bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perceived stress and its impact on the health behavior of Chinese residents during the COVID‐19 epidemic: An Internet‐based cross‐sectional survey
Authors: Yao Lili , Xiong Ying , Yuan Feng , Luo Yetao , Yan Lupei , Li Yuerong
Published: August 2022

Background and Aims

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) causes severe respiratory illnesses, following exposure to air‐borne droplets or direct contact, posing a great threat to human life. This study aimed to investigate perceived stress and its correlation with the health behaviors of Chinese residents during the COVID‐19 epidemic.

Methods

An Internet survey was conducted among 2449 residents in 20 provinces of China on residents' perceived stress, perception of COVID‐19, and health behaviors. SAS 9.4 was used to analyze the relationship between health behaviors and perceived stress, and logistic regression was used to explore the factors influencing health risk stress.

Results

The participants' perceived stress score was 22.25 ± 7.2 (total 56), and the incidence of health risk stress was 39.89% (977/2449). Females, students, and medical staff were at high risk. Health risk stress refers to a level of stress that is hazardous to health (score over 25). Perceived stress increased, while the frequency of health behaviors decreased. Age, perception of susceptibility to COVID‐19, life‐threatening level of COVID‐19, perception of the importance of home isolation, and perception of the difference between a common cold and COVID‐19 were positively related to the occurrence of health risk stress.

Conclusions

A negative correlation was found between health behaviors and perceived stress. Therefore, it is of great significance to provide psychological interventions for those who are experiencing health risk stress and to promote their health behaviors.
Improvement of dissolved organic nitrogen extraction accuracy in unsaturated zones
Authors: Liu Shixuan , Yang Zhixiang , Liu Yang , Zheng Xilai , Yang Huiyu , Walther Marc , Zheng Tianyuan
Published: August 2022

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) plays a crucial role in biogeochemical processes of nitrogen (N) and has become a non‐negligible source of increasing groundwater nitrogen contamination. Therefore, the extraction accuracy of DON in unsaturated zones is essential for sound understanding of N transport, transformation behaviour and contamination processes. However, there is no uniform extraction standard for measuring DON content in the unsaturated zone. Moreover, the influences of various extraction conditions on the DON measurement are not clear. Hereby, we are the first to address the issues associated with all the extraction indicators (extractant types and concentrations, extraction duration, frequency, and solution volume‐to‐soil weight ratio) for the DON extraction accuracy in unsaturated zones, and present a comprehensive influence analyses. Our results revealed that extraction conditions could significantly influence the extraction accuracy of DON and that the principal impact factor was the concentration of the extractant. We also found that the widely used previous extraction approaches (high‐salinity extraction method) would induce high uncertainty in measuring the DON content in unsaturated zones of different areas. Furthermore, the opposing influences from the ions of extractants can seriously affect the assessment of DON content and hinder comparability even using the same extraction method, which could severely affect the assessment of the DON content in unsaturated zones. Such uncertainty in measurements will eventually influence the observation and evaluation of groundwater nitrogen contamination. Our results demonstrated that the use of the former DON extraction method without considering the research purposes and the specific study areas would lead to a strong bias. Based on detailed response surface analysis, we provide a comprehensive analysis related to the accuracy of DON extraction, which is conducive to improving the extraction accuracy of nitrogen research in global groundwater hydrological processes in the future.
Whether it is safe to start anticoagulation after intracranial hemorrhage within 2 weeks: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Huang Xue‐Yan , Zhang Jun‐Yan , Yu Chang‐Yin
Published: August 2022

Whether restarting anticoagulation (RA) treatment after intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is still controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to summarize the relationship between anticoagulation after ICH with the recurrence of hemorrhagic events, ischemic events, and long‐term mortality. Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, from inception to November 2020. We searched the published medical literature to ensure cohort studies involving ICH associated with anticoagulation in adults. Primary outcomes were long‐term mortality, hemorrhagic events, and ischemic events (myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, ischemic stroke, or systemic embolization). We concluded seven retrospective cohorts, including 1876 intracranial hemorrhage patients with indications of anticoagulation. The ratio of the anticoagulant restart was 35.3% (664n). RA was associated with a significantly lower incidence of recurrent ischemic events (pooled odds ratio [OR] 0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19% to 0.45%, p = 0.97) and death events (pooled OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.40%–0.79%, p = 0.27). There is no evidence that early recovery of anticoagulation (within 2 weeks or 1 month) is associated with the occurrence of hemorrhagic events (within 2 weeks: pooled OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.3–2.12, p = 0.52 vs. within 1 month: pooled OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.77–1.68, p = 0.82). Based on these, recovery of anticoagulation after ICH is beneficial for long‐term mortality and recurrence of ischemic events. The meta‐analysis showed a resumption of oral anticoagulation within 2 weeks or 1 month in patients who had a cerebral hemorrhage was beneficial and did not increase the risk of hemorrhagic events and reduced the occurrence of ischemic and fatal endpoint events.
Enantiomer Adsorption in an Applied Magnetic Field: D‐ and L‐Aspartic Acid on Ni(100)
Authors: Radetic Michael , Gellman Andrew J.
Published: August 2022

