Young Academic Research Articles

The association of cigarette smoking and pathological response to neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy in patients undergoing treatment for urinary bladder cancer - A prospective European multicenter observational study of the EAU Young Academic Urologists (YAU) urothelial carcinoma working group

ObjectiveTo prospectively study the impact of smoking on pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB). Materials & methodsWe collected standard clinicopathological variables, including smoking status (never, former, current) in patients undergoing NAC and RC for UCB at 12 European tertiary care centers between 12/2013-12/2015. Clinicopathological variables were compared according to smoking status. Multivariable logistic regression models were built to assess the association of smoking status and a) complete (no residual disease), b) partial (residual, non-muscle invasive disease), c) no pathological response (residual muscle invasive or lymph node positive disease). Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were employed to study the impact of response to NAC on survival. Results and limitationsOur final cohort consisted of 167 NAC patients with a median follow-up of 15 months (interquartile range (IQR) 9–26 months) of whom 48 (29%), 69 (41%), and 50 (30%) where never, former, and current smokers, respectively. Smoking was significantly associated with advanced age (p = 0.013), worse ECOG performance status (p = 0.049), and decreased pathological response to NAC (p = 0.045). On multivariable logistic regression analyses, former and current smoking status was significantly associated with lower odds of complete pathological response (odds ratio (OR) 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.16–0.87, p = 0.023, and OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.13–0.85, p = 0.021), while current smoking status was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of no pathological response (OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.02–6.06, p = 0.045). Response to NAC was confirmed as powerful predictor of survival. ConclusionsSmoking status is adversely associated with pathological response to NAC. Smokers should be informed about these adverse effects, counseled regarding smoking cessation, and possibly be considered for immunotherpeutics as they may be more effective in smokers.

An Overview of the Advantages of Digital Flexible Ureteroscopes. A Review by Young Academic Urologists Endourology and Urolithiasis Working Party of the European Association of Urology

An Overview of the Advantages of Digital Flexible Ureteroscopes. A Review by Young Academic Urologists Endourology and Urolithiasis Working Party of the European Association of Urology

Las Cátedras Conacyt en los márgenes de la subcontratación y la flexibilidad laboral

The aim of this work is to examine the labor practices of Conacyt academic staff from the perspective of their subjective experience in this work field. The “Catedras Conacyt” are academic positions for young researchers, as the result of a new Mexican government program that establishes an atypical and flexible triangular labor relations system for the academic sector in Mexico. In the current debate a relation between the atypical-flexible and the job insecurity is widely accepted, although not everybody agree with this point of view. Overall, this debate is referenced to labor areas of industry and services, usually low-skilled staff, none of which is the case of these young academic staff. So, it is worth checking if that association also operates in Conacyt “Catedras”. Seventeen interviews were conducted with young academics, from which it is concluded that hardly can be associated “Catedras” with a condition of precariousness. However, there are problematic aspects that should not be ignored.

Young Chinese Children's Academic Skill Development: Identifying Child-, Family-, and School-Level Factors.

This chapter addresses how child-, family-, and school-level characteristics are associated with Chinese children's academic skill development during their preschool years. Academic skills are defined in terms of young children's emergent competencies in academic domains including literacy, mathematics, and science. First, we review the relations of young Chinese children's cognition (language, visuospatial, and executive functioning), behavior (social behavior and behavioral regulation), and affect (interest and attitude) to their performance in these academic domains. Second, we review the roles of familial variables, including family socioeconomic status and broad and specific aspects of parenting practices and parental involvement. Third, we review school- and classroom-level factors, with a special emphasis on preschool and classroom quality that is particularly relevant to young Chinese children's academic skills. We discuss the educational implications of these study findings and identify methodological limitations that may threaten their internal and external validity. Our aim is to bring attention to the growing body of research on young Chinese children's academic skill development and to highlight several areas that need further research.

Electronic structure of O-doped SiGe calculated by DFT + U method**Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province, China (Grant No. 2015FB123), the 18th Yunnan Province Young Academic and Technical Leaders Reserve Talent Project, China (Grant No. 2015HB015), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U1037604).

To more in depth understand the doping effects of oxygen on SiGe alloys, both the micro-structure and properties of O-doped SiGe (including: bulk, (001) surface, and (110) surface) are calculated by DFT + U method in the present work. The calculated results are as follows. (i) The (110) surface is the main exposing surface of SiGe, in which O impurity prefers to occupy the surface vacancy sites. (ii) For O interstitial doping on SiGe (110) surface, the existences of energy states caused by O doping in the band gap not only enhance the infrared light absorption, but also improve the behaviors of photo-generated carriers. (iii) The finding about decreased surface work function of O-doped SiGe (110) surface can confirm previous experimental observations. (iv) In all cases, O doing mainly induces the electronic structures near the band gap to vary, but is not directly involved in these variations. Therefore, these findings in the present work not only can provide further explanation and analysis for the corresponding underlying mechanism for some of the experimental findings reported in the literature, but also conduce to the development of μc-SiGe-based solar cells in the future.

