Using choice modelling to inform service sustainability for dementia Meeting Centres for people living with dementia in the UK.

OBJECTIVES: This study explores the preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) of carers for Meeting Centres (MCs) attributes in assisting individuals with mild to moderate dementia. METHOD: Preferences from 108 carers, gathered through UK-wide MC networks, were collected using a Discrete Choice Experiment survey. The survey incorporated attributes derived from evidence synthesis and lay consultation. A regression model estimated preference weights and marginal WTP for a change in attributes one a time within the MC support 'package.' RESULTS: Carers preferred MCs offering a balanced mix of practical activities and emotional support, along with flexibility without booking requirements and low costs. Social opportunities and the frequency of the meeting were not prioritised. Respondents expressed a WTP of £43 to stay with 'My MC,' the preferred option, compared to transitioning to an alternative in-person MC, all else being equal. Various factors, including attendance modality, the relationship with the supported person, age, and gender, influenced carers' choices. CONCLUSION: These findings offer valuable insights into carers' preferences, priorities, and WTP within MC support for those with mild to moderate dementia. Understanding these factors can guide the implementation and sustainability of MCs, ensuring alignment with carers' needs and preferences and, ultimately, enhancing support for individuals with dementia.

A summary of the main themes and findings presented at the ASM Intermountain Branch meeting (2024).

The annual meeting for the Intermountain Branch was held in April 2024 on the campus of Brigham Young University. There were 127 branch members from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada who attended the meeting and were composed of undergraduate students, graduate or medical students, and faculty. This report highlights the diversity of, and the emerging trends in, the research conducted by American Society for Microbiology members in the Intermountain Branch.

Scientific support for preparing an EU position in the 55th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR).

The European Commission asked EFSA to provide support in the framework of Article 43 of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 for the preparation of the EU position for 55th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR). In the current report, EFSA provided comments and recommendations on the Codex maximum residue level (MRL) proposals derived by the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) that will be discussed in the upcoming CCPR meeting. The current report should serve as the basis for deriving the EU position for the CCPR meeting.

Study Characteristics and Impact of the "Best Papers" Presented at ASSH Annual Meetings Over the Past Decade.

Purpose: Each year, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) selects several abstracts for podium presentations during a "Best Papers" session. We examined these papers to better understand their characteristics and impact on the field of hand surgery. Methods: "Best Papers" from the 2010 to 2020 ASSH Annual Meetings were reviewed. Online databases were searched to find matching publications. Descriptive data were collected from the publications. The Hirsch index value for each corresponding author and the number of citations for each publication were recorded. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: Fifty-nine "Best Papers" were awarded during the study period. Forty-nine (83%) were clinical and 10 were basic science studies. A total of 39 observational studies, 11 human trials, 8 experimental studies, and 1 case series were present. Fifty-four (91.5%) were published at the time of our review. Twenty-six of those (48%) were multicenter studies, and the remaining 28 were from a single institution. The average time from presentation to publication was 16 months. The top three journals of publication were the Journal of Hand Surgery (33%), the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (9%), and the Journal of Hand Surgery, European (7%). The median level of evidence for all "Best Papers" was 3, with a trend toward a higher level of evidence during the study period. The average h-index value of all corresponding authors was 27.3. The average number of citations per publication was 37. Conclusions: The ASSH "Best Papers" were primarily clinical studies with an increasingly strong level of evidence and were likely led by an author with a history of research productivity. Selection as a "Best Paper" at ASSH Annual Meetings is a strong predictor of future publication and impact. Clinical relevance: This study evaluates the "value" of the best paper designation at the ASSH annual meeting.

KEMoS: A knowledge-enhanced multi-modal summarizing framework for Chinese online meetings.

The demand for "online meetings" and "collaborative office work" keeps surging recently, producing an abundant amount of relevant data. How to provide participants with accurate and fast summarizing service has attracted extensive attention. Existing meeting summarizing models overlook the utilization of multi-modal information and the information offsetting during summarizing. In this paper, we develop a knowledge-enhanced multi-modal summarizing framework. Firstly, we construct a three-layer multi-modal meeting knowledge graph, including basic, knowledge, and multi-modal layer, to integrate meeting information thoroughly. Then, we raise a topic-based hierarchical clustering approach, which considers information entropy and difference simultaneously, to capture the semantic evolution of meetings. Next, we devise a multi-modal enhanced encoding strategy, including a sentence-level cross-modal encoder, a joint loss function, and a knowledge graph embedding module, to learn the meeting and topic-level presentations. Finally, when generating summaries, we design a topic-enhanced decoding strategy for the Transformer decoder which mitigates semantic offsetting with the aid of topic information. Extensive experiments show that our proposed work consistently outperforms state-of-the-art solutions on the Chinese meeting dataset, where the ROUGE-1, ROUGE-2, and ROUGE-L are 49.98%, 21.03%, and 32.03% respectively.

