bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Raising sons or daughters for old age? Influence of children's gender on intergenerational family support in rural families
Authors: Jiguang Zhu , Yuncan Wang , Yunxing Song
Published: January 2023

Background

Under the background of miniaturization of family size and a growing number of young and middle-aged population outflow in rural China, the study of family pension mechanism in rural China from the perspective of changes in the pension functions of son and daughter will not only help to deepen the understanding of the change rules of China's family system, but also provide important reference for the future design of rural pension system.

Data and method

The data come from the China Family Tracking Survey (CFPS), a nationwide social survey project runs by the Social Science Research Centre of Peking University. After excluding missing data, we obtained a valid sample of 11,207 sons and 2028 daughters in four data periods. We applied a fixed effects model for the analysis.

Results

In rural areas, sons mainly provide economic support, while daughters mainly provide life care, thus forming a gender-based division of labor. With increasing off-farm job opportunities for daughters, they provide more economic support for their parents, but the time they spend on housework for their parents is reduced. As the number of children in a family has increased, daughters' role in supporting their parents has decreased. This research shows that although the traditional son-centered pension mode in China has not completely disintegrated, it has changed significantly. The findings reveal that changes in family size and improvements in women's status are important factors in changing family support patterns.

Discussion

Different from the thought research about intergenerational relationship for a whole model, this article from the family internal different subjects role identity, shows the characteristics of the individual in the family, is conducive to theoretically explore the tension in the intergenerational relationship, individual and family which is helpful to understand the contemporary China's rural family generation ethics and intergenerational solidarity model. Families are classified more carefully according to the number, size and gender of children in the family, so as to fully show the heterogeneity and complexity of intergenerational relationships and old-age care models in rural families with different structural types. The discussion of the above issues has refined the description of rural family pension resources in China, which has certain reference significance for improving rural pension policies and actively dealing with the aging population.
Global research into the relationship between electronic waste and health over the last 10 years: A scientometric analysis
Authors: Tian Huiting , Chen Lingzhi , Wu Jinyao , Zheng Daitian , Yang Qiuping , Ji Zeqi , Cai Jiehui , Chen Yexi , Li Zhiyang
Published: January 2023

Introduction

The aims of this research were to conduct the first holistic and deep scientometric analysis of electronic waste and health and provide with the prediction of research trends and hot topics.

Method

A comprehensive literature search was conducted via the Web of Science Core collection databases on 26 August 2022 to identify all articles related to electronic waste and health. A total of 652 records have been extracted from the Web of Science after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria and were analyzed using bibliometrix software of R-package, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace, visualized by tables and diagrams.

Result

The number of publications and total citations had shown a general growth trend from 2012 to 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 23.74%. Mainland China was the significant nation with the greatest number of publications, citations, and international links. The journal publishing the most was “Science of the Total Environment” (n = 56). Huo X and Hu XJ were the top two author contributing to this field with the highest h-index (23). Over time, the focus in this field shifted to exposure to heavy metal, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated biphenyl ethers, and poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances from electronic waste, and managements, such as hydrometallurgy.

Discussion

By this scientometric analysis, we found that the most active country, journal, organization and author contributing to this filed, as well as high impact documents and references and research hotspots. Also, we found that the hotspots might be exposure to toxic substances from electronic waste procession, its impact on human health and relevant managements. And evironmentally friendly materials to replace heavy metal mate rials, and environmentally friendly and effective recycling methods of electronic waste need to be further studied.
A study on the effects of health behavior and sports participation on female college students' body mass index and healthy promoting lifestyle
Authors: Lin Xiangyun , Liu Hao
Published: January 2023

Objective

Life form and body composition may affect the health of college students. This study will explore the relationship between the demographic variables of female college students and their body composition and health promoting lifestyle, so as to provide useful reference for the future design and planning of college students' physical and mental health courses and improving their physical activity level.

Methods

Using the method of questionnaire and bioelectrical resistance measurement, a questionnaire on healthy lifestyle of college students was constructed on the basis of consulting a large number of relevant research literature. Relevant survey samples were obtained through random sampling, and their body composition was measured; use SPSS21.0 statistical analysis software to conduct statistical analysis on relevant indicators.

