Effects of Short-Term Service Ministry Trips on the Development of Social Responsibility in College Students

This study investigated the impact of service ministry trips on the development of social responsibility in college students at a small Quaker liberal arts university in the Pacific Northwest. Students (50 female, 14 male) who participated on 5 different short-term service ministry trips served as the service ministry group, while students (23 females, 13 males) in a general psychology class served as the control group. Over three administrations of the Global Social Responsibility Inventory, (Starrett 1996) students provided responses that offered support for service ministry trips as a method of increasing a sense of social responsibility in college students. Analysis revealed that the students who participated in the service ministry trips demonstrated a stronger sense of social responsibility at the end of the trip than did the control group, and that the increase maintained itself at the four week follow-up test. Further analysis was mixed regarding whether service ministry trips to locations that provided interpersonal interaction with marginal groups demonstrated a stronger sense of social responsibility than either the control group or a service ministry trip that were primarily devotional in nature

Clinicopathological predictors of chemoresponsiveness in epithelial ovarian cancer: a preliminary institutional study

Objective: One-third of women with epithelial ovarian cancer are resistant to standard platinum-based chemotherapy, and insufficient data exist in predicting response to chemotherapy. We describe the clinical and pathological factors of patients with complete and incomplete response to treatment. Method: In this retrospective study, data was reviewed from 75 medical charts of 243 patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancers as a preliminary study. All patients underwent chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery for primary disease. Fifty-six patients had complete response (CR) to chemotherapy and 19 had incomplete response (IR). Fifty-eight and 17 patients had optimal and suboptimal cytoreductive surgery, respectively. Clinical and pathological factors were compared in patients with complete and incomplete response to treatment, and optimal and suboptimal surgery. Overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and time to recurrence (TTR) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method for patient groups. Results: The majority of patients in both the CR and IR groups were diagnosed at advanced stage ovarian cancer. The CR group had significantly lower preoperative CA125 and was more likely to have optimal chemotherapy. The CR group was also more likely to have lymph nodes removed during cytoreductive surgery. A significantly lower percentage of CR patients died from the disease and had statistically longer disease free survival. Patients who underwent suboptimal surgery had significantly shorter survival, but no difference existed in the time until recurrence between patients with optimal and suboptimal surgery. OS, CSS, and TTR were significantly increased in the CR group and in patients that had optimal surgery. Conclusion: Complete response during treatment and optimal surgery significantly increases OS, CSS, and TTR. Preoperative CA125 and lymph node removal during surgery may be predictive of complete treatment response

Optimist Prime- Emergency Medicine Residents are an Optimistic Group

Introduction: No study before has been conducted looking at the level of optimism and pessimism in emergency medicine residents and how it may be linked to resident burnout. This is the first national- level assessment of these personality factors. Methods: This was a prospective survey study leveraging data obtained through the 2017 National Emergency Medicine Resident Wellness Survey, which included the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R). The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) is a 10-item tool that measures levels of optimism versus pessimism. Results: We found that the majority of our resident respondents scored in the moderate category of the LOT-R. Additionally, 12.4% fell into the more optimistic category. Conclusion: The results indicate that emergency medicine residents are not generally pessimistic and a pessimistic outlook is unlikely to affect resident levels of fatigue, burnout or emotional distress

Ultrasound evaluation of pelvic masses seen within a university gynecologic oncology clinic: does the scan location matter?

To quantify variations in the reporting of ultrasound characteristics of adnexal masses between local ultrasound centers and a tertiary care center for women referred to gynecologic oncology for evaluation of a pelvic mass. This study also sought to evaluate whether a gynecologic oncologist’s impression regarding the suspicion for malignancy differed based upon the information provided in the local ultrasound report as compared to the tertiary care center ultrasound report

Affinity maturation of the RLIP76 Ral binding domain to inform the design of stapled peptides targeting the Ral GTPases.