There have been several reports of the enantiospecific adsorption of chiral compounds from solution onto ferromagnetic surfaces in applied magnetic fields. This work studies the kinetics of D‐ and L‐aspartic acid (Asp) adsorption onto a Ni(100) surface in a 0.45 T applied magnetic field under ultra‐high vacuum (UHV) conditions. Desorption studies performed after exposing the Ni(100) sample to L‐Asp revealed no influence of the applied magnetic field on the adsorption kinetics. Similarly, concurrent exposure of the Ni(100) surface to a mixture of isotopically labeled L*‐Asp and D‐Asp resulted in no detectable field induced differences in the relative enantiomer coverages adsorbed onto the surface. In summary, the presence of an applied magnetic field had no detectable influence on the adsorption kinetics of Asp enantiomers on a Ni(100) surface under UHV conditions. This is in contrast to the magnetic field induced adsorption enantiospecificity observed in solution phase. The possible origins of this discrepancy are considered.
Counseling for stress urinary incontinence in the era of adverse publicity around mesh usage: Results from a large‐sample global survey
Authors: Zilberlicht Ariel , Karmakar Debjyoti , Dwyer Peter L. , Chan Garson , Schierlitz Lore
Published: August 2022

Objective

To investigate doctors' opinions of the use of synthetic mesh for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and the effect on patient's attitude following recent adverse publicity and legal findings.

Methods

Electronic survey approved by International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) and American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS), distributed to their members.

Results

A total of 593 respondents completed the survey. The preferred initial surgical treatment for SUI was retropubic midurethral sling (MUS) (62%), followed by trans‐obturator MUS (19%), mini‐slings (10%), and then bulking agents (5%). Despite prolongation of consultation, most respondents (87%) believed that clinicians should provide a patient information leaflet (PIL) for their patients. However, only 70% of respondents were doing this. Most participants would use either the IUGA PIL or their institution PIL (61%). Only 8% felt that patients have a positive preconception of synthetic mesh for SUI. Eighty‐three per cent of respondents had not changed their recommendations for treatment and the consent process. A logistic regression model identified preferences of certain geographic areas as predictors of consenting practices.

Conclusion

Despite the negative publicity and the current medicolegal litigation involving MUS for SUI treatment, the majority of respondents still prefer this as the initial surgical treatment. Most clinicians value PIL in the surgical consent process.
Labor risk factors for fetal heart rate abnormality after combined spinal‐epidural analgesia
Authors: Yamamoto Yoshiko , Umehara Nagayoshi , Yamashita Yoko , Sato Masaki , Takehara Kenji , Sago Haruhiko
Published: August 2022

Objective

To explore the association between obstetric factors or outcomes and fetal heart rate (FHR) abnormalities after combined spinal‐epidural analgesia (CSEA).

Methods

Women with singleton term deliveries who received CSEA at our institution between January 1 and December 31, 2017, were analyzed using medical records. We performed a logistic regression analysis to compare factors and outcomes between cases with and without new FHR abnormalities within 1 h after CSEA.

Results

Of the 393 women, 163 showed the new occurrence of FHR abnormality after CSEA. Rupture of the membrane (odds ratio [OR] 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.52–4.09; P < 0.01) and dilatation of the cervix (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.07–1.44; P < 0.01) were significantly associated with FHR abnormalities. There were significant differences in FHR abnormality rates between women with cervical dilatation of 2 cm or less and 3 cm or more (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.01–4.81; P = 0.047) and 6 cm or less and 7 cm or more (OR 2.46; 95% CI 1.01–6.01; P = 0.048). FHR abnormalities were not significantly associated with cesarean delivery during labor, instrumental delivery, APGAR score below 7 at 1 or 5 min, or umbilical arterial blood gas pH less than 7.2.

Conclusion

Rupture of the membrane and an advanced dilated cervix were risk factors for FHR abnormality when CSEA was initiated.
The role of internal iliac artery intraoperative vascular clamp temporary occlusion in abnormally invasive placenta
Authors: Yang Ziling , Yang Yuanyuan , Yin Zongzhi , Yao Jie
Published: August 2022

Objective

To investigate the efficacy of internal iliac artery intraoperative vascular clamp temporary occlusion in the treatment of abnormally invasive placenta.

Method

This retrospective study enrolled 153 patients diagnosed with abnormally invasive placenta between January 2018 and December 2021. The patients were divided into a study group (n = 88, undergoing cesarean section followed by internal iliac artery vascular clamp temporary occlusion) and a control group (n = 65, receiving routine cesarean section). The general situation, intraoperative conditions, postoperative complications, and neonatal outcomes were compared between the two groups.

Results

The hysterectomy rate in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group. However, there were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss, blood transfusion, postoperative intensive care unit transfer rate, or neonatal outcome between the groups. Further subgrouping showed that in patients with placenta increta, the hysterectomy rate and intraoperative bleeding amount were significantly lower in the occlusion group. Nevertheless, these advantages were not significantly different between the groups in patients with placenta percreta.

