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The growing demand for uterus transplantation (UTx) invites continued philosophical evaluation of the function of UTx (and what constitutes its ‘success’), as well as the recipient eligibility for UTx. Currently, UTx caters to partnered, cisgender women of childbearing age looking to get pregnant and give birth to a biogenetically related child. The medical justification for this—the treatment of uterine infertility—explains the primacy of this practice. However, this dominant conceptualization of UTx does not necessarily capture the diverse needs for which both cis‐ and transgender women might take interest in UTx that are not strictly procreative, such as bodily integrity and gender identity reasons. In this paper, I argue that non‐procreative motivations for uterus acquisition ought to be taken seriously as a matter of non‐discrimination and consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the association between tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor (TNFi) therapy and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes, as well as all-cause mortality, in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 24,986 patients newly diagnosed with AS between 2010-2019 without a history of CV diseases, using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service. CV events were observed through the end of 2021. After exposure density sampling (1:1), we investigated the association among use of TNFi, duration of TNFi use, and risk of the composite CV outcome (ischemic stroke, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, or CV death) and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Overall, TNFi users (N = 8,650) and non-users (N = 8,580) had a comparable risk of the composite CV outcome. However, prolonged TNFi use (≥ 1 year) was associated with a signifi- cantly lower risk of the composite CV outcome [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 0.72, 95% CI: 0.55- 0.93, p = 0.012] and all-cause mortality (aHR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.21-0.66, p < 0.001) compared to discontinued TNFi use (< 1 year), with adjustments made for age, sex, disease duration, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, chronic kidney disease, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status. CONCLUSIONS: TNFi therapy did not reduce CV events in AS patients. However, long-term TNFi therapy is likely to be beneficial in reducing CV events and all-cause mortality compared to discontinuing TNFi therapy in patients with AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a neurovascular injury caused by external force, is a common diagnosis among veterans and those experiencing homelessness (HL). There is a significant overlap in the veteran and homeless population, possibly accounting for the two to seven times greater incidence of TBI among those experiencing HL than the general population. Despite these statistics, individuals experiencing HL are often underdiagnosed and ineffectively treated for TBI. We introduced a novel model of HL. Over 5 weeks, adult Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: TBI only, HL only, TBI + HL, or control (n = 9 per group). To emulate HL, animals (2 animals per cage) were exposed to soiled beddings for 5 weeks. Subsequently, animals were introduced to TBI by using the moderate controlled cortical impact model, then underwent 4 consecutive days of behavioral testing (beam walk (BW), elevated body swing test (EBST), forelimb akinesia (FA), paw grasp (PG), Rotorod, and elevated T-maze). Nissl staining was performed to determine the peri-impact cell survival and the integrity of corpus callosum area. Motor function was significantly impaired by TBI, regardless of housing (beam walk or BW 85.0%, forelimb akinesia or FA 104.7%, and paw grasp or PG 100% greater deficit compared to control). Deficits were worsened by HL in TBI rats (BW 93.3%, FA 40.5%, and PG 50% greater deficit). Two-way ANOVA revealed BW (F(4, 160) = 31.69, p < 0.0001), FA (F(4, 160) = 13.71, p < 0.0001), PG (F(4, 160) = 3.873, p = 0.005), Rotorod (F(4, 160), p = 1.116), and EBST (F(4, 160) = 6.929, p < 0.0001) showed significant differences between groups. The Rotorod and EBST tests showed TBI-induced functional deficits when analyzed by day, but these deficits were not exacerbated by HL. TBI only and TBI + HL rats exhibited typical cortical impact damage (F(3,95) = 51.75, p < 0.0001) and peri-impact cell loss compared to control group (F(3,238) = 47.34, p < 0.0001). Most notably, TBI + HL rats showed significant alterations in WM area measured via the corpus callosum (F(3, 95) = 3.764, p = 0.0133). Worsened behavioral outcomes displayed by TBI + HL rats compared to TBI alone suggest HL contributes to TBI functional deficits. While an intact white matter, such as the corpus callosum, may lessen the consequent functional deficits associated with TBI by enhancing hemispheric communications, there are likely alternative cellular and molecular pathways mitigating TBI-associated inflammatory or oxidative stress responses. Here, we showed that the environmental condition of the patient, i.e., HL, participates in white matter integrity and behavioral outcomes, suggesting its key role in the disease diagnosis to aptly treat TBI patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-analysis is a useful research methodology which combines results of multiple studies to estimate means of outcomes of interest. To effectively conduct a meta-analysis, it is critical to assess whether study homogeneity is a reasonable assumption. In literature, many approaches have been proposed to estimate the between-study variance and test the assumption of study homogeneity. One approach is the parametric bootstrap method, which has the disadvantage of underestimating type I error rates at small sample size. In this article, we propose a novel bootstrap method to improve the shortcomings of the parametric bootstrap. We focus on testing homogeneity of the odds-ratio in different studies. In our approach, we first estimate response probabilities in the 2 × 2 tables under the assumption of homogeneity and then generate bootstrap samples based on the estimated probabilities. The performance of the novel bootstrap is evaluated through simulation studies conducted based on Cochran Q-statistics and several commonly used heterogeneity estimators. Simulation results show that Cochran Q-statistics based on both bootstrap methods properly control type I error rate except in the situation where both event probability and sample size are small. In general, the