing position of the adolescent Chinese girl prompts a rethinking of postcolonial gendered subjectivities. While self-Orientalisation may work to legitimate the discourse of Orientalism, the reading of Shaonv de Hong Faqia (The Girl’s Red Hairpin) reveals the ways in which self-Orientalisation could function as strategic essentialism that allows the female “Oriental” Other to gaze back and stand Orientalism on its head. The marriage between gendered and postcolonial approaches to children’s and young adult texts promises to act as a crucial intervention in the global struggle against hegemony.

Government Religious Discrimination, Support of Religion, and Muslim Minority-Related Societal Violence in Western Democracies

Does government-based religious discrimination against religious minorities and government support of majority religion affect religiously motivated societal violence between minorities and majority religious groups in Western democracies? Analyzing Muslim minorities, this study tries to answer the question by looking specifically at the religious violence perpetrated by and against these minorities in the West. Using a novel cross-national time-series data on 25 Western countries disaggregated by victim and perpetrator groups, this paper finds that while discrimination contributes to a country encountering religiously driven societal violence perpetrated by both Muslim and majority religious groups, government support for majority religion seems to pose no security threat. Furthermore, a case study analysis of the UK employing the synthetic control method corroborates the results of the cross-country analysis. The findings have important policy implications for counter-strategies against both Islamic and right-wing violent extremism in the West.

A gathering storm: offensive and defensive accelerationism in an online far-right community

ABSTRACT Increasingly fringe and violent far-right ideologies have become a significant threat to national security in Western countries in the twenty-first century. Accelerationism is growing in far-right narratives while populism and ethnocentrism garnered public attention. This study presents an empirical study of Stormfront, the largest and oldest online white nationalist community in the world, to identify accelerationist themes in the ideological narratives used to discuss white nationalist philosophy over time. The study applied a Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithm and a supervised learning AI model to a corpus of more than 66 m words collected from 367,000 posts across a 20-year period. This analysis identified two kinds of accelerationist sentiment in the dataset, an offensive form, which portrays violence as both an inevitable and desirable mechanism to pursue political change, and a defensive form, which portrays violence as a reactionary and protective means to prevent undesirable social changes. The study then used a thematic analysis on a subset of the data to support its findings that both offensive and defensive accelerationism are embedded in ideological narratives on Stormfront. This is an important consideration for further research on ways that accelerationism may be influencing popular white nationalist ideology, particularly fringe and violent narratives.

Exploring Muslim Communities' Experiences and Barriers While Accessing Assisted Reproductive Technologies: A Scoping Review of International Literature.

This study adopted a scoping review methodology to analyze international literature on the barriers impacting Muslim couples' access to equitable assisted reproductive technologies (ART). A total of 27 studies were included for review. Results show that Muslim communities face several barriers when accessing ART. These include cultural and religious barriers that impacted which aspects of ART couples were open to adopting, diminished quality of care due to low cultural/religious capacity of practitioners, as well as gendered norms which intersect with experiences of ART treatments. Further research, based in western countries, should be conducted to better understand how these contexts can support Muslim patients accessing ART.

Factors facilitating and hindering South Asian immigrant adults from engaging in exercise and physical activity - a qualitative systematic review.

Exercise and physical activity are key components of management in patients with rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (RMD), but people of the South Asian communities have a lower level of engagement with these activities compared to their Caucasian counterparts. The aim of this qualitative systematic review was to determine the barriers and facilitators of exercise and physical activity in South Asian communities who have migrated and live in western countries, particularly in those who have RMD. Qualitative studies, published in English between 1999 and 2021 and including evaluation of barriers and/or facilitators to exercise or physical activity behaviour in people of South Asian adult communities who have migrated and/or lived in western countries were identified from Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Google Scholar and manual searches. The studies were appraised using the CASP checklist. Inductive thematic synthesis was used to identify common and global themes. A total of 32 studies that discussed barriers and facilitators of physical activity in South Asian communities who have migrated and lived in western countries were used for this review but there were no studies identified that focussed specifically on those with RMD. Following appraisal of the reporting of the studies, 30 studies were included in the pooling of the results. The facilitators and barriers to physical activities were broadly categorized into 'extrinsic' and 'intrinsic' factors. Extrinsic factors such as 'opportunity' included environmental factors such as weather and safety; socioeconomic factors such as education, language and literacy, and support in the form of social, psychological and resources. Intrinsic factors included cultural factors, such as life stages and family influence, beliefs and knowledge, which impacted attitudes and skills. This review has synthesised evidence of barriers or facilitators and identified potentially modifiable factors influencing physical activity and exercise engagement, which could form the basis of evidence-based interventions to promote participation in healthy behaviour change. Provision of a safe, comfortable and culturally acceptable environment together with culturally-aligned cognitive strategies to facilitate acquisition of exercise-efficacy skills could help engagement. The systematic review was registered on PROSPERO, registration no. 289,235.

