Reading Toni Morrison’s Home From the Perspective of Medical Relationship Ethics

As the first black women Nobel laureate,Toni Morrison has drawn great attention with her fascinating and deep-thinking novels.Her 10th novel Home vividly shows the racial suffering and the post-war trauma of black veteran Frank,who has drawn critical attention from various perspectives.However,there is hardly any scholarly focus on another major character Cee,whose experience of medical and racial discrimination actually constitutes another important clue throughout the whole story.Therefore,this paper intends to analyze Home from the perspective of ethical relationship ethics,including doctor-patient relationship,doctor-society relationship,patient-society relationship,and patient-family relationship.The analysis indicates that Home not only reveals the history of medical racial discrimination and human experiment ethics problems under the rapid development of medical technology in the 1950s,but also inspire readers’thinking on the ethical problems and ethical dilemmas in the contemporary world.

Relationship between the use of smart medical services and mental health status

In this editorial,I comment on the article by Zhang et al.To emphasize the importance of the topic,I discuss the relationship between the use of smart medical devices and mental health.Smart medical services have the potential to positively influence mental health by providing monitoring,insights,and inter-ventions.However,they also come with challenges that need to be addressed.Understanding the primary purpose for which individuals use these smart tech-nologies is essential to tailoring them to specific mental health needs and prefe-rences.

Curved Spine:The Shape of Spine in Taoist Body Diagrams and Its Influence on Medical Body Diagrams

From the early Taoist diagrams of the human body to the end of the Qing dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China,Taoists exaggerated and deformed the human spine in a shape-shifting manner.It is likely that medical practitioners were influenced by this style of representation,and there are also numerous diagrams of the human body with the curved spine in the lateral-view diagrams of viscera and Ming Tang Tu(明堂图Acupuncture and Moxibustion Chart),which constantly show the human torso in an elliptical“egg shape”.No later than the Ming dynasty,medical practitioners began to depict the actual physiological spinal curve of the human body.By the Qing dynasty,the depiction of the spinal curve in medical diagrams of the human figure showed a tendency to part ways with the Taoist freehand style of the previous generation.Although the representation of the curve of the spine was very crude,later medical images of the human body at least gradually straightened the spine and no longer depicted it in a shape-shifting manner.However,the curved spine in Taoist diagrams of the human body continued to exist,and the presentation of the curved spine never changed.This way of depicting its appearance,which is very different from reality,is shaped by Taoism's special way of perceiving and viewing the body,and may also contain another form of truth.

Analysis and improving countermeasures of medical disputes from the perspective of legal changes

Under the background of medical disputes growing in number,scale and intensity,tracing back legal changes in medical field as a breakthrough point,this paper took a legal perspective to illustrate changes in medical dispute settlements from legislative orientation to legal system improvement.In view of the fact that early legislation in medical field was biased towards identification and punishment of doctors’responsibility,and later intensive legislation in balancing increasing"medical trouble"phenomenon with limited effects and difficulties to abide by the law,this paper proposed to improve doctor-patient dispute settlements system in China referencing from foreign law experience,to reduce investigation of doctors at the judicial level,and to establish a settlement mechanism on doctors’apology at the legislative level,so as to promote a healthy development of doctor-patient relationship.

Ethics of Human Resources Management in the Cameroonian Health System, Medical Nomadism and the Ineffectiveness of the Fight against High Blood Pressure