Highlights from the 2023 International Meeting on the Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B virus.

Since its discovery in 1965, our understanding of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication cycle and host immune responses has increased markedly. In contrast, our knowledge of the molecular biology of hepatitis delta virus (HDV), which is associated with more severe liver disease, is less well understood. Despite the progress made, critical gaps remain in our knowledge of HBV and HDV replication and the mechanisms underlying viral persistence and evasion of host immunity. The International HBV Meeting is the leading annual scientific meeting for presenting the latest advances in HBV and HDV molecular virology, immunology, and epidemiology. In 2023, the annual scientific meeting was held in Kobe, Japan and this review summarises some of the advances presented at the Meeting and lists gaps in our knowledge that may facilitate the development of new therapies.

Can platform use patterns be an indicator of HIV-related risk and sub-group heterogeneity among men who have sex with men in Singapore: a latent class analysis.

Introduction: Low-level HIV epidemic settings like Singapore face the challenge of reaching men at-risk who have less contact with programmes. We investigated patterns of meeting platform use by men seeking male sexual partners (MSM) as potential marker of risk to differentiate sub-groups for interventions. Methods: Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was applied to a survey sample of MSM recruited from bars/clubs, saunas and a smartphone application, using purposive sampling. The best-fit LCA model which identified homogeneous sub-groups with similar patterns of meeting platform was factored in multivariable regression to identify associations with risk behaviors on the pathway to HIV infection. Results: Overall 1,141 MSM were recruited from bars/clubs (n = 426), saunas (n = 531), and online (n = 184). Five patterns emerged, reflecting salient platform use characteristics: Sauna-centric (SC; n = 413), App-centric (AC; n = 276), Multiple-platforms (MP; n = 123), Platform-inactive (PI; n = 257), and "Do not hook up" (DNH; n = 72) classes. Men in the SC and MP classes had high probabilities of using saunas to meet partners; SC were older and less likely to have disclosed their sexual orientation. The MP class had high probabilities of connecting across all platforms in addition to saunas and more likely to have disclosed their sexual orientation, than the PI class. Men in the SC and MP classes had twice the odds of reporting multiple sex partners (aORSC = 2.1; 95%CI: 1.33.2; aORMP = 2.2; 95%CI: 1.14.6). Single/non-partnered MSM and those using alcohol/drugs during sex had 1.7 (95%CI: 1.22.5) and 3.2 (95%CI: 2.05.1) the odds respectively, of reporting multiple sex partners. The SC and MP classes had higher odds of engaging in group sex while MSM using alcohol/drugs during sex had twice the odds of reporting group sex. Alcohol/drugs and group sex were independently associated with condomless sex (as was lower education). Group sex, alcohol/drugs during sex, disclosure of sexual orientation or being Singaporean/permanent resident were associated with recent testing for HIV. Discussion: The five distinct risk profiles identified can help tailor differentiated HIV interventions-combined with field knowledge and other prevention-to expand HIV self-testing, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and other services (e.g., Mpox vaccination) to sub-groups at risk.

Online Training or Face-to-Face Training from the Perspective of Ear, Nose, and Throat and Head and Neck Surgeons?

PURPOSE: To determine the preferences of Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) and Head-Neck Surgery (HNS) specialists and residents undergoing training for online or face-to-face training and the factors affecting the preference. METHODS: An 16-item questionnaire was created using Google Forms and was administered to residents undergoing training in ENT departments and to specialists working in the same field. The questionnaires were distributed online and requested to be completed between August and October 2020. The study participants were analyzed in two groups according to the preference for online training or face-to-face training. RESULTS: Evaluation was made of a total of 173 participants, as 68 (39.3%) in online training, and 105 (60.7%) in face-to-face training. Online training comprised 47 (69.1%) females and 21 (30.9%) males with a mean age of 38.9 ± 8years and face-to-face training comprised 68 (64.8%) females and 37 (35.2%) males with a mean age of 37.9 ± 7.5years (gender: P = 0.55, age: P = 0.10). Of the total sample, 39 (22.5%) subjects were single and 134 (77.5%) were married. Face-to-face training was preferred by 61.2% of the married respondents and by 59% of those who were single. While 43.4% stated that visuals and documents were similar in both forms of training, those who stated that documentation was better in face-to-face training constituted 90.2% of the group that preferred face-to-face training (P = 0.0001). Of the total participants, 65.4% stated that concentration was easier in face-to-face training (P = 0.0001). When the groups were compared according to areas of interest, more of those involved in rhinology and head-neck surgery were in face-to-face training, and those with an interest in otology were seen to be in online training (P = 0.002). A wish to continue online training after the pandemic was expressed by 80.9% of the whole sample, and 68.6% wished to continue with face-to-face training (P = 0.0001). Hybrid meetings were determined to have been selected by 86.1% (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Online web seminars have an important role as a teaching and learning tool. There is a need for further research to evaluate how these clinically focused seminars can be presented at high quality and how they can provide benefit in training.