Conclusion

Vascular clamp temporary occlusion of internal iliac artery is an effective method for controlling hemorrhage and decreasing the incidence of hysterectomy in patients with placenta increta. For patients with placenta percreta, the benefit is limited.
How to follow lipid droplets dynamics during adipocyte metabolism
Authors: Kislev Nadav , Eidelheit Shira , Perlmutter Shaked , Benayahu Dafna
Published: August 2022

Lipid droplets (LDs) are important cellular organelles due to their ability to accumulate and store lipids. LD dynamics are associated with various cellular and metabolic processes. Accurate monitoring of LD's size and shape is of prime importance as it indicates the metabolic status of the cells. Unintrusive continuous quantification techniques have a clear advantage in analyzing LDs as they measure and monitor the cells' metabolic function and droplets over time. Here, we present a novel machine‐learning‐based method for LDs analysis by segmentation of phase‐contrast images of differentiated adipocytes (in vitro) and adipose tissue (in vivo). We developed a new workflow based on the ImageJ waikato environment for knowledge analysis segmentation plugin, which provides an accurate, label‐free, live single‐cell, and organelle quantification of LD‐related parameters. By applying the new method on differentiating 3T3‐L1 cells, the size of LDs was analyzed over time in differentiated adipocytes and their correlation with other morphological parameters. Moreover, we analyzed the LDs dynamics during catabolic changes such as lipolysis and lipophagy and demonstrated its ability to identify different cellular subpopulations based on their structural, numerical, and spatial variability. This analysis was also implemented on unstained ex vivo adipose tissues to measure adipocyte size, an important readout of the tissue's metabolism. The presented approach can be applied in different LD‐related metabolic conditions to provide a better understanding of LD biogenesis and function in vivo and in vitro while serving as a new platform that enables rapid and accurate screening of data sets.
Diagnostic Accuracy of MRI for Solid Renal Masses: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis
Authors: Frank Robert A. , Dawit Haben , Bossuyt Patrick M. M. , Leeflang Mariska , Flood Trevor A. , Breau Rodney H. , McInnes Matthew D. F. , Schieda Nicola
Published: August 2022

Background

Biparametric (bp)‐MRI and multiparametric (mp)‐MRI may improve the diagnostic accuracy of renal mass histology.

Purpose

To evaluate the available evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of bp‐MRI and mp‐MRI for solid renal masses in differentiating malignant from benign, aggressive from indolent, and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) from other histology.

Study Type

Systematic review.

Population

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL up to January 11, 2022 were searched.

Field Strength/Sequence

1.5 or 3 Tesla.

Assessment

Eligible studies evaluated the accuracy of MRI (with at least two sequences: T2, T1, dynamic contrast and diffusion‐weighted imaging) for diagnosis of solid renal masses in adult patients, using histology as reference standard. Risk of bias and applicability were assessed using QUADAS‐2.

Statistical Tests

Meta‐analysis using a bivariate logitnormal random effects model.

Results

We included 10 studies (1239 masses from approximately 1200 patients). The risk of bias was high in three studies, unclear in five studies and low in two studies. The diagnostic accuracy of malignant (vs. benign) masses was assessed in five studies (64% [179/281] malignant). The summary estimate of sensitivity was 95% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 77%–99%), and specificity was 63% (95% CI: 46%–77%). No study assessed aggressive (vs. indolent) masses. The diagnostic accuracy of ccRCC (vs. other subtypes) was evaluated in six studies (47% [455/971] ccRCC): the summary estimate of sensitivity was 85% (95% CI: 77%–90%) and specificity was 77% (95% CI: 73%–81%).

Data Conclusion

Our study reveals deficits in the available evidence on MRI for diagnosis of renal mass histology. The number of studies was limited, at unclear/high risk of bias, with heterogeneous definitions of solid masses, imaging techniques, diagnostic criteria, and outcome measures.

Evidence Level

3

Technical Efficacy

Stage 2
MRI‐Based Radiomics Nomogram for Preoperative Differentiation Between Ocular Adnexal Lymphoma and Idiopathic Orbital Inflammation
Authors: Yang Lijuan , Zhang Huachen , Xie Xiaoyang , Jiang Shijie , Zhang Hui , Cao Xin , Hou Yuqing , He Xiaowei , Wang Junming , Zhang Tao , Zhao Fengjun
Published: August 2022

Background

Ocular adnexal lymphoma (OAL) and idiopathic orbital inflammation (IOI) are malignant and benign lesions for which radiotherapy and corticosteroids are indicated, but similar clinical manifestations make their differentiation difficult.

Purpose

To develop and validate an MRI‐based radiomics nomogram for individual diagnosis of OAL vs. IOI.

Study Type

Retrospective.

Population

A total of 103 patients (46.6% female) with mean age of 56.4 ± 16.3 years having OAL (n = 58) or IOI (n = 45) were divided into an independent training (n = 82) and a testing dataset (n = 21).

Field Strength/Sequence

A 3‐T, precontrast T1‐weighted imaging (T1WI), T2‐weighted imaging (T2WI), and postcontrast T1WI (T1 + C).

Assessment

Radiomics features were extracted and selected from segmented tumors and peritumoral regions in MRI before‐and‐after filtering. These features, alone or combined with clinical characteristics, were used to construct a radiomics or joint signature to differentiate OAL from IOI, respectively. A joint nomogram was built to show the impact of the radiomics signature and clinical characteristics on individual risk of developing OAL.