Context/objectives: The fight against Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) is a long-term undertaking, which requires available, motivated and well-managed human resources (HR). The administrative management of skills on both qualitative and quantitative levels is one of the essential functions of a health system. To better implement policies of fight against High Blood Pressure (HBP) and other chronic diseases, it is important to establish strategies to retain health personnel. This loyalty requires favorable working conditions and consideration of the contribution-reward couple. Good working conditions are likely to reduce the phenomenon of medical nomadism;conversely, poor HR management can contribute to their exodus towards exotic “green pastures”, thus leading to an additional crisis in the Cameroonian health system. The fight against HBP is a complex, multifaceted and multifactorial reality that requires appropriate management model for all types of resources mainly HR. The main objective of this research is to show the impact of poor management of human resources in Cameroon health system on medical nomadism and the ineffectiveness of the fight against High Blood Pressure. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive survey among five hundred (500) health facilities in the center region of Cameroon has been conducted. A stratified probabilistic technique has been used, and the number of health facilities to be surveyed has been determined using the “sample size estimation table” of Depelteau. The physical questionnaires have been printed and then distributed to data collectors. After data collection, the latter were grouped during processing in Excel sheets. The Chi-square test was used for data with a qualitative value and that of Kolmogorov-Sminorf for data with a quantitative value to assess the normality and reliability of data. The Crochach’s Alpha reliability test allowed us to have a summary of the means and variances and then to search for intragroup correlations between variables. Descriptive analysis was possible with the XLSTAT 2016 software. Results: 43.60% of Health Facilities (HF) managers were unqualified. 82.20% of HF managers have staff in a situation of professional insecurity. They are mainly contractual (49.00), decision-making agents (24.40%), casual agents (08.80). The proportion of unstable personnel is average of 22.00% and very unstable, 12.00%.

Exploration of Curriculum Ideology and Politics Integrating Medical Humanities Cultivation Model to Enhance Medical Core Values

Purpose:To explore the application effect of the cultivation mode of Curriculum Ideology and Political Integration of Medical Humanities to enhance the core values of medicine in the clinical internship stage of medical students.Methods:Students in the clinical internship stage of the First Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College were selected,and a total of 156 students in one random class in each grade were taken as the observation group and received the integration cultivation mode;148 students were taken as the control group and employed the traditional mode.The teaching effect of interns in the two groups was analyzed.Results:The teaching performance of students in both groups after clinical internship teaching was improved compared with that before admission;the teaching performance,teaching effect,teaching evaluation,and teaching satisfaction of the observation group were higher than that of the control group.Conclusion:The integration of the medical humanities training model with curriculum ideology and politics in the clinical internship of medical students is conducive to the improvement of teaching performance,teaching evaluation,teaching satisfaction of teachers and students,and the development and improvement of core values of medical students,which is of good value for teaching application.

An Investigation of Medical Students’ Cognition on the Doctor-Patient Relationship and Their Career Choice

Objective:To investigate medical students’cognition on the doctor-patient relationship and its influence on their career choice as well as to provide reference for medical education and communication education.Methods:A self-compiled questionnaire survey was carried out at a medical university in W city,and descriptive statistics as well as chi-square tests were conducted.Results:There were significant differences in medical students’cognition of doctor-patient relationship among different genders,registered residence,only-child status,whose parents are working in the medical field,and their own evaluation of the major(p<0.05);the different cognitions of doctor-patient relationship have a significant influence on medical students’career choice.Conclusion:Medical students’vocational cognition and educational guidance should be strengthened,hospital information should be open and transparent,media reporting of medical events should be standardized,and a doctor-patient conflict regulation mechanism should be established.

A Healthy Relationship China-Africa medical cooperation still going strong after 50 years

The [medical] areas of cooperation [between China and Africa] have amso been expanded from sending medical teams to training local medical personnel; from building hospitals and providing free medication to conducting joint medical research.

Medical Radiation Exposure and Human Carcinogenesis-Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms

Ionizing radiation （IR） is a potential carcinogen. Evidence for the carcinogenic effect of IR radiation has been shown after long-term animal investigations and observations on survivors of the atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, IR has been widely used in a controlled manner in the medical imaging for diagnosis and monitoring of various diseases and also in cancer therapy. The collective radiation dose from medical imagings has increased six times in the last two decades, and grow continuously day to day. A large number of evidence has revealed the increased cancer risk in the people who had frequently exposed to x-rays, especially in childhood. It has also been shown that secondary malignancy may develop within the five years in cancer survivors who have received radiotherapv, because of IR-mediated damage to healthy cells. In this article, we review the current knowledge about the role of medical x-ray exposure in cancer development in humans, and recently recognized epigenetic mechanisms in IR-induced carcinogenesis.