Results and conclusions

(1) at present, female college students generally lack leisure activities and sleep, the proportion of regular fitness habits is low, and the number of snacks and average daily online time are generally too high; The overweight rate and body fat rate of female college students are generally too high, while the standard rate of muscle weight is generally too low. (2) Female college students' health promoting lifestyle has the highest score of self-realization, followed by interpersonal support and the worst behavior of sports participation; The older the college students, the worse their sports participation and overall health promotion behavior; The better the Conscious health status, the better the self-realization, exercise participation and nutritional behavior; The more exercise time per day, the higher their participation in sports and the stronger their health responsibility; The more time spent on the Internet every day, the worse the health responsibility and sports participation. (3) The more time female college students spend on the Internet every day, the higher the probability of overweight. Those with regular exercise habits have a lower proportion of overweight and high body fat rate, while the better their sleep and night snack behavior, the lower their body fat rate. The older college students are, the larger their visceral fat area is, the better their exercise habits and sleep behavior are, the smaller their visceral fat area is, and the lower their visceral fat level is.
Development and implementation of a community health literacy hub, ‘Health Kiosk'—A grassroots innovation
Authors: Masquillier Caroline , Van Royen Kathleen , Van Pelt Patricia , Onsea Dorien , Bastiaens Hilde
Published: January 2023

Being health literate is important to get sufficient health information, to navigate the health system, to access appropriate care and to be able to self-manage health. As such it is a key determinant of health. There is a need for innovative measures to improve health literacy among people living in socioeconomically vulnerable circumstances. Literature shows that this innovation needs to: have “low-threshold access” to health resources in a community-based, outreaching way; be adapted to the needs of the target group; provide reliable and understandable health information adapted to the target population, and support people in developing confidence to act on that knowledge. In response to this need, this article describes—guided by the principles underpinning the Integrated Community Care (ICC) framework—the development and implementation process of a grassroots innovation, namely “Health Kiosk” in a socioeconomically vulnerable area in the northern part of a Belgian city. To be able to focus on the core activity of the Health Kiosk—i.e., stimulating healthy living and health literacy—community building and considering the spatial environment of the neighborhood formed a fundamental basis. Several core ingredients of the Health Kiosk are important to stimulate health literacy among socioeconomically vulnerable groups, namely: (1) working in a community-based, outreaching way; (2) providing accessible health information and support to act on that knowledge; and (3) working in a flexible and independent way to adapt to local needs. As such, the Health Kiosk forms a community health literacy hub with low-threshold access for people living in socioeconomically vulnerable circumstances.
Development of a breast cancer screening protocol to use automated breast ultrasound in a local setting
Authors: Tittmann Judit , Csanádi Marcell , Ágh Tamás , Széles György , Vokó Zoltán , Kallai Árpád
Published: January 2023

Introduction

The sensitivity of mammography screening is lower in women with dense breast. Increasing the efficacy of breast cancer screening have received special attention recently. The automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) shows promising results to complement mammography. Our aim was to expand the existing breast cancer screening protocol with ABUS within a Hungarian pilot project.

Methods

First, we developed a protocol for the screening process focusing on integrating ABUS to the current practice. Consensus among clinical experts was achieved considering information from the literature and the actual opportunities of the hospital. Then we developed a protocol for evaluation that ensures systematic data collection and monitoring of screening with mammography and ABUS. We identified indicators based on international standards and adapted them to local setting. We considered their feasibility from the data source and timeframe perspective. The protocol was developed in a partnership of researchers, clinicians and hospital managers.

Results

The process of screening activity was described in a detailed flowchart. Human and technological resource requirements and communication activities were defined. We listed 23 monitoring indicators to evaluate the screening program and checked the feasibility to calculate these indicators based on local data collection and other sources. Partnership between researchers experienced in planning and evaluating screening programs, interested clinicians, and hospital managers resulted in a locally implementable, evidence-based screening protocol.

Discussion

The experience and knowledge gained on the implementation of the ABUS technology could generate real-world data to support the decision on using the technology at national level.
Sex difference in the associations among liver function parameters with incident diabetes mellitus in a large Taiwanese population follow-up study
Authors: Chen Yi-Kong , Wu Pei-Yu , Huang Jiun-Chi , Chen Szu-Chia , Chang Jer-Ming
Published: January 2023

Background

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in Taiwan between 2017 and 2020 was 11.05%, which is higher than the global prevalence (10.5%). Previous studies have shown that patients with DM have higher liver enzyme levels than those without DM. However, it is unclear whether there are sex differences in the association between incident DM and liver function. Therefore, the aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate this issue in a large Taiwanese cohort.

Methods

We identified 27,026 participants from the Taiwan Biobank, and excluded those with baseline DM (n = 2,637), and those without follow-up data on DM, serum fasting glucose or glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (n = 43). The remaining 24,346 participants (male: 8,334; female: 16,012; mean age 50.5 ± 10.4 years) were enrolled and followed for a median of 4 years.