California Cannabis Research Briefing, April 2023: Meeting Summary.

On April 28, 2023, the University of California Office of the President, in partnership with the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), hosted the California Cannabis Research Briefing. The California Cannabis Research Briefing brought together researchers and state agencies/policymakers to discuss pertinent policy issues on cannabis within the state. Researchers across six different topic areas (environment, cannabis markets, social equity matters, public health, medicinal cannabis use, and public safety) provided brief explanations of their research and its policy implications. A moderated discussion with stakeholders followed these presentations. The goals of this event were to highlight research that can inform policy issues relevant to the state, and to discuss how research can be incorporated into the cannabis policy landscape.

Peer support in intensive care unit follow-up: A qualitative evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Patients formerly admitted to an intensive care unit and their relatives seek information about life after critical illness to understand their symptoms and what to expect as survivors, and they express a desire to talk to others with similar experiences. Various operational models of post-intensive care peer support exist, and studies have reported potential beneficial mechanisms in patients involved in peer support programs. However, most models have not been formally evaluated. AIM: To evaluate the content and setting of structured group meetings and explore participants' experiences of meeting peers. STUDY DESIGN: A qualitative evaluation combining focused ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews with 22 participants attending three intensive care unit café meetings in a university hospital. A thematic analysis was conducted using all data collected. FINDINGS: Three main themes emerged; 'Accommodating the diversity of patients and relatives', 'A range of possibilities for identification' and 'A newfound community'. Findings indicate that the content, setting and timing of the café meetings were of minor concern for the participants. Patients and relatives should attend together because the consequences of surviving a critical illness affect both. Larger groups of participants appeared to increase the likelihood of encountering broad variances in participants' experiences from the critical illness trajectory. The findings indicate that before attending a meeting, the participants did not find previous experiences sufficient in managing their new life situations and they felt alone in their experiences. CONCLUSION: Peer support invited participants into a secure community and eased their sense of being alone in their struggles. Meeting peers seemed to be more important than following a specific model of peer support. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: When setting up peer support for former intensive care patients, the most important aspect is to create a secure space for patients and their relatives to meet.

Meeting report: the 66th annual meeting of the Japanese Radiation Research Society in Tokyo, Japan, 6-8 November 2023.

The 66th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Radiation Research Society took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 6 to 8 November 2023. The meeting covered a wide range of radiation research topics, including basic mechanisms involved in radiation effects, translational research, and epidemiology. Some sessions were jointly organized with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Here, we report on some plenary and keynote talks presented at the meeting.

Endovascular removal of a large free-floating thrombus of the descending thoracic aorta using the AngioVac system.

Free-floating aortic mural thrombus in the minimally diseased or nonaneurysmal aorta is a rare, clinically significant source of peripheral embolism. We describe a 41-year-old woman with a history of left brachial thromboembolectomy who presented atypical chest pain. Computed tomography angiography and transesophageal echocardiography revealed a 14.0 cm × 1.4 cm mobile mass in the proximal descending thoracic aorta. The thrombus was removed through a minimally invasive catheter-based approach using the AngioVac system.

Academic Degree Bias Among Speaking and Leadership Roles at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meetings, 2016-2021.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the proportion of Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) across various speaking and leadership roles at recent American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meetings.  Design: Meeting programs from the AAOS were publicly accessed and compiled between 2016 and 2021. Two categories of AAOS meeting participants were created. Invited speaker and faculty roles included moderators of symposia and program committee members while authors of presented papers were classified into academic roles. The proportion of DOs in each role type (invited speaker, academic) was recorded for each meeting program. The representation of DOs in these roles was then examined longitudinally across our analysis period using Pearson's Correlation.  Results: Overall, 1.1% (119/10,636) of all roles were held by DOs. Across our analysis period, DOs were disproportionately underrepresented as invited faculty or speakers (0.1%, 4/2791) compared with academic roles (0.1% vs 1.5%, p<0.001). Specifically, DOs were underrepresented as program committee members (0.08% vs 1.5%, p<0.001), symposia lecturers (0.1% vs 1.5%, p=0.004), and moderators of paper presentations (0.3% vs 1.5%, p=0.01).  Conclusion: Between 2016-2021, DOs were disproportionately represented as invited speakers or faculty at AAOS annual meetings. Our definition of diverse perspectives may need to expand to include osteopathic physicians.

