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Background: Differentiated service delivery models have been developed to accommodate the rising number of stable antiretroviral therapy clients and to maintain improvements in health outcomes and care retention. Ethiopia adopted the appointment spacing model and has had notable successes in implementing it. However, with the implementation of the six multi-month scripting/appointment spacing model in Ethiopia, little is known about the uptake and its associated factors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the uptake and associated factors of the six multi-month scripting/appointment spacing differentiated service delivery model of care among stable clients on antiretroviral therapy in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 419 stable clients on antiretroviral therapy in southern Ethiopia from June 22 to September 29, 2023. A systematic sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Using a structured questionnaire, socio-demographic, health service delivery, behavioral, and clinical-related data were collected. The collected data were entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and analyzed using Stata version 14. Variables with a P-value <0.05 in the multivariable logistic analysis were considered statistically significant. Multicollinearity and model fitness were checked using the variance inflation factor and the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit tests, respectively. Results: The uptake of the six multi-month scripting/appointment spacing differentiated service delivery model of care was 63.25% (95% confidence interval (CI): 58.61%, 67.88%). Missed appointment (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 1.91 (95% CI: 1.13, 3.25)), distance to antiretroviral therapy facility (AOR: 2.90 (95% CI: 1.67, 5.04)), duration on antiretroviral therapy (AOR: 2.21 (95% CI: 1.34, 3.64)), and intermediate social support (AOR: 2.02 (95% CI: 1.29, 3.17)) and strong social support (AOR: 2.71 (95% CI: 1.23, 5.97)) were factors significantly associated with the uptake. Conclusion: The uptake of six multi-month scripting/appointment spacing differentiated service delivery models of care was six out of ten clients on antiretroviral therapy. To further improve the uptake, a precise intervention on the identified associated factor is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the potential correlation between myosteatosis and the prognosis of patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis by a meta-analysis. Methods: Cohort studies of relevance were acquired through comprehensive searches of the Medline, Web of Science, and Embase databases. To account for heterogeneity, a random-effects model was employed to combine the findings. Results: The meta-analysis included 10 retrospective and four prospective cohort studies, encompassing a total of 4287 patients diagnosed with cirrhosis. The pooled findings indicated a notable decline in transplant-free survival (TFS) among individuals with liver cirrhosis and myosteatosis compared to those without this condition (risk ratio: 1.94; 95% confidence interval: 1.61 to 2.34, p < 0.001; I2 = 49%). The predefined subgroup analyses demonstrated consistent findings across various categories, including Asian and non-Asian studies, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, patients with cirrhosis overall and those who underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, studies with different follow-up durations (< or ≥ 24 months), studies employing univariate and multivariate analyses, and studies with and without an adjustment for sarcopenia (p > 0.05 for all subgroup differences). Additionally, Egger's regression test indicated the presence of significant publication bias (p = 0.044). However, trim-and-fill analysis by including three hypothesized studies showed consistent results. Conclusions: The presence of myosteatosis in individuals diagnosed with liver cirrhosis may potentially be linked to a poor TFS prognosis. Further investigations are required to ascertain whether enhancing myosteatosis could potentially yield a survival advantage for this particular patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: It is unclear how tranexamic acid (TXA) affects blood loss and seizures in meningioma resections. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis and tried to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TXA use for patients undergoing meningioma resections. Methods: Regards to this systematic review and meta-analysis (registered with CRD42023416693), we searched PubMed, Embase (Ovid), EBSCO, and Cochrane central library up to and including Oct 2023. Patients undergoing meningioma resections treated with TXA and placebo or no treatment were eligible for this study. This would allow delineation of the impact of TXA on blood loss, postoperative seizure, and other complication incidences. Results: Four prospective cohort studies with 781 patients (390 patients in the TXA group and 391 patients in the control group) were conducted via a systematic review and meta-analysis. The results suggested that the application of TXA for patients undergoing meningioma resections reduced mean blood loss of 252 mL with 95% confidence interval (CI) -469.26 to -34.67 (P = 0.02) and I2 of 94% but did not increase postoperative seizure (risk ratio: 1.08; 95%CI: 0.54 to 2.15; P = 0.84) and other complication rates. Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that the administration of TXA could reduce blood loss in patients undergoing intracerebral meningioma resection. Registry information: The systematic review protocol has been registered at PROSPERO (Registration No. CRD42023416693) on April 23, 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) after complete tumor resection in patients with thymoma or thymic carcinoma remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to identify groups that would benefit from PORT. Methods: Multiple scientific databases were systematically searched for studies comparing overall survival (OS) and/or disease-free survival (DFS) between PORT and surgery alone in patients with completely resected thymomas or thymic carcinomas until April 10, 2024. A random-effects model was used for the statistical analysis. Results: A total of 31 studies with 10543 patients were included (17 studies involving 4763 patients with thymoma, seven studies involving 1045 patients with thymic carcinoma, and seven studies involving 4735 patients with mixed histological types). Notably, PORT significantly prolonged OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59–0.91) and DFS (HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.43–0.89). Similar results were also observed when the multivariate-adjusted HRs were used as the measure of effect (OS: HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.43–0.83; DFS: HR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.29–0.79). In subgroup analyses, PORT was associated with a longer OS and DFS for thymoma (HR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.56–0.96 and HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46–0.93), thymic carcinoma (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.49–1.07 and HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.19–0.77), and stage 3–4 disease (HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34–0.74 and HR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.27–0.70), but not for stage 2 disease (HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.55–1.19 and HR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.51–1.83). Conclusions: PORT is likely to improve OS and DFS in patients with completely resected stage 3–4 thymoma or thymic carcinoma; however, the value of PORT for stage 2 disease requires further evaluation in large-scale studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine whether a text message is as good as a postal letter as an invitation method for previous screenees in a breast cancer screening program, considering a non-inferiority margin of -2 percent points on participation rate. A non-inferiority randomized control trial was conducted. Women in the intervention group (n = 5,362) were invited by text message, and women in the control group (n = 5,482) were invited by letter, which is the standard invitation procedure of the program. In both groups, the invitation included a fixed appointment for mammography and a text message reminder 96 hours before the appointment. The primary outcome was screening participation rate (completing mammography within 12 weeks of invitation). Secondary outcomes included mammography attendance to initial or rescheduled appointments and cancellation rate. The intention-to-treat analysis showed a participation rate of 87.3% and 86.6% in the control and intervention groups, respectively. The difference in participation rate was -0.7 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], -1.8 to ∞), indicating non-inferiority of text messages compared to letter invitations. The per-protocol analysis showed similar results. Attendance at the initial appointment was higher in women who received the text message invitation compared to those in the control group (P<0.002). Women who received the invitation by letter canceled more the initial appointment scheduled compared to the text message group (21.1% and 15.1%, P<0.007). In conclusion, we found that a text message invitation for women who had previously participated in breast cancer screening was not inferior to the standard letter. This randomized controlled trial provides valuable insights into the use of alternative invitation methods for population-based cancer screening programs. However, further research is needed to determine the best timing and frequency of text messages for better outcomes and identify strategies for facilitating rescheduling or cancellation. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04343950, (04/09/2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between wood dust exposure and leukemia. The objectives included synthesizing available evidence, assessing its quality, identifying potential sources of heterogeneity, and drawing conclusions regarding the association between wood dust and leukemia. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies meeting that report on the association between wood dust and leukemia. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools were employed to ensure robust quality assessment. Meta-analysis, using random-effects models, synthesized evidence from studies with low risk of bias. Overall odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Subgroup analyses explored potential sources of heterogeneity. Results: The meta-analysis included a comprehensive review of various study types, encompassing 7 studies that examined the association between wood dust exposure and leukemia risk. The analysis revealed a statistically significant positive association, with an overall odds ratio (OR) of 1.56 (95% CI: 1.15–2.12). This indicates that individuals exposed to wood dust are 1.56 times more likely to develop leukemia compared to those not exposed, with the 95% confidence interval ranging from 1.15 to 2.12, highlighting a substantial risk elevation across different study designs. Quality assessment using The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools demonstrated a low risk of bias across all included studies, enhancing the credibility of the observed association. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore potential sources of heterogeneity within the studies. Notably, subgroup analysis based on the year of the study revealed significant differences, as indicated by an I^2 value of 87%. The robustness of these results underscores the importance of addressing wood dust exposure as an occupational hazard, particularly in industries related to woodworking and forestry. Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides robust evidence supporting an increased risk of leukemia associated with wood dust exposure implying proactive measures in people exposed to dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies evaluating the association between prediabetes and depression have shown inconsistent results. Consequently, the aim of the systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate whether prediabetes is associated with depression in the general population. Methods: Relevant observational studies were obtained by searching the Medline, Web of Science, and Embase databases. A random-effects model was utilized to pool the results by incorporating the influence of heterogeneity. Multiple subgroup analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of the study characteristics on the outcome. Results: Sixteen large-scale cross-sectional studies involving 322,863 participants were included. Among the total participants, 82,154 (25.4%) had prediabetes. The pooled results showed that prediabetes was associated with a higher prevalence of depression in this population (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05 to 1.28, p = 0.003; I2 = 58%). Subgroup analysis showed a stronger association between prediabetes and depression in younger subjects (<50 years old, OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.50) than that in older subjects (≥50 years old, OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.10; p for subgroup difference = 0.03). Other study characteristics, such as the study country, sex of the participants, definition of prediabetes, methods for the detection of depression, and study quality score, did not seem to significantly affect the results (p for subgroup difference all > 0.05). Conclusions: Prediabetes may be associated with a slightly higher prevalence of depression in the general population, particularly in subjects aged <50 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hearing loss is a major public health problem. In 2050, it could affect 2.5 billion people. It has therefore become necessary to prevent and diagnose them as early and as widely as possible. However, the costs of clinical equipment dedicated to the functional exploration of hearing remain high and hamper their distribution, while the technologies used are relatively basic. For example, the gold-standard pure-tone audiometry (PTA) essentially consists of emitting pure sounds. In addition, clinical audiometers are generally limited to PTA or few audiological tests, while hearing loss induce multiple functional deficits. Here, we present the Aupiometer, a low-cost audiometer implemented on a modular open-source system based on Raspberry Pi, and which integrates the entire technical framework necessary to carry out audiological measurements. Several hearing tests are already implemented (e.g. PTA, speech audiometry, questionnaires), while the clinical validity of the Aupiometer was verified on a panel of participants (N = 16) for an automated test of standard and extended high-frequency PTA, from 0.125 to 16 kHz, in comparison with a clinical audiometer. For this comparison between the two devices and over this wide frequency range, the difference is evaluated as less than ±10 dB for a 90% confidence interval, of the same order of magnitude as on test-retest differences on a single device. The interest of this device also extends to academic research as it should encourage the prototyping of innovative hearing tests by the community, in order to better understand the diversity of hearing problems in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers often perform data-driven variable selection when modeling the associations between an outcome and multiple independent variables in regression analysis. Variable selection may improve the interpretability, parsimony and/or predictive accuracy of a model. Yet variable selection can also have negative consequences, such as false exclusion of important variables or inclusion of noise variables, biased estimation of regression coefficients, underestimated standard errors and invalid confidence intervals, as well as model instability. While the potential advantages and disadvantages of variable selection have been discussed in the literature for decades, few large-scale simulation studies have neutrally compared data-driven variable selection methods with respect to their consequences for the resulting models. We present the protocol for a simulation study that will evaluate different variable selection methods: forward selection, stepwise forward selection, backward elimination, augmented backward elimination, univariable selection, univariable selection followed by backward elimination, and penalized likelihood approaches (Lasso, relaxed Lasso, adaptive Lasso). These methods will be compared with respect to false inclusion and/or exclusion of variables, consequences on bias and variance of the estimated regression coefficients, the validity of the confidence intervals for the coefficients, the accuracy of the estimated variable importance ranking, and the predictive performance of the selected models. We consider both linear and logistic regression in a low-dimensional setting (20 independent variables with 10 true predictors and 10 noise variables). The simulation will be based on real-world data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Publishing this study protocol ahead of performing the simulation increases transparency and allows integrating the perspective of other experts into the study design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional method of determining closure and initiation stress of fractured rocks by analyzing the stress-strain curve has problems such as strong subjectivity and large errors. This study utilized the rock closure stress values and onset stress values determined by three traditional methods, namely, axial strain method, fracture volume method and empirical value taking method, as the base database. The Student t distribution theory was used to obtain a confidence interval based on its overall distribution of values and to achieve a combination of the advantages of multiple methods. Within confidence interval, the Monte Carlo stochastic simulation was used to determine the convergence interval of the second stage to further improve the accuracy. Finally, mean value of the randomly sampled values after reaching the convergence stage was taken as the probability value of rock closure and crack initiation stress. The results showed that the 3 traditional methods for calculating rock closure and initiation stresses are significantly different. In contrast, the proposed method biases more towards multi-numerical distribution intervals and also considers the preference effects of different calculation methods. In addition, this method does not show any extreme values that deviate from the confidence intervals, and it has strong accuracy and stability compared to other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sampling of the North Sea trawl fishery for lesser sandeel (Ammodytes marinus) showed that 96% of the catch weight consisted of the target species, and experimental sea trials demonstrated that the observed small bycatch percentages of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and grey gurnard (Eutrigla gurnardus) could be significantly lowered by inserting a netting-based sorting device, an Excluder, in front of the codend. The sandeel fishery is conducted with small meshes in the codend, due to the small size and elongated body shape of this species. It is not mandatory for sandeel trawls to have any other selection devices than the small-meshed codend, and this can potentially cause problems with bycatch of unwanted species, if these are abundant on the fishing grounds. Therefore, we sampled the catch composition in this fishery and further, we compared the capture efficiency and species composition of a standard trawl, and one fitted with an additional sorting device called the Excluder. Overall, results showed small percentages of bycatch in the trips sampled and during the trials, the excluder significantly reduced the bycatches of mackerel, grey gurnard, and haddock above certain sizes. For other bycatch species results were inconclusive due to wide confidence limits affected by low bycatch numbers during the trials. The overall capture efficiency for the target species was not affected by adding the excluder in the trawl except for a significant reduction for a few semi-centimetre groups of the largest sizes of the species. These results highlight the potential of the Excluder as a bycatch reduction tool in the sandeel fishery for situations where bycatch can constitute a problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Sleep duration has been suggested to be associated with hypertension (HTN). However, evidence of the nature of the relationship and its direction has been inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between sleep duration and risk of HTN incidence, and to distinguish more susceptible populations. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest were searched from January 2000 to May 2023 for cohort studies comparing short and long sleep durations with 7–8 hours of sleep for the risk of HTN incidence. Random-effect model (the DerSimonian-Laird method) was applied to pool risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: We included sixteen studies ranging from 2.4 to 18 years of follow-up duration evaluating HTN incidence in 1,044,035 people. Short sleep duration was significantly associated with a higher risk of developing HTN (HR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.06–1.09). The association was stronger when the sleep duration was less than 5 hours (HR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.08–1.14). In contrast to males, females (HR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.04–1.09) were more vulnerable to developing HTN due to short sleep duration. No significant difference between different follow-up durations and age subgroups was observed. Long sleep duration was not associated with an increased incidence of HTN. Conclusion: Short sleep duration was associated with higher risk of HTN incidence, however, there was no association between long sleep duration and incidence of HTN. These findings highlight the importance of implementing target-specific preventive and interventional strategies for vulnerable populations with short sleep duration to reduce the risk of HTN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Winter cover crops increase readily decomposable soil carbon, but compost drives total soil carbon during eight years of intensive, organic vegetable production in California." The correction states that there were errors in the carbon stocks presented in Figures 5-10, Table 2, S3 Fig, and S1 Table. The corrected versions of these figures and table are provided. The article discusses the measurement of soil organic carbon stocks in different organic vegetable systems in Salinas, CA, which varied in terms of compost additions, cover crop type, and cover cropping frequency. The data presented in the figures and table show the differences in soil organic carbon stocks and permanganate oxidizable carbon between the systems over the course of eight years. The correction notice also includes supporting information in the form of an additional figure and table. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Physical activity (PA) is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline and all-cause dementia in later life. Pathways underpinning this association are unclear but may involve either mediation and/or moderation by cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Methods: Data on PA frequency (exposure) at 42y, non-exercise testing CRF (NETCRF, mediator/moderator) at 45y and overall cognitive function (outcome) at 50y were obtained from 9,385 participants (50.8% female) in the 1958 British birth cohort study. We used a four-way decomposition approach to examine the relative contributions of mediation and moderation by NETCRF on the association between PA frequency at 42y and overall cognitive function at 50y. Results: In males, the estimated overall effect of 42y PA ≥once per week (vs.

Background: Up to 30% of diagnostic imaging (DI) tests may be unnecessary, leading to increased healthcare costs and the possibility of patient harm. The primary objective of this systematic review was to assess the effect of audit and feedback (AF) interventions directed at healthcare providers on reducing image ordering. The secondary objective was to examine the effect of AF on the appropriateness of DI ordering. Methods: Studies were identified using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials.gov registry on December 22nd, 2022. Studies were included if they were randomized control trials (RCTs), targeted healthcare professionals, and studied AF as the sole intervention or as the core component of a multi-faceted intervention. Risk of bias for each study was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analyses were completed using RevMan software and results were displayed in forest plots. Results: Eleven RCTs enrolling 4311 clinicians or practices were included. AF interventions resulted in 1.5 fewer image test orders per 1000 patients seen than control interventions (95% confidence interval (CI) for the difference -2.6 to -0.4, p-value = 0.009). The effect of AF on appropriateness was not statistically significant, with a 3.2% (95% CI -1.5 to 7.7%, p-value = 0.18) greater likelihood of test orders being considered appropriate with AF vs control interventions. The strength of evidence was rated as moderate for the primary objective but was very low for the appropriateness outcome because of risk of bias, inconsistency in findings, indirectness, and imprecision. Conclusion: AF interventions are associated with a modest reduction in total DI ordering with moderate certainty, suggesting some benefit of AF. Individual studies document effects of AF on image order appropriateness ranging from a non-significant trend toward worsening to a highly significant improvement, but the weighted average effect size from the meta-analysis is not statistically significant with very low certainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we consider a special kind of semicontinous distribution. We try to concern with the situation where the probability of zero observation is associated with the location and scale parameters in lognormal distribution. We first propose a goodness-of-fit test to ensure that the data can be fit by the associated delta-lognormal distribution. Then we define the updated fiducial distributions of the parameters and establish the results that the confidence interval has asymtotically correct level while the significance level of the hypothesis testing is also asymtotically correct. We propose an exact sampling method to sample from the updated fiducial distribution. It can be seen in our simulation study that the inference on the parameters is largely improved. A real data example is also used to illustrate our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is supposed to participate in the development of atherosclerosis and cardio-cerebrovascular disease. However, the results of research on relationship between OPG and ischemic stroke (IS) are controversial. Therefore, we carried out the first systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate prognostic effect of osteoprotegerin in patients with IS. Methods: We comprehensively searched databases of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library through 21 August 2023 to identify observational studies that evaluated effect of OPG on poor functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] Score of 3–6) and mortality in patients with IS. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of each included study were used as much as possible to assess the pooled effect. Results: Five studies that enrolled 4,506 patients in total fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Three studies were included in the pooled analysis for each endpoint since one of the included studies had provided data on poor functional outcome as well as mortality. OPG was neither associated with poor functional outcome (aOR 1.29, 95% CI 0.90–1.85) nor with mortality (aOR 1.57, 95% CI 0.90–2.74) in patients with IS. Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate the correlation between OPG and mortality or poor functional outcome in IS patients. OPG cannot be applied to predict worse neurological function in IS patients based on the current evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing yield is an important goal of barley breeding. In this study, 54 papers published from 2001–2022 on QTL mapping for yield and yield-related traits in barley were collected, which contained 1080 QTLs mapped to the barley high-density consensus map for QTL meta-analysis. These initial QTLs were integrated into 85 meta-QTLs (MQTL) with a mean confidence interval (CI) of 2.76 cM, which was 7.86-fold narrower than the CI of the initial QTL. Among these 85 MQTLs, 68 MQTLs were validated in GWAS studies, and 25 breeder's MQTLs were screened from them. Seventeen barley orthologs of yield-related genes in rice and maize were identified within the hcMQTL region based on comparative genomics strategy and were presumed to be reliable candidates for controlling yield-related traits. The results of this study provide useful information for molecular marker-assisted breeding and candidate gene mining of yield-related traits in barley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the influence of technical, physical, and relative age characteristics on players selection success within the Scottish Performance School trials. Ninety adolescent players (81 males, 9 females; mean ± standard deviation: age = 11.3 ± 0.4 years, height = 149.6 ± 6.9 cm, mass 38.1 ± 4.7 kg) performed a battery of physical fitness (20m Sprint, CMJ, 5-0-5 agility test), anthropometric, and 8 small-sided games (SSG; 9v9) as part of a talent identification (TID) programme. Players technical (ball touches, time on the ball, high-speed releases) and locomotor activities (high-speed running distance, sprint distance, accelerations, and decelerations) were monitored using foot-mounted inertial measurements units during SSG's. The data was analysed using independent sample T-tests. Mann-Whitney U analyses were conducted to examine the differences between groups whose data was determined as being (non)parametric, with Cohen effect sizes applied. Successful players performed significantly better during physical tests (Effect size ± confidence limits: Left 5-0-5 = -0.89±0.13, Right 5-0-5 = -0.51±0.11), had significantly higher locomotor activities during SSG (high-intensity distance = 0.4±26.6, horizontal accelerations = 0.59±1.19) and significantly higher technical outputs during SSG (touches = 0.71±6.1, releases = 0.49±2.5, high-speed releases = 0.59±2.7, time on the ball = 0.52±3.4) compared to unsuccessful players. Successful