Results

Of the enrolled participants, 1,109 (4.6%) had incident DM and 23,237 (95.4%) did not. Multivariable analysis showed that high levels of glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (AST) (p < 0.001), glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (ALT) (p < 0.001), albumin (p = 0.003), α-fetoprotein (p = 0.019), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with incident DM in the male participants. In comparison, high levels of AST (p = 0.010), ALT (p < 0.001), albumin (p = 0.001) and GGT (p < 0.001), and low total bilirubin (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with incident DM in the female participants. There were significant interactions between total bilirubin and sex (p = 0.031), and GGT and sex (p = 0.011) on incident DM.

Conclusion

In conclusion, liver function parameters were significantly associated with incident DM. Further, there were differences in the associations between the male and female participants.
Mitigating co-circulation of seasonal influenza and COVID-19 pandemic in the presence of vaccination: A mathematical modeling approach
Authors: Majeed Bushra , David Jummy Funke , Bragazzi Nicola Luigi , McCarthy Zack , Grunnill Martin David , Heffernan Jane , Wu Jianhong , Woldegerima Woldegebriel Assefa
Published: January 2023

The co-circulation of two respiratory infections with similar symptoms in a population can significantly overburden a healthcare system by slowing the testing and treatment. The persistent emergence of contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2, along with imperfect vaccines and their waning protections, have increased the likelihood of new COVID-19 outbreaks taking place during a typical flu season. Here, we developed a mathematical model for the co-circulation dynamics of COVID-19 and influenza, under different scenarios of influenza vaccine coverage, COVID-19 vaccine booster coverage and efficacy, and testing capacity. We investigated the required minimal and optimal coverage of COVID-19 booster (third) and fourth doses, in conjunction with the influenza vaccine, to avoid the coincidence of infection peaks for both diseases in a single season. We show that the testing delay brought on by the high number of influenza cases impacts the dynamics of influenza and COVID-19 transmission. The earlier the peak of the flu season and the greater the number of infections with flu-like symptoms, the greater the risk of flu transmission, which slows down COVID-19 testing, resulting in the delay of complete isolation of patients with COVID-19 who have not been isolated before the clinical presentation of symptoms and have been continuing their normal daily activities. Furthermore, our simulations stress the importance of vaccine uptake for preventing infection, severe illness, and hospitalization at the individual level and for disease outbreak control at the population level to avoid putting strain on already weak and overwhelmed healthcare systems. As such, ensuring optimal vaccine coverage for COVID-19 and influenza to reduce the burden of these infections is paramount. We showed that by keeping the influenza vaccine coverage about 35% and increasing the coverage of booster or fourth dose of COVID-19 not only reduces the infections with COVID-19 but also can delay its peak time. If the influenza vaccine coverage is increased to 55%, unexpectedly, it increases the peak size of influenza infections slightly, while it reduces the peak size of COVID-19 as well as significantly delays the peaks of both of these diseases. Mask-wearing coupled with a moderate increase in the vaccine uptake may mitigate COVID-19 and prevent an influenza outbreak.
Methodology for designing intrahospital transportation of patients with suspected infectious disease that limits infection spread risk in China
Authors: Guo Yuan , Li Yanchu , Wang Yanjun , Liang Pengpeng , He Xiaoli , Yu Bingjie , Chen Fangyu , Zeng Qianhui
Published: January 2023

Aims

The transport of patients suspected of having COVID-19 requires careful consideration. Using paths selected at random and not accounting for person flow along the path are risk factors for infection spread. Intrahospital transportation (IHT) protocols and guidelines should be used to help reduce the risk of secondary virus transmission during transport. This study aimed to propose optimal IHT for patients with an infectious disease presenting in an out-patient area.

Design

The map of a West China Hospital was used. We also used field investigation findings and simulated person flow to establish pathway length and transportation time. We identified three optimum pathways and estimated safety boundary marks, including a patient transportation border (PTB) and safety transportation border (STB). Finally, IHT, PTB, and STP formed a virtual transport pipeline (VTP) and a traceable IHT management system, which can generate a virtual isolation space.

Results

The three pathways met efficiency, accessibility, and by-stander flow criteria. No facility characteristic modification was required.