On Novice Facilitators Doing Research—Research in Problem Structuring Methods as Autoethnography

Opportunities for novices to facilitate Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) workshops are limited, especially because of a lack of access to real‐world interventions and confidence in their capabilities. Novices are usually young academics building their careers through publishing. Publishing is challenging if facilitation and opportunities for data collection are limited. To address this challenge, this paper suggests autoethnography as a framework for addressing difficulties that novices face in conducting research and publishing on PSMs. This suggestion grows out of a literature study on autoethnography and PSMs combined with reflections on the author's experience as a PSM novice and young academic. Autoethnography is presented as a means to enable access to real‐world interventions, enhance novices' confidence, and identify research and publishing opportunities. The author outlines strengths and challenges associated with PSM novices carrying out autoethnography. Contributions to PSM literature and practice are also provided. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Larva, nymph and naiad – for accuracy's sake

Larva, nymph and naiad – for accuracy's sake

508 The impact of cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on oncological aggressiveness at radical cystectomy – a prospective, European, multicenter study of the EAU Young Academic Urologists (YAU) bladder cancer working group

508 The impact of cigarette smoking and smoking cessation on oncological aggressiveness at radical cystectomy – a prospective, European, multicenter study of the EAU Young Academic Urologists (YAU) bladder cancer working group

The Potential of Digital Storytelling as an Ethnographic Research Technique in Social Sciences

Abstract By using ethnographic research techniques, we can ask questions in order to understandsome issues in the social sciences such as experience, the unique, the ordinary, daily life, emotions etc. However, it is possible to query the proficiency of current ethnographic techniques to design dialogic research and to convey the experiences of the ‘subjects’ of the field research. Techniques such as in-depth interviews, informal interviews and even the focus group depend on the dichotomy of the researcher who asks questions and the subject who responds to them. However, designing dialogic field research requires refusing those dichotomies, which can be considered to be inherited from a positivist understanding of science. In this article I discuss the potential of any digital storytelling workshop as an ethnographic research technique, with regard to three issues that seem problematic in current ethnographic techniques: integrated research processes; power and hierarchy relationships; and conveying the voice of subjects. The discussion of this article results from two academic experiences: One of them is my ethnographic field research experience for my doctoral dissertation; When I was writing my doctoral dissertation, entitled The Experience of Asylum Seeking in Turkey within the Context of Intercultural Communication, I conducted field research between 20 July and 20 December 2011, when I investigated how asylum-seeking in Turkey is experienced in daily life within the context of intercultural communication. In my field study, which lasted for five months in Gaziantep, one of the provinces that is located on the south-eastern part of Turkey, I adopted and put to use the participant observation, informal interview and in-depth interview techniques. I experienced a number of difficulties in conducting a field research with a sensitive (disadvantaged) group of people such as the asylum seekers. the other is the digital storytelling workshop entitled When I was in the field: Digital Stories from Young Academic Women . We conducted this workshop within the body of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Communication, between 25 March and 16 April 2013. I was one of the facilitators of the workshop. We had two purposes. The first was to share stories about our field research experiences as woman academicians. We wanted to understand if gender differentiates the field research experiences. The second was to use DST (digital storytelling) as an ethnographic research technique. We wanted to discuss the problems of ethnographic research techniques that we encounter in the field and see if DST has a potential that allows us to ask new questions. First, I discuss the weaknesses of current ethnographic research techniques and, second, I focus on how digital storytelling workshops can help to reduce these weaknesses. Finally, in conclusion, I touch on the discussions – carried out in the workshop mentioned above – regarding the opportunities and difficulties of using the digital stories and the workshop process as one of the ethnographic research techniques.

