Variability in conflict of interest disclosures by physicians presenting trauma research

AIM To quantify the variability of financial disclosures by authors presenting orthopaedic trauma research. METHODS Self-reported authorship disclosure information published for the 2012 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons(AAOS) and Orthopaedic Trauma Association(OTA) meetings was compiled from meeting programs. Both the AAOS and OTA required global disclosures for participants. Data collected included:(1) total number of presenters;(2) number of presenters with financial disclosures;(3) number of disclosures per author;(4) total number of companies supporting each author; and(5) specific type of disclosure. Disclosures made by authors presenting at more than one meeting were then compared for discrepancies.RESULTS Of the 5002 and 1168 authors presenting at the AAOS and OTA annual meetings, respectively, 1649(33%) and 246(21.9%) reported a financial disclosure(P < 0.0001). At the AAOS conference, the mean number of disclosures among presenters with disclosures was 4.01 with a range from 1 to 44. The majority of authors with disclosures reported three or more disclosures(n = 876, 53.1%). The most common cited disclosurewas as a paid consultant(51.5%) followed by research support(43.0%) and paid speaker(34.8%). Among the 256 physicians with financial disclosures presenting at the OTA conference, the mean number of disclosures was 4.03 with a range from 1 to 22. Similar to the AAOS conference, the majority of authors with any disclosures at the OTA conference reported three or more disclosures(n = 140, 54.7%). Most authors with a disclosure had three or more disclosures and the most common type of disclosure was paid consulting. At the OTA conference, the most commonly cited form of disclosure was paid consultant(54.3%) followed by research support(46.1%) and paid speaker(42.6%). Of the 346 researchers who presented at both meetings, 112(32.4%) authors were found to have at least one disclosure discrepancy. Among authors with a discrepancy, 36(32.1%) had three or more discrepancies. CONCLUSION There were variability and inconsistencies in financial disclosures by researchers presenting orthopaedic trauma research. Improved transparency of conflict of interest disclosures is warranted among trauma researchers presenting at national meetings.

Prevalence of Malnutrition and Anaemia in Children ≤ 5 Years of Age in Some Conflict Hit Areas of Meme Division of the South West Region of Cameroon

Malnutrition refers to the deficiency, imbalances, or excesses in a person’s intake of energy or nutrients [1]. Khan defines anaemia as below level of Haemoglobin in red blood shown by a lower number of functioning red blood cells [2]. The crisis in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon has led to several negative effects on children’s living conditions. There has been an increase in malnutrition and anaemia in the South West Region and Kumba in particular. The main objective of this study was “to examine the prevalence of malnutrition and anaemia in children ≤ 5 years of age in some conflict-hit areas of Meme Division”. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 from March to June. We recruited 200 children ≤ 5 years into the study from three hospitals. The regional hospital annex in Kumba, Presbyterian General Hospital Kumba and the Ntam Hospital in Kumba. Socio-demographic factors were assessed using questionnaire, nutritional status was assessed by the use anthropometric measurements and an auto haematology analyser was used to determine anaemia. The overall prevalence of malnutrition in the study area was 40.5%. The prevalence of malnutrition varied significantly (P < 0.001) with the study sites. The overall prevalence of anaemia in the study area was 70.5%. The prevalence of anaemia was not significantly associated with the study sites. The prevalence of Malnutrition and Anaemia in children ≤ 5 years of age is very high in the Kumba municipalities. This could be attributed to the ongoing crisis which has caused a lot of social migrations from rural areas to Urban areas which are safer.

Mental Health Consequences among Sudanese Due to the Armed Conflicts and Civil Unrest of 2023: One Year Later