Conclusions

Using virtual models to identify pathways through out-patient hospital areas may help reduce the risk of infection spread.
Speech phoneme and spectral smearing based non-invasive COVID-19 detection
Authors: Mishra Soumya , Dash Tusar Kanti , Panda Ganapati
Published: January 2023

COVID-19 is a deadly viral infection that mainly affects the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cavities before the lung in the human body. Early detection followed by immediate treatment can potentially reduce lung invasion and decrease fatality. Recently, several COVID-19 detections methods have been proposed using cough and breath sounds. However, very little study has been done on the use of phoneme analysis and the smearing of the audio signal in COVID-19 detection. In this paper, this problem has been addressed and the classification of speech samples has been carried out in COVID-19-positive and healthy audio samples. Additionally, the grouping of the phonemes based on reference classification accuracies have been proposed for effectiveness and faster detection of the disease at a primary stage. The Mel and Gammatone Cepstral coefficients and their derivatives are used as the features for five standard machine learning-based classifiers. It is observed that the generalized additive model provides the highest accuracy of 97.22% for the phoneme grouping “/t//r//n//g//l/.” This smearing-based phoneme classification technique can also be used in the future to classify other speech-related disease detections.
Methods to evaluate driving competence for people with acquired brain injury (ABI): A systematic review
Authors: Alhashmi Doha , Lalor Aislinn , Fossey Ellie
Published: January 2023

Driving is essential for independence, community involvement and quality of life. Driving is the primary transportation method in Saudi Arabia. Despite the high rates of brain injuries and disability in Saudi Arabia, currently there are no guidelines regarding driver assessment and rehabilitation to facilitate people with brain injuries to resume driving. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to understand the assessment methods used internationally to evaluate driving competence for people with acquired brain injuries (ABI). A systematic search of six electronic databases was conducted by two authors and twenty-six studies were identified for review. Four main approaches to driver assessment: clinical assessments such as neuropsychological tests, off-road screening tools, simulator testing, and comprehensive driving assessment were identified. However, our findings revealed a lack of consistency in their use to assess driving competence after ABI. On-road driving performance tests were predominantly used to determine driving competence either independently or in combination with another method in over two-thirds of the reviewed studies. While clinical assessments of cognitive impairments showed some capacity to predict driving performance of people with ABI, they should be used with caution since they cannot replace on-road driving performance tests. Driver assessment should be part of rehabilitation following high prevalence conditions such as ABI. This systematic review offers guidance for Saudi clinicians, as well as policymakers, about providing rehabilitation services for people with ABI, and recommendations for further research and collaborations to improve this much-needed area of practice.
A study of error diversity in robotic swarms for task partitioning in foraging tasks
Authors: Buchanan Edgar , Alden Kieran , Pomfret Andrew , Timmis Jon , Tyrrell Andy M.
Published: January 2023

Often in swarm robotics, an assumption is made that all robots in the swarm behave the same and will have a similar (if not the same) error model. However, in reality, this is not the case, and this lack of uniformity in the error model, and other operations, can lead to various emergent behaviors. This paper considers the impact of the error model and compares robots in a swarm that operate using the same error model (uniform error) against each robot in the swarm having a different error model (thus introducing error diversity). Experiments are presented in the context of a foraging task. Simulation and physical experimental results show the importance of the error model and diversity in achieving the expected swarm behavior.
Role of short interpregnancy interval, birth mode, birth practices, and the postpartum vaginal microbiome in preterm birth
Authors: Odogwu Nkechi Martina
Published: January 2023

There have been widely documented beneficial role of vaginal Lactobacillus species as an important biomarker for vaginal health and healthy pregnancy progression. When translating this to clinical settings, pregnant women with low proportions of Lactobacillus and commensurately high proportion of rich and highly diverse abnormal microbiota are most likely to encounter negative pregnancy outcome such as preterm birth and postpartum complications. However, multiple literatures have also addressed this notion that the absence of a Lactobacillus-dominated microbiota does not appear to directly imply to a diseased condition and may not be a major determinant of negative obstetric outcome. Caesarian delivery is notably a risk factor for preterm birth and postpartum endometritis, yet recent data shows a trend in the overuse of CS across several populations. Growing evidence suggest the potential role of vaginal/uterine cleaning practice during CS procedures in influencing postpartum infections, however there is a controversy that this practice is associated with increased rates of postpartum endometritis. The preponderance of bacterial vaginosis associated bacteria vagitype at postpartum which persist for a long period of time even after lochia regression in some women may suggest why short interpregnancy interval may pose a potential risk for preterm birth, especially multigravidas. While specifically linking a community of microbes in the female reproductive tract or an exact causative infectious agent to preterm birth and postpartum pathologies remains elusive, clinical attention should also be drawn to the potential contribution of other factors such as short interpregnancy interval, birth mode, birth practices and the postpartum vaginal microbiome in preterm birth which is explicitly described in this narrative review.
Recent advances in biosurfactant-based association colloids—Self-assembly in water
Authors: Hellweg Thomas , Sottmann Thomas , Oberdisse Julian
Published: January 2023