The use of indocyanine green for lateral lymph node dissection in rectal cancer—preliminary data from an emerging procedure: a systematic review of the literature

IntroductionLateral lymph node dissection (LLND) for rectal cancer is still not a widely established technique owing to the existing controversy between Eastern and Western countries and the lack of well-designed studies. The risk of complications and the paucity of long-term oncological results are significant drawbacks for further applying this technique. The use of indocyanine green (ICG) near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence for LLND appears as a promising technique for enhancing postoperative and oncological outcomes. This review aims to evaluate the emerging role of ICG during LLND and present the benefits of its application.Materials and methodsSystematic electronic research was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar using a combination of medical subject headings (MeSH). Studies presenting the use of ICG during LLND, especially in terms of harvested lymph nodes, were included and reviewed. Studies comparing LLND with ICG (LLND + ICG) or without ICG (LLND-alone) were further analyzed for the number of lymph nodes and postoperative outcomes.ResultsIn total, 13 studies were found eligible and analyzed for different parameters. LLND + ICG is associated with significantly increased number of harvested lateral lymph nodes (p < 0.05), minor blood loss, decreased operative time, and probably decreased urinary retention postoperatively compared with LLND-alone.ConclusionsThe use of ICG fluorescence during LLND is a safe and feasible technique for balancing postoperative outcomes and the number of harvested lymph nodes. Well-designed studies with long-term results are required to elucidate the oncological benefits and establish this promising technique.

An "out of the box" approach for prevention of ketoacidosis in youth with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes: combined use of insulin pump and long-acting insulin.

Poorly controlled adolescents living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and pump failure of insulin delivery leading to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) are still challenging in the western world. To investigate the effect of a combination modality of long-acting insulin for basal coverage and a pump for boluses, on the incidence of DKA and glycemic parameters in pediatric and young adults with poorly controlled T1D. This multicenter, observational retrospective study included 55 patients (age range 3-25years, 52.7% males) who were treated with the combination modality for a median of 18months [(IQR)12,47], as part of their clinical care. Data were retrieved at initiation of the combined modality, after 6months, and at last visit. Cohort's median age at combination modality initiation was 14.5years [IQR12.4,17.3], and its median HbA1c level was 9.2% [IQR 8.2,10.2]. The main reasons for combination modality initiation were: (a) concern about sustained hyperglycemia on current management in 41.8%, (b) previous DKA episodes in 30.8%, and (c) refusal to wear a pump continuously in 14.6%. The percent of patients experiencing DKA who used the modality till end decreased from 25.4 to 8.8%. The frequency of DKA events per patient month decreased after 6months from 0.073 (min 0, max 0.5) to 0.020 (min 0, max 0.5), p = 0.01, and at end to 0.016 (min 0, max 0.25), p = 0.007. The combination modality of once-daily long-acting insulin and pump for boluses is safe, feasible, and effective in preventing DKA among poorly controlled young people living with T1D, unable or un-willing to use advanced closed pumps.

Harmonious Discourse Analysis of Multimodal Eco-Speech in Western Contexts

Based on the theory of harmonious discourse analysis and dynamic multimodal analysis, this paper studies an eco-speech video Man vs Earth in Western contexts. It is found that although harmonious discourse analysis is dependent on China’s development context, it is not contextually limited and can be employed to analyze the relationship between human beings, society and nature in multimedia ecological discourse in Western contexts, proving the interpretation power of harmonic discourse analysis in non-Chinese contexts. This study broadens the application context scope of harmonious discourse analysis, enriches the methodology of harmonious discourse analysis, and provides a new perspective for the study of multimodal eco-discourse in Western countries.

Has Coca-Cola treatment become the first-line therapy for gastric bezoars, both in general and specifically for western countries?

Phytobezoars is a rare disease and less common in Western countries. The stomach is the primary site for these formations, and endoscopic treatment involving fragmentation and extraction has traditionally been the most effective approach. However, medical treatments using enzymatic and chemical agents, such as cellulase and Coca-Cola, aimed at dissolving the bezoars, have also been utilized, showing varying degrees of resolution success. Notably, the oral dissolution treatment with Coca-Cola has emerged as a promising, simpler, and more cost-effective method. The study by Liu et al represents an important step in clinical research on this topic, despite some limitations that need addressing for a more comprehensive understanding of its findings. Key considerations for future research include sample size calculation, endoscopic procedure details, outpatient vs. inpatient treatment, and detailed cost calculations. The study's exclusions, such as patients with upper gastric surgery, phytobezoars older than 14 d, and cases of gastroparesis, limit its applicability to broader populations, especially in Western countries. Given the promising outcomes of the Coca-Cola treatment, it's advocated as a first-line therapy for phytobezoars. Nonetheless, further research is essential to overcome these limitations. However special situations such as perforation or small bowel obstruction will require surgical treatment.

