Worst Situations Research Articles

Covid 19 Pandemic-A Bane to Seeking Information in India by Ankit Gupta & Dr. Vikas Gupta

Right to seek information is a right deeply embedded into Article 19 of the Indian Constitution and whichgenerally cannot be suspended in the worst of the worst situations save exceptions. The right guaranteesIndian citizens to seek information from the public authorities on the touchstone of informed citizenry,greater and transparent access to information, accountability, and optimum use of limited fiscal resources.The recent impact of COVID -19 has not only shaken the basic edifice in India but has also weakened thecountries across the world in some or the other mode. In a way the pandemic has caused immense trench inthe economic as well as social well-being of the citizens.The Right to Information Act, 20051 was enacted by the Parliament in India with the aim to provide forsetting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under thecontrol of Public Authorities. The basic objective of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens,promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Public Authorities, contain corruption, andmake our democracy work for the people in real sense.Therefore an attempt in this paper has been made to ascertain, whether the rights of citizen to seek informationin this great despondency time of Covid- 19 has been able to bolster or not. Weather the right to informationas guaranteed by the Indian Constitution is available to citizen irrespective of the pandemic situation.

Focus on Hypoxia-Related Pathways in Pediatric Osteosarcomas and Their Druggability.

Osteosarcoma is the most frequent primary bone tumor diagnosed during adolescence and young adulthood. It is associated with the worst outcomes in the case of poor response to chemotherapy and in metastatic disease. While no molecular biomarkers are clearly and currently associated with those worse situations, the study of pathways involved in the high level of tumor necrosis and in the immune/metabolic intra-tumor environment seems to be a way to understand these resistant and progressive osteosarcomas. In this review, we provide an updated overview of the role of hypoxia in osteosarcoma oncogenesis, progression and during treatment. We describe the role of normoxic/hypoxic environment in normal tissues, bones and osteosarcomas to understand their role and to estimate their druggability. We focus particularly on the role of intra-tumor hypoxia in osteosarcoma cell resistance to treatments and its impact in its endogenous immune component. Together, these previously published observations conduct us to present potential perspectives on the use of therapies targeting hypoxia pathways. These therapies could afford new treatment approaches in this bone cancer. Nevertheless, to study the osteosarcoma cell druggability, we now need specific in vitro models closely mimicking the tumor, its intra-tumor hypoxia and the immune microenvironment to more accurately predict treatment efficacy and be complementary to mouse models.

Complementing conventional environmental impact assessments of tourism with ecosystem service valuation: A case study of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, China

In order to assess environmental impacts from tourism in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, China more thoroughly, this study complemented conventional environmental impact assessments (EIAs) with ecosystem service valuation (ESV). It did so by assessing changes in ecosystem services (ESs) and their values, based on changes in environmental components already assessed by existing conventional EIAs. The ESV method was benefit transfer. Tourism can enhance aesthetic and recreational ESs, but some existing damage to vegetation reduced ES value by $1.2 million/yr in the worst situations. While reforestation that generates ES value at $1.8 million/yr can offset the damage, the cost of existing population decline of macaque monkeys was $728 million in 2010. Potential land encroachment would cause permanent and temporary environmental costs at $0.5 million/yr and $0.09 million/yr, respectively. Nevertheless, potentially artificial soil treatment system would increase ES values by $0.25 million/yr. Surface runoff and waste gas have negligible impacts. While complementing conventional EIAs with ESV has limitations, doing so can assess environmental impacts more comprehensively, link environmental impacts to human wellbeing, and improve information. Sustainable tourism requires conserving biodiversity and culturally valuable ecosystems.