Recent studies of self-assembly in binary systems of bio-surfactants, either of microbial origin or saponins extracted from plants, are reviewed. Saponins in water reported in the first section include aescin, glycyrrhizin, and quillaja saponins, while rhamnolipids are discussed in the second section on microbial surfactants. Studies of surface activities are a natural starting point of the characterization of surfactants, but here we focus mainly on physico-chemical and structural properties of self-assembled bulk structures in solution, often characterized by scattering techniques. When quantitative modelling is performed, self-assembly parameters like aggregation numbers, head group areas, and resulting shapes can be followed as a function of physical-chemical parameters like concentration, composition, temperature, or pH. Morphologies include micelles and their structural evolution with addition of other bio- or synthetic surfactants, co-surfactants, proteins or phospholipids.
The impact of dimensionality reduction of ion counts distributions on preserving moments, with applications to data compression
Authors: da Silva D. , Bard C. , Dorelli J. , Kirk M. , Thompson B. , Shuster J.
Published: January 2023

The field of space physics has a long history of utilizing dimensionality reduction methods to distill data, including but not limited to spherical harmonics, the Fourier Transform, and the wavelet transform. Here, we present a technique for performing dimensionality reduction on ion counts distributions from the Multiscale Mission/Fast Plasma Investigation (MMS/FPI) instrument using a data-adaptive method powered by neural networks. This has applications to both feeding low-dimensional parameterizations of the counts distributions into other machine learning algorithms, and the problem of data compression to reduce transmission volume for space missions. The algorithm presented here is lossy, and in this work, we present the technique of validating the reconstruction performance with calculated plasma moments under the argument that preserving the moments also preserves fluid-level physics, and in turn a degree of scientific validity. The method presented here is an improvement over other lossy compressions in loss-tolerant scenarios like the Multiscale Mission/Fast Plasma Investigation Fast Survey or in non-research space weather applications.
EMD based statistical analysis of nighttime pre-earthquake ULF electric field disturbances observed by CSES
Authors: Yang Bai-Yi , Li Zhong , Huang Jian-Ping , Yang Xu-Ming , Yin Hui-Chao , Li Zong-Yu , Lu Heng-Xin , Li Wen-Jing , Shen Xu-Hui , Zeren Zhima , Tan Qiao , Zhou Na
Published: January 2023

To explore the correlation between earthquakes and spatial ultra-low frequency electric field disturbances and to study the phenomenon of seismic ionospheric disturbances, this study uses 3 years of electric field ULF band data from 2019 to 2021 observed by the electric field detector carried by the CSES to identify anomalous disturbances using the anomaly automatic detection algorithm based on empirical mode decomposition for the 2,329 seismic events of magnitude not less than 5.0 and the electric field ULF disturbances in this period are analyzed by Superposed Epoch Analysis, and the statistical results are compared and analyzed in depth by earthquake location and different magnitudes in terms of both spatial and temporal scales and spatial distribution. The results show that: 1) There is a correlation between earthquakes of magnitude not less than 5.0 and ultra-low frequency disturbances in the electric field. The abnormal disturbance mainly occurred 11 days before the earthquake, 2 days before the earthquake to the day of the earthquake, and the location of the earthquake is within 200 km from the epicenter. 2) Sea earthquakes can observe more pre-seismic anomalous electromagnetic disturbances than land earthquakes. 3) In terms of earthquake magnitude, the larger the magnitude, the earlier the pre-earthquake anomalous disturbances appear and the wider the range of anomalies. This study provides an effective way to explain seismic ionospheric phenomena, and also provides a reference for the application of electromagnetic monitoring satellites in earthquake prediction and early warning as well as disaster prevention and mitigation.
Modeling adoption of genetically modified foods: Application of Rough Set Theory and Flow Network Graph
Authors: Akbari Morteza , Mahavarpour Nasrin , Moshkdanian Fatemeh , Maroufkhani Parisa
Published: January 2023

Introduction

The main purpose of this study is to extract the rules and patterns governing the behavioral intention of consumers towards the adoption of genetically modified foods (GMFs).

Method

The proposed method is a combination of Rough Set Theory (RST) and Flow Network Graph (FNG). Data was collected from 386 consumers to extract rough rules. 13 rules have been chosen from 289 original rules that were divided into three groups: low, medium, and high intention to use GMFs. They were chosen because of the support values and other indexes that were used in the RST. Eventually, to interpret the performance of the generated rules, FNG were illustrated for each decision-making class, and seven patterns were extracted.

Results

The findings confirm that corporate social responsibilities, consumer concerns, occupational status, and consumer autonomy are more important than other observed dimensions in consumers' decision-making. Moreover, the findings illustrate that combining Rough Set Theory and Flow Network Graph could predict customers' intentions and provide valuable information for policy-makers in related active industries.