Statistical Tests

Area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy (ACC) were used for performance evaluation. Mann–Whitney U and Chi‐square tests were used to analyze continuous and categorical variables. Decision curve analysis, kappa statistics, DeLong and Hosmer–Lemeshow tests were also conducted. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The joint signature achieved an AUC of 0.833 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.806–0.870), slightly better than the radiomics signature with an AUC of 0.806 (95% CI: 0.767–0.838) (P = 0.778). The joint and radiomics signatures were comparable to experienced radiologists referencing to clinical characteristics (ACC = 0.810 vs. 0.796–0.806, P > 0.05) or not (AUC = 0.806 vs. 0.753–0.791, P > 0.05), respectively. The joint nomogram gained more net benefits than the radiomics nomogram, despite both showing good calibration and discriminatory efficiency (P > 0.05).

Data Conclusion

The developed radiomics‐based analysis might help to improve the diagnostic performance and reveal the association between radiomics features and individual risk of developing OAL.

Evidence Level

3

Technical Efficacy

3
SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA load in nasopharyngeal specimens from outpatients with breakthrough COVID‐19 due to Omicron BA.1 and BA.2
Authors: de Michelena Paula , Olea Beatriz , Torres Ignacio , González‐Candelas Fernando , Navarro David
Published: August 2022

This retrospective observational study compared severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) RNA load in nasopharyngeal specimens (NPs) from patients with breakthrough coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) caused by the Omicron BA.1 or BA.2 sublineages. The convenience sample was composed of 277 outpatients (176 female/112 male; median age, 48 years; range, 12–97) with breakthrough COVID‐19 (n = 130 due to BA.1 and n = 147 due to BA.2). All participants had completed a full vaccination schedule and 56% had received a booster vaccine dose at the time of COVID‐19 breakthrough microbiological diagnosis. NPs were collected within 7 days (median 2 days) after symptom onset. The TaqPath COVID‐19 Combo Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) was used to estimate viral loads in NPs. Overall, viral RNA loads in NPs were comparable (p = 0.31) for BA.1 (median, 7.1 log10 copies/ml; range, 2.7–10.6) and BA.2 (median, 7.5 log10 copies/ml; range, 2.7–10.6), yet peak viral load appeared to be reached sooner for BA.2 than for BA.1 (Day 1 vs. Days 3–5; p = 0.002). Time elapsed since last vaccine dose had no significant impact on SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA loads in the upper respiratory tract (URT) for either BA.1 or BA.2. The data presented do not support that the transmissibility advantage of BA.2 over BA.1 is related to generation of higher viral loads in the URT early after infection.
Evaluation of humoral immune responses induced by different SARS‐CoV‐2 spike trimers from wild‐type and emerging variants with individual, sequential, and combinational delivered strategies
Authors: Ding Chengchao , Ni Shuangshuang , Zhang Xiangyu , Xie Jiajia , Sun Yong , He Jun , Mei Qingmin , Huang Lina , He Hongliang , Liu Zhirong , Gao Yong
Published: August 2022

The spike trimer of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is an effective target for inducing neutralizing antibodies by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccines. However, the diversity of spike protein from emerging SASR‐CoV‐2 variants has become the major challenge for development of a universal vaccine. To investigate the immunogenicity of spike proteins from various circulating strains including wild type, Delta, and Omicron variants, we produced various natural spike trimers and designed three vaccination strategies, that is, individual, sequential, and bivalent regimens to assess autologous and heterogenous antibody responses in a mouse model. The results indicated that monovalent vaccine strategy with individual spike trimer could only induce binding and neutralizing antibodies against homologous viruses. However, sequential and bivalent immunization with Delta and Omicron spike trimers could induce significantly broader neutralizing antibody responses against heterogenous SARS‐CoV‐2. Interestingly, the spike trimer from Omicron variant showed superior immunogenicity in inducing antibody response against recently emerging XE variant. Taken together, our data supported the development of novel vaccination strategies or multivalent vaccine against emerging variants.
ICN‐FDTD scheme with absorption boundary condition for nonuniform rotational symmetric geometrics
Authors: Wu Shihong , Dong Yunyun , Liu Lining , Su Feng , Chen Xiangguang
Published: August 2022

Based on iterated Crank–Nicolson (CN) procedure, an alternative algorithm with perfectly matched layer (PML) formulation is proposed in the body‐of‐revolution (BOR) finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) lattice for the simulation of rotational symmetric geometrics. For the nonuniform domain simulation, an alternative subgridding method is employed to during the simulation. The iterated CN procedure improves the efficiency through preventing the calculation of tri‐diagonal matrices. The alternative subgridding method enhances the accuracy in nonuniform domains by the calculation of subregions. Numerical example is carried out for the demonstration of effectiveness including efficiency, accuracy and absorption. Through the results, the proposed scheme shows considerable absorption and accuracy improvement in nonuniform domains. Compared with the other CN schemes, the iterated CN procedure can significantly increase the efficiency with small time steps. In conclusion, the advantages and novelty of the proposed algorithm can be described as follows: (1) The iterated CN procedure is proposed for rotational symmetric geometrics. (2) Absorption boundary condition for iterated CN is proposed in BOR‐FDTD. (3) An alternative subgridding method for iterated CN procedure is proposed in BOR‐FDTD lattice. Thus, the proposed algorithm shows potential in nonuniform rotational symmetric geometrics open region simulation.
Time and motion study quantifying the activities of the cardiology, respiratory, and geriatric clinical pharmacist
Authors: Huynh Simon , Rush Lily , Dadalias Demitra , Githinji Danson , Ta Melissa , Poole Susan G. , Percival Mia , Bell Chloe , Warner Victoria , Nguyen David
Published: August 2022