A practical approach to screening for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales- views of a group of multidisciplinary experts from English hospitals.

INTRODUCTION: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are an important public health threat, with costly operational and economic consequences for NHS Integrated Care Systems and NHS Trusts. UK Health Security Agency guidelines recommend that Trusts use locally developed risk assessments to accurately identify high-risk individuals for screening, and implement the most appropriate method of testing, but this presents many challenges. METHODS: A convenience sample of cross-specialty experts from across England met to discuss the barriers and practical solutions to implementing UK Health Security Agency framework into operational and clinical workflows. The group derived responses to six key questions that are frequently asked about screening for CPE. KEY FINDINGS: Four patient groups were identified for CPE screening: high-risk unplanned admissions, high-risk elective admissions, patients in high-risk units, and known positive contacts. Rapid molecular testing is a preferred screening method for some of these settings, offering faster turnaround times and more accurate results than culture-based testing. It is important to stimulate action now, as several lessons can be learnt from screening during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as from CPE outbreaks. CONCLUSION: Further decisive and instructive information is needed to establish CPE screening protocols based on local epidemiology and risk factors. Local management should continually evaluate local epidemiology, analysing data and undertaking frequent prevalence studies to understand risks, and prepare resources- such as upscaled screening- to prevent increasing prevalence, clusters or outbreaks. Rapid molecular-based methods will be a crucial part of these considerations, as they can reduce unnecessary isolation and opportunity costs.

Asociación de las características del ensayo con la publicación simultánea y su impacto en citas y menciones: un estudio transversal / Association of trial characteristics with simultaneous publication and its impact on citations and mentions: a cross-sectional study

Introducción y objetivos: Los ensayos clínicos aleatorizados a menudo se presentan en conferencias médicas y se publican al mismo tiempo o después. Los predictores de publicación simultánea y sus consecuencias no están determinados. Nuestro objetivo es caracterizar la práctica de la publicación simultánea, identificar sus predictores y evaluar su impacto. Métodos: En este estudio transversal se incluyeron ensayos clínicos aleatorizados presentados en sesiones de ciencia de última hora de importantes conferencias cardiovasculares desde 2015 hasta 2021. Se analizó la asociación entre las características del ensayo y el momento de la publicación. Se investigó el impacto de la publicación simultánea frente a la no simultánea en el número de citas a 1 año y menciones a 1 mes, así como en el total de citas y menciones en el seguimiento más largo observado. Resultados: De los 478 ensayos incluidos en el análisis, el 48,7% se publicó simultáneamente. Las publicaciones simultáneas tenían mayor probabilidad de presentarse en la sala principal de la conferencia (OR=6,09; IC95%, 1,34-36,92; p=0,029) y se caracterizaban por un tiempo de revisión más corto (OR=0,95; IC95%, 0,91-0,96; p<0,001). Las publicaciones simultáneas se asociaron con un mayor número de citas a 1 año (R2=43,81; IC95%, 23,89-63,73; p<0,001), menciones a 1 mes (R2=132,32; IC95%, 85,42-179,22; p<0,001) y total de citas (R2=222,89; IC95%, 127,98-317,80; p<0,001) en el seguimiento. Conclusiones: Los ensayos clínicos aleatorizados presentados en la sala principal de la conferencia y con un tiempo de revisión más corto tienen mayor probabilidad de publicarse simultáneamente. Las publicaciones simultáneas se asocian con más citas y menciones que las publicaciones no simultáneas. (AU)

Introduction and objectives: Randomized trials are often presented at medical conferences and published simultaneously or later. Predictors of simultaneous publication and its consequences are undetermined. Our aim was to characterize the practice of simultaneous publication, identify its predictors, and evaluate its impact. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included randomized trials presented at late-breaking science sessions of major cardiovascular conferences from 2015 to 2021. The association of trial characteristics with the timing of publication was analyzed. The impact of simultaneous vs nonsimultaneous publication was investigated on the number of 1-year citations and 1-month mentions, and the total citations and mentions at the longest observation follow-up. Results: Of 478 trials included in the analysis, 48.7% were published simultaneously. Simultaneous publications were more likely to be presented in the main conference room (OR, 6.09; 95%CI, 1.34-36.92; P=.029) and were characterized by a shorter review time (OR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.91-0.96; P<.001). Simultaneous publications were associated with higher 1-year citations (R2, 43.81; 95%CI, 23.89-63.73; P<.001), 1-month mentions (R2, 132.32; 95%CI, 85.42-179.22; P<.001) and total citations (R2, 222.89; 95%CI, 127.98-317.80; P<.001). Conclusions: Randomized trials presented in the main conference room and with shorter review time were more likely to be published simultaneously. Simultaneous publications were associated with more citations and mentions than nonsimultaneous publications. (AU)

Symposium on molecular radiotherapy dosimetry: The first of a series?

