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BACKGROUND: This qualitative study aims to assess perspectives of clinicians and clinic staff on mail-order pharmacy dispensing for medication abortion. METHODS: Participants included clinicians and staff involved in implementing a mail-order dispensing model for medication abortion at eleven clinics in seven states as part of a prospective cohort study, which began in January 2020 (before the FDA removed the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone). From June 2021 to July 2022, we invited participants at the participating clinics, including six primary care and five abortion clinics, to complete a semi-structured video interview about their experiences. We then conducted qualitative thematic analysis of interview data, summarizing themes related to perceived benefits and concerns about the mail-order model, perceived patient interest, and potential barriers to larger-scale implementation. RESULTS: We conducted 24 interviews in total with clinicians (13 physicians and one nurse practitioner) and clinic staff (n = 10). Participants highlighted perceived benefits of the mail-order model, including its potential to expand abortion services into primary care, increase patient autonomy and privacy, and to normalize abortion services. They also highlighted key logistical, clinical, and feasibility concerns about the mail-order model, and specific challenges related to integrating abortion into primary care. CONCLUSION: Clinicians and clinic staff working in primary care and abortion clinics were optimistic that mail-order dispensing of medication abortion can improve the ability of some providers to provide abortion and enable more patients to access services. The feasibility of mail-order pharmacy dispensing of medication abortion following the Supreme Court Dobbs decision is to be determined. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registry: Clinicaltrials.gov. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03913104. Date of registration: first submitted on April 3, 2019 and first posted on April 12, 2019.

Scalable models for result disclosure are needed to ensure large-scale access to genomics services. Research evaluating alternatives to genetic counseling suggests effectiveness; however, it is unknown whether these findings are generalizable across populations. We assessed whether a letter is non-inferior to telephone genetic counseling to inform participants with no personal or family history of cancer of their normal results. Data were collected via self-report surveys before and after result disclosure (at 1 and 6 months) in a study sample enriched for individuals from underserved populations. Primary outcomes were subjective understanding of results (global and aggregated) and test-related feelings, ascertained via three subscales (uncertainty, negative emotions, and positive feelings) of the Feelings About genomiC Testing Results (FACToR) measure. Secondary outcomes related to satisfaction with communication. Non-inferiority tests compared outcomes among disclosure methods. Communication by letter was inferior in terms of global subjective understanding of results (at 1 month) and non-inferior to telephoned results (at 6 months). Letter was non-inferior to telephone for aggregated understanding (at 6 months). Letter was superior (at 1 month) to telephone on the uncertainty FACToR subscale. Letter was non-inferior to telephone on the positive-feelings FACToR subscale (at 6 months). Letter was non-inferior to telephone for satisfaction with mode of result delivery and genetic test results. Communication via letter was inferior to telephone in communicating the right amount of information. The use of written communication to relay normal results to low-risk individuals is a promising strategy that may improve the efficiency of care delivery.