AFLL-Based Control Technique for Grid Interfaced Three Phase PV System

This work deals with an advanced frequency locked loop (AFLL)-based control algorithm for a three phase double stage grid interfaced solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This AFLL-based algorithm extracts fundamental component of the load current and eliminates harmonics, performs grid currents balancing, improves the system performance during distorted grid conditions, and isolates the system during the occurrence of a grid fault. In a long radial network, the far away ends have the problem of voltage quality but this controller maintains the grid power quality by providing required reactive and active powers to the grid. The voltage source converter (VSC) of the PV system supplies the PV energy to the grid even under the worst situations of dc offset, solar insolation variation, load unbalancing, grid faults, voltage distortion, voltage unbalance, and voltage swell/sag. The VSC switching losses are reduced using an adaptive dc link voltage. This system is modeled and simulated in MATLAB and tests are conducted on a prototype built in the research laboratory under various odd states as stated earlier. Even during the disturbance, the harmonics level in the grid currents is seen in limits as suggested in the IEEE Standard-519.

Detection and multi-class classification of falling in elderly people by deep belief network algorithms

According to the reports on aging population, the number of elderly people without a caregiver has increased. These people are always at high risks of adverse incidents such as increased blood pressure, a variety of stroke-leading health issues, as well as other accidents resulting in body instability and eventually hazardous falls. An uncontrolled fall can result in far worse situations than the original cause itself, if the unattended patient is not promptly transmitted to a treatment center. To reduce the adverse consequences of such unfortunate events, the demand for intelligent systems to prevent, detect, and report the incidents has significantly increased during the past decade. So far, many studies have been proposed considering different aspects of the fall detection problem, from simple applied systems to complex ones regarding the detection algorithm and feature extraction methods. In this paper, a framework for smart detection, identification and notification of elderly falls is introduced. Using a personal smartphone, the tri-axial acceleration of the person’s movements is measured, and the related features are extracted following a pre-processing and timing the samples with a predefined window. The deep belief network (DBN) is used next for training and testing the system using two public datasets, with nine classes of fall and one class of daily activity. Simulation results on two generic datasets, TFall and MobiFall, show an accuracy of 97.56% sensitivity and 97.03% specificity, which is promising compared to nine other related studies.

Online teaching perceptions amidst covid-19

The world is facing one of the worst situations, battling with COVID 19 and education sector is not an exception. COVID-19 has resulted in a countrywide lockdown in India, which led to closure of schools and colleges. University Grant Commission (UGC), an apex educational body has come up with several guidelines for Higher Education Institution (HEI).This study is an attempt to understand the perception of respondents towards the online teaching, which is the new way of teaching adopted by each educational institute after the pandemic. The study shows that overall, the respondents are satisfied by the online teaching .From the study it may be concluded that the online classes favour the impact on the students and diversification in teaching methodology is imperative apart with the regular lecture teaching.

Aleitamento materno em recém-nascidos prematuros tardios e a termo: estudo de coorte

Para comparar recém-nascidos prematuros tardios e a termo quanto a ações de promoção e duração do aleitamento materno, realizou-se estudo de coorte prospectivo. Os dados foram coletados na maternidade, antes de 30 dias e aos dois, três, quatro, seis, nove e doze meses de idade dos lactentes. Análises univariadas investigaram diferenças sociodemográficas, obstétricas, neonatais e de atenção à saúde entre os dois grupos, adotando-se p<0,05 como nível crítico. Prematuros tardios apresentaram mais chances de baixo peso ao nascer (OR=28,16; IC95%=12,0-65,8), gestação de alto risco (OR=2,23; IC95%=0,98-5,07), pré-natal em serviço público (OR=0,51; IC95%=0,27-0,97), menos de seis consultas pré-natais (OR=4,26; IC95%=1,85-9,78), ausência de alojamento conjunto (OR=5,99; IC95%=2,92-12,27), mamada na primeira hora de vida (OR=2,75; IC95%=1,44-5,24) e avaliação da amamentação na maternidade (OR=7,02; IC95%=1,69-29,19). Nesse grupo, foi menos frequente aleitamento materno exclusivo na maternidade (OR=3,68; IC95%=1,93-7,03). Quanto à situação de aleitamento após a alta da maternidade, não houve diferença entre os grupos. Conclui-se que prematuros tardios apresentam mais vulnerabilidade ao nascer e recebem menos ações de promoção do aleitamento materno na maternidade; contudo, não diferem de nascidos a termo quanto a essa prática alimentar, após alta da maternidade.