The EFOMP Special Interest Group for Radionuclide Internal Dosimetry (SIG_FRID) organised its first scientific meeting, the Symposium on Molecular Radiotherapy Dosimetry, in Athens on November 9th-11th 2023. The Symposium was hosted by the Hellenic Association of Medical Physicists and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. This meeting gathered more than 180 scientists from 28 countries. Scientific, clinical and regulatory aspects were addressed by 8 invited experts. Two continuous professional development sessions were organised. A special round table gathering medical physics experts, physicians regulatory authority experts and patient representatives addressed the possibilities to increase clinical dosimetry dissemination. The event was supported by companies and a specific industry session allowed sponsors to present their products, innovations and future perspective in this field.

The 14th International Podocyte Conference 2023: from podocyte biology to glomerular medicine.

The 14th International Podocyte Conference took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA from May 23 to 26, 2023. It commenced with an early-career researchers' meeting on May 23, providing young scientists with a platform to present and discuss their research findings. Throughout the main conference, 29 speakers across 9 sessions shared their insights on podocyte biology, glomerular medicine, novel technologic advancements, and translational approaches. Additionally, the event featured 3 keynote lectures addressing engineered chimeric antigen receptor T cell- and mRNA-based therapies and the use of biobanks for enhanced disease comprehension. Furthermore, 4 brief oral abstract sessions allowed scientists to present their findings to a broad audience. The program also included a panel discussion addressing the challenges of conducting human research within the American Black community. Remarkably, after a 5-year hiatus from in-person conferences, the 14th International Podocyte Conference successfully convened scientists from around the globe, fostering the presentation and discussion of crucial research findings, as summarized in this review. Furthermore, to ensure continuous and sustainable education, research, translation, and trial medicine related to podocyte and glomerular diseases for the benefit of patients, the International Society of Glomerular Disease was officially launched during the conference.

WSV2023 - The second meeting of the world society for virology: One health - One world - One virology.

The Second International Conference of the World Society for Virology (WSV), hosted by Riga Stradins University, was held in Riga, Latvia, on June 15-17th, 2023. It prominently highlighted the recent advancements in different disciplines of virology. The conference had fourteen keynote speakers covering diverse topics, including emerging virus pseudotypes, Zika virus vaccine development, herpesvirus capsid mobility, parvovirus invasion strategies, influenza in animals and birds, West Nile virus and Marburg virus ecology, as well as the latest update in animal vaccines. Discussions further explored SARS-CoV-2 RNA replicons as vaccine candidates, SARS-CoV-2 in humans and animals, and the significance of plant viruses in the 'One Health' paradigm. The presence of the presidents from three virology societies, namely the American, Indian, and Korean Societies for Virology, highlighted the event's significance. Additionally, past president of the American Society for Virology (ASV), formally declared the partnership between ASV and WSV during the conference.

Zoom in: factors affecting vocal habits during online meetings, a prospective trial on 40 subjects.

PURPOSE: To identify factors that influence vocal habits during online meetings (OMs). METHODS: A prospective trial of forty participants without any known hearing or vocal cord disorders. Subjects participated in an OM divided into six randomly ordered sections, with alterations in audio/speaking equipment and language: the computer's speaker-microphone, a single earbud, two-earbuds or headphones; with/without video, native-language-speaking (Hebrew) versus second language-speaking (English). Each section included free speech, sustained phonation, and a standardized passage. Participants ranked their vocal-effort for each section. Three blinded raters independently scored the voice using the GRBAS scale, and acoustic analyses were performed. RESULTS: No significant difference in self-reported vocal effort was demonstrated between sections. Second-language speaking resulted in significantly increased intensity (p < 0.0001), frequency (p = 0.015), GRBAS (p = 0.008), and strain (p < 0.0001) scores. Using the computer's speaker/microphone resulted in significantly higher strain (p < 0.0001). Using headphones, single or two earbuds resulted in lower intensity and a lower strain score. No differences were detected between OMs with or without video. CONCLUSIONS: Using the computer's microphone/speaker or speaking in a second language during OMs, may result in vocal habits associated with vocal trauma.