players had significantly higher locomotor activities and technical outputs during SSG than their unsuccessful counterparts. Monitoring technical and locomotor activities during SSG may compliment or replace physical testing batteries for assessing TID processes in soccer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual collaborative Q&A communities generate shared knowledge through the interaction of people and content. This knowledge is often fragmented, and its value as a collective, collaboratively formed product, is largely overlooked. Inspired by work on individual mental semantic networks, the current study explores the networks formed by user-added associative links as reflecting an aspect of self-organization within the communities' collaborative knowledge sharing. Using eight Q&A topic-centered discussions from the Stack Exchange platform, it investigated how associative links form internal structures within the networks. Network analysis tools were used to derive topological indicator metrics of complex structures from associatively-linked networks. Similar metrics extracted from 1000 simulated randomly linked networks of comparable sizes and growth patterns were used to generate estimated sampling distributions through bootstrap resampling, and 99% confidence intervals were constructed for each metric. The discussion-network indicators were compared against these. Results showed that participant-added associative links largely led to networks that were more clustered, integrated, and included posts with more connections than those that would be expected in random networks of similar size and growth pattern. The differences were observed to increase over time. Also, the largest connected subgraphs within the discussion networks were found to be modular. Limited qualitative observations have also pointed to the impacts of external content-related events on the network structures. The findings strengthen the notion that the networks emerging from associative link sharing resemble other information networks that are characterized by internal structures suggesting self-organization, laying the ground for further exploration of collaborative linking as a form of collective knowledge organization. It underscores the importance of recognizing and leveraging this latent mechanism in both theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Underwater endoscopic mucosal resection (UEMR) has been an emerging substitute for conventional EMR (CEMR). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at comparing the efficiency and safety of the two techniques for removing ≥10 mm sessile or flat colorectal polyps. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase databases were searched up to February 2023 to identify eligible studies that compared the outcomes of UEMR and CEMR. This meta-analysis was conducted on the en bloc resection rate, R0 resection rate, complete resection rate, procedure time, adverse events rate and recurrence rate. Results: Nine studies involving 1,727 colorectal polyps were included: 881 were removed by UEMR, and 846 were removed by CEMR. UEMR was associated with a significant increase in en bloc resection rate [Odds ratio(OR) 1.69, 95% confidence interval(CI) 1.36–2.10, p<0.00001, I2 = 33%], R0 resection rate(OR 1.52, 95%CI 1.14–2.03, p = 0.004, I2 = 31%) and complete resection rate(OR 1.67, 95%CI 1.06–2.62, p = 0.03, I2 = 0%) as well as a significant reduction in procedure time(MD ‒4.27, 95%CI ‒7.41 to ‒1.13, p = 0.008, I2 = 90%) and recurrence rate(OR 0.52, 95%CI 0.33–0.83, p = 0.006, I2 = 6%). Both techniques were comparable in adverse events rate. Conclusion: UEMR can be a safe and efficient substitute for CEMR in removing ≥10 mm sessile or flat colorectal polyps. More studies verifying the advantages of UEMR over CEMR are needed to promote its application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancer types worldwide. Its increasing mortality trends, especially in emerging countries, are a concern. The aim of this study was to analyse mortality trends and spatial patterns of CRC in the state of Sergipe, Brazil, from 1990 to 2019. Trends were calculated using data from the Online Mortality Atlas and Joinpoint Regression Program 4.8.0.1. Spatial analyses were performed using the empirical Bayesian model and Moran indices calculated by TerraView 4.2.2 between 1990 to 1999, 2000 to 2009 and 2010 to 2019. A total of 1585 deaths were recorded during the study period, with 58.42% among females. Trends were increasing and constant for both sexes and all age groups studied. The highest mean annual percent change was 6.2 {95% Confidence interval (CI) 3.4;9.0} for males aged +65 years and 4.5 (95% CI 3.2;5.8) for females aged 50–64 years. There was positive spatial autocorrelation for both sexes in all periods studied when using the Moran index for Bayesian rates. In summary, a consistent trend of increasing colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality has been observed overall. Nevertheless, an altered spatial distribution among males has emerged over the studied period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Jump tests have applications in fatigue monitoring, training intervention evaluations, and talent identification in cycling populations. Due to competitive cycling's inherent travel demands, linear position transducers (LPTs) are suitable for assessing jump performance in this population as they are a mobile and validated technology. Understanding the reliability and sensitivity of LPTs in assessing jump performance in cycling populations is required to support the development of sports science protocols. Using an LPT, this study aimed to determine the reliability and sensitivity of countermovement jump (CMJ) variables in road cyclists. Methods: Ten national-level male road cyclists performed three maximal CMJ trials twice per week for two weeks, with an LPT measuring force, power, velocity, repetition rate, vertical distance, and concentric time from each trial. Using the mean and best CMJ results from three trials per testing session, the upper limit 90% confidence interval for the coefficient of variation (CV) and smallest worthwhile change (SWC) determined inter-day and -week reliability (CV ≤ 10%) and sensitivity (acceptable sensitivity = CV ≤ SWC) for CMJ variables. Results: Mean power and force, velocity (mean and peak), vertical distance (VD), and concentric time had acceptable inter-day and -week reliability when using either the mean or best CMJ results (CV upper limit 90% confidence interval range = 3.54–10.13%). Moreover, the CV and SWC were typically lower when based on the mean rather than the best of three CMJ trials. Lastly, poor sensitivity (CV > SWC) was evident for all CMJ variables. Conclusions: CMJ-derived mean power and force, velocity (peak and mean), VD, and concentric time have acceptable inter-day and -week reliability when assessed via an LPT in national-level road cyclists. When using an LPT, sports scientists should consider that, while they typically have poor sensitivity, the reliability of CMJ-derived variables improves when expressed as the mean of three trials in national-level road cyclists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of double−armed two−suture longitudinal intussusception microsurgical vasoepididymostomy (LIVE) and single−armed two−suture LIVE techniques in patients with epididymal obstructive azoospermia (EOA). The main outcomes assessed were patency rates, patency time, semen quality and natural pregnancy rates. Methods: Data from patients with EOA who underwent two−suture LIVE were obtained from databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Weighted data were analyzed using a random−effects model, and weighted mean differences were reported. Results: A total of 1574 patients with EOA from 24 studies were included. The overall patency rate was approximately 68% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63–72%), with a patency time of approximately 4.63 months (95% CI: 4.15–5.12). The sperm concentration reached 26.90 million/ml and the sperm motility was 23.74%. The natural pregnancy rate was 38% (95% CI: 31–46%). The different definitions of patency do not seem to have any meaningful impact when comparing patency rates. There was no significant difference in patency rates, patency time, semen quality and natural pregnancy rates between the double−armed and single−armed LIVE techniques. Conclusion: The single−armed LIVE is a potential alternative surgical option when high quality double−needle sutures are not easily accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Antenatal care is an essential component of primary healthcare, providing opportunities to screen, prevent, and treat morbidity to preserve the health of mothers and offspring. The World Health Organization now recommends a minimum of eight antenatal care contacts, instead of four, which is challenging in countries exposed to political violence and structural disparities in access to social, economic and healthcare resources as exist in Palestine. This study examines the compliance of the recommend standard of antenatal care in Palestine. Methods: We analyzed data from the UNICEF's Palestinian Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019–2020. The eligible sample consisted of 2,028 women, 15–49 years of age, living in Palestine, on whom data were available on reported antenatal care services received during the most recent pregnancy within the last two years. Outcome variables of interest were the reported frequencies of antenatal care visits, gestational timing of 1st visit, and services received. Potential risk factors were assessed in women attending less than eight versus eight or more antenatal contacts, as recommended by WHO, by estimating prevalence ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals. Results: Overall, 28% of women did not meet the WHO's recommendation of eight or more antenatal contacts, varying from 18% in Central West Bank to 33% in South West Bank across the four areas of Palestine (North, Central, and South West Bank and Gaza Strip). Twelve percent of women reported having had no antenatal contacts in the 1st trimester, and these women were two- to three-folds more unlikely to meet WHO recommendation of antenatal contacts than mothers who initiated the antenatal contact in the 1st trimester. Women who had