Measuring health literacy: performance-based versus perception-based measures

Abstract Background Many performance-based or perception-based measurement tools of health literacy (HL) have been developed. The aim of this study is to compare the results of performance-based versus perception-based measures of HL in a population-based sample in Florence (Italy). Methods 223 subjects were interviewed. To measure HL, HLS-EU-Q16 (perception-based measure of general HL) and NVS (performance-based measure of functional HL) were used. Sociodemographic characteristics were collected. Results The majority of the subjects had high school (36%) or university (44%) degree and gets to the end of the month quite or very easily with financial resources available (69%). Considering age classes, 22% was 18-45, 26% 46-55, 34% 56-65, 18% 66-70 year-old. According to HLS-EU-Q16, 11.8% had inadequate, 55.5% problematic and 33% sufficient HL; considering NVS, 11.7% had high likelihood of limited HL, 28.7% possibility of limited HL, 59.6% adequate HL. The percentage of people with low HL was higher for HLS-EU-Q16 than for NVS in each category of age class, educational level, and financial resources. For both measures, the percentage of people with low HL increased with age, becoming more similar for older people: for HLS-EU-Q16, from 59.2% for 18-45 to 78.4% for >65 years old; for NVS, from 20% for 18-45 to 67.5% for >65 years old. Similar results were observed for educational level and financial resources: for both tests, the percentage of people with low HL increased with the decreasing of educational level or financial resources; for the worst situations (less than high school diploma or having not enough financial resources), the percentage of people with low HL become similar comparing the two tests. Conclusions Perception-based measure of general HL and performance-based measure of functional HL investigate different aspects, but in the worst situations (older people, low educational level and not enough financial resources) they tend to produce the same result. Key messages Perception-based measure of general HL and performance-based measure of functional HL investigate different aspects. In the worst situations (older people, low educational level and not enough financial resources) they tend to produce the same result.

Malignant Melanoma in People Living with HIV/AIDS: Can We Know More, Can We Do Better?

Thanks to the advancement in understanding of molecular mechanisms driving immune surveillance, we have now approached a revolutionary era for the treatment of malignant melanoma (MM). Meanwhile, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are aging and non-AIDS-related cancers have become a leading cause of death. Both HIV infection and melanoma share common immune-pathological pathways: immune checkpoints are being targeted for melanoma immunotherapy and investigated as a "shock and kill" strategy for latency reversion among HIV-positive individuals. Nevertheless, a substantial lack of information exists on epidemiology, clinical features, and management of MM in HIV, due to compartmentalized approaches and poor awareness about the problem. In this narrative review, we aimed at analyzing available data regarding MM in PLWHA to point out key knowledge gaps and future opportunities from an integrated dermatology, oncology, and infectious diseases standpoint. To date, a strong association between HIV infection and MM risk still needs to be effectively demonstrated; nevertheless, once this cancer has developed in HIV-positive people, it shows more aggressive course, worse prognosis, and seemingly peculiar clinical and histological features. Despite these challenges, a syndemic framework should lead us toward a tailored and multidisciplinary approach not to miss valuable opportunities from the worst situations including the enrolment of HIV-positive patients in the ongoing trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

NormExpression: An R Package to Normalize Gene Expression Data Using Evaluated Methods.

