Using the Theory of Fundamental Causes to Show the Potential Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Surgical Outcomes

Surgical procedures are both costly and common. There are large differences in surgical outcomes both within and between hospitals based on patient characteristics such as measures of income. In both 2000 and 2009, patients residing in low-income communities had worse morbidity and mortality rates, across a wide range of quality indicators. In this review, the author will explicate the Theory of Fundamental Causes as it relates to surgical care, review key empirical findings and address potential limitations of the theory. This review will provide a platform for researchers to discuss current research in surgical disparities using the Theory of Fundamental Causes and help guide an agenda for future research

Entity Type Prediction in Knowledge Graphs using Embeddings

Open Knowledge Graphs (such as DBpedia, Wikidata, YAGO) have been recognized as the backbone of diverse applications in the field of data mining and information retrieval. Hence, the completeness and correctness of the Knowledge Graphs (KGs) are vital. Most of these KGs are mostly created either via an automated information extraction from Wikipedia snapshots or information accumulation provided by the users or using heuristics. However, it has been observed that the type information of these KGs is often noisy, incomplete, and incorrect. To deal with this problem a multi-label classification approach is proposed in this work for entity typing using KG embeddings. We compare our approach with the current state-of-the-art type prediction method and report on experiments with the KGs

The Association Between Survivors’ Guilt and Gratitude in the Belongingness of Refugee College Students

Many refugees experience significant stress and trauma before relocating to their host country (Leo, 2021) and often encounter new challenges when adapting to their unfamiliar environment. Refugee college students, who are often the first in their families to attend college, face additional pressure to excel academically to give back to their families and host country (Turjanmaa & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2020). Despite prior research on refugee individuals, little work has focused on refugee college students. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the relationships between survivors’ guilt, gratitude, indebtedness, and belongingness in 16 refugee university students. Specifically, the study investigated the following research questions: 1) How does survivors’ guilt relate to the feeling of belongingness in refugee college students? 2) How does gratitude relate to the feeling of belongingness in refugee college students? 3) How does indebtedness relate to the feeling of belongingness in refugee college students? 4) Is the feeling of gratitude or indebtedness stronger in refugee college students? Results revealed no significant correlation between survivor guilt or gratitude and belongingness but showed a significant correlation between indebtedness and belongingness. Implications and limitations are discussed.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1444/thumbnail.jp

Training Evaluation in an Organization using Kirkpatrick Model: A Case Study of PIA

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the training effectiveness on PIA by applying the four levels Kirkpatrick model consisting of reaction, learning, behavior & Results. This study is cross sectional, primary data was collected through interviews from different batches representing different levels of the Kirkpatrick model. Effectiveness of training at the different levels was being evaluated through construct/theme developed on the basis of literature review. For level one evaluation interviews were conducted from employees who had recently completed their training; for level 2,3&4 the respondents, who had completed same training about 3 months, 6 months and year earlier respectively. The results indicated that reaction of the participants were positive for training except duration was too short, secondly they have applied skills & knowledge which they had learnt from training. A positive consequence of the training is that most of the participants got promoted from their current designation with the improvement in their pay scales. Thus, the soft skills trainings were effective with the participants desiring more opportunities to attend soft skills training session at least quarterly basis, to further improve their skills and enhance their knowledge. This model is rarely used in Pakistan, specially in PIA it is used first time by the help of this research study and find effectiveness of training. Keywords: Training Evaluation, Kirkpatrick Model, PIA training Center, Trainin

Effectiveness of Xi’s Anti-corruption Campaign in China: A Preliminary Study

Corruption is considered as a phenomenon which can be seen in every country and region. It is a curse and a cancer for the economy of the country. It is unethical and unacceptable behavior and use of power for individual and personal gain. The objectives of this research are to analyze the level of corruption in China and the efforts to curb the corruption. The anti-corruption campaign of China is popular among the scholars and analysts not only in China but also internationally.  Xi Jinping came into power in 2012 and started crackdowns upon tigers and flies. Xi gives importance to the party discipline and behavior of party cadres. The Chinese Communist Party set strict rules and regulations to curb the corruption. This research is based on qualitative methods and data was collected by secondary sources which provide better understanding of Chinese anti-corruption efforts. This research provides the history and present situation of corruption in China

Adoptive cell transfer: examining the potential of a T cell-mediated therapy for metastatic melanoma

Adoptive cell transfer techniques identify and isolate patient anti-tumor lymphocytes in vitro followed by ex vivo expansion of these tumor specific T cells. Identification and isolation of lymphocytes from patient tumors allows for the selection of anti-tumor lymphocytes that are highly specific for individual tumor antigens. Furthermore, recombinant technology allows for engineering of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) which allow these T cells to target multiple tumor antigens. Techniques involving ex vivo growth lead to a 1,000- to 5,000-fold increase in numbers of lymphocytes. Cultured lymphocytes can then be infused via IV and growth maintained with administration of exogenous IL-2. Cancer patients are then monitored for both immunological activity as well as any adverse cytokine reactions. We looked at several trial studies for the application of adoptive cell transfer in metastatic melanoma compare the efficacy of the regimen to other established melanoma treatments. Adoptive transfer has proven to be effective for patients with late stage melanoma, however, the aim of this study was to examine some of the challenges in creating an effective standard protocol for adaptation in clinical settings, including difficulty in obtaining significant cell populations from tumors, challenges in the proliferation of these tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and determination of antigen-specificity, i.e. facilitation of a simplified and quicker approach to the therapy

The Determinants of Inward FDI in SAARC Countries: Evidence from a Time Series data Analysis

As South Asian Countries have location advantage, this study examines the impact of  economic, social and political factors on inward foreign direct investment into Pakistan, India and Bangladesh using a time series data for the period 1991- 2010. The set of macro-economic determinants are market size measured by GDP and market potential measured by per capita GDP, exchange rate measured by real effective exchange rate, macroeconomic stability measured by inflation and trade openness measured by the ratio of trade to GDP, political instability measured by political index taken from polity IV. Social determinants are cost of capital measured by real interest rate and quality of physical infrastructure measured by internet users (per 100 people). The paper highlights the finding that macroeconomic stability is insignificant variable for Pakistan and Bangladesh. Infrastructure is statically and economically significant variable for India, while market size is a significant variable for India but not for Bangladesh. Political instability is insignificant variable for India and Bangladesh. This paper fills the gap by identifying the common location advantage variables for FDI inflows between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Key words: macroeconomic stability, trade openness, political inde