Discussion

Based on the analysis outcomes, the most significant factors that affect consumers' intention to use GMFs are: “consumer perception of CSR”; “consumer concerns”; “occupational status”; and “consumer autonomy”. Thus, managers and policymakers must pay more attention to these concepts when they survey consumer intention behavior.
Risk factor analysis and construction of prediction models for short-term postoperative complications in patients undergoing gastrointestinal tract surgery
Authors: Cui Hongming , Zhao Dawei , Jian Jingren , Zhang Yifei , Jian Mi , Yu Bin , Hu Jinchen , Li Yanbao , Han Xiaoli , Jiang Lixin , Wang Xixun
Published: January 2023

Purpose

To identify risk factors associated with short-term postoperative complications in patients with gastrointestinal cancer and develop and validate prediction models to predict the probability of complications.

Methods

A total of 335 patients enrolled in the primary cohort of this study were divided into training and validation sets in a chronological order. Using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, the risk factors for postoperative complications were determined, and nomogram prediction models were constructed. The performance of the nomogram was assessed with respect to the receiver operator characteristic and calibration curves.

Results

Patients with complications had a stronger postoperative stress response and a longer duration of daily fluid intake/output ratio >1 after surgery. Logistic analysis revealed that body mass index (BMI), body temperature on POD4 (T.POD4), neutrophil percentage on POD4 (N.POD4), fasting blood glucose on POD4 (FBG.POD4), and the presence of fluid intake/output ratio <1 within POD4 were risk factors for POD7 complications, and that BMI, T.POD7, N.POD7, FBG.POD4, FBG.POD7, and the duration of daily fluid intake/output ratio >1 were risk factors for POD30 complications. The areas under the curve of Nomogram-A for POD7 complications were 0.867 and 0.833 and those of Nomogram-B for POD30 complications were 0.920 and 0.918 in the primary and validation cohorts, respectively. The calibration curves showed good consistency in both cohorts.

Conclusion

This study presented two nomogram models to predict short-term postoperative complications in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. The results could help clinicians identify patients at high risk of complications within POD7 or POD30.
Posterior cervical full-endoscopic technique for the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy with foraminal bony stenosis: A retrospective study
Authors: Shi Meng , Wang Cong , Wang Huihao , Ding Xiaoqing , Feng Juntao , Zhou Lin , Cai Yuwei , Yu Zhongxiang
Published: January 2023

Objective

In the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR), spinal endoscopy has been developed vigorously in the past 30 years. However, its effectiveness and subsequent problem of cervical spine stability have always been the controversial hotspots. This study aims to conduct a retrospective study using posterior cervical full-endoscopic technique for the treatment of CSR with foraminal bony stenosis, and evaluate its clinical effect and application value.

Methods

All 22 patients treated for CSR with foraminal bony stenosis using posterior cervical full-endoscopic technique were analyzed since Dec 1, 2016, to Apr 30, 2020. The data collection included operation time, length of stay, wound healing, surgical complications, visual analog scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, intervertebral foramen diameter, intervertebral foramen area and cervical instability. The relevant indicators were observed on admission, at postoperative 1 week and 3 months, and at the last follow-up.

Results

The operation time was 141.6 ± 13.7 min. The length of stay was 6.0 ± 2.5 days. VAS and JOA at different time points after operation were decreased compared with before operation (p < 0.05). There were no statistical differences between VAS or JOA at different postoperative time points (p > 0.05). The height, anteroposterior diameter and area of intervertebral foramen after operation were significantly increased compared with before operation (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Posterior cervical full-endoscopic technique shows the advantages of smaller invasion, faster recovery, significant effectiveness and fewer complications in our study. Meanwhile, it has little influence on the ROM and stability of the cervical spine. Therefore, it is a minimally invasive, safe and effective surgical method for the treatment of CSR with foraminal bony stenosis.
Case Report: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia associated with esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula
Authors: Zhang Feihong , Wu Yang , Zhang Li , Xia Bin
Published: January 2023

The coexistence of congenital diaphragmatic hernia and esophageal atresia with or without tracheoesophageal fistula is extremely rare; only 36 cases have been reported. We report a case of a preterm male newborn infant with left congenital diaphragmatic hernia, esophageal atresia, and tracheoesophageal fistula and review 27 related cases.
Quantitative CT parameters correlate with lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wang Yan , Chai Limin , Chen Yuqian , Liu Jin , Wang Qingting , Zhang Qianqian , Qiu Yuanjie , Li Danyang , Chen Huan , Shen Nirui , Shi Xiangyu , Wang Jian , Xie Xinming , Li Manxiang
Published: January 2023

Objective

This study aimed to analyze the correlation between quantitative computed tomography (CT) parameters and airflow obstruction in patients with COPD.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Web of Knowledge were searched by two investigators from inception to July 2022, using a combination of pertinent items to discover articles that investigated the relationship between CT measurements and lung function parameters in patients with COPD. Five reviewers independently extracted data, and evaluated it for quality and bias. The correlation coefficient was calculated, and heterogeneity was explored. The following CT measurements were extracted: percentage of lung attenuation area <−950 Hounsfield Units (HU), mean lung density, percentage of airway wall area, air trapping index, and airway wall thickness. Two airflow obstruction parameters were extracted: forced expiratory volume in the first second as a percentage of prediction (FEV1%pred) and FEV1 divided by forced expiratory volume lung capacity.