Data normalization is a crucial step in the gene expression analysis as it ensures the validity of its downstream analyses. Although many metrics have been designed to evaluate the existing normalization methods, different metrics or different datasets by the same metric yield inconsistent results, particularly for the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. The worst situations could be that one method evaluated as the best by one metric is evaluated as the poorest by another metric, or one method evaluated as the best using one dataset is evaluated as the poorest using another dataset. Here raises an open question: principles need to be established to guide the evaluation of normalization methods. In this study, we propose a principle that one normalization method evaluated as the best by one metric should also be evaluated as the best by another metric (the consistency of metrics) and one method evaluated as the best using scRNA-seq data should also be evaluated as the best using bulk RNA-seq data or microarray data (the consistency of datasets). Then, we designed a new metric named Area Under normalized CV threshold Curve (AUCVC) and applied it with another metric mSCC to evaluate 14 commonly used normalization methods using both scRNA-seq data and bulk RNA-seq data, satisfying the consistency of metrics and the consistency of datasets. Our findings paved the way to guide future studies in the normalization of gene expression data with its evaluation. The raw gene expression data, normalization methods, and evaluation metrics used in this study have been included in an R package named NormExpression. NormExpression provides a framework and a fast and simple way for researchers to select the best method for the normalization of their gene expression data based on the evaluation of different methods (particularly some data-driven methods or their own methods) in the principle of the consistency of metrics and the consistency of datasets.

Beyond A “Failed” State: The Role Of Local Politics And The Informal Economy In Post-1991 Somalia.

Contrary to the stereotypical notion that a "failed" state also results in complete economic collapse, Somalia is a classic example of a vibrant economy without any functioning government institutions. For the Somali people, the informal economy has emerged not only as a daily survival mechanism; it also represents their resiliency and determination to make the best out of the worst situations. In addition to serving as Somalia's socioeconomic lifeblood, informal economic activities like livestock trade and petty commerce have kept this country linked with the global economy despite its international political isolation. This paper highlights two important themes. The first is how the informal economy in Somalia and in many war-torn nations has served as an effective grassroots response to non-existent governing systems. The second is how the localization of politics based on religious principles and traditional legal structures have played a vital role in maintaining communal peace and social order.

How do they grow out of their cancer experience? Korean adolescent and young adult cancer survivors’ stories

ABSTRACT Objectives: Cancer experiences can bring positive as well as negative impacts. The current literature, however, focuses mainly on the negative impacts. This qualitative study examines Korean childhood cancer survivors’ post-traumatic growth, which concerns how they respond positively to the cancer experience and how they change as a result of their experience. Design: In-person or telephone interviews were conducted with 31 adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancer post-treatment who were living in Korea. Results: Thematic analysis found that childhood cancer survivors experienced growth by feeling gratitude (being content with the present, making comparisons with worse situations), engaging in self-affirmation (‘I am strong’; ‘My example can help others’; ‘I am ready for new challenges’), deepening faith (communicating with God, trusting God's direction), and finding the social meaning of cancer (becoming a self-advocate, mapping out a career path). Conclusions: The study findings can be used by psychosocial care professionals to support Korean cancer survivors to recognize post-traumatic growth and, thus, achieve improved well-being.

Post-disaster recovery is a marathon, not a sprint: The need for a state-sponsored recovery scheme

This study explores the recovery experiences of survivors of a flash flood event, five years after a natural disaster in South East Queensland. In-depth interviews were conducted with 33 of the original cohort of 120 post-disaster interviewees who experienced sudden traumatic bereavement and/or their own near-death experience. The data reveals that many of the survivors and rescuers were in worse—or far worse—situations than they had been in the weeks and months immediately after the disaster. Interviewees identified the worsening of their situation as being caused by systems failures by civil authorities, health care systems, welfare programmes and the insurance industry. Further research is recommended to assess the needs of people affected by natural disasters and the viability of a state-funded recovery scheme that could expedite personal, family and community recovery. The proposed scheme is based on the Queensland WorkCover scheme that scaffolds recovery and return to work for injured workers.