Ral GTPases have been implicated as critical drivers of cell growth and metastasis in numerous Ras-driven cancers. We have previously reported stapled peptides, based on the Ral effector RLIP76, that can disrupt Ral signaling. Stapled peptides are short peptides that are locked into their bioactive form using a synthetic brace. Here, using an affinity maturation of the RLIP76 Ral-binding domain, we identified several sequence substitutions that together improve binding to Ral proteins by more than 20-fold. Hits from the selection were rigorously analyzed to determine the contributions of individual residues and two 1.5 Å cocrystal structures of the tightest-binding mutants in complex with RalB revealed key interactions. Insights gained from this maturation were used to design second-generation stapled peptides based on RLIP76 that exhibited vastly improved selectivity for Ral GTPases when compared with the first-generation lead peptide. The binding of second-generation peptides to Ral proteins was quantified and the binding site of the lead peptide on RalB was determined by NMR. Stapled peptides successfully competed with multiple Ral-effector interactions in cellular lysates. Our findings demonstrate how manipulation of a native binding partner can assist in the rational design of stapled peptide inhibitors targeting a protein-protein interaction

Primary radiation as initial management in endometrial cancer: investigating EBRT, IMRT and HDR brachytherapy

For patients with endometrial cancer at increased risk of perioperative morbidity, primary radiation therapy is an effective alternative treatment option. However, there has been no consensus on radiation technique and little data on outcomes. Our aim was to identify factors which determine patient selection for primary radiation, investigate treatment efficacy of radiation compared to surgical management of endometrial cancer and to evaluate different radiation modalities including external beam radiation therapy alone or with a boost of either high dose rate brachytherapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy for differences in toxicities, recurrence-free interval, cancer-specific survival and overall survival

Small cell carcinoma of the cervix: a retrospective analysis of characteristics important in outcomes

To assess clinical characteristics and treatment modalities in patients with small cell carcinoma of the cervix and the effect this has on overall (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS)

It's more than just money: The real-world harms from ransomware attacks

As cyber-attacks continue to increase in frequency and sophistication, organisations must be better prepared to face the reality of an incident. Any organisational plan that intends to be successful at managing security risks must clearly understand the harm (i.e., negative impact) and the various parties affected in the aftermath of an attack. To this end, this article conducts a novel exploration into the multitude of real-world harms that can arise from cyber-attacks, with a particular focus on ransomware incidents given their current prominence. This exploration also leads to the proposal of a new, robust methodology for modelling harms from such incidents. We draw on publicly-available case data on high-profile ransomware incidents to examine the types of harm that emerge at various stages after a ransomware attack and how harms (e.g., an offline enterprise server) may trigger other negative, potentially more substantial impacts for stakeholders (e.g., the inability for a customer to access their social welfare benefits or bank account). Prominent findings from our analysis include the identification of a notable set of social/human harms beyond the business itself (and beyond the financial payment of a ransom) and a complex web of harms that emerge after attacks regardless of the industry sector. We also observed that deciphering the full extent and sequence of harms can be a challenging undertaking because of the lack of complete data available. This paper consequently argues for more transparency on ransomware harms, as it would lead to a better understanding of the realities of these incidents to the benefit of organisations and society more generally.Comment: 17th International Symposium on Human Aspects of Information Security & Assurance (HAISA 2023

Lessons Learned from Revising the Cancer Plan for Michigan

Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) programs are a collaborative method to address cancer burden. Each CCC program is required to have a cancer plan to guide activities to reduce the cancer burden in their jurisdiction and should reflect the most recent research and evidence-based strategies. In 2015, Michigan set out to revise its CCC plan that met the needs of its coalition while using a participatory process involving its network of approximately 100 stakeholders. A collaborative approach involving multiple workgroups was used to develop the criteria and content for the CCC plan. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) staff did the research and the coalition workgroups finalized the objectives and strategies to include in the plan. The coalition\u27s leadership oversaw the process and approved the final CCC plan. The resulting CCC plan was brief, yet comprehensive, and based on data and research. The structured process resulted in a data driven CCC plan with input from stakeholders throughout the process. The Cancer Plan for Michigan is measurable and provides a clear method for assessing progress on reducing the cancer burden. The planning and support from MDHHS staff allowed for stakeholders to have focused conversations and use their time efficiently. A formal evaluation of the process was not conducted and will be adopted in the future

Multimodal perioperative pain protocol for gynecologic oncology laparotomy is associated with reduced hospital length of stay and improved patient pain scores

The primary objective was to evaluate the impact of a multimodal perioperative pain regimen on length of hospital stay for patients undergoing laparotomy with a gynecologic oncologist