Results

A total of 141 studies (25,214 participants) were identified, which 64 (6,341 participants) were suitable for our meta-analysis. Results from our analysis demonstrated that there was a significant correlation between quantitative CT parameters and lung function. The absolute pooled correlation coefficients ranged from 0.26 (95% CI, 0.18 to 0.33) to 0.70 (95% CI, 0.65 to 0.75) for inspiratory CT and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.51 to 0.60) to 0.74 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.80) for expiratory CT.

Conclusions

Results from this analysis demonstrated that quantitative CT parameters are significantly correlated with lung function in patients with COPD. With recent advances in chest CT, we can evaluate morphological features in the lungs that cannot be obtained by other clinical indices, such as pulmonary function tests. Therefore, CT can provide a quantitative method to advance the development and testing of new interventions and therapies for patients with COPD.
Predictive nomogram for postoperative atrial fibrillation in locally advanced esophageal squamous carcinoma cell with neoadjuvant treatment
Authors: Fang Meiqin , Chen Mingduan , Du Xiaoqiang , Chen Shuchen
Published: January 2023

Background

Neoadjuvant therapy following minimally invasive esophagectomy is recommended as the standard treatment for locally advanced esophageal squamous carcinoma cells (ESCC). Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after esophagectomy is common. We aimed to determine the risk factors and construct a nomogram model to predict the incidence of POAF among patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy.

Methods

We retrospectively included patients with ESCC receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT), neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), or neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) following minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for analysis. Patients without a history of AF who did not have any AF before surgery and who developed new AF after surgery, were defined as having POAF. We applied a LASSO regression analysis to avoid the collinearity of variables and screen the risk factors. We then applied a multivariate regression analysis to select independent risk factors and constructed a nomogram model to predict POAF. We used the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) curve to evaluate the nomogram model.

Results

A total of 202 patients were included for analysis, with 35 patients receiving nCRT, 88 patients receiving nCT, and 79 patients receiving nICT. POAF occurred in 34 (16.83%) patients. There was no significant difference in the distribution of neoadjuvant types between the POAF group and the no POAF group. There was a significant increase in postoperative hospital stay (p = 0.04), hospital expenses (p = 0.01), and comprehensive complication index (p < 0.001). The LASSO analysis screened the following as risk factors: blood loss; ejection fraction (EF); forced expiratory volume in 1 s; preoperative albumin (Alb); postoperative hemoglobin (Hb); preoperative Hb; hypertension; time to surgery; age; and left atrial (LA) diameter. Further, preoperative Alb ≤41.2 g/L (p < 0.001), preoperative Hb >149 g/L (p = 0.01), EF >67.61% (p = 0.008), and LA diameter >32.9 mm (p = 0.03) were determined as independent risk factors of POAF in the multivariate logistic analysis. The nomogram had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.77. The Briser score of the calibration curve was 0.12. The DCA confirmed good clinical value.

Conclusions

Preoperative Alb ≤41.2 g/L, LA diameter >32.9 mm, preoperative Hb >149 g/L, and EF >67.61% were determined as the risk factors for POAF among patients with ESCC. A novel and valuable nomogram was constructed and validated to help clinicians evaluate the risk of POAF and take personalized treatment plans.
Predictive value of systemic immune-inflammation index for pathological complete response in patients receiving neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer
Authors: Han Wu , Weng Kai , Zhang Peipei , Hong Zhinuan
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) has been confirmed with promising pathological complete response (pCR) among locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, there were still no reliable and accurate predictors to predict the treatment response. This study aimed to explore the predictive value of inflammatory and nutritional parameters.

Methods

Patients with ESCC who underwent radical surgery after nICT between January 2020 and April 2022 were included in the study. First, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (LASSO) logistic regression analysis was used to screen independent inflammatory and nutritional parameters. Secondly, univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to screen and predict independent risk factors for pCR. Thirdly, a nomogram was constructed based on the independent predictive factors, and 30% of the included population was randomly selected as the validation cohort. We used the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) curve to evaluate the nomogram model.