Association between tumor response and change in EQ5D-3L quality of life among cancer patients

Purpose: The primary aim in cancer treatment is to provide excellent tumor response while maintaining the most acceptable quality of life. The relationship of QoL to tumor response has not yet been well discussed. This study determines the association between the change in the QoL from baseline to one (1) year follow-up and tumor response among patients enrolled in the ASEAN Cost in Oncology (ACTION) study. Methods: Pooled data from the ACTION study was reviewed. Associations between demographics, cancer type, and tumor response were analyzed. Results: Of the qualified profiles (412 / 742), breast cancer (42.2%), colorectal (21.8%), and head neck (10%) are still most common. Of these cases, 126 (30.6%) were metastatic on presentation. Demographic data showed female sex having better tumor response. More importantly, tumor response was significantly associated with improvement in QoL: complete or partial response was associated with improvement in QoL (p = .000) while progressive disease related to worse situations. The general pattern seen above was reflected in female breast cancer cases, colon and rectal cancer, and other malignant neoplasms. Conclusion: Improvement in QoL was significantly associated with better tumor response. This trend was similar for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and other malignancies. The use of universal measures of health like the EQ5D 3L may be used to quantify improvements in QoL with several limitations: 1) cultural differences should be established and 2) limitations in quantifying precise changes in QoL. The utilization of more culturally adept QoL measures may address this problem. Similarly, the use of secondary data may limit the results in this study. Prospective studies specifically addressing the objectives may improve results.

Chance‐constrained scheduling model of grid‐connected microgrid based on probabilistic and robust optimisation

This study presents a chance-constrained scheduling model based on probabilistic and robust optimisation to handle the uncertainty of renewable energy generation and loads in microgrids. In order to generate appropriate scenarios, a large number of scenarios are generated by a Latin hypercube sampling Monte Carlo method and reduced by a fast forward selection algorithm. With the aggregated scenarios, a probabilistic scheduling model is established to obtain the expectation of schedules in different probability scenario. Aiming at taking full use of the generated scenarios, a robust optimisation is applied to the probabilistic model to consider the worst situations. The scheduling model proposed in this study combines the probabilistic and robust optimisation, in which the probabilistic one utilises the aggregated scenarios to introduce the probability characteristic of uncertainty and the robust one utilises the eliminated scenarios to consider the worst case of uncertainty. Finally, the proposed scheduling model is applied to a designed grid-connected microgrid, and the simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheduling model.

‘Children Heard, Half-Heard?’: A Practitioner’s Look for Children in the Responsibility to Protect and Normative Agendas on Protection in Armed Conflict

When the United Nations (un) agreed on a definition of the Responsibility to Protect (r2p) at the 2005 World Summit, the two paragraphs it endorsed articulated what r2p stands for, giving the concept a focused but narrow remit around protecting populations specifically from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in armed conflict. In its next paragraph, the un Membership reiterated concerns on the impact of armed conflict on children echoing the landmark 1612 Resolution by the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict (caac) adopted a few weeks before. Though side-by-side in the text, caac and r2p were not linked. To this day, for international practitioners in emergency responses, the interaction between both remains unclear. While this simultaneous peak moment for r2p and caac may have occurred by chance, this article describes how both concepts (as advocacy tools and instruments for practitioners to ‘respond’) emerged out of similar concern for protecting civilians – including children – in conflict. However, the link between both concepts should not be overstated. While r2p and caac fit together for the intentions they share, this happened more coincidentally than purposefully. This article argues, taking an international practitioner’s perspective, that both concepts should not be understood as always operating at the same level. caac has grown from an advocacy platform to an umbrella of different programmes, responses, tools and frameworks, including the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (mrm) on Children and Armed Conflict. Even if applied with variable success, these tools and approaches under the caac agenda chart some ways practitioners can hope to do more towards protecting children in conflict. But for those same practitioners, delivering on a Responsibility to Protect is a different question – one where their ‘responsibility’ is at best secondary and implicit, because r2p sits squarely as a primary and explicit responsibility of states – who are also the ultimate duty bearers for children’s rights. While the echoes of a child rights agenda can be heard in the conversation around r2p, and while r2p can help frame and drive efforts by child protection practitioners to respond to some of the worst situations children face, r2p is, for the protection agency field officer, an aspirational goal, necessarily out of reach.