Aim: To investigate depression, anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia levels among Sudanese citizens after a year has passed since the start of Armed Forces conflict in Sudan. Methods: An online survey was distributed. It is composed of five parts, covering the following areas: 1) sociodemographic data;2) depression assessment;3) generalized anxiety disorder assessment;4) post-traumatic stress disorder assessment;and 5) insomnia assessment. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 27 was used for data analysis;frequency and percentage were used to describe the qualitative variables. Spearman’s correlation analysis and Chi-square test were used for correlation and association analysis;a P-value equal to or less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The study included 283 participants, primarily female (76.0%), with a mean age of 35.26 ± 6.96 years. The majority of participants were married (50.5%) and had a university level of education (50.2%). At the start of the war, 70.3% of participants were inside the war zones, and at the time of data collection, 73.5% were outside Sudan. The length of stay in the war zone ranged from 1 to 300 days, with a mean of 48.59 ± 70.284 days. Additionally, 63.3% of participants stated that they did not receive any form of mental health intervention, and the remaining did not provide an answer. There was a high prevalence of moderate-severe depression (50.5%), moderate anxiety (35.3%), PTSD (56.5%), and sub-threshold insomnia (53.4%) among the participants. Correlation analyses revealed associations between demographic factors such as sex, age, marital status, and education and mental health issues. Notably, female participants showed a higher prevalence of PTSD (53.0%) compared to male participants (67.6%). Conclusions: There is a substantial impact of war-related trauma on mental health, revealing a high prevalence of moderate-severe depression, moderate anxiety, PTSD, and sub-threshold insomnia among the participants. This emphasizes the importance of tailored interventions and support systems to address the unique needs of individuals affected by war trauma.

Optimization of High-Concurrency Conflict Issues in Execute-Order-Validate Blockchain

With the maturation and advancement of blockchain technology,a novel execute-order-validate(EOV)architecture has been proposed,allowing transactions to be executed in parallel during the execution phase.However,parallel execution may lead to multi-version concurrency control(MVCC)conflicts during the validation phase,resulting in transaction invalidation.Based on different causes,we categorize conflicts in the EOV blockchain into two types:within-block conflicts and cross-block conflicts,and propose an optimization solution called FabricMan based on Fabric v2.4.For within-block conflicts,a reordering algorithm is designed to improve the transaction success rate and parallel validation is implemented based on the transaction conflict graph.We also merge transfer transactions to prevent triggering multiple version checks.For cross-block conflicts,a cache-based version validation mechanism is implemented to detect and terminate invalid transactions in advance.Experimental comparisons are conducted between FabricMan and two other systems,Fabric and Fabric++.The results show that FabricMan outperforms the other two systems in terms of throughput,transaction abort rate,algorithm execution time,and other experimental metrics.

Characterisation of Human-Wildlife Conflicts around the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The history of mankind contains so many illustrations of well-classified and violent struggles against various animals over crop production in agricultural fields, attacks on human life or competition in order to have access to certain natural resources. The aim of this study is to characterise the human-wildlife conflicts that occur around the KBNP, especially with regard to primates. Surveys were carried out in 260 households selected using the snowball method. The results showed that human-wildlife conflicts around the KBNP are characterised by the destruction of crops in riparian fields by monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas, the destruction of houses, physical attacks and zoonoses. Despite the conservation and protection measures for wildlife and local populations put in place by the Park’s managers, conflicts between local populations and the Park’s wild animals are still visible. These conflicts lead to the detention of wild animals by local people roaming in the villages and to poaching on the Park’s boundaries. The weakness of the community management policy on the part of the park managers and the resentment of the indigenous peoples towards the restriction of their access to natural resources are the major constraints on the sustainable management of conflicts between the local populations and the wild animals in the KBNP. The strategies for the sustainable resolution of human-wildlife conflicts around the KBNP must be geared towards and integrated into a community conservation approach.

Role of Media in Promoting Peace and Conflict Resolution in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