Results

A total of 97 ESCC patients were screened for analysis, with 20 patients with pCR (20.32%). Only the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) was screened after LASSO-logistic regression when λ was 0.06. The cut-off value of SII was 921.80 with an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.62. We defined SII > 921.80 as high SII and SII ≦ 921.80 as low SII. Further, the univariate and multivariate analysis further determined SII(OR = 3.94, 95%CI:1.26–12.42, P = 0.02) and clinical stage(OR = 0.35, 95%CI:0.12–0.98, P = 0.05) were independent predictive factors of pCR. One novel nomogram was established with an AUC value of 0.72 in the training cohort and 0.82 in the validation cohort. The Brier score of the calibration curve was 0.13. The calibration curve showed good agreement between the predicted results and the actual results in both the training cohort and the validation cohort. Compared with the clinical stage, the DCA confirmed a better clinical value of the nomogram model in both the training cohort and the validation cohort.

Conclusions

High pretreatment SII and early clinical stage were independently associated with pCR among ESCC receiving nICT. We further established and validated one novel nomogram model to effectively predict pCR among ESCC after nICT.
Pueraria lobata polysaccharides alleviate neonatal calf diarrhea by modulating gut microbiota and metabolites
Authors: Shen Liuhong , Shen Yu , You Liuchao , Zhang Yue , Su Zhetong , Peng Guangneng , Deng Junliang , Zuo Zhicai , Zhong Zhijun , Ren Zhihua , Yu Shumin , Zong Xiaolan , Zhu Yingkun , Cao Suizhong
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) is still one of the most critical diseases in calf rearing. Studies have shown that Pueraria lobata polysaccharides (PLP) have intense antioxidant and immunomodulatory activity and modulate gut microbiota. This randomized clinical trial aimed to determine the effect of PLP on the neonatal calf with diarrhea.

Methods

In this study, we recorded the fecal score of experimental calves, and calves with fecal scores ≥ 2 were determined as diarrhea and assessed their serum concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative damage-related indices. Fecal microbiota and metabolomics of diarrheal calves were further investigated.

Results

Results showed that treatment with PLP decreased the fecal score of diarrheal calves, serum concentrations of IL-1β, TNF-γ, and malondialdehyde, and also elevated the level of superoxide dismutase. In addition, PLP treatment altered the gut microbiota, significantly increased the relative abundances of beneficial bacteria, including the phyla Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, the genus Collinsella, Megamonas, and Bifidobacterium; decreased the relative abundances of pathogenetic or diarrhea related bacteria, such as Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Escherichia_Shigella. Moreover, PLP can increase the fecal concentrations of isobutyric acid, propionic acid, and pantothenate; lower the levels of PC [18:0/18:1(9Z)], arachidonic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid.

Discussion

Thus, the results suggested that the PLP may perform the therapeutic activity via alleviating intestinal inflammation and regulating gut microbiota, avoiding further dysbiosis to restore the metabolism of gut microbiota, and finally promoting the recovery of diarrhea. The change further mitigated intestinal inflammation and oxidative damage in diarrheal calves. This indicated that PLP might be a promising treatment to attenuate diarrhea in neonatal calves.
Development and validation of a fast quantitative real-time PCR assay for the detection of African swine fever virus
Authors: Hwang Hyun Jin , Choi Yun Seong , Song Kyungyoung , Frant Maciej , Kim Jeong Hee
Published: January 2023

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a double-stranded DNA virus that causes African swine fever (ASF), a lethal hemorrhagic fever that is highly contagious among domestic pigs and wild boars. Due to the high mortality rates and highly contagious nature of the ASF, it is important to develop a fast detection method for ASFV with high sensitivity and specificity to take an immediate action to stop wide spread of the virulent disease. Therefore, a fast and quantitative molecular detection method of ASFV is presented in this study. A total of 24 genotypes of ASFV have been identified based on nucleic acid sequences of the major capsid protein p72. The primers and probe of the present assay was designed to detect all of the p72-based genotypes of ASFV. The turnaround time for PCR detection was within 50 min which is at least about two-times faster compared to other PCR assays. Limit of detection (LoD) was 6.91 genomic copies/reaction for the most virulent genotype II. LoD values for other genotypes were within 10–20 copies/reaction. Cross-reactivity of the assay was validated using a panel of pathogens related to swine disease, and no cross-reactivity was observed. Positive and negative clinical samples (50 samples each) obtained from sick and healthy animals, were used to validate the assay. The results showed that 100% agreement for both positive and negative samples. In summary, the assay described in this study offers the advantage of rapid detection of all genotypes of ASFV with high sensitivity and specificity. The assay is a valuable tool both in clinical and laboratory uses for sensitive and fast detection of ASFV.