Education as a breaker of poverty: a critical perspective

Education as a breaker of poverty: a critical perspective

High intergenerational connections: a film-based inquiry

Purpose This study aims to increase the understanding about the concept of high-quality connections (HQCs) by examining how it develops between members of different generations. Design/methodology/approach It draws on film-based method to explain how the theory of HQC unfolds, particularly in a context of high intergenerational connection. Findings This study reflects the analysis of a movie that, to a large extent, fits in the HQCs conceptual framework. Rather, all key mechanisms of HQCs concept (i.e. behavioral, cognitive and emotional) were found in the plot of Die Hard 4.0. It provides compelling evidence that films may explore the possibilities of reality including the nuances of the relationships among human beings, despite the fact that it portrays a fictional creation. In doing so, it shows that HQCs are likely to be found – as very often happens in the real life – even in the worst situations. Findings also show that HQCs may be built through the time as individuals start to better know each other, i.e. their styles, behavior, religion preferences, held values, capabilities and interpersonal skills. Research limitations/implications Otherwise, film method does not allow that the research results be generalized. At best, it offers elements to the viewers reflect about. Practical implications Very often individuals are designated to carry out certain tasks along with unknown colleagues with whom they need to interact in a positive manner to accomplish the goals. As a result, organizations should pay close attention to the quality of connections among their employees. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first endeavor toward analyzing the mechanisms of HQCs concept by means of such approach. In doing so, this analysis strongly corroborates HQCs concept functioning.

Health System Planning. A Methodology to Locate Social and Health Structures in Developing Countries

The subject of this research is the identification of an experimental method to locate social-sanitary structures in some countries with situations of great emergency. At the beginning, this research analyses the collection of some data related to main characteristics of emergency areas, such as population density, health care facilities, environmental situations, proximity of the rivers, availability of infrastructure, settlements, floods and characters of the site.Through this experimental method, each data allows to realize a map, which shows the places where are located the areas with major problems related to that specific factor. The results of each map can be compared and summarized into a complete table that allows to realize a final map with the worst situations of each areas (“stress” areas), that require priority interventions.Finally, by recognizing a long-term strategy, this research identifies a precise case study to verify this experimental method.

Association between Tumor Response and Change in EQ5D-3L Quality of Life among Cancer Patients

Introduction: The primary aim in cancer treatment is to provide excellent tumor response while maintaining the most acceptable quality of life. The relationship of QoL to tumor response has not yet been well discussed. This study determines the association between the change in the QoL from baseline to one year follow-up and tumor response among patients enrolled in the ASEAN Cost in Oncology (ACTION) study. Methods: Pooled data from the ACTION study was reviewed. Associations between demographics, cancer type, and tumor response were analyzed. Results: Of the qualified profiles (412/ 742), breast cancer (42.2%), colorectal (21.8%), and head neck (10%) are still most common. Of these cases, 126 (30.6%) were metastatic on presentation. Demographic data showed female sex having better tumor response. More importantly, tumor response was significantly associated with improvement in QoL: complete or partial response was associated with improvement in QoL (p=.000) while progressive disease related to worse situations. The general pattern seen above was reflected in female breast cancer cases, colon and rectal cancer, and other malignant neoplasms. Conclusion: Improvement in QoL was significantly associated with better tumor response. This trend was similar for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and other malignancies. The use of universal measures of health like the EQ5D-3L may be used to quantify improvements in QoL with several limitations: 1) Cultural differences should be established and 2) Limitations in quantifying precise changes in QoL. The utilization of more culturally adept QoL measures may address this problem. Similarly, the use of secondary data may limit the results in this study. Prospective studies specifically addressing the objectives may improve results.