There are few studies evaluating the workforce and the time allocated to tasks performed by clinical specialty pharmacists in Australia. The aim of this study was to quantify the time that clinical specialty pharmacists spend on various activities. A Work Observation Method by Activity Timing (WOMBAT) time and motion study was conducted at a tertiary‐referral metropolitan health service with comprehensive unit‐based clinical pharmacy services. Direct observations of clinical pharmacists were conducted by researchers during weekdays. Tasks and times observed were categorised into domains of ‘What, Who, How, and Where’, accounting for interruptions and multitasking. Eighteen clinical cardiology, respiratory, and geriatric pharmacists were observed over 171.2 h. The majority of time involved direct patient care activities (76.1% [95% confidence interval 72.6–79.6%]), including admission‐related (7.6%), discharge‐related (16.2%), and inpatient clinical tasks (52.5%). Activities were undertaken independently (55.9%) with doctors (26.2%), with nurses (10.5%), or with patients (9.6)%; 19.1% of the pharmacist’s day involved multitasking. The tasks most frequently performed together were inpatient clinical activities, including rounding and daily medicine review. This study quantified the typical task allocation of clinical pharmacists in cardiology, respiratory, and geriatric units. It demonstrated that in a hospital setting supported by comprehensive operational pharmacy services, clinical pharmacists working in acute and subacute clinical specialities, predominately undertake direct patient care tasks that have been shown to improve patient safety.
Characterization of the flavor, sensory quality and in vitro bioaccessibility in cloudy pomegranate juice treated by high pressure and thermal processing
Authors: Tian Jun , Cheng Fengyun , Yun Yurou , Yi Junjie , Cai Shengbao , Zhou Linyan
Published: August 2022

BACKGROUND

Recently, cloudy pomegranate juice (PJ) has become popular due to its rich phenolic and health‐promoting effects. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the application of high hydrostatic pressure processing (HPP), pasteurization (PT) and high‐temperature short‐time sterilization (HTST) on physicochemical properties (color, flow behavior, turbidity, sugars, organic acids, aroma and sensory evaluation) and in vitro bioaccessibility of total phenolics content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFC) and phenolics of cloudy PJ.

RESULTS

Compared to HPP, thermal sterilization significantly increased the brightness (L*), redness (a*), total color difference (ΔE) and turbidity, and decreased the TPC and TFC. HPP maintained the volatile profile of cloudy PJ better, while thermal sterilization significantly changed the profile by decreasing alcohols 23.8–32.7% and increasing acids by 33.6%–182.8%. The bioaccessibility of flavonoids, phenolic acids and tannins in the control cloudy PJ after in vitro oral‐gastric‐intestinal digestion were 1.5%, 4.9%, and 9.0%, respectively, which were not significantly changed by different treatments.

CONCLUSION

These results contributed to promoting the color quality and health benefits of cloudy PJ rich in phenolics by optimizing the processing conditions in the food industry. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Effect of contrast media on the enzyme activity of condoliase: In vitro assessment
Authors: Watanabe Ippei , Shirogane Taiichi , Matsuyama Yukihiro , Chiba Kazuhiro
Published: August 2022

Background

Condoliase has been used in Japan to treat patients with lumbar disc herniation by its injection into the nucleus pulposus. The injection of condoliase together with contrast media is prohibited; because there are no data whether contrast media have any effect on condoliase activity. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of contrast media on condoliase activity.

Methods

Condoliase with chondroitin sulfate (CS) and without CS were mixed with various contrast media (nonionic [iohexol or iotrolan]; ionic [amidotrizoic acid]). (i) The mixtures with CS were incubated at 37°C; (ii) the mixtures without CS were stored at 24°C for 60 min, followed by addition of CS to assess condoliase activity by measuring the amount of N‐acetylhexosamines enzymatically cleaved from CS using Morgan–Elson method.

Results

(i) In the presence of CS, the ionic contrast media reduced condoliase activity within 10 min in a dose‐dependent manner, and the nonionic contrast media had no effect on condoliase activity for at least 120 min. (ii) In the absence of CS, the ionic contrast media almost completely inactivated condoliase within 15 min, and the nonionic contrast media also reduced condoliase activity; the residual activity was 65% with iotrolan and 35% with iohexol at 60 min.

Conclusions

The ionic contrast media significantly reduced condoliase activity regardless of presence or absence of CS. Although the nonionic contrast media did not affect condoliase activity in the presence of CS, it reduced activity in the absence of CS. Mixing condoliase with contrast media, especially ionic type contrast media, should be avoided.
Long‐term Outcomes of Vocal Fold Paralysis Following Patent Ductus Arteriosus Ligation in Neonates
Authors: Orb Quinn , Dunya Gabriel , Padia Reema , King Jerald , Holbrook John , Muntz Harlan , Smith Marshall E.
Published: August 2022

Introduction

In patients undergoing patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation there is a significant risk of left vocal fold paralysis (LVFP) particularly in premature neonates who are small for gestational age. The objective of this study is to determine the incidence of LVFP in infants following PDA ligation and report on long‐term outcomes in patients with LVFP.