The Diagnosis of Benign Prostatic Obstruction: Validation of the Young Academic Urologist Clinical Nomogram

To externally validate the Young Academic Urologist (YAU) nomogram for the prediction of benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms and benign prostatic enlargement. Between January 2013 and September 2014, a consecutive series of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms and benign prostatic enlargement underwent standardized pressure flow studies (PFSs) in 2 tertiary Italian centers. Variables assessed were International Prostatic Symptom Score, Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), prostate size, transitional zone volume, maximal urinary flow rate (Qmax), postvoid residual urine. BPO was defined as a Schäfer grade ≥ 3 at PFSs. Qmax and transitional zone volume were plotted on the YAU nomogram to predict the presence of BPO. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate predictive properties of the nomogram for the final diagnosis of BPO. A total of 449 patients were consecutively enrolled. In those, 310 patients (69%) presented a BPO (Schäfer ≥ 3) at PFSs. The novel YAU nomogram presented an area under the curve of 0.76; 95% confidence interval: 0.72-0.82 for the diagnosis of BPO. At the best cutoff value of 80% (nomogram probability), the sensitivity was 74% and specificity was 79%, the positive predictive value was 89%, and the negative predictive value was 56%. Although further studies are needed to confirm our results, the YAU nomogram was, in our experience, an excellent tool to predict the presence of BPO.

On the entangled paths of urban resistance, city planning and heritage conservation

Resistance, planning and conservation may seem like parallel or combating universes – while resistance almost always entails actions against the state institutions, planning and conservation practices function typically with and within them. These seemingly disen- gaged modalities of social and political processes came together as the focus of the 8th Annual AESOP Young Academics Conference, titled “Cities that Talks” that took place in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2014. The conference theme and an impressive array of case studies reflect the recent surge of urban resistance movements in Europe and elsewhere in the world. They also reflect a substantial level of interest among young academic scholars who, as a generation of young people, are themselves faced with social and political upheavals–including, but not limited to, the current impacts of neoliberal restructuring and austerity policies that percolate through the society today.

Innovation Management Process in Young Academic Institutes

Innovation Management Process in Young Academic Institutes

Innovation Management Process in Young Academic Institutes

Technological innovations from most young universities and academic institutes generally emerge out of chaos. Thus, there is usually no support system put in place to support and manage this chaos. This is also largely due to the objectives of young academic institutions which are defined out of their mission to focus on academic excellence and placement rather than to nurture innovations that promise long term benefits. While there have been many social science research methodology based studies on this subject under the broad umbrella of Innovation and Technology Management, there is usually an absence of a well defined process to help academic institutions to manage their intellectual property better. A clearly articulated method for translation of ideas into technological innovation will certainly help young academic institutes to inculcate research in students and teachers and would help identify the best commercial application of technological innovations. In this paper we identify the need, propose and debate features of an innovation management process, based on cloud based technologies, particularly suitable for young academic institutes, to promote and support innovation in students and faculty.

A Journey in Indonesian Regional Autonomy: The Complications of “Traditional” Village Revival in Mentawai, West Sumatra

This article aims to show the development of local identities and of local government political interests, as captured by clans and élite groups in Mentawai, West Sumatra, Indonesia. An ethnographic analysis was made of those islands in the Indian Ocean, which contain a high diversity of clan dialects/languages and new élite groups that have emerged as a result of young academic Mentawaians returning from the mainland. Influenced by a notion of indigenous political strength, a change in regional administration has set in motion political lobbying by young academics infused with new political ideas and economic interests. Regional autonomy raised the importance of local specific community demands of minority and indigenous governance, and the formation of local élite groups aligned with local interest groups, especially in remote regions of the Indonesian archipelago. The complications of a political landscape with numerous independent clans and recently created élite groups focused on their own narrow concern have compromised the negotiation capacity to advance the general interests of the communities in the Mentawai archipelago.

Use of flexible ureteroscopy in the clinical practice for the treatment of renal stones: results from a large European survey conducted by the EAU Young Academic Urologists-Working Party on Endourology and Urolithiasis

Treatment of renal stones using flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) is increasingly common despite the poor evidence in literature supporting its use and indications. With this study, we wanted to investigate the current use and indication of fURS for the treatment of renal stones in the clinical practice across the European countries. A survey was conducted using an emailed questionnaire consisting of 21 items; 2,894 recipients were selected via the EAU membership database. The questionnaires were collected through the SurveyMonkey system and the data were processed with the SPSS statistical package. Frequencies, cross tabs and Pearson correlation coefficients were applied as appropriate. 1,168 questionnaires were collected (response rate 40.4%). fURS was performed in 72.9% of the respondents' institutions, and 54.2% of the respondents were performing the procedure. For 95% of the users, fURS was considered first-line treatment, for stone of lower pole stone (45.9%) and <1 cm (44.2%) and 2 cm (43.8%) in size. The ureteral access sheaths were used routinely by more than 70% of the respondents. Lower pole stone repositioning technique was routinely performed by 45.9% of the surgeons. After fragmentation, 47.2% of the responders preferred to retrieve only the bigger fragments. At the end of fURS, lower volume surgeons were more likely to place routinely a double-J stent (p = 0.001). Higher volume surgeons estimated a higher durability of devices, both optical and digital ones (p < 0.001), and were more prone to consider fURS cost-effective when compared to other treatment modalities (p < 0.001). fURS is widely used for the treatment of renal stones and its use and indication can vary according to the age and surgeons' case volume. Higher volume surgeons are more prompt to extend international guidelines indications and to consider the technology cost-effective.