English Forum on Medical Humanities of SMMU:An interdisciplinary innovative teaching practice

To conform to the college English teaching reform from English for General Purposes (EGP) to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in the vital transfer era, the Foreign Language Department of Second Military Medical University (SMMU) launched an English for Medical Academic Purpose (EMAP) curriculum with English Forum on Medical Humanities (EFMH), a project-based teaching practice. Based on Rogers' learner-centered humanistic teaching approach which emphasizes students' involvement and experiences in learning, EFMH puts students and their practice in a central place. After four-year exploration and operation, the Forum has developed from a small-scaled embryo into an internationalized, standardized and professionalized event, having produced fruitful outcomes. It is expected that the success of EFMH will provide inspiring experiences and enlightenments for higher medical education in terms of academic English teaching and teachers' responsibilities to foster high-quality medical students.

U. S. Academic Medical Centers Under the Managed Health Care Environment

This research investigates the impact of managed health care on academic medical centers in the United States. Academic medical centers hold a unique position in the U. S. health care system through their missions of conducting cutting-edge biomedical researeh, pursuing clinical and technological innovations, Providing state-of-the-art medical care and producing highly qUalified health professionals. However, policies to control costs through the use of managed care and limiting resources are detrimental to academic medical centers and impede the advancement of medical sciTo survive the threats of managed care in the health care environment, acadendc medical centers must rely on their upper level managers to derive successful strategies. The methods used in this study include qualitative approaches in the form of key informants and case studies. In addition, a survey questionnaire was sent to 1h8 CEOs in all the academic medical centers in the U. S. The findings revealed that managers who perform the liaison, monitor, entrepreneur and resource allocator roles are crucial to ensure the survival of academic medical centers, so that academic medical centers can continue their missions to serve the general public and promote their well-being.

Humanity factors and more: A little heads up for medical students and future doctors

Exactly how can we become a successful doctor in the future? It has been widely accepted that chasing perfection in our field of expertise alone is not enough. Here in China, doctors have the liability to do more. Chinese doctors are relatively more prone to confronting difficult situations in a more complex manner. Therefore, the humanity factor in medical practice is discussed, and some essential communication skills are suggested for medical practitioners, with heartfelt anticipation for a better medical environment as well as a more pleasant Doctor-Patient relationship.

The Ultra Wide Band Radar System Parameters in Medical Application

In this work, an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) radar system is proposed in an attempt to take a medical image of each hu-man body layer. In fact, this system consists of sending an electromagnetic pulse and analyzing the echo reflected by the human body tissue. In order to realize this system, the parameters which enable us to optimize the functionality of our radar are computed. Indeed, we fixed a frequency range, incident angle, pulse repetition frequency, the power and the antenna deployed by the UWB radar system in medicine. As well as, a human body model is presented in order to have practical results..

Content-based retrieval based on binary vectors for 2-D medical images

In medical research and clinical diagnosis, automated or computer-assisted classification and retrieval methods are highly desirable to offset the high cost of manual classification and manipulation by medical experts. To facilitate the decision-making in the health-care and the related areas, in this paper, a two-step content-based medical image retrieval algorithm is proposed. Firstly, in the preprocessing step, the image segmentation is performed to distinguish image objects, and on the basis of the ...

Medical students’ willingness to work in post-conflict areas: A qualitative study in Sri Lanka

Background: The north-east (NE) region of Sri Lanka observed a critical health workers’ shortage after the long-lasting armed conflict. This study aimed to explore medical students’ attitudes towards working in the NE and to identify factors determining such attitudes. Methods: A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in two medical schools, one in the NE and the other near the capital, in October 2004. Data were qualitatively analysed using the framework approach. Results: Three main themes were identified: 1) Professional motives and career plans;2) Students’ perceptions of the healthcare situation in the NE;and 3) Students’ choice of the NE as a future practice location. It was found that familiarity with the difficulties faced by the NE people was a major motivation for medical students to work in the NE in the future. For NE students, familiarity was linked to their sense of belonging. For non-NE students, their personal experience of the NE familiarized them with the difficult situation there, which positively influenced their willingness to work there. Demotivations to work in the NE were poor working and living conditions, fewer opportunities for postgraduate education, language differences, insecurity, and fear of an unpleasant social response from the NE communities. Conclusions: NE local medical students had a sense of belonging to the NE and compassion for the Tamil people as members of the ethnic group. They were willing to work in the NE if their concerns about difficult working and living conditions and postgraduate education could be solved. Non-NE students who were familiar with the NE situation through their personal experience also showed a willingness to work there;thus, early exposure programmes in medical education might help to increase the health workforce in the NE. It is also expected that non-NE physicians working for the NE people would facilitate reconciliation and the rebuilding of trust between two ethnic groups.

