Mapping public support for the varieties of differentiated integration

This article maps and investigates public support for different types of differentiated integration (DI) in the European Union. We examine citizens' preferences for DI using novel survey data from eight EU member states. The data reveals substantive differences in support for different types of DI. Factor analyses reveal two dimensions that seem to structure citizens' evaluations of DI. The first dimension relates to the effect of DI on the European integration project, the second concerns the safeguarding of national autonomy. Citizens' attitudes on this second dimension vary substantively across countries. General EU support is the most important correlate of DI support, correlating positively with the first and negatively with the second dimension. Our results underline that while citizens generally care about the fairness of DI, balancing out their different concerns can be a challenging political task

Pancreatic Atrophy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Receiving Long-Term Treatment with Sorafenib

Objective: To date, sorafenib is the only approved systemic therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Pancreatic atrophy has recently been reported in 2 patients as a novel side effect after long-term sorafenib treatment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical and radiological data of patients with advanced HCC with long-term treatment of sorafenib (median 279 days, range 153–826 days). Pancreata were semi-manually segmented section by section to calculate the pancreas volumes before and under sorafenib treatment. Results: Sorafenib reduced pancreatic volume in 18/19 (95%) HCC patients with a mean pancreatic volume loss of 25% (p = 0.002). Pancreatic volume loss depended on the dose (r = 0.36) and exposure time of sorafenib (r = 0.35) and was detectable as early as after 3 months of sorafenib treatment and already after a cumulative sorafenib dose of <100 g. Median overall survival was 13.2 months (range 7.8–31.3 months) but did not correlate with sorafenibinduced pancreatic volume reduction (hazard ratio 1.002, 95% confidence interval 0.981–1.060, p = 0.24). Conclusion: We could confirm pancreatic atrophy as a novel adverse event of sorafenib therapy in HCC patients, correlating with sorafenib dose and exposure time

sj-pdf-1-eup-10.1177_14651165221127633 - Supplemental material for Mapping public support for the varieties of differentiated integration

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-eup-10.1177_14651165221127633 for Mapping public support for the varieties of differentiated integration by Julian Schuessler, Max Heermann, Dirk Leuffen, Lisanne de Blok and Catherine E De Vries in European Union Politics</p

sj-docx-1-eup-10.1177_14651165241246384 - Supplemental material for All on board? The role of institutional design for public support for differentiated integration

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-eup-10.1177_14651165241246384 for All on board? The role of institutional design for public support for differentiated integration by Lisanne de Blok, Max Heermann, Julian Schuessler, Dirk Leuffen and Catherine E. de Vries in European Union Politics</p

sj-R-7-eup-10.1177_14651165221127633 - Supplemental material for Mapping public support for the varieties of differentiated integration

Supplemental material, sj-R-7-eup-10.1177_14651165221127633 for Mapping public support for the varieties of differentiated integration by Julian Schuessler, Max Heermann, Dirk Leuffen, Lisanne de Blok and Catherine E De Vries in European Union Politics</p

sj-zip-2-eup-10.1177_14651165241246384 - Supplemental material for All on board? The role of institutional design for public support for differentiated integration

Supplemental material, sj-zip-2-eup-10.1177_14651165241246384 for All on board? The role of institutional design for public support for differentiated integration by Lisanne de Blok, Max Heermann, Julian Schuessler, Dirk Leuffen and Catherine E. de Vries in European Union Politics</p

Applying natural language processing to patient messages to identify depression concerns in cancer patients

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore and develop tools for early identification of depression concerns among cancer patients by leveraging the novel data source of messages sent through a secure patient portal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed classifiers based on logistic regression (LR), support vector machines (SVMs), and 2 Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) models (original and Reddit-pretrained) on 6600 patient messages from a cancer center (2009-2022), annotated by a panel of healthcare professionals. Performance was compared using AUROC scores, and model fairness and explainability were examined. We also examined correlations between model predictions and depression diagnosis and treatment. RESULTS: BERT and RedditBERT attained AUROC scores of 0.88 and 0.86, respectively, compared to 0.79 for LR and 0.83 for SVM. BERT showed bigger differences in performance across sex, race, and ethnicity than RedditBERT. Patients who sent messages classified as concerning had a higher chance of receiving a depression diagnosis, a prescription for antidepressants, or a referral to the psycho-oncologist. Explanations from BERT and RedditBERT differed, with no clear preference from annotators. DISCUSSION: We show the potential of BERT and RedditBERT in identifying depression concerns in messages from cancer patients. Performance disparities across demographic groups highlight the need for careful consideration of potential biases. Further research is needed to address biases, evaluate real-world impacts, and ensure responsible integration into clinical settings. CONCLUSION: This work represents a significant methodological advancement in the early identification of depression concerns among cancer patients. Our work contributes to a route to reduce clinical burden while enhancing overall patient care, leveraging BERT-based models

Botulinum toxin-A for idiopathic overactivity of the vesical detrusor: a 2-year follow-up

The aim of this trial was to examine the effects after 2 years of a single intravesical botulinum toxin-A injection (BTX-A). This prospective, observational study was conducted using urodynamic measurements and quality of life (QoL) assessment to document the effect after 2 years of a single 100 I.U. injection of BTX-A into the vesical detrusor muscle. Twenty-six patients were followed up for 2 years after a first intravesical BTX-A injection. Of these 26 patients, one was a primary failure, three were lost to follow-up, and 11 patients had a repeated injection at 5-26 months (one patient had a third injection). Seven of the remaining 11 patients in the single injection group were recommended repeated injection or another treatment, and four required no other treatment. In conclusion, 2 years after a single BTX-A injection statistically significant differences in urodynamics and an improvement in QoL could still be demonstrated

221 Background Chapter 11 Quality of Life and the Distribution of Wealth and Resources

Enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life is a primary goal of environmental, economic, and social policy. But how do we define and measure quality of life (QOL)? How is QOL distributed among people in the current generation and among the current and future generations? How do we model the dependence of QOL on the full range of environmental, economic, and social variables? Answering these questions is fundamental to understanding and solving environmental problems in the 21st century. 1. How is Quality of Life (QOL) defined? If we are to assess the impact of distribution of wealth and resources on QOL, we must have some clear idea of what QOL actually is. Is it synonymous with satisfaction? With happiness? With human well-being? With consumption? A quick perusal of the literature shows that QOL is a topic of research in a broad range of disciplines. In fields as disparate as advertising, economics, engineering, industry, medicine, politics, psychology, and sociology, improving QOL is often claimed as a primary goal. However, real paradoxes in interpretations of QOL exist. For example, a substantial motivation behind the environmental movement is to improve human QOL, and the same motivation can be argued for the industries (e.g., logging, mining, auto) that are so often its foes. Farquhar (1995, cited in Haas, 1999) claims that the term may be one of the most multidisciplinary in common use, yet even within a discipline there seems to be little consensus regarding its actual definition. In fact, a common criticism against the phrase ‘Quality of Life ’ is that “the concept lacks specificity; it has as many meanings as life has aspects ” (Schuessler and Fisher, 1985). It seems that improving human QOL should be the dominant policy objective of any government (Schuessler and Fisher, 1985), yet over the past 50 year