Methods

We performed a prospective study of patients undergoing PDA ligation in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) between April 2004 and May 2014. Following PDA ligation, flexible laryngoscopy was performed to assess vocal fold mobility. Patients were then followed longitudinally to determine long‐term outcomes.

Results

A total of 163 infants underwent PDA ligation. Thirty‐six patients (22%) developed LVFP following the procedure. Twenty‐five percent of neonates <1500 g experienced LVFP versus 5% of patients >1500 g (p = 0.033). Patients with LVFP were more likely to require a feeding tube (64% vs. 19.6%; p < 0.05) and spent more time in the NICU (135 days vs. 106 days; p < 0.05). Twenty‐four patients received long‐term follow‐up. Six (25%) had complete resolution of LVFP, 10 (42%) were compensated, and 8 (33%) demonstrated persistent LVFP with no improvement.

Conclusions

The incidence of LVFP after PDA ligation is high especially in extremely low birth weight children. The majority of patients recovered well with time, but further surgical intervention was required in uncompensated cases. Long‐term follow‐up of these patients is needed to ensure improvement. Laryngoscope, 133:1257–1261, 2023
Novel Machine Learning Model to Predict Interval of Oral Cancer Recurrence for Surveillance Stratification
Authors: Bourdillon Alexandra T. , Shah Hemali P. , Cohen Oded , Hajek Michael A. , Mehra Saral
Published: August 2022

Objective(s)

We aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model to accurately predict the timing of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) recurrence across four 1‐year intervals.

Methods

Patients with surgically treated OSCC between 2012–2018 were retrospectively identified from the Yale‐New Haven Health system tumor registry. Patients with known recurrence or minimum follow‐up of 24 months from surgery were included. Patients were classified into one of five levels: four 1‐year intervals and one level for no recurrence (within 4 years of surgery). Three sets of data inputs (comprehensive, feature selection, nomogram) were combined with 4 ML architectures (logistic regression, decision tree (DT), support vector machine (SVM), artificial neural network classifiers) yielding 12 models in total. Models were primarily evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE), lower values indicating better prediction of 1‐year interval recurrence. Secondary outcomes included accuracy, weighted precision, and weighted recall.

Results

389 patients met inclusion criteria: 102 (26.2%) recurred within 48 months of surgery. Median follow‐up time was 25 months (IQR: 15–37.5) for patients with recurrence and 44 months (IQR: 32–57) for patients without recurrence. MAE of 0.654% and 80.8% accuracy were achieved on a 15‐variable feature selection input by 2 ML models: DT and SVM classifiers.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this is the first study to leverage multiclass ML models to predict time to OSCC recurrence. We developed a model using feature selection data input that reliably predicted recurrence within 1‐year intervals. Precise modeling of recurrence timing has the potential to personalize surveillance protocols in the future to enhance early detection and reduce extraneous healthcare costs.

Level of Evidence

3 Laryngoscope, 133:1652–1659, 2023
Chinese humanities scholars' reading of academic E‐books: A survey on reading strategies and tasks
Authors: Song Ningyuan , Liu Jing , Wang Xiaoguang , Duan Qingyu , Weng Mengjuan
Published: August 2022

Academic books are essential to humanities scholars. With the rapid development of digital publishing, digital reading has become mainstream, and electronic academic books are gradually being absorbed by humanities scholars. In this case, it is important to understand their use of reading tasks and strategies when reading electronic‐academic books, and to summarize the characteristics of their e‐book reading behaviour. This study therefore outlined the academic reading characteristics of humanities scholars, as well as their e‐book reading strategies and tasks. Subsequently, a user reading strategy questionnaire was compiled, and a survey conducted. Finally, descriptive statistics and sample paired t‐tests were adopted to obtain the usage of e‐book reading strategies of Chinese humanities scholars. Results showed that prior knowledge was the most used strategy, followed by understanding and decision‐making, self‐regulation, and self‐monitoring strategies. Significant differences in the frequency and preference of reading strategies in different e‐book reading tasks were also identified. This paper further discusses the characteristics of e‐book reading behaviour of humanities scholars, and the future direction of electronic academic book construction.
Assessment of the correlation between residual hearing and audiologic outcomes after cochlear implantation in patients with cochlear nerve deficiency
Authors: Lu Simeng , Wei Xingmei , Kong Ying , Chen Biao , Chen Jingyuan , Zhang Lifang , Yang Mengge , Liu Sha , Li Yongxin
Published: August 2022

Objective

This study aimed to assess the correlation between residual hearing and audiologic outcomes after cochlear implant (CI) surgery in patients with cochlear nerve deficiency (CND).

Methods

This retrospective study included 57 patients with CND who underwent CI surgery. Patients were divided into four groups according to hearing level (80–95, 95–110, 110–120, and >120 dB) and three groups according to residual hearing (entire spectrum hearing, partial spectrum hearing, and no spectrum hearing) based on the measured response at each frequency. Auditory performance (categorical auditory performance [CAP], Infant–Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale [IT‐MAIS]) and speech perception (speech intelligibility rating [SIR] and meaningful use of speech scale [MUSS]) were assessed before and 2 years after the surgery.