This study aims to determine the stiffness values of under sleeper pad (USP) and rail pad (RP) components to reduce the high-amplitude vibrations that occur in the transition zones of some specific structures such as viaducts in ballasted railways. The conventional method of simulating USPs and RPs as spring–dashpot elements in the Kelvin–Voigt model is inadequate due to the absence of frequency and temperature dependencies in the model. The study proposes a new analytical model that considers USPs and RPs as viscoelastic (VE) materials and integrates them into the ballasted railway superstructure model by adding unit masses avoiding mathematical singularity. The process includes material testing, field measurements, and validation of the proposed model with finite element model analysis. The effect of ambient temperature and material modelling on the superstructure's dynamic response in the frequency domain is analysed in detail. To account for VE behaviours of the resilient elements, the generalised Maxwell model (GMM) is chosen via unit mass implementation compared to other VE models. The obtained results show that the dynamic response of the railway superstructure is 8–10 times sensitive to temperature variation. This demonstrates how important it is to include the temperature-dependent dynamics of the elastomer material in the model. According to the other results that were obtained, the use of USP in transition zones does not solve the vibration problem radically. Bridge dynamic responses are also sensitive to the mass of the bridge rather than its stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early twentieth-century Hong Kong, the development of print media gave rise to the wide-ranging practice of translation and circulation of Western literary stories. Examining the strategy in reframing Western literary narratives of women in Chinese as published in a series of newspapers and periodicals in Hong Kong, sheds light on the uniformity of fictional women’s remolded narratives with women’s historical realities in the sociocultural locus of Hong Kong. This study investigates how literary translations converged with prevalent stereotypes associated with women, and serves as an informative case on the inquiries into the reconstruction of foreign women in early twentieth-century Chinese-language newspapers and periodicals in Hong Kong. It shows that a strategy of rewriting, conditioned by patriarchy and moral norms in the Hong Kong social scenario, was adopted in the literary translation in the Hong Kong newspaper The Chinese Mail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the recently enacted Indian Telecommunications Act 2023 and Indian Post Office Act 2023, we must examine the contentious legacy of their legislative antecedents: the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and the Indian Post Office Act 1893. This legislative note aims to highlight the legal text and practices surrounding surveillance powers under both these laws in colonial and post-colonial India. Under colonial rule, these laws established sweeping surveillance powers, granting the British government absolute discretion to monitor colonial subjects and anti-colonial activists. Post-independence, these powers persisted, often used to suppress dissent. Rather than reforming this colonial framework, the new laws extend the status quo by concentrating unchecked power in the hands of the executive. Instead of being transformative and progressive, the surveillance powers under the new laws are regressive and authoritarian, completely eroding the fundamental safeguards afforded under Part III of the Constitution of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe member adherence to a mail-based, health insurer-sponsored gap closure program for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening using multi-target stool DNA (mt-sDNA; Cologuard®) tests. Methods: Combined patient data from Exact Sciences Laboratories LLC and data from mass-mailed mt-sDNA orders placed by a large Medicare Advantage Insurance Plan were analyzed (03/01/2023-06/30/2023). Adherence and time to test return were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Their association with patient characteristics was evaluated using multivariable regression. Results: Among the 3201 member-patients included (86.6% aged 65-75 years; 58.7% female), adherence rate was 49.4%, and mean time to test return was 25.5 days. After multivariable adjustment, the odds of test return were significantly higher among 65- to 75-year-olds (odds ratio [OR] = 1.59 relative to 45- to 64-year-olds), those living in small towns (OR = 1.43 relative to metropolitan-located individuals), and with digital outreach via both SMS and email (OR = 4.31 relative to no digital outreach). Time to test return was shorter in 65- to 75-year-olds than in 45- to 64-year-olds and was not associated with other patient characteristics. Conclusions: Mass-mailed mt-sDNA tests for CRC screening were associated with an overall adherence rate of about 50% in this Medicare Advantage population, with higher likelihood of test return among patients receiving digital outreach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ubiquitin-specific peptidases (USPs), also known as deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), play a crucial role in maintaining cellular homeostasis by selectively removing ubiquitin molecules from targeted proteins. This process affects protein stability, subcellular localization, and activity, thereby influencing processes such as DNA repair, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis. Abnormal USP activities have been linked to various diseases, including cancer. Emerging evidence in lymphoma studies highlights the significance of USPs in controlling signaling pathways related to cancer initiation and progression and presents them as potential therapeutic targets. Aim: This study aimed to elucidate the multifaceted roles of USPs in lymphoma. Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles published in English up to May 2023 were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The inclusion criteria focused on studies investigating the role of USPs in lymphoma cancer, involving human subjects or relevant lymphoma cell lines, exploring molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways, and assessing diagnostic or prognostic value. Results: After the selection process, 23 studies were selected for analysis. USPs were found to affect various aspects of lymphoma development and progression. Specific USPs were identified with roles in cell-cycle regulation, apoptosis modulation, drug resistance, DNA repair, and influence of key oncogenic pathways, such as B cell receptor (BCR) signaling. Conclusion: This systematic review underscores the emerging role of USPs in lymphoma and their potential as therapeutic targets. Inhibitors of USPs, such as USP14 inhibitors, show promise in overcoming drug resistance. The dynamic interplay between USPs and lymphoma biology presents an exciting opportunity for future research and the development of more effective treatments for patients with lymphoma. Understanding the intricate functions of USPs in lymphoma offers new insights into potential therapeutic strategies, emphasizing the significance of these enzymes in the context of cancer biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Economic History announced the winners of various awards at the 2024 Economic History Association Meetings in Sacramento, California. Notable recipients included Pier Paolo Creanza, Laura Weiwu, Mallory Hope, Amanda Gregg, Richard N. Langlois, and others. The 2025 meeting in Philadelphia will focus on Information and Communications in Economic History, exploring how past information flows impact current understanding. The Economic History Association also awarded grants and fellowships to young scholars to support research in economic history. [Extracted from the article]

"The March of Time" was a groundbreaking news documentary series produced between 1935 and 1951, backed by Time Inc. and closely intertwined with radio and print enterprises. The series used re-enactments, dramatizations, and archival footage to present news in a dramatic yet empirical manner, shaping the future of news reporting. The series focused on iconic representation of political personalities and historical forces, intertwining dramatic and narrative conventions with modern historical representation. The legacy of "The March of Time" influenced subsequent film and television formats, demonstrating enduring appeal and impact on political mass media culture." [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Studii de Ştiintă şi Cultură is the property of Studii de Stiinta si Cultura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A national postal service is an essential nation-building institution; it integrates distant regions into a national community and fosters the extension of the public sphere. But in the first decades of colonial Australia, the material conditions of sending letters were precarious and uncertain, the rhythm of exchange was slow and the cost expensive. Australia had to learn how to write letters and how to send them; by the 1890s, it had completed its apprenticeship. Using postmaster-generals' reports on one hand, and autobiographical sources on the other, I explore the experience and difficulties of epistolary exchanges in the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped various aspects of life, influencing consumer behaviors and economic activities worldwide. This paper delves into the shifts in consumer preferences and shopping patterns for gardening products and services during and after the pandemic era. Through nationwide online surveys conducted from 2020 to 2022, we analyze changes in time spent and expenses on gardening and identify key demographic and pandemic-related factors influencing these behaviors during the pandemic era. We employed both generalized and standard ordered logistic regression models to assess the impact of various variables on the ordinal dependent variable. The findings reveal a significant surge in both time spending on home gardening activities and money invested in gardening products and services, especially among individuals who considered gardening beneficial for well-being and as a family activity. Notably, the preference for online shopping and mail delivery for gardening supplies emerged as a prominent trend during the pandemic, accompanied by a significant increase in the purchase of fruit plants, vegetable plants, and seeds, indicating that primary motivation for gardening was self-food consumption. These insights provide valuable guidance for businesses in the green industry, informing production, marketing practices, and economic recovery efforts post-COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Al Bashaer Economic Journal is the property of Al Bashaer Economic Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Yongwei Gao's study focuses on Chinese-English bilingual dictionaries compiled by foreigners during the late Qing Dynasty. The book examines general, specialized, and dialect dictionaries, highlighting the historical context, motivations, and impact of these dictionaries. Gao's work provides a comprehensive overview of 66 bilingual dictionaries, discussing their lexicographic, academic, and sociocultural significance in facilitating language contact and cultural exchange between China and the West during the 19th century. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: To explore the psychopathology of the victims of the UK Post Office scandal and the extent to which this can be adequately described by current classification of traumatic stress symptoms. Design: Standard clinical interviews for the purposes of preparing medico-legal reports. Setting: Face to face and virtual interviews. Participants: Victims of the Post Office Scandal, postmaster's and postmistress's wrongly accused of theft. Main outcome measures: ICD-10 diagnostic criteria. Results: All the subjects had experienced life changing traumatic reactions which were inadequately captured by current diagnostic criteria. Conclusions: The current taxonomy of trauma fails to capture the diversity of symptoms experienced by the postmasters and we argue that a formulation based approach should be employed, especially in the court room. There remains inadequate research exploring the impact of wrongful conviction on the mental state of victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionPeople who use drugs (PWUD) are at increased risk for HIV infection. HIV self-testing (HIVST) is a promising method for identifying new infections, but optimal distribution strategies remain understudied.MethodsTo characterize PWUD by HIVST distribution strategy (peers vs. mail), we examined data from July 2022 to June 2023 collected from a real-world HIVST program led by the non-profit, Florida Harm Reduction Collective. We used descriptive statistics and Poisson regressions with robust error variance to compare those who received HIVST through peers or via mail by socio-demographics, Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) county designation, and HIV testing experience.ResultsAmong 728 participants, 78% received HIVST from peers, 47% identified as cisgender female, 48% as heterosexual, and 45% as non-White; 66% resided in an EHE county, and 55% had no HIV testing experience. Compared to those who received an HIV self-test from peers, those who received tests via mail were less likely to be cisgender male (vs. cisgender female; prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43, 0.81), non-Hispanic Black (vs. non-Hispanic White; PR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.89) or from EHE counties (vs. non-EHE counties; PR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.25, 0.44). Those who received tests via mail were also more likely to identify their sexual orientation as "Other/Undisclosed" (vs. straight/heterosexual; PR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.51, 2.66).ConclusionOur findings support the role of community-based HIVST distribution strategies in increasing HIV testing coverage among PWUD. Additional research could help inform the equitable reach of HIVST.

Multiple instances of safeguarding failures and criticisms of poor process and weak governance have afflicted the Church of England for many years, despite repeated assurances that 'Lessons would be learned'. An Independent Safeguarding Board has been formed and then abolished without being replaced. A report by Professor Alexis Jay, former Chair of Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, recommending the creation of two independent charities to oversee Church safeguarding has been passed to a Response Group and is being resisted by various groups within the Church. This article examines issues of the management of safeguarding within the overall governance of the organisation, compares issues within the Church with those which have been exposed by the Post Office Horizon scandal and considers the potential role of the audit function to concern itself with safeguarding matters as part of its oversight of risk management and corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial in Law & Humanities discusses recent events exploring intersections between law, humanities, and the arts, particularly focusing on Kafka's influence on legal scholarship and practice. The article highlights discussions on Kafka's works, with a focus on "The Trial" and "The Castle," while noting the lack of engagement with "Amerika" among legal scholars. Additionally, the editorial touches on Kafka's shorter fiction and its metaphorical interpretations related to legal subjectivity. The issue also includes reviews of arts productions and books, showcasing diverse perspectives on law and literature. [Extracted from the article]

The high reliance on cash is a lifestyle for many people, and their low proficiency with smartphone usage acts as an inertial barrier to using digital financial services (DFS). Given low financial or digital literacy, online banking transactions have to be promoted and mediated by DFS agents. This study examines the role of digital platforms, intermediaries such as banks, mobile money agents, payment banks, post offices, and the government's increasing use of digital technologies. This usage of digital platforms is based on the trust relationship between the principals, who are owners of their bank accounts, and agents of DFS, who are intermediaries. A linear probabilistic model is employed to determine the determinants behind the low adoption of DFS between the necessity and nonnecessity groups. We observe that demand‐side factors like education level, identity proof (documentation), and level of smartphone use proficiency increase the probability of a principal's involvement in a digital mode of payment. At the same time, supply‐side factors like digital infrastructure and trust deficit due to unviable commission incentives to DFS agents decrease the principal's likelihood of using digital platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study sought to investigate how organizing new vocabulary through semantic, thematic, or unrelated sets could affect the learning process among Saudi EFL learners. The majority of EFL teachers and materials writers seem to introduce and cluster new words according to a particular type of semantic relationship (e.g., vegetables, body organs, car parts, or house parts) or a thematical relationship (e.g., a hotel room reservation, visiting a doctor's clinic, going to the post office, or