less than eight antenatal contacts were generally poorer, higher in parity, lived in North and South West Bank, sought ANC from either doctor or nurse/midwife only, and initiated antenatal contact in 2nd-to-3rd trimesters. Conclusion: There were considerable socioeconomic and geographic inequalities in the prevalence of not meeting WHO recommended number of antenatal contacts in Palestine, offering the opportunity to inform, improve and continuously reassess coverage of antenatal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess and compare the therapeutic outcomes of cutting balloon angioplasty and high-pressure balloon angioplasty for arteriovenous fistula stenosis in hemodialysis patients. All studies indexed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library Web of Science were retrieved. The retrieval deadline was July 15, 2023. Risk of bias 2.0 was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Revman 5.4 software was used for data analysis. This review included three studies and 180 patients, with 90 patients in the cutting balloon angioplasty group and 90 patients in the high-pressure balloon angioplasty group. The results of the meta-analysis suggested that compared with high-pressure balloon angioplasty, cutting balloon angioplasty can improve primary lesion patency rates of internal arteriovenous fistulas at 6 months (relative risk, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–1.96; P = 0.01). However, there were no significant differences between the technical success rate (relative risk, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.93–1.05; P = 0.72) and clinical success rate (relative risk, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.95–1.07; P = 0.73). Therefore, cutting balloon angioplasty is likely to increase primary lesion patency rates at 6 months. However, more high-quality, large-sample, multicenter, randomized controlled trials are needed for further validation due to the limited number of included studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microbiome-directed therapies are increasingly utilized to optimize thyroid function in both healthy individuals and those with thyroid disorders. However, recent doubts have been raised regarding the efficacy of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in improving thyroid function. This systematic review aimed to investigate the potential relationship between probiotics/prebiotics and thyroid function by analyzing the impact on thyroid hormone levels. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that investigated the effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb) levels. We searched for articles from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase up until April 1st, 2023, without any language restriction. Quantitative data analysis was performed using a random-effects model, with standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval as summary statistics. The methods and results were reported according to the PRISMA2020 statement. Results: A total of eight articles were included in this review. The meta-analysis showed no significant alterations in TSH (SMD: -0.01, 95% CI: −0.21, 0.20, P = 0.93; I2: 0.00%), fT4 (SMD: 0.04, 95% CI: −0.29, 0.21, P = 0.73; I2: 0.00%) or fT3 (SMD: 0.45, 95% CI: −0.14, 1.03, P = 0.43; I2: 78.00%), while a significant reduction in TRAb levels was observed (SMD: -0.85, 95% CI: -1.54, -0.15, P = 0.02; I2: 18.00%) following probiotics/prebiotics supplementation. No indication of publication bias was found. Conclusions: Probiotics/prebiotics supplementation does not influence thyroid hormone levels, but may modestly reduce TRAb levels in patients with Graves' disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining written informed consent from participants before enrolment in a study is essential. A previous study showed that only 50% of the participants in clinical trials understood the components of informed consent, and the methods of participants' understanding of informed consent were controversial. This updated meta-analysis aimed to estimate the proportion of participants in clinical trials who understand the different informed consent components. PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Scopus were searched till April 2023. Therapeutic misconception, ability to name one risk, knowing that treatments were being compared, and understanding the nature of the study, the purpose of the study, the risks and side-effects, the direct benefits, placebo, randomization, voluntariness, freedom to withdraw, the availability of alternative treatment if withdrawn from the trial, confidentiality, compensation, or comprehension were evaluated. This meta-analysis included 117 studies (155 datasets; 22,118 participants). The understanding of the risks and side-effects was investigated in the largest number of studies (n = 100), whereas comparehension was investigated in the smallest number (n = 11). The highest proportions were 97.5%(95% confidence interval (CI): 97.1–97.9) for confidentiality, 95.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 95.4–96.4) for compensation, 91.4% (95% CI: 90.7–92.1) for the nature of study, 68.1% (95% CI: 51.6–84.6) for knowing that treatments were being compared, and 67.3% (95% CI: 56.6–78) for voluntary nature of participants. The smallest proportions were the concept of placebo (4.8%, 95%CI: 4.4–5.2) and randomization(39.4%, 95%CI: 38.3–40.4). Our findings suggested that most participants understood the fundamental components of informed consent (study confidentiality, nature, compensation, voluntariness, and freedom to withdraw). The understanding of other components, such as placebo and randomization was less satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Calls to prescribe safer supply hydromorphone (SSHM) as an alternative to the toxic drug supply increased during the COVID-19 pandemic but it is unknown whether prescribing behaviour was altered. We aimed to evaluate how the number of new SSHM dispensations changed during the pandemic in Ontario. Methods: We conducted a retrospective interrupted time-series analysis using provincial administrative databases. We counted new SSHM dispensations in successive 28-day periods from March 22, 2016 to August 30, 2021. We used segmented Poisson regression methods to test for both a change in level and trend of new dispensations before and after March 17, 2020, the date Ontario's pandemic-related emergency was declared. We adjusted the models to account for seasonality and assessed for over-dispersion and residual autocorrelation. We used counterfactual analysis methods to estimate the number of new dispensations attributable to the pandemic. Results: We identified 1489 new SSHM dispensations during the study period (434 [mean of 8 per 28-day period] before and 1055 [mean of 56 per 28-day period] during the pandemic). Median age of individuals initiating SSHM was 40 (interquartile interval 33–48) with 61.7% (N = 919) male sex. Before the pandemic, there was a small trend of increased prescribing (incidence rate ratio [IRR] per period 1.002; 95% confidence interval [95CI] 1.001–1.002; p<0.001), with a change in level (immediate increase) at the pandemic date (relative increase in IRR 1.674; 95CI 1.206–2.322; p = 0.002). The trend during the pandemic was not statistically significant (relative increase in IRR 1.000; 95CI 1.000–1.001; p = 0.251). We estimated 511 (95CI 327–695) new dispensations would not have occurred without the pandemic. Conclusion: The pandemic led to an abrupt increase in SSHM prescribing in Ontario, although the rate of increase was similar before and during the pandemic. The absolute number of individuals who accessed SSHM remained low throughout the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: The safety and efficacy of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) for the treatment of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) remain controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of G-CSF in treating ACLF. Methods: The estimated pooled risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) assessed the treatment effects of G-CSF. Mean differences (MD) and 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze continuous data. Heterogeneity was explored by sensitivity analysis. Potential publication bias was assessed using Egger's test. Results: Ten studies, comprising a total of 603 participants, were included in the analysis. The G-CSF group showed significantly lower MELD scores at 7-day (MD = -2.39, 95%CI: -3.95 to -0.82), CTP scores at 7-day (MD = -0.77, 95%CI: -1.41 to -0.14), and MELD scores at 30-day (MD = -3.01, 95%CI: -5.36 to -0.67) compared to the control group. Furthermore, the G-CSF group was associated with a reduced risk of sepsis (RR = 0.53, 95%CI: 0.35–0.80). The 30-day survival (RR = 1.26, 95%CI:1.10–1.43), 60-day survival (RR = 1.47, 95%CI:1.17–1.84, and 90-day survival (RR = 1.73, 95%CI: 1.27–2.35) of patients with ACLF treated with G-CSF were significantly higher than those of the control group. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis suggests that G-CSF therapy may be a promising treatment for ACLF, with significant improvements in liver function and survival rates, however, further studies are needed to verify this conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the most bothersome symptom has been recommended as a co-primary endpoint in clinical trials on the acute treatment of migraine. Probable migraine is a subtype of migraine that fulfills all but one criterion for migraine diagnosis. We aimed to compare the most bothersome symptom between probable migraine and migraine. This study analyzed data from a nationwide study conducted in Korea, and the most bothersome symptom was assessed by requesting the participants to select one of the four typical accompanying symptoms of migraine. Responses to acute treatment were evaluated using the migraine Treatment Optimization Questionnaire-6. Nausea was the most bothersome symptom, followed by phonophobia and vomiting in the migraine group (nausea, 61.8%; phonophobia, 25.3%; vomiting, 10.0%; and photophobia, 2.9%) and the probable migraine group (nausea, 82.2%; phonophobia, 9.5%; vomiting, 5.6%; and photophobia, 2.7%). In participants with migraine, vomiting (adjusted odds ratio = 6.513; 95% confidence interval, 1.763–24.057) and phonophobia (adjusted odds ratio = 0.437; 95% confidence interval, 0.206–0.929) were significantly associated with severe headache intensity and nausea was significantly associated with >3 headache days per 30 days (adjusted odds ratio = 0.441; 95% confidence, 0.210–0.927). Different patterns of associations were observed in probable migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Studying the effects of uric acid levels on cognitive function and quantifying the dose-response relationship. Methods: Based on PubMed and Embase search terms, we identified prospective cohort studies that included blood uric acid as a risk factor and cognitive impairment as a result up to September 2022. We extracted pooled relative risks (RRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Nine reports (including 488,915 participants and 5516 cognitive impairment cases) with median follow-up of 8.8–22 years were eligible for analyses. Compared with lowest category of blood uric acid concentration, the combined RR of cognitive impairment events in the highest classification was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.70–0.92, P < 0.001). Dose-response analysis of eight reports (including 484,297 participants and 5059 cognitive impairment cases) showed that there was no evidence of a curvilinear relationship between blood uric acid levels and cognitive impairment (P = 0.51 for nonlinear relationship). The summary RR of cognitive impairment for an increase of 1 mg/dL blood uric acid level was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.95–1.00; linear trend P = 0.07, I2 = 67.1%, heterogeneity P < 0.05). There was also a linear negative association between blood uric acid levels and cognitive impairment risk in the male subgroup analysis (RR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95–0.99, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Levels of blood uric acid are not related to risk of cognitive impairment. A subgroup analysis shows that the rise in blood uric acid levels in the male population is related to a decreased risk of cognitive impairment. These results need to be confirmed by further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When data is derived under a single or multiple lower limits of quantification (LLOQ), estimation of distribution parameters as well as precision of these estimates appear to be challenging, as the way to account for unquantifiable observations due to LLOQs needs particular attention. The aim of this investigation is to characterize the precision of censored sample maximum likelihood estimates of the mean for normal, exponential and Poisson distribution affected by one or two LLOQs using confidence intervals (CI). In a simulation study, asymptotic and bias-corrected accelerated bootstrap CIs for the location parameter mean are compared with respect to coverage proportion and interval width. To enable this examination, we derived analytical expressions of the maximum likelihood location parameter estimate for the assumption of exponentially and Poisson distributed data, where the censored sample method and simple imputation method are used to account for LLOQs. Additionally, we vary the proportion of observations below the LLOQs. When based on the censored sample estimate, the bootstrap CI led to higher coverage proportions and narrower interval width than the asymptotic CI. The results differed by underlying distribution. Under the assumption of normality, the CI's coverage proportion and width suffered most from high proportions of unquantifiable observations. For exponentially and Poisson distributed data, both CI approaches delivered similar results. To derive the CIs, the point estimates from the censored sample method are preferable, because the point estimate of the simple imputation method leads to higher bias for all investigated distributions. This biased simple imputation estimate impairs the coverage proportion of the respective CI. The bootstrap CI surpassed the asymptotic CIs with respect to coverage proportion for the investigated choice of distributional assumptions. The variety of distributions for which the methods are suitable gives the applicant a widely usable tool to handle LLOQ affected data with appropriate approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closed population capture-recapture estimation of population size is difficult under heterogeneous capture probabilities. We introduce the minimum chi-square method which can handle multi-occasion capture-recapture data. It complements likelihood methods with elements that can lead to confidence intervals and assessment of goodness-of-fit. We conduct a comprehensive study on the minimum chi-square method for estimating the size of a closed population using multiple-occasion capture-recapture data under heterogeneous capture probability. We also develop two different bootstrap techniques that can be combined with any underlying estimator, be it the minimum chi-square estimator or a likelihood estimator, to perform useful inference for estimating population size. We present a simulation study on the minimum chi-square method and apply it to analyze white stork multiple capture-recapture data. Under certain conditions, the chi-square method outperforms the likelihood based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Studying treatment duration for rifampicin-resistant and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) using observational data is methodologically challenging. We aim to present a hypothesis generating approach to identify factors associated with shorter duration of treatment. Study design and setting: We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis among MDR/RR-TB patients restricted to only those with successful treatment outcomes. Using multivariable linear regression, we estimated associations and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) between the outcome of individual deviation in treatment duration (in months) from the mean duration of their treatment site and patient characteristics, drug resistance, and treatments used. Results: Overall, 6702 patients with successful treatment outcomes from 84 treatment sites were included. We found that factors commonly associated with poor treatment outcomes were also associated with longer treatment durations, relative to the site mean duration. Use of bedaquiline was associated with a 0.51 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.87) month decrease in duration of treatment, which was consistent across subgroups, while MDR/RR-TB with fluoroquinolone resistance was associated with 0.78 (95% CI: 0.36, 1.21) months increase. Conclusion: We describe a method to assess associations between clinical factors and treatment duration in observational studies of MDR/RR-TB patients, that may help identify patients who can benefit from shorter treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an inference on stress-strength reliability model is introduced in case of the exponentiated generalized Marshall Olkin G family of distributions. The maximum likelihood estimator of the stress-strength reliability function is deduced. An asymptotic confidence and bootstrap confidence intervals for the stress-strength reliability function are derived. A Bayesian inference is introduced for the stress-strength reliability. A simulation is introduced to obtain the maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimates for the stress strength reliability. Real data applications are provided to show the results for the stress-strength model and compare the exponentiated generalized Marshall Olkin-G distribution with other distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) in different types of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), healthy control eyes, and fellow eyes. Methods: Relevant studies published up to January 2023 were identified by searching multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Studies investigating the difference in CVI between CSC and control eyes were included. Data from these studies were analyzed using Stata (version 17) software. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated for the CVI in CSC eyes, control eyes, and fellow eyes. Results: The meta-analysis included 15 studies, with 213 acute CSC eyes, 153 chronic CSC eyes, 92 uncategorized CSC eyes, 40 resolved CSC eyes, 409 eyes of normal healthy controls, and 318 fellow eyes. The result revealed that CVI was higher in acute CSC eyes (WMD = 5.40, 95%CI = 2.36–8.44, P = 0.001) compared to control eyes. Also, CVI in chronic CSC eyes was higher than in control eyes (WMD = 1.26, 95%CI = 0.03–2.49, p = 0.046). The fellow eyes of acute CSC had a higher CVI when compared to control eyes (WMD = 2.53, 95%CI = 0.78–4.28, p = 0.005). There was no significant difference in CVI between acute and chronic CSC eyes (WMD = 0.75, 95%CI = -0.31–1.82, P = 0.167). In the sub-analysis based on the area selected for CVI calculation, the WMDs in the whole image subgroups were lower than the main analysis for the comparisons of fellow eyes of acute CSC and control eyes, acute CSC eyes and control eyes, and acute CSC eyes and fellow eyes. In the macular area subgroups, the WMDs were higher than in the whole image subgroups, suggesting a potential regional variation of CVI in CSC eyes. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that CVI is increased in CSC eyes and fellow eyes of acute CSC. There is no significant difference in CVI between acute and chronic CSC eyes. The area selected for CVI calculation can influence the outcome, which requires further clinical research to clarify. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of the four estimation methods (traditional method, jackknife method, bootstrap method, and MCMC method), find the optimal one, and make a set of unified rules for Bootstrap. Methods: Based on four types of simulated data (normal, dichotomous, polytomous, and skewed data), this study estimates and compares the estimated variance components and their variability of the four estimation methods when using a p×i design in generalizability theory. The estimated variance components are vc.p, vc.i and vc.pi and the variability of estimated variance components are their estimated standard errors (SE(vc.p), SE(vc.i) and SE(vc.pi)) and confidence intervals (CI(vc.p), CI(vc.i) and CI(vc.pi)). Results: For the normal data, all the four methods can accurately estimate the variance components and their variability. For the dichotomous data, the |RPB| of SE (vc.i) of traditional method is 128.5714, the |RPB| of SE (vc.i), SE (vc.pi) and CI (vc.i) of jackknife method are 42.8571, 43.6893 and 40.5000, which are larger than 25 and not accurate. For the polytomous data, the |RPB| of SE (vc.i) and CI (vc.i) of MCMC method are 59.6612 and 45.2500, which are larger than 25 and not accurate. For the skewed data, the |RPB| of SE (vc.p), SE (vc.i) and SE (vc. pi) of traditional method and MCMC method are over 25, which are not accurate. Only the bootstrap method can estimate variance components and their variability accurately across different data distribution. Nonetheless, the divide-and-conquer strategy must be used when adopting the bootstrap method. Conclusions: The bootstrap method is optimal among the four methods and shows the cross-distribution superiority over the other three methods. However, a set of unified rules for the divide-and-conquer strategy need to be recommended for the bootstrap method, which is optimal when boot-p for p (person), boot-pi for i (item), and boot-i for pi (person × item). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assessment effects of electroacupuncture (EA) therapy on intractable facial paralysis. Methods: The articles of EA treatment for intractable facial paralysis were retrieved from seven databases, the publication period was from its inception to November 30, 2022. Primary measure was the total effective rate, and other measures included the cure rate, Portmann scores, House-Brackmann scores, Sunnybrook scores and adverse events. The effect size of meta-analysis was expressed using relative risk (RR) or standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: A total of 18 studies with 1,119 participants were included, all of them had various aspects of bias risk. Meta-analysis results revealed that EA ways improved total effective rate more effectively compared with non-EA counterparts (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.17–1.31, I2 = 0%, 18 studies, 1119 participants), and improved cure rate more significantly than non-EA groups (RR 2.04, 95% CI 1.70–2.44, I2 = 0%, 18 studies, 1119 participants). None of studies reported adverse events. Conclusion: EA therapy is more beneficial for patients with intractable facial paralysis than non-EA, but we lack sufficient evidence to evaluate its safety and follow-up effect. Therefore, more clinical trials with high quality methodologies are needed to further verify long-term effects of EA for IFP and improve the level of evidence. Trial registration: Registration number:CRD42021278541. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of COVID-19 severity on development of long-term sequelae remains unclear, and symptom courses are not well defined. Methods: This ambidirectional cohort study recruited adults with new or worsening symptoms lasting ≥3 weeks from confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between August 2020–December 2021. COVID-19 severity was defined as severe for those requiring hospitalization and mild for those not. Symptoms were collected using standardized questionnaires. Multivariable logistical regression estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between clinical variables and symptoms. Results: Of 332 participants enrolled, median age was 52 years (IQR 42–62), 233 (70%) were female, and 172 (52%) were African American. Antecedent COVID-19 was mild in 171 (52%) and severe in 161 (48%). In adjusted models relative to severe cases, mild COVID-19 was associated with greater odds of fatigue (OR:1.83, CI:1.01–3.31), subjective cognitive impairment (OR:2.76, CI:1.53–5.00), headaches (OR:2.15, CI:1.05–4.44), and dizziness (OR:2.41, CI:1.18–4.92). Remdesivir treatment was associated with less fatigue (OR:0.47, CI:0.26–0.86) and fewer participants scoring >1.5 SD on PROMIS Cognitive scales (OR:0.43, CI:0.20–0.92). Fatigue and subjective cognitive impairment prevalence was higher 3–6 months after COVID-19 and persisted (fatigue OR:3.29, CI:2.08–5.20; cognitive OR:2.62, CI:1.67–4.11). Headache was highest at 9–12 months (OR:5.80, CI:1.94–17.3). Conclusions: Mild antecedent COVID-19 was associated with highly prevalent symptoms, and those treated with remdesivir developed less fatigue and cognitive impairment. Sequelae had a delayed peak, ranging 3–12 months post infection, and many did not improve over time, underscoring the importance of targeted preventative measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Few studies have evaluated the mechanism of serious injury in acute hospitalization. Thus, the association between fall-related serious injury and activity during falls in acute care hospital remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the relationship between serious injury caused by fall and activity at the time of the fall in an acute care hospital. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at Asa Citizens Hospital. All inpatients aged 65 years and older were eligible for the study, which was conducted from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. The magnitude of the association between injury severity and activity during the fall was quantified using odds ratio. Results: Among the 318 patients with reported falls, 268 (84.3%) had no related injury, 40 (12.6%) experienced minor injury, 3 (0.9%) experienced moderate injury, 7 (2.2%) experienced major injury. Moderate or major injuries caused by a fall was associated with the activity during the fall (odds ratio: 5.20; confidence intervals: 1.43–18.9, p = 0.013). Conclusion: This study recognizes that falling during ambulation caused moderate or major injuries in an acute care hospital. Our study suggests that falls while ambulating in an acute care hospital were associated not only with fractures, but also with lacerations requiring sutures and brain injuries. Among the patients with moderate or major injuries, more falls occurred outside the patient's bedroom as compared with patients with minor or no injuries. Therefore, it is important to prevent moderate or major injuries related to falls that occur while the patient is walking outside their bedroom in an acute care hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundIdentifying psychological correlates of children's physical activity intentions may signpost potentially modifiable targets for interventions aimed at promoting physical activity participation. School recess and leisure-time outside of school are appropriate contexts in which such interventions may be delivered. However, few studies have identified correlates of physical activity intentions in these environments. Examining correlates in these contexts may provide formative evidence on which to base interventions to promote physical activity.PurposeThe current study adopted an integrated theoretical model to test relations between motivational constructs from self-determination theory, social cognition constructs from the theory of planned behavior, and physical activity intentions in leisure-time and school recess contexts.MethodsFinnish school children (N = 845, M age = 13.93, SD = 0.99) from three lower-secondary schools completed self-report measures of perceived autonomy support by peers, autonomous and controlled motivation, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and physical activity intentions for both contexts.ResultsWell-fitting structural equation models controlling for past behavior indicated that autonomous motivation in the school recess context and attitude in both contexts were the most pervasive predictors of physical activity intentions, and mediated the relationship between perceived autonomy support and intentions. Multi-group analyses supported invariance of the models in both contexts across gender, grades, and school, with few variations.ConclusionsThe current study supports relations between motivational and social cognition correlates of children's physical activity intentions in school recess and leisure-time contexts. Future research should extend these findings to the prediction of follow-up participation in physical activity.

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Correlation of Sedline-generated variables and clinical signs with anaesthetic depth in experimental pigs receiving propofol." The correction states that there are errors in Table 2 of the article, specifically in the columns "Final model" and "Bootstrap" under the "Patient State Index (PSI)" category. The correct table is provided in the correction notice. The authors of the article are Alessandro Mirra, Claudia Spadavecchia, and Olivier Levionnois. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a correction notice for an article discussing the role of community pharmacies in providing take-home naloxone in British Columbia. The correction states that there was an error in Table 4, which has been corrected in the document. The article presents data on the distribution of take-home naloxone kits in British Columbia, showing that 4.0% of individuals personally at risk of overdose received a kit, while 12.9% of those not personally at risk received a kit. The reasons for collecting a kit varied, and the data also provides information on the distribution of kits by health authority. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: To identify the predictive role of pretreatment skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) for long-term survival of bladder cancer patients. Methods: Several databases were searched for studies investigating the relationship between pretreatment SMI and prognosis in bladder cancer. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were defined as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined. Results: Nine studies involving 1476 cases were included. The results demonstrated that a lower pretreatment SMI was significantly related to poorer OS (HR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.33–1.82, P<0.001) and subgroup analysis based on thresholds of SMI revealed similar results. Besides, pretreatment SMI was also obviously related to CSS (HR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.36–2.25, P<0.001). Conclusion: Lower pretreatment SMI was associated with worse long-term survival of bladder cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, we reviewed 1052 randomized-controlled trial abstracts presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meetings from 2001–2004. We found significant positive publication bias in the period examined, with the odds ratio for abstracts with positive results proceeding to journal publication over those with null results being 2.01 [95% confidence interval: 1.52, 2.66; P < 0.001]. Mandatory trial registration was introduced in 2005 as a required standard for publication. We sought to examine whether mandatory trial registration has decreased publication bias in the anesthesia and perioperative medicine literature. We reviewed all abstracts from the 2010–2016 American Society of Anesthesiologists meetings that reported on randomized-controlled trials in humans. We scored the result of each abstract as positive or null according to a priori definitions. We systematically searched for any subsequent publication of the studies and calculated the odds ratio for journal publication, comparing positive vs null studies. We compared the odds ratio from the 2010–2016 abstracts (post-mandatory trial registration) with the odds ratio from the 2001–2004 abstracts (pre-mandatory trial registration) as a ratio of odds ratios. We defined a 33% decrease in the odds ratio as significant, corresponding to a new odds ratio of 1.33. We reviewed 9789 abstracts; 1049 met inclusion criteria as randomized-controlled trials, with 542 (51.7%) of the abstracts going on to publication. The odds ratio for abstracts with positive results proceeding to journal publication was 1.28 [95% CI: 0.97, 1.67; P = 0.076]. With adjustment for sample size and abstract quality, the difference in publication rate between positive and null abstracts was statistically significant (odds ratio 1.34; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.76; P = 0.037). The ratio of odds ratios, comparing the odds ratio from the 2010–2016 abstracts (post-mandatory trial registration) to the odds ratio from the 2001–2004 abstracts (pre-mandatory trial registration), was 0.63 (95% CI: 0.43, 0.93); P = 0.021). We present the first study in the anesthesia and perioperative medicine literature that examines and compares publication bias over two discrete periods of time, prior to and after the implementation of mandatory trial registration. Our results suggest that the amount of publication bias has decreased markedly following implementation of mandatory trial registration. However, some positive publication bias in the anesthesia and perioperative medicine literature remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endometriosis is a common gynecological condition with a wide range of symptoms, including infertility, dyspareunia, intestinal disorders, and pelvic pain. Laparoscopy and laparotomy are used widely for diagnosing and managing endometriosis. We will conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis with the aims of reporting complications rates following each type of surgeries for endometriosis and determinants of complications. Method: We will search Medline (via PubMed), Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for both retrospective and prospective cohorts or trials of at least 30 participants reporting perioperative and postoperative complications for endometriosis surgeries. We will restrict the studies to those conducted after 2011, to be representative of current practices, and will exclude studies of surgeries for gynecological cancer, or other concomitant benign gynecologic surgeries such as myomectomy. Two reviewers will independently screen references and select eligible studies. A standardized form will be used to collect data related to the baseline characteristics, potential determinants of complications, types of interventions, and outcomes. Cumulative incidences of complications will be pooled using DerSimonian and Laird random-effects method. The relation between potential determinants and complications will be reported with risk ratios and their 95% of confidence intervals. Subgroup analysis of surgical approach, surgical procedure, superficial and deep infiltrating endometriosis, and the indication of surgery will be conducted. Sensitivity analyses restricted to studies with low risk of bias will be performed. Discussion: This systematic review will provide information on the rates of complications for different surgical approaches and procedures for the treatment of endometriosis. It will contribute to inform patients when making decisions regarding their care. Identifying potential determinants of complications will also help to improve care by identifying women being at higher risk of complications. Trial registration: Systematic review registration:CRD42021293865. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the Open Science Collaboration repeated a series of 100 psychological experiments. Since a considerable part of these replications could not confirm the original effects and some of them pointed in the opposite direction, psychological research is said to lack reproducibility. Several general criticisms can explain this finding, such as the standardized use of undirected nil-null hypothesis tests, samples being too small and selective, lack of corrections for multiple testing, but also some widespread questionable research practices and incentives to publish positive results only. A selection of 57,909 articles from 12 renowned journals is processed with the JATSdecoder software to analyze the extent to which several empirical research practices in psychology have changed over the past 12 years. To identify journal- and time-specific changes, the relative use of statistics based on p-values, the number of reported p-values per paper, the relative use of confidence intervals, directed tests, power analysis, Bayesian procedures, non-standard α levels, correction procedures for multiple testing, and median sample sizes are analyzed for articles published between 2010 and 2015 and after 2015, and in more detail for every included journal and year of publication. In addition, the origin of authorships is analyzed over time. Compared to articles that were published in and before 2015, the median number of reported p-values per article has decreased from 14 to 12, whereas the median proportion of significant p-values per article remained constant at 69%. While reports of effect sizes and confidence intervals have increased, the α level is usually set to the default value of.05. The use of corrections for multiple testing has decreased. Although uncommon in each case (4% in total), directed testing is used less frequently, while Bayesian inference has become more common after 2015. The overall median estimated sample size has increased from 105 to 190. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the proportion of adherence to topical anti-glaucoma medications and associated factors among glaucoma patients in Sidama regional state, Ethiopia. Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 30 to July 15, 2022 at Hawassa University comprehensive specialized and Yirgalem General Hospitals in Sidama regional state, Ethiopia. A systematic random sampling method was used to select 410 study participants. An adapted eight-item self-reported questionnaire was used to assess adherence. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with adherence to topical anti-glaucoma medications. Variables with a p-value of <0.05 under multivariable analysis were taken as statistically significant factors for adherence. The strength of the association was measured by using an adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Results: A total of 410 participants were included giving a response rate of 98.3%. Those who were adherent to their medications were 221(53.9%) (95% CI: 48.8–58.5). Urban residence (AOR = 2.81: 95% CI = 1.34–5.87), higher educational level (AOR = 3.17: 95% CI = 1.24–8.09), monthly follow-up frequency (AOR = 3.30: 95% CI = 1.79–6.11) and normal vision (AOR = 6.58: 95% CI = 3.03–10.84) were significantly associated with adherence. Conclusion: More than half of glaucoma patients attending at Hawassa University comprehensive specialized and Yirgalem general hospitals were adherent to their topical anti-glaucoma medications. Urban residence, educational level, follow-up frequency, and normal vision were associated with adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health and wellness research continue to be a topic of importance among veterinary students in the United States of America (US). Limited peer reviewed literature focusing on South African veterinary students is available. South African veterinary medical students might benefit from approaches to improve mental health and wellness similar to those recommended in the US. However, these recommendations may not address the underlying risk factors for mental health and wellness concerns or mismatch resources available to South African veterinary medical students. The purpose of this collaborative study was to compare the mental health and wellness among veterinary students enrolled at the University of California, Davis (UCD), and the University of Pretoria (UP), the only veterinary school in South Africa. Our primary research question was; Are the measures of mental health and wellness for students at similar stages in the veterinary curriculum different between the two schools? We hypothesized that mental health and wellness as determined by assessment of anxiety, burnout, depression, and quality of life between the two schools is different. A cross-sectional study of 102 students from UCD and 74 students from UP, at similar preclinical stages (Year 2 for UCD and Year 4 for UP) of the veterinary curriculum was performed. Anxiety, burnout, depression, and quality of life were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and Short Form-8 (SF-8), respectively. Students from both schools had moderate levels of anxiety, high levels of burnout, mild to moderate levels of depression, poor mental health, and good physical health. Our results suggest that similar mental health and wellness concerns in South African veterinary students is comparable with concerns in veterinary medical students in the US. Recommendations and resources to improve mental health and wellness in US veterinary medical students might be applicable to South African veterinary medical students.