The research examined the role of media in promoting peace and conflict resolution in North Kivu,Democratic Republic of Congo.The security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC),particularly in the eastern region of North Kivu,has been deteriorating.The study was anchored in social identity theory.The research methodology employed for this study was qualitative,focusing on the analysis of Mr.Edgar Mateso’s contributions to Radio Okapi’s“Dialogue entre Congolais”program during the period from 2019 to 2023.The research was conducted within the broader context of the persistent war and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo,providing valuable insights into the dynamics and challenges of addressing the ongoing insecurity and violence in the region.The study found that media,exemplified by Radio Okapi,plays a multifaceted and significant role in promoting peace and conflict resolution in North Kivu,Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC).It serves as a critical source of accurate information,enabling informed decision-making regarding ceasefire agreements,peace talks,and humanitarian aid.Media fosters dialogue and understanding among different stakeholders,contributing to reconciliation efforts.Additionally,it raises awareness about the human cost of the conflict,challenges misinformation,monitors peace agreements,amplifies the concerns of the affected population,and promotes human rights and justice.Media also engages youth,serves as an early warning system,and attracts global attention to the conflict.It is recommended that media organizations in North Kivu continue their efforts to facilitate dialogue and understanding among different stakeholder groups.Additionally,media should maintain its focus on raising awareness about the human cost of the conflict,ensuring that the suffering of civilians remains in the spotlight and generates international empathy and support.Media outlets should also continue their role as watchdogs by closely monitoring the implementation of ceasefire agreements and reporting any violations transparently.To strengthen media’s role in promoting peace,there should be continued advocacy for peace through dedicated radio programs,news reports,and editorial content.Internationally,media should continue to provide comprehensive coverage of the conflict in North Kivu,attracting global attention and shaping the perception of the conflict on the global stage.Lastly,media organizations should preserve a lasting legacy of peace by archiving peace-related content,documentaries,and narratives of reconciliation.

Exploration of Teaching Development Strategies for Double-Qualified Teachers in University- Affiliated Hospitals Based on Role Conflict Theory

This study draws on the classic theories and research achievements of university teacher development,and from the perspective of role conflict in social psychology,proposes policy recommendations for the development of clinical teachers in medical colleges,including following different stages of teacher development and designing teaching development strategies at different levels;designing the content and form of teaching development activities to meet the temporal and spatial needs of clinical teachers;and building an academic community for clinical teachers to promote the creation of teaching development behaviors.

Theoretical Analysis and Practical Reflection on the Role Conflict of Double-Qualified Teachers in University-Affiliated Hospitals

Taking role conflict as the starting point,this article examines and reflects on the development of clinical teachers.In the process of the occurrence,development,and resolution of role conflicts among clinical teachers,there are many hidden issues related to the development of clinical teachers.The development of clinical teacher teaching and role conflict management contain similar educational philosophies and practical issues.This study draws on classic theories and research achievements in the development of university teachers and conducts theoretical analysis and practical reflection on the development of clinical teachers in medical colleges from the perspective of role conflict in social psychology.Policy recommendations are proposed,including strengthening the construction of teaching systems at the hospital organizational environment level,enhancing the role identity and teacher beliefs of clinical teachers,promoting their teaching development and academic learning,and ensuring their normal teaching investment;promoting leadership support at the level of interpersonal interaction and leveraging the role of colleague support in alleviating role conflicts;enhancing individual teacher beliefs,teacher role learning,and role skills.

Detecting conflicts of interest in credit rating changes:a distribution dynamics approach

In this study,we compare the adjustments of credit ratings by an investor-paid credit rating agency(CRA),represented by Egan-Jones Ratings Company,and an issuer-paid CRA,represented by Moody’s Investors Service,vis-à-vis conflict of interest and reputation.A novel distribution dynamics approach is employed to compute the probability distribution and,hence,the downgrade and upgrade probabilities of a credit rating assigned by these two CRAs of different compensation systems based on the dataset of 750 U.S.issuers between 2011 and 2018,that is,after the passage of the Dodd–Frank Act.It is found that investor-paid ratings are more likely to be downgraded than issuerpaid ratings only in the lower rating grades,which is consistent with the argument that investor-paid agencies have harsher attitudes toward potentially defaulting issuers to protect their reputation.We do not find evidence that issuer-paid CRAs provide overly favorable treatments to issuers with threshold ratings,implying that reputation concerns and the Dodd–Frank regulation mitigate the conflict of interests,while issuerpaid CRAs are more concerned about providing accurate ratings.