Snapshot Audit Early Onset Colorectal Cancer (EOCC) – What is the Current Situation in Switzerland?

Abstract Background Early onset colorectal cancer (EOCC), defined as colorectal cancer (CRC) ≤ 50 years, has seen an alarming rising incidence in western countries. Aims This research aims to determine the current state of incidence, symptoms, diagnostic methods, and treatment approach in EOCC compared to late onset CRC (LOCRC) in the extended Northwestern Switzerland. Methods Patients seeking care for CRC between April-November 2023 were enrolled in a prospective multicenter (11 hospitals within extended Northwestern Switzerland) observational cohort study. Information was collected using questionnaires and patient charts. Results We included 315 patients, thereof 38 (10.8%) EOCC. In total 211 (58.9%) patients were male, mean age was 42.5 and 71.2 years, respectively. Rectal bleeding was the main symptom in both groups (60.5% vs 37.0%), followed by change in bowel habits in EOCC and fatigue in LOCRC without reaching significance. Rectal bleeding and mucous, abdominal pain, change of bowel habits and bloating were significantly more often in EOCC. Significantly more LOCRC patients stated that their physical condition affected sexual erection and social interaction, whereas in EOCC, family life was significantly affected. For both groups, endoscopy was the leading diagnostic tool. EOCC had a diagnostic delay of 6.5 weeks compared to their counterparts. No difference in frequency of neoadjuvant treatment, surgical approach or need for emergency surgery was observed. In EOCC, a trend to more lymph node retrieval was observed and significantly more EOCC received an ostomy. Postoperatively, significantly more EOCC than LOCRC patients received adjuvant chemotherapy (55.6 % vs 28.6 %). Conclusion Our analysis illustrates the current standard-of-care of EOCC in the extended Northwestern Switzerland. EOCC compared to LOCRC patients present themselves differently to the medical community, leading to a different approach to their symptoms, which eventually results in a delayed diagnosis. Based on these results, it is time to foster awareness and start redefining national screening criteria.

An overview of prognostic markers in patients with CLL

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a low-grade B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. It is the most prevalent type of leukemia in the western countries, with a median age at diagnosis of 70 years. In 2023, it is estimated that there will be 18,740 new cases of CLL, and an estimated 4,490 people will die of this disease. It represents 1.0% of all new cancer cases in the U.S. The rate of new cases was 4.6 per 100,000 men and women per year based on 2016–2020 cases, age-adjusted. Death rates from CLL are higher among older adults, or those 75 and older. The death rate was 1.1 per 100,000 men and women per year based on 2016–2020 deaths, age-adjusted. A common question that patients with CLL ask during their first clinic visit is: “How long will it be before I would need treatment?” Although this might seem like a simple question, the answer is not straight forward. CLL is a heterogenous disease, with a variable clinical course. Some patients may present with an aggressive disease requiring early initiation of treatment, while others have an indolent course and some, having so called smoldering CLL, may never need treatment. The variability in disease course can make predicting disease prognosis a complicated process. This brings forth the importance of establishing prognostic models that can predict disease course, time to treatment, and survival outcomes in such a heterogenous disease. The Rai and Binet staging systems were developed in the late 1970s to early 1980s. They separated patients into different stages based on clinical characteristics and laboratory findings. These simple staging systems are still in use; however, several prognostic markers need to be added for an individualized assessment and, with the recent development of genomic techniques leading to better understanding of CLL at the molecular level, newer prognostic markers have emerged.

Novel mechanisms of action of emerging therapies of hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (hTTP) is caused by deficiency of plasma ADAMTS13 activity, resulting from ADAMTS13 mutations. ADAMTS13 cleaves ultra large von Willebrand factor (VWF), thus reducing its multimer sizes. Hereditary deficiency of plasma ADAMTS13 activity leads to the formation of excessive platelet-VWF aggregates in small arterioles and capillaries, resulting in hTTP. PubMed search from 1956-2024 using thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and therapy identified 3,675 articles. Only the articles relevant to the topic were selected for discussion, which focuses on pathophysiology, clinical presentations, and mechanisms of action of emerging therapeutics for hTTP. Current therapies include infusion of plasma, or coagulation factor VIII, or recombinant ADAMTS13. Emerging therapies include anti-VWF A1 aptamers or nanobody and gene therapies with adeno-associated viral vector or self-inactivated lentiviral vector or a Sleeping Beauty transposon system for a long-term expression of a functional ADAMTS13 enzyme. Frequent plasma infusion remains to be the standard of care in most parts of the world, while recombinant ADAMTS13 has become the treatment of choice for hTTP in some of the Western countries. The success of gene therapies in preclinical models may hold a promise for future development of these novel approaches for a cure of hTTP.