Results

Forty‐seven (82.5%) patients had complete or total hearing loss (≥95 dB) and 17 (29.8%) had no spectrum hearing before CI surgery. Twenty‐nine (50.9%) patients did not exhibit residual hearing at 4 kHz. All patients demonstrated an improvement in auditory performance and speech perception: the CAP score in the 80–95 dB group was significantly higher than that in the 110–120 and >120 dB groups, and the entire spectrum hearing group showed significantly higher CAP, SIR, and IT‐MAIS scores than the partial spectrum hearing group and significantly higher CAP, SIR, IT‐MAIS, and MUSS scores than the no spectrum hearing group.

Conclusion

For patients with CND, residual hearing, especially high‐frequency residual hearing, was poor and postoperative audiologic outcomes were significantly associated with the range of residual hearing.

Level of Evidence

4
Surgical site infections after pediatric open airway reconstruction—A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program‐Pediatric analysis
Authors: Johnson Romaine F. , Teplitzky Taylor , Wynings Erin M. , Kou Yann‐Fuu , Chorney Stephen R.
Published: August 2022

Objectives

To determine the rate of surgical site infections (SSI) after pediatric open airway reconstruction using a nationwide database.

Study Design

Cross‐sectional study of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program‐Pediatric (ACS NSQIP‐P) Database.

Methods

The ACS NSQIP‐P was queried for open airway surgeries between 2013 and 2019 determining postoperative SSI and wound dehiscence with a random sample of non‐airway cases serving as a control group.

Results

A total of 637 laryngotracheoplasties (LTP), 411 tracheal resections (TR) and 2100 control procedures were included. LTP and TR were both performed on younger children with more comorbidities than control surgeries (p < .05). Postoperative wound complications occurred more often after airway reconstructions than non‐airway cases (6.4% vs. 2.9%, p < .001). Compared to non‐airway procedures, LTP (OR: 2.42, 95% CI: 1.62–3.61) and TR (OR: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.28–3.66) developed increased SSI. Multiple logistic regression identified dirty or infected wounds (OR: 4.61, p < .001, 95% CI: 2.35–9.03) and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Class IV (OR: 3.19, p = .02, 95% CI: 1.12–8.39) as the strongest predictors of SSI after airway reconstruction.

Conclusions

SSI after pediatric airway reconstruction occur in 6% of cases and are increased in infected wounds and ASA Class IV surgeries. Recognizing common factors for these complications provide reliable benchmarking to design surgical quality improvement initiatives.

Level of Evidence

4.
Review of applied health informatics courses in a multidisciplinary biomedical informatics department
Authors: Motiwala Tasneem , Zhang Ping , Gregory Megan , Fareed Naleef , Ning Xia , Coombes Kevin , Kokanos Gabrielle , Hebert Courtney
Published: August 2022

Introduction

Applied health informatics infrastructure is a requirement for learning health systems and it is imperative that we train a workforce that can support this infrastructure. Our department offers courses in several interdisciplinary programs with topics ranging from bioinformatics to population health informatics. Due to changes in the field and our faculty members, we sought to assess our courses relevant to applied health informatics.

Methods

In this paper, we discuss the three‐phase evaluation of our program and include the survey we developed to identify the skills and knowledge base of our faculty.

Results

We show how this assessment allowed us to identify gaps and develop strategies for program expansion.

Conclusions

A focus on workforce development can help to guide and focus curricular review in an interdisciplinary graduate program.
A note on edge colorings and trees
Authors: Jarden Adi , Shami Ziv
Published: August 2022

We point out some connections between existence of homogenous sets for certain edge colorings and existence of branches in certain trees. As a consequence, we get that any locally additive coloring (a notion introduced in the paper) of a cardinal κ has a homogeneous set of size κ provided that the number of colors μ satisfies . Another result is that an uncountable cardinal κ is weakly compact if and only if κ is regular, has the tree property, and for each there exists such that every tree of height μ with λ nodes has less than  branches.
Tameness of definably complete locally o‐minimal structures and definable bounded multiplication
Authors: Fujita Masato , Kawakami Tomohiro , Komine Wataru
Published: August 2022

We first show that the projection image of a discrete definable set is again discrete for an arbitrary definably complete locally o‐minimal structure. This fact together with the results in a previous paper implies a tame dimension theory and a decomposition theorem into good‐shaped definable subsets called quasi‐special submanifolds. Using this fact, we investigate definably complete locally o‐minimal expansions of ordered groups when the restriction of multiplication to an arbitrary bounded open box is definable. Similarly to o‐minimal expansions of ordered fields, Łojasiewicz's inequality, Tietze's extension theorem and affiness of pseudo‐definable spaces hold true for such structures under the extra assumption that the domains of definition and the pseudo‐definable spaces are definably compact. Here, a pseudo‐definable space is a topological space having finite definable atlases. We also demonstrate Michael's selection theorem for definable set‐valued functions with definably compact domains of definition.
Thermal Structuring of Surface‐Attached Polymer Networks by C,H Insertion Reactions
Authors: Bleiziffer Alexander , Kost Jonas , Rühe Jürgen
Published: August 2022