Curricular Content Level of Complexity Is a Factor of Depression and Learning in Medical Students

The aim of this paper was to analyze the impact of Human Physiology curriculum on depression and academic performance of medical students. Beck instrument was applied before exams’ period to all students who voluntarily participated and the grades gotten in each of the three Human Physiology exams were correlated with all first year’s averages. Descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out. We found a significant relationship between the complexity of Human Physiology curriculum and the number of cases of depression, resulting in low academic average;high correlations were among Human Physiology contents and those of Biochemistry and Anatomy. It is important to implement support programs to follow students’ emotional welfare as well as to go over the subject’s content.

Poor Schedule Management Leads to Discontinuity of Medical Attendance among Patients Infected with HIV

Dropout from medical attendance is a well-recognized issue among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We interviewed 23 HIV-positive patients and used text mining methods to analyse the risk factors for dropout. Fifteen patients continued medical attendance and eight patients dropped out of medical attendance. Categories were extracted from the interview data of the patients who continued medical attendance (i.e., the continuity group) and the patients who dropped out of medical care (i.e., the discontinuity group). Categories of the continuity group included needing to take a day off for medical attendance, scheduling each appointment, writing down medical appointments, being grateful for the medical care, and 12 additional categories. Categories of discontinuity group included forgetting the dates of medical appointments, not needing to get a day off for medical attendance, allowing aid for medical care to expire, and 10 additional categories. The discontinuity group had poorer schedule management than the continuity group, which caused them to forget their next medical appointments and delay the renewal of aid for medical care. Thus, medical staff may be able to prevent dropouts by ensuring that patients record the dates of their medical appointments.

Facing pressure: How should medical students or future doctors do?

On April 1st 2013, HUNG Yang, a medical master student in Fudan University, was poisoned by his roommate, LIN Senhao Unfortunately, HUANG died 15 days later. It＇s quite a shock to the whole society. We have to reconsider our education, and our expectancy to doctors. We have to ask ourselves ＂How to become a qualified doctor？＂Leam to release the pressure from studies and lives; learn to defend ourselves from danger. Is it enough？ No~ Whatever happened, never do harm to others. Medical humanity is the most important thing we should always remember

Survey of methods and principles in three-dimensional reconstruction from two-dimensional medical images

Three-dimensional(3D)reconstruction of human organs has gained attention in recent years due to advances in the Internet and graphics processing units.In the coming years,most patient care will shift toward this new paradigm.However,development of fast and accurate 3D models from medical images or a set of medical scans remains a daunting task due to the number of pre-processing steps involved,most of which are dependent on human expertise.In this review,a survey of pre-processing steps was conducted,and reconstruction techniques for several organs in medical diagnosis were studied.Various methods and principles related to 3D reconstruction were highlighted.The usefulness of 3D reconstruction of organs in medical diagnosis was also highlighted.

COVID-19 survivors:Multi-disciplinary efforts in psychiatry and medical humanities for long-term realignment

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic represents an enduring transformation in health care and education with the advancement of smart universities,telehealth,adaptive research protocols,personalized medicine,and self-controlled or artificial intelligence-controlled learning.These changes,of course,also cover mental health and long-term realignment of coronavirus disease 2019 survivors.Fatigue or anxiety,as the most prominent psychiatric“long coronavirus disease 2019”symptoms,need a theory-based and empirically-sound procedure that would help us grasp the complexity of the condition in research and treatment.Considering the systemic character of the condition,such strategies have to take the whole individual and their sociocultural context into consideration.Still,at the moment,attempts to build an integrative framework for providing meaning and understanding for the patients of how to cope with anxiety when they are confronted with empirically reduced parameters(e.g.,severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2)or biomarkers(e.g.,the FK506 binding protein 5)are rare.In this context,multidisciplinary efforts are necessary.We therefore join in a plea for an establishment of‘translational medical humanities’that would allow a more straightforward intervention of humanities(e.g.,the importance of the therapist variable,continuity,the social environment,etc)into the disciplinary,medial,political,and popular cultural debates around health,health-care provision,research(e.g.,computer scientists for simulation studies),and wellbeing.