Understanding human-leopard conflict in the ‘Mid-hill’ region of western Nepal

Livestock rearing and agriculture are the main sources of community-based livelihoods in western Nepal.Across the rural mid-hills region of Gandaki Province,leopards are the top predator and frequently depredate livestock and attack humans.Spatiotemporal patterns of human-leopard conflicts(HLC) in Nepal are poorly known at the provincial and national scales,which are essential to formulating effective conflict mitigation strategies and implementing them in the field.This study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal pattern of HLC by applying Maxent modeling to covariates relating to known and registered conflict cases(n=842) collected from Nepalese government offices.We found that cases of HLC have been increasing significantly over the past five years.We also concluded that mid-elevation,south-facing slopes were more susceptible to HLC,but that mean annual temperature was by far the most important predictor of HLC;overall livestock density and proximity to roads were also important,but secondarily so.Although we found the increase in human fatalities to 2.16/year was significant(p<0.05),overall human injuries were down slightly,though not significantly(5.16/year;p>0.05).However,we also found an increasing trend in livestock depredation rates for this same five-year period(p<0.05),which averaged 159.6 head/year among incidents reported.We also found that winter was the main season when depredations occurred,and that goats were the most depredated of all livestock.A total US $86,892.25($17,378.45/year) of economic losses were incurred by communities during this time,with 78.57% of the total value reimbursed as compensatory relief through the government’s relief fund.We recommend that the use of predator-proof livestock corrals,greater awareness in local communities about wildlife behavior,better animal husbandry and security practices,and a more efficient compensation program,can improve coexistence between leopard populations and human communities in western Nepal.

Conflict management styles of nurse managers and influencing factors in children’s hospital, Vietnam

Objective:This study aimed to describe the conflict management styles and identify factors affecting the conflict management styles of nurse managers.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewing nurse managers with a questionnaire,including the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II Form B,used to assess an individual’s approach to conflict management across five styles:cooperating,competing,compromising,obliging,and avoiding.Results:A total of 30 nurse managers participated in this study.The mean scores of the cooperating style were the highest at 4.3±0.4,followed by a compromising style at 3.4±0.5,an avoiding style at 3.1±0.6,an accommodating style at 2.9±0.7,and a competing style at 2.8±0.8(χ^(2)=66.624,P<0.001).The mean scores for avoiding style among bachelor’s degree nurse managers(3.2±0.6)were higher than those of master’s degree nurse managers(2.7±0.6)(P=0.036).Nurse managers over 40 years old,holding a managerial position for≥10 years,and frequent conflict handling rated higher mean scores for the cooperating style than their counterparts(P<0.05).Conclusion:The cooperating style was the most commonly used conflict management style among nurse managers.Factors affecting the conflict management style were age,education level,and experience in management and conflict handling.These findings are useful for developing interventions that enhance the competencies of nurse managers in conflict management.

Conflicts of interest in nutritional sciences: The forgotten bias in meta-analysis

Awareness of conflicts of interest(COI) in medicine began in the 1980 s. More recently, the problem has gained notoriety in nutritional sciences. COI with industry could bias study conclusions in the context of research activities and scientific publications on nutritional sciences. The issue of COI in nutritional sciences deserves more attention and requires careful analyses as biased information can negatively impact the development of dietary guidelines and, ultimately, population health. Decision-making is generally based on available, published evidence, but when the results are ambivalent, it is easier to opt for the status quo and ask for more studies. Readers might wonder if research is subsidized by industry as a counterbalancing strategy based on levels of evidence-only to slow down eminent positions and/or legislation on the food sector? How can this problem be overcome without producing paranoia and Mc Carthyism while trying to be as methodological as possible?

Cultural Review of the Value Conflicts of Architectural Design

There exist multiple value conflicts in Chinese modern architectural design,mainly in three forms,that is,the incongruity between architecture and natural environment,the isolation between functionalism and emotionalism and the deficiency in the virtue of architects.These led to the acts of the inappropriate trade-off,blind plagiarism and hasty decision-making in the design process.The reason is that the current popular culture of architecture is always chasing the market-oriented benefits.Examining and integrating the value conflicts is helpful to explore the rational value system of modern architectural design from the cross-cultural perspective.