Photolithography is an important process in semiconductor technology with the aim to create structured surfaces, but often requires specific substrate materials that have to be pretreated. Using a novel, fast, and simple process based on thermal activation, the authors are able to produce spatially controlled surface‐bound polymer networks on a variety of different common materials. In this process, which is similar to branding livestock or wood with a hot branding iron, a hot stamp is brought into direct contact with a diazo group‐containing copolymer applied to a substrate to map the profile of the stamp into the polymer film. Crosslinking and covalent surface attachment to the substrate are achieved as a result of thermal activation of the diazo groups, leading to carbene formation, which induces C,H‐insertion crosslinking (CHic). After dissolving the uncrosslinked material, the shape of the stamp is transferred into the polymer film. The polymer systems used here allow activation of the diazo function at mild temperatures, so that relatively fast processing allows the performance of step‐and‐repeat processes. By recoating and then repeating the process on already structured surfaces, the physical and chemical material properties of structures can be tailored, and structure‐on‐structure features become easily possible.
Compact quasi‐Einstein manifolds with boundary
Authors: Diógenes Rafael , Gadelha Tiago
Published: August 2022

The goal of this article is to study compact quasi‐Einstein manifolds with boundary. We provide boundary estimates for compact quasi‐Einstein manifolds similar to previous results obtained for static and V‐static spaces. In addition, we show that compact quasi‐Einstein manifolds with connected boundary and satisfying a suitable pinching condition must be isometric, up to scaling, to the standard hemisphere .
Nonlinear impact of the interaction between internal knowledge and knowledge spillover on patent quality: Evidence from China's provincial high‐tech industry
Authors: Lin Zhouzhou , Li Shengnan , Zhou Haiwei , Wei Xuan
Published: August 2022

This paper first divides knowledge resources into internal knowledge and knowledge spillover from the dual perspective of inside and outside the region. Then, a panel threshold regression model is constructed by using the panel data from 30 provincial high‐tech industries in China during the 2009–2019 period using the intellectual property protection intensity as the threshold variable, and the nonlinear impact of the interaction between internal knowledge and knowledge spillover on the patent quality in the high‐tech industry is empirically explored. The results show the following. (1) The interaction between internal knowledge and knowledge spillover has a significant nonlinear effect on the patent quality in China's provincial high‐tech industry. There is a double‐threshold effect with the intellectual property protection intensity as the threshold variable. (2) As the threshold value of the intellectual property protection intensity increases, the promotion effect of the interaction between internal knowledge and knowledge spillover on the patent quality first increases and then decreases. (3) The spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the intellectual property protection intensity is obvious in all regions in China. (4) Internal knowledge, the infrastructure construction level, and the human capital level have significant positive effects on the patent quality, while knowledge spillover and the opening‐up level have significant negative effects.
APA cites inpatient bed crisis, proposes model for estimating community needs
Authors: Canady Valerie A.
Published: August 2022

Observing that the number of psychiatric beds across private and public sectors has fluctuated and dropped significantly in the past 60 years, and that amid a mental health crisis, communities have no effective means to assess how many beds they need to meet demand in their population, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is proposing a new model, still under development, for estimating inpatient bed needs within communities.
Existence and bifurcation of positive solutions for fractional p$$ p $$‐Kirchhoff problems
Authors: Wang Linlin , Xing Yuming , Zhang Binlin
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we are interested in the existence and bifurcation of positive solutions for Kirchhoff‐type eigenvalue problems involving the fractional
‐Laplacian. First, we investigate the properties of the first eigenvalue for fractional
‐Laplacian equations with weighted functions. Furthermore, by using fixed‐point argument and modified global bifurcation theorem of Rabinowitz, together with topological degree theory, we obtain the existence of unbounded continuum of positive weak solutions to Kirchhoff‐type equations with subcritical and critical nonlinearities, where the bifurcation emanates from
. It is worth mentioning that our main results fill in some gaps of the available results.
New method to obtain the acute sill of an ecological model with complex polynomial perturbation
Authors: Sabbar Yassine , Kiouach Driss
Published: August 2022

This research aims to highlight and examine an example of ecological complexity. By taking into account the interference between predator and prey, we introduce an ecological system with a general functional response. This model is perturbed by a novel class of fluctuations in the polynomial form. Analytically, we present an alternative method to obtain the acute threshold between stationarity and predator disappearance. Our analysis enriches and improves the work of Zhou et al. (2021) by unifying the criteria of said asymptotic characteristics. Numerically, we audit the accuracy of our threshold in three particular situations: linear, quadratic and cubic perturbations. We establish that the increasing order of disturbance has a passive influence on the extinction time of predators. This finding highlights that complex noise sources have a positive role in the transient dynamics of ecological systems.
A blowup criterion for nonhomogeneous incompressible Navier–Stokes–Landau–Lifshitz system in 2‐D
Authors: Qiu Zhen , Wang Guangwu
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we investigate nonhomogeneous incompressible Navier–Stokes–Landau–Lifshitz system in two‐dimensional (2‐D). This system consists of Navier–Stokes equations coupled with Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation, an evolutionary equation for the magnetization vector. We establish a blowup criterion for the 2‐D incompressible Navier–Stokes–Landau–Lifshitz system with finite positive initial density.