at the train station). Participants in the current research were 149 EFL students from the Preparatory Year Program (PYP) at Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMISIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The design of this study was a pretest-treatment and posttest-delayed post-test. Two types of clustering of new vocabulary were explored: semantically related sets and semantically unrelated sets, which were constructed to identify how organizing new vocabulary could affect the learning process among Saudi EFL learners. The findings of the study showed that both semantically related (SR) and semantically unrelated (SU) sets seemed to help in learning new words. Nonetheless, those new words behaved differently one week after the treatment. Moreover, the SR group scored significantly better on both delayed tests than their counterparts. Furthermore, the study's outcomes failed to indicate any interfering effect of teaching and studying semantically relevant terms simultaneously in an actual classroom setting. This study concluded with recommendations for teaching and learning programs to develop students' conceptual understanding of organizing new vocabulary that affects the learning process among Saudi EFL learner's context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Gandy & 'Books under threat: A response" discusses the impact of Open Access requirements on academic publishing, particularly in the UK. It highlights the inequitable opportunities in knowledge dissemination and production, focusing on factors like time, gender, race, language, and disciplinary background. The article also critiques the traditional academic publishing industry's dominance by a profitable oligopoly and advocates for Open Access publishing to address inequalities and improve access to academic materials globally. [Extracted from the article]

In numerous real-world applications, obtaining labeled data for a specific deep learning task can be prohibitively expensive. We present an innovative framework for unsupervised training of deep neural networks, drawing inspiration from the adversarial learning paradigm. Our approach incorporates the cycle-consistency constraint to effectively constrain the generator. Furthermore, we capitalize on the reconstructed samples, treating them as "real" samples for the discriminator during classification. This idea stems from the success of Wasserstein GAN, which leverages its gradient property and promising generalization bound during network training. Simultaneously, we employ a shared latent-data space constraint to ensure compatibility between the source domain and its corresponding target domain. This constraint facilitates effective knowledge transfer from the source to the target domain, even in the absence of labeled data for the target domain. To enhance the performance of the target domain classifier, we introduce association chains that link the embeddings of labeled samples to those of unlabeled samples and vice versa. By encouraging correct association cycles that ultimately return to the same class from which the association began, and penalizing wrong associations leading to a different class, we ensure accurate predictions. Our proposed method, named Shared Wasserstein Adversarial Domain Learning (SWADL), combines these novel constraints. Through extensive evaluations on benchmark datasets such as MNIST, SVHN, and USPS, we demonstrate that SWADL consistently outperforms current mainstream methods. It achieves superior results in unsupervised domain adaptation tasks, addressing the challenge of limited labeled data in real-world scenarios. The code and models are available at https://github.com/Jayee-chen/Adversarial-Domain-Adaptation.git. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Retention to complete follow-up surveys in extensive longitudinal epidemiological cohort studies is vital yet challenging. All of Us developed pilot interventions to improve response rates for follow-up surveys. Study design and setting: The pilot interventions occurred from April 27, 2020, to August 3, 2020. The three arms were: (1) telephone appointment [staff members calling participants offering appointments to complete surveys over phone] (2) postal [mail reminder to complete surveys through U.S. Postal Service], and (3) combination of telephone appointment and postal. Controls received digital-only reminders [program-level digital recontact via email or through the participant portal]. Study sites chose their study arm and participants were not randomized. Results: A total of 50 sites piloted interventions with 17,593 participants, while 47,832 participants comprised controls during the same period. Of all participants, 6,828 (10.4%) completed any follow-up surveys (1448: telephone; 522: postal; 486: combination; 4372: controls). Follow-up survey completions were 24% higher in the telephone appointment arm than in controls in bivariate analyses. When controlling for confounders, telephone appointment and combination arms increased rates of completion similarly compared to controls, while the postal arm had no significant effect (odds ratio [95% Confidence Interval], telephone appointment:2.01[1.81–2.23]; combination:1.91[1.66–2.20]; postal:0.92[0.79–1.07]). Although the effects of the telephone appointment and combination arms were similar, differential effects were observed across sub-populations. Conclusion: Telephone appointments appeared to be the most successful intervention in our study. Lessons learned about retention interventions, and improvement in follow-up survey completion rates provide generalizable knowledge for similar cohort studies and demonstrate the potential value of precision reminders and engagement with sub-populations of a cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Umsatzsteuer-Rundschau is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)