Impacts of Oil Exploration (Oil and Gas Conflicts;Niger Delta as a Case Study)

The discovery of Oil and Gas in Nigeria led to exploration of crude oil for revenue basis. Oil exploration and exploitation caused environmental problems which resulted into major conflicts in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The article examines the impact of oil exploration, and oil and gas conflicts in Niger Delta area and it highlights the problems of pipeline vandalism, structure of oil and gas and the general obstacles in the industry. It discovers that pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, pollution, oil spillage causes serious environmental degradation which resulted into serious conflicts. The article discovered that environmental problems in the area dislodged the people of their means of livelihood both in the area of fishing and farming. It recommends that there should be a compelling environmental restoration of natural resources by deploying land treatment technologies. Government should sanction multinational companies discharging oils or creating environmental pollution through necessary laws and regulations.

The Development of Human Rights Protection in Cross-border Personality Rights and Tort Conflict Laws

Personality rights are basic rights related to human dignity in the concept of human rights protection,and respect for personality rights is the basic prerequisite for safeguarding other human rights.Human rights protection exerts a profound impact on the value of legislation and enforcement practices of private international laws in the field of cross-border personality rights infringement in various countries,which is mainly manifested in the integration of substantive justice and the humanistic care concept of protecting the rights of vulnerable groups into formal justice,and expands the development space of human rights protection ideas in cross-border personality rights and tort conflict laws.the diversity of human rights protection values determines that cross-border personality rights infringement may lead to conflicts between personality rights and other basic rights,such as freedom of speech.to reconcile such conflicts,a workable method is to prioritize personality rights protection in accordance with the hierarchy of rights theory in the value judgment of public order reservation or to clarify the limits of the right holder’s tolerance obligation through the limited application of the principle of proportionality.China’s current cross-border personality rights and tort conflict law can optimize the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups by diversifying the options of available legal methods,and establish a balancing mechanism between personality rights and freedom of speech,so as to improve China’s legal protection system for human rights in the field of foreign-related civil and commercial affairs.

Progress in systematics and biogeography of Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae are one of the largest families of angiosperms in terms of species richness.In the last decade,numerous studies have delved into reconstructing the phylogenetic framework of Orchidaceae,leveraging data from plastid,mitochondrial and nuclear sources.These studies have provided new insights into the systematics,diversification and biogeography of Orchidaceae,establishing a robust foundation for future research.Nevertheless,pronounced controversies persist regarding the precise placement of certain lineages within these phylogenetic frameworks.To address these discrepancies and deepen our understanding of the phylogenetic structure of Orchidaceae,we provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of phylogenetic studies focusing on contentious groups within Orchidaceae since 2015,delving into discussions on the underlying reasons for observed topological conflicts.We also provide a novel phylogenetic framework at the subtribal level.Furthermore,we examine the tempo and mode underlying orchid species diversity from the perspective of historical biogeography,highlighting factors contributing to extensive speciation.Ultimately,we delineate avenues for future research aimed at enhancing our understanding of Orchidaceae phylogeny and diversity.

Ethical Decision-Making Framework Based on Incremental ILP Considering Conflicts

Humans are experiencing the inclusion of artificial agents in their lives,such as unmanned vehicles,service robots,voice assistants,and intelligent medical care.If the artificial agents cannot align with social values or make ethical decisions,they may not meet the expectations of humans.Traditionally,an ethical decision-making framework is constructed by rule-based or statistical approaches.In this paper,we propose an ethical decision-making framework based on incremental ILP(Inductive Logic Programming),which can overcome the brittleness of rule-based approaches and little interpretability of statistical approaches.As the current incremental ILP makes it difficult to solve conflicts,we propose a novel ethical decision-making framework considering conflicts in this paper,which adopts our proposed incremental ILP system.The framework consists of two processes:the learning process and the deduction process.The first process records bottom clauses with their score functions and learns rules guided by the entailment and the score function.The second process obtains an ethical decision based on the rules.In an ethical scenario about chatbots for teenagers’mental health,we verify that our framework can learn ethical rules and make ethical decisions.Besides,we extract incremental ILP from the framework and compare it with the state-of-the-art ILP systems based on ASP(Answer Set Programming)focusing on conflict resolution.The results of comparisons show that our proposed system can generate better-quality rules than most other systems.