ENDOCARDITIS TEAM? DESIGNING AN ORIGINAL AND TAILORED CLINICAL PATHWAY

Abstract Infective endocarditis (IE) remains a poorly understood disease that primarily affects either native or prosthetic heart valves. Its incidence has increased over the past two decades, now affecting 3 to 10 individuals per 100.000/year in the general population. Despite advances in early diagnosis and surgical intervention, IE continues to pose a significant challenge, often leading to severe complications and carrying a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality. Data from the EURO–Endo registry show a drastic change in IE and provide an accurate picture of IE disease today. In European countries, it tends to affect older patients with a remarkable 12% of cases occurring in those aged ≥ 80 years. The traditional care pathway is often fragmented into multiple and potentially dangerous steps, resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment. Such a “patchy” approach may cause suboptimal patient management, especially in the subset of frail patients with important concomitant diseases and high surgical risk. Clinical pathways (CPs) are an evidence–based multidisciplinary care plans involving diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation phases, through which to follow patients from hospital admission to discharge, in order to manage a specific health condition, aiming to optimize patient and hospital/team outcomes, while contributing to a better organized care processes. In 2018, a working group composed by healthcare managers, infectious disease specialists, cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, geriatricians and other professionals involved in the care of IE patients have engineered a dedicated CP for IE at our institution. The CP introduced significant changes in the management of patients with IE. As a result, the quality of care and services offered increased, a faster and more appropriate diagnosis and treatment were achieved, patient outcomes and safety improved and a better coordination and continuity of care between different settings was guaranteed. The growing burden of IE in western countries demands an evidence–based multidisciplinary care plan. The creation of a territorial network ensures continuity and appropriateness of care in conjunction with the referring physicians/hospital and rationalization of resources. Although some controversies still exist, we believe that CP will have a positive impact on quality in health care.

Unveiling Masculinity: A Critical Analysis of Gender Representation in Men's Fragrance Advertisements

The aim of this study is to examine how male sexuality is visually portrayed in advertisements for men's perfume and to investigate the notions of masculinity, gender, and sexuality depicted therein. Through a visual text analysis approach rooted in social semiotic theory with literature study, the study examines 27 advertisements predominantly from Western countries (Specifically France and Italy), analyzing elements such as visual composition, gendered representations, and societal implications. The analysis of the sampled images reveals stereotypical representations of male and female sexuality, conveyed through the use of sexuality and gender concepts. For male consumers, exposure to these representations may lead to the internalization of these ideals, influencing their self-image and behavior. These representations not only maintain existing power differentials but also hinder progress towards gender equality and challenging societal norms.

Political Push Factors of African-Western Migration as Depicted in Selected African Novels

This article looks at political factors in African countries that are pushing Africans to move to Western countries in search of greener pastures, as they are demonstrated in African novels. The novels to be considered for this discourse are Dirie and Miller’s Desert Flower, Bulawayo’s We Need New Names and Cole’s Open City. While the discussion is on political issues pushing Africans to Western countries, when and where necessary, reference will be made to emigration to other countries, even within the Africa continent as well. The concepts of push factors, politics and African-Western migration are defined as part of the introductory section of this discourse. The subheadings of this discourse are introduction, analysis, and conclusion.

Role of N6‑methyladenosine in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer (Review).

Prostate cancer (PCa) affects males of all racial and ethnic groups, and leads to higher rates of mortality in those belonging to a lower socioeconomic status due to the late detection of the disease. PCa affects middle‑aged males between the ages of 45 and 60 years, and is the highest cause of cancer‑associated mortality in Western countries. As the most abundant and common mRNA modification in higher eukaryotes, N6‑methyladenosine (m6A) is widely distributed in mammalian cells and influences various aspects of mRNA metabolism. Recent studies have found that abnormal expression levels of various m6A regulators significantly affect the development and progression of various types of cancer, including PCa. The present review discusses the influence of m6A regulatory factors on the pathogenesis and progression of PCa through mRNA modification based on the current state of research on m6A methylation modification in PCa. It is considered that the treatment of PCa with micro‑molecular drugs that target the epigenetics of the m6A regulator to correct abnormal m6A modifications is a direction for future research into current diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for PCa.