Burnout and Career Satisfaction Among Men and Women Young Academic Surgeons

A 2008 American College of Surgeons survey regarding burnout and career satisfaction included a cohort of 1498 young academic surgeons (663 Associate. Professors; 727 Assistant. Professors; 108 instructors), the largest sample ever analyzed.

A Fellow’s Perspective on Beginning a Satisfying Career in Academic Medical Toxicology

A Fellow’s Perspective on Beginning a Satisfying Career in Academic Medical Toxicology

Senegalensions A–C, Three Limonoids from Khaya senegalensis

NSFC [30830114]; Ministry of Science and Technology [2009CB522300, 2009CB940900]; Young Academic and Technical Leader Raising Foundation of Yunnan Province [2010CI047]

Globalisation and its discontents: an Indonesian perspective

It is indeed a great honour for me to give the 2011 Heinz Arndt Memorial Lecture.The first time I met the great Professor Heinz Arndt was as a nine‐year‐old back in 1966 when our family first came to Canberra and Heinz was my father's (Panglaykim) new boss. I recall that he picked us up at the airport and within the first week we had visited his house in Deakin, where he gave me and my two brothers games such as Chinese checkers and books that his own kids had outgrown. So my first thought was: what a kind and thoughtful man.Little did I know that I would end up being what he often termed his ‘academic grandchild’. I never took a class from Heinz or was fortunate enough to be supervised by him. However, I had many interactions with him when I was a student at the Australian National University (ANU) and, upon graduation, as an aspiring young academic. He had an important influence on the course of my life. First, he encouraged me to do my PhD in the USA. After I completed my masters at the ANU under Peter Drysdale, I toyed with the idea of continuing with a PhD at the Research School of Pacific Studies. However, Heinz convinced me to go to the USA because he thought it would widen my horizons. He was right.Second, there was the importance of being disciplined and thorough in undertaking country or regional research. One of the most important initiation exercises for an academic working on Indonesia was to do a ‘Survey of Recent Developments’ for the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. I recall being given a yellowed document that had been formulated by Heinz with precise guidelines on topics, structure, and people to see and interview. We found similar guidelines on regional surveys when we did economic surveys of all the provinces a few years later. I found that doing the research and interviews for the survey was the easy part. The hard part was the two weeks spent in Canberra writing up the survey and being subjected to peer review. The draft was presented to the ‘editorial team’ and others, including, of course, the venerable Professor Arndt. I am glad to say that I passed in terms of substance; but of course there were lots of edits to do following Heniz's traditional typed‐up comments, both general and specific!Third, despite being a formidable figure and someone with a reputation for strong opinions, Heinz was the same kind and thoughtful man I remembered as a nine‐year‐old. He always had the time of day for the young academics, especially those from Indonesia. I had many cups of tea with him as a student and later as an aspiring academic. I still recall his room in University House filled with his books and the filing cabinet near the bathroom, where he would inevitably pull out the right references and reading materials that one needed. I learned a lot about the importance of mentoring and encouraging the young—many of whom have succeeded and are in the room today.This lecture is to honour Professor Heinz Arndt. I believe Professor Arndt was a true internationalist and therefore he would tackle with gusto the rumblings of discontent on globalisation. He would be thorough in trying to understand the manifestations of globalisation and its sources of discontent. He would also be of the firm belief that the benefits of globalisation outweigh its costs and come up with strategic ideas on how to best manage globalisation to counter ‘globaphobia’. I hope I do justice to this topic in the Heinz Arndt tradition.

The Racial/Ethnic Composition of Elementary Schools and Young Children's Academic and Socioemotional Functioning.

This study attempted to untangle how two dimensions of school racial/ethnic composition-racial/ethnic diversity of the student body and racial/ethnic matching between children and their peers-were related to socioemotional and academic development after the transition into elementary school. Analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort revealed that school racial/ethnic composition was more strongly associated with children's academic, as opposed to socioemotional, outcomes. Students had higher achievement test scores in more diverse schools, especially when they also had more same-racial/ethnic peers in these diverse schools. These patterns were particularly strong for White students. Having more school peers of the same race/ethnicity, regardless of the overall level of diversity in the school, was associated with positive socioemotional development.