An Improved Bounded Conflict-Based Search for Multi-AGV Pathfinding in Automated Container Terminals

As the number of automated guided vehicles(AGVs)within automated container terminals(ACT)continues to rise,conflicts have becomemore frequent.Addressing point and edge conflicts ofAGVs,amulti-AGVconflict-free path planning model has been formulated to minimize the total path length of AGVs between shore bridges and yards.For larger terminalmaps and complex environments,the grid method is employed to model AGVs’road networks.An improved bounded conflict-based search(IBCBS)algorithmtailored to ACT is proposed,leveraging the binary tree principle to resolve conflicts and employing focal search to expand the search range.Comparative experiments involving 60 AGVs indicate a reduction in computing time by 37.397%to 64.06%while maintaining the over cost within 1.019%.Numerical experiments validate the proposed algorithm’s efficacy in enhancing efficiency and ensuring solution quality.

Association between people’s attitudes towards human-elephant conflict and their locational,demographic,and socio-economic characteristics in Buxa Tiger Reserve and its adjoining area,India

“Human-elephant conflict(HEC)”,the alarming issue,in present day context has attracted the attention of environmentalists and policy makers.The rising conflict between human beings and wild elephants is common in Buxa Tiger Reserve(BTR)and its adjoining area in West Bengal State,India,making the area volatile.People’s attitudes towards elephant conservation activity are very crucial to get rid of HEC,because people’s proximity with wild elephants’habitat can trigger the occurrence of HEC.The aim of this study is to conduct an in-depth investigation about the association of people’s attitudes towards HEC with their locational,demographic,and socio-economic characteristics in BTR and its adjoining area by using Pearson’s bivariate chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis.BTR is one of the constituent parts of Eastern Doors Elephant Reserve(EDER).We interviewed 500 respondents to understand their perceptions to HEC and investigated their locational,demographic,and socio-economic characteristics including location of village,gender,age,ethnicity,religion,caste,poverty level,education level,primary occupation,secondary occupation,household type,and source of firewood.The results indicate that respondents who are living in enclave forest villages(EFVs),peripheral forest villages(PFVs),corridor village(CVs),or forest and corridor villages(FCVs),mainly males,at the age of 18–48 years old,engaged with agriculture occupation,and living in kancha and mixed houses,have more likelihood to witness HEC.Besides,respondents who are illiterate or at primary education level are more likely to regard elephant as a main problematic animal around their villages and refuse to participate in elephant conservation activity.For the sake of a sustainable environment for both human beings and wildlife,people’s attitudes towards elephants must be friendly in a more prudent way,so that the two communities can live in harmony.

Spousal Involvement in the Workplace of Doctors: What Is Defined as Appropriate or Inappropriate

Background: Workers spend a significant amount of time in the workspace. Involvement of a spouse in a doctor’s workplace can take different forms and come with different intentions. Objectives: The survey aimed to determine the prevalence and extent of spousal involvement in physicians’ workplaces as well as the outcome of such involvement on doctor’ swell-being, productivity, and relationship with colleagues. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey on spousal involvement in the workplace of doctors was conducted among 83 responding doctors from July to August 2023. Results: Among the respondents, 60 (72.3%) had witnessed a doctor’s spouse being involved in the workplace. The most common reason for spousal involvement in the workplace was to protect the spouse from what they perceived as a threat 34 (54.0%). Spouse’s ignorance of boundaries in the workplace (OR: 6.09 (95% CI: 1.70, 21.79) P: 0.003) and exertion of control by the spouse (OR: 11.2 (95% CI: 2.26, 56.41) P: 0.002) were significantly associated with higher odds of inappropriate spousal involvement in the workplace, while expression of love for spouse with acts of kindness was significantly associated with a lowered odd of inappropriate spousal involvement (OR: 0.11 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.36) P: 0.0001). Conclusion: Spousal involvement in the workplace is relatively common. Ignorance of the boundaries of the workplace and exertion of control by the spouse were significant enablers of inappropriate spousal involvement in the workplace of doctors. The establishment of workplace policies that define the limits of spousal involvement in the doctor’s workplace can foster a healthy workspace environment, enhance doctors’ well-being, and improve patient care.