Disparities across the CREOG Districts —Variations of Wellness and Inclusivity Efforts in Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Websites between Two Consecutive Years

Background: Few studies have focused on the geographic and chronologic assessment of inclusivity and wellness in Obstetrics and Gynecology residency websites across the US. Objective: To identify variations in wellness and inclusivity website depictions across CREOG districts over the past two years. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the websites of ACGME-accredited OB/GYN residency programs across the United States between April 2022 and April 2023. The assessment was based on a compilation of 22 attributes devised and piloted by 49 medical students. A racially, geographically, and gender-diverse cohort of 11 students performed data collection. Results: A total of 560 websites were analyzed over two years. Wellness efforts remained unchanged in both years (website content, dedicated support personnel, and group activities). In 2023, a reduction in referencing of wellness (22%) and inclusivity (30%) occurred in leadership messaging. However, a 7% increase in the use of inclusive pronouns was noted. A reduction in gender diversity was identified (9% in faculty, 5% in residents), with programs favoring female-only teams. Similarly, a 7% reduction in the number of underrepresented in medicine faculty and residents was noted. A 15% reduction was noted in curricula referencing inclusivity in their mission statement and inclusivity focused research. Conclusions: This study suggests the variations across websites relative to inclusivity and wellness over the past two years. Updated websites may provide an accurate reflection of the offerings of programs and their investment in wellness and inclusivity across the nation.

Mechanization and efficiency in rice production in China

Agricultural mechanization and custom machine services have developed rapidly in China,which can influence rice production efficiency in the future.We calculate technical efficiency,allocative efficiency,and scale efficiency using data collected in 2015 from a face-to-face interview survey of 450 households that cultivated 3096 plots located in the five major rice-producing provinces of China.We use a one-step stochastic frontier model to calculate technical efficiency and regress the efficiency scores on socio-demographic and physical land characteristics to find the influencing variables.Variables influencing technical efficiency are compared at three different phases of rice cultivation.We also calculate technical efficiency by using the Heckman Selection Model,which addresses technological heterogeneity and self-selection bias.Results indicate that:(1)the average value of technical efficiency using a one-step stochastic frontier model was found to be 0.74.When self-selection bias is accounted for using the Heckman Selection Model,the average value of the technical efficiency increases to 0.80;(2)mechanization at the chemical application phase has a positive effect on technical efficiency,but mechanization does not affect efficiency at the plowing and harvesting phases;(3)machines are overused relative to both land and labor,and high machine input use on the small size of landholding has resulted in allocative inefficiency;(4)rice farmers are overwhelmingly operating at a sub-optimal scale.Future policies should focus on encouraging farmland transfer in rural areas to achieve scale efficiency and allocative efficiency while promoting mechanization at the chemical application phase of rice cultivation to improve technical efficiency.

Ab Initio Calculation of Accurate Electronic and Transport Properties of Zinc Blende Gallium Antimonide (zb-GaSb)

This article reports the results of our investigations on electronic and transport properties of zinc blende gallium antimonide (zb-GaSb). Our ab-initio, self-consistent and non-relativistic calculations used a local density approximation potential (LDA) and the linear combination of atomic orbital formalism (LCAO). We have succeeded in performing a generalized minimization of the energy, using the Bagayoko, Zhao and Williams (BZW) method, to reach the ground state of the material while avoiding over-complete basis sets. Consequently, our results have the full physical content of density functional theory (DFT) and agree with available, corresponding experimental data. Using an experimental room temperature lattice constant of 6.09593?, we obtained a direct band gap of 0.751 eV, in good agreement with room temperature measurements. Our results reproduced the experimental locations of the peaks in the total density of valence states as well as the measured electron and hole effective masses. Hence, this work points to the capability of ab-initio DFT calculations to inform and to guide the design and the fabrication of semiconductor based devices—provided a generalized minimization of the energy is performed.

HER3-targeted therapeutic antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates in non-small cell lung cancer refractory to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 3(HER3)is a unique member of the human epidermal growth factor receptor(HER/EGFR)family,since it has negligible kinase activity.Therefore,HER3 must interact with a kinase-proficient receptor to form a heterodimer,leading to the activation of signaling cascades.Overexpression of HER3 is observed in various human cancers,including non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC),and correlates with poor clinical outcomes in patients.Studies on the underlying mechanism demonstrate that HER3-initiated signaling promotes tumor metastasis and causes treatment failure in human cancers.Upregulation of HER3 is frequently observed in EGFR-mutant NSCLC treated with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKIs).Increased expression of HER3 triggers the so-called EGFR-independent mechanism via interactions with other receptors to activate“by-pass signaling pathways”,thereby resulting in resistance to EGFR-TKIs.To date,no HER3-targeted therapy has been approved for cancer treatment.In both preclinical and clinical studies,targeting HER3 with a blocking an-tibody(Ab)is the only strategy being examined.Recent evaluations of an anti-HER3 Ab-drug conjugate(ADC)show promising results in patients with EGFR-TKI-resistant NSCLC.Herein,we summarize our understanding of the unique biology of HER3 in NSCLC refractory to EGFR-TKIs,with a focus on its dimerization partners and subsequent activation of signaling pathways.We also discuss the latest development of the therapeutic Abs and ADCs targeting HER3 to abrogate EGFR-TKI resistance in NSCLC.

Object-based image analysis supported by data mining to discriminate large areas of soybean

This research aimed to analyze the possibility to estimate and automatically map large areas of soybean cultivation through the use of MODIS(Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)images.Two major techniques were used:GEOgraphic-Object-Based Image Analysis(GEOBIA)and Data Mining(DM).In order to obtain the images,the segmentation algorithm implemented by Definiens Developer was used.A decision tree(DT)was created from a training set previously prepared.Time-series of images from the MODIS sensor aboard the Terra satellite were acquired in order to represent the wide variation of the vegetation pattern along the soybean crop cycle.The time-series data were used only for the CEI index.Furthermore,to compare the results obtained from GEOBIA,the slicing technique was used at the CEI level.After the training,the DT was applied to the vegetation indices generating the thematic map of the spatial distribution of soybean.In accordance with the error matrix and kappa parameter analysis,tests for statistical significance were created.Results indicate that the classification achieved by Kappa coefficients is 0.76.In short,the obtained results proved that combining vegetation indices and time-series data using GEOBIA return promising results for mapping soybean plantation on a regional scale.

19-year remotely sensed data in the forecast of spectral models of the environment

The aims of this study were:i)to compare no-till areas in two municipalities located in different regions of Brazil,along with the influence on CO_(2)Flux and GPP,and ii)to verify the difference between environmental factors followed by the trends of these variables regarding future scenarios(ARIMA time-series model number).The study was carried out in two areas with different latitudes in the municipalities of Sinop-MT and Passo Fundo-RS,both in Brazil.A time series of 19 years was performed with data acquired by remote sensing from the following satellites:i)Landsat-8(OLI and TIRS),and ii)TERRA/AQUA(MODIS).The results propound that the spectro-temporal variables are directly influenced by soil management and agricultural practices over the observation time,with a satisfactory correlation in future predictions of the variables for the next ten years,in which presented that the variation of GPP and albedo values for the two study sites would gradually increase until 2028 and the temperature remained constant between the range of its seasonality,and CO_(2)Flux tends to decrease in its seasonality,indicating a higher CO_(2) absorption.