novel bootstrap tends to overestimate type I error while the parametric bootstrap tends to underestimate type I error. However, overestimation does not occur when using the novel bootstrap combined with tests based on the ML and REML. In this case, the novel bootstrap method controls type I error rates better than the parametric bootstrap and is as powerful as the parametric bootstrap. We illustrate the proposed method using two real data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS; Tennant et al., 2007) is yet to be validated in the intellectual disability (ID) population. The aim of this study was to report the development process and assess the psychometric properties of a newly adapted version of the WEMWBS and the Short WEMWBS for individuals with mild to moderate IDs (WEMWBS‐ID/SWEMWBS‐ID). Method: The WEMWBS item wordings and response options were revised by clinicians and researchers expert in the field of ID, and a visual aid was added to the scale. The adapted version was reviewed by 10 individuals with IDs. The measure was administered by researchers online using screenshare, to individuals aged 16+ years with mild to moderate IDs. Data from three UK samples were collated to evaluate the WEMWBS‐ID (n = 96). A subsample (n = 22) completed the measure again 1 to 2 weeks later to assess test–retest reliability, and 95 participants additionally completed an adapted version of the adapted Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale to examine convergent validity. Additional data from a Canadian sample (n = 27) were used to evaluate the SWEMWBS‐ID (n = 123). Results: The WEMWBS‐ID demonstrated good internal consistency (ω = 0.77–0.87), excellent test–retest reliability [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) =.88] and good convergent validity with the self‐esteem scale (r =.48–.60) across samples. A confirmatory factor analysis for a single factor model demonstrated an adequate fit. The SWEMWBS‐ID showed poor to good internal consistency (ω = 0.36–0.74), moderate test–retest reliability (ICC =.67) and good convergent validity (r =.48–.60) across samples, and a confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit for a single factor structure. Conclusions: The WEMWBS‐ID and short version demonstrated promising psychometric properties, when administered virtually by a researcher. Further exploration of the scales with larger, representative samples is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates a flow shop scheduling problem with queue time limits and skipping jobs, which are common scheduling requirements for semiconductor and printed circuit board manufacturing systems. These manufacturing systems involve the most complex processes, which are strictly controlled and constrained to manufacture high-quality products and satisfy dynamic customer orders. Further, queue times between consecutive stages are limited. Given that the queue times are limited, jobs must begin the next step within the maximum queue time after the jobs in the previous step are completed. In the considered flow shop, several jobs can skip the first step, referred to as skipping jobs. Skipping jobs exist because of multiple types of products processed in the same flow shop. For the considered flow shop, this paper proposes a mathematical programming formulation and a genetic algorithm to minimize the makespan. The GA demonstrated its strengths through comprehensive computational experiments, demonstrating its effectiveness and efficiency. As the problem size increased, the GA's performance improved noticeably, while maintaining acceptable computation times for real-world fab facilities. We also validated its performance in various scenarios involving queue time limits and skipping jobs, to further emphasize its capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the general population, low self‐esteem has been linked with poorer mental and physical health. This systematic literature review aimed to summarise and evaluate the findings of studies that examined self‐esteem in adults with intellectual disabilities and links with mental health outcomes. Method: A systematic search of PsycINFO, Web of Science and CINAHL was conducted to identify studies published between 1990 and 2021. The studies were appraised using the QualSyst tool. Results: Twenty‐six articles were identified of which two studies were removed from the review due to low quality. Studies reported mixed evidence regarding levels of self‐esteem compared with the general population. Engagement in activities appeared to be linked with positive self‐esteem, and perception of negative interpersonal life events as having a negative impact was associated with lower self‐esteem. There was evidence of co‐occurrence of low self‐esteem and depression, but no studies examined the relationship between self‐esteem and anxiety. Conclusion: Reviewed studies provided mixed evidence on levels of self‐esteem in this population, suggesting that factors such as engagement in life were related to higher self‐esteem and demonstrating the co‐occurrence of low self‐esteem and depression. However, clear causal links have yet to be identified, and more research is needed using longitudinal designs to answer questions about trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is an extension of the simple JSP with additional features of routing flexibility. It is an essential class of sequencing and planning problems that can apply in many real-life applications, especially in the field of manufacturing systems and production management. Finding a scheduling solution of sequential operations of various jobs by processing them on a defined number of machines and following various constraints with the goal to minimize the completion time of all operations, known as Makespan, is a big challenging issue. To address this issue, we proposed a Monte Carlo Tree Search-based flexible job-shop scheduling algorithm called MCTS-FJS for scheduling highly complex jobs in a real-time job-shop environment. An MCTS is a tree search technique aimed at making sequential decisions with uncertainty, calculate reward values from sub-tees, and regularly explore the most promising sub-tree. Experimental results showed that MCTS-scheduler outperformed various baseline scheduling algorithms and got the best evaluation performance for our sample dataset. More importantly, results showed that the performance of the proposed algorithm improved with increasing the number of jobs. Hence, this novel approach can be used to solve the complex FJSP in manufacturing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]