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Objective: To demonstrate sexual dimorphism in serum leptin levels not only during puberty, but also in childhood in Japan. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Hamamatsu-Hokuen study in Japan. Subjects: Body weight and height were measured in normal-weight Japanese children and adolescents (143 boys, 178 girls), and 161 boys and 129 girls whose percentage of overweight for the standard (%Wt) was more than+25%. Serum leptin levels were compared with %Wt. Subjects were divided into group 1 (6–10 y of age) and group 2 (11–15 y of age) according to their age. Results: In overweight subjects, leptin was more highly correlated with %Wt in boys of group 2 (r=0.67, P

Among people who inject drugs (PWID), 60% have HCV and 50-90% of HIV-infected PWID are co-infected with HCV. Data comparing adherence to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy among HCV mono-infected and HIV/HCV co-infected PWID is limited. The impact of HCV treatment initiation on HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is also poorly understood. We assessed DAA adherence in HCV mono-infected and HIV/HCV co-infected PWID and examined changes in ART adherence and HIV outcomes following HCV treatment. Study was conducted in three Medication for Opioid use Disorder (MOUD) programs in Bronx, New York. HCV treatment adherence was measured using electronic blister packs. 2-week DAA adherence rates were compared and controlled for study arm, psychiatric illness and alcohol intoxication within the past 30 days. ART adherence was measured using participant self-report and dichotomized to "excellent" or "other". ART adherence, CD4 count, and HIV viral load were identified six months prior to, during, and six months after HCV treatment. Statistical significance was assessed with mixed-effects regression linear or logistic models. Overall DAA adherence rates among HCV mono-infected and HIV/HCV co-infected PWID were 74% (95% CI=71-78%) and 76% (95%CI=70-83%), respectively (p=.55). There were no significant changes in ART adherence, CD4 counts, or HIV viral loads prior to, during, or after HCV treatment. This is the first study assessing the impact of DAA therapy on ART adherence and HIV treatment outcomes among PWID. It is one of the first to compare DAA adherence among HCV and HIV/HCV co-infected PWID. Our data demonstrate no significant difference in DAA adherence and no significant impact of HCV treatment on ART adherence or HIV outcomes.

Presbyphonia negatively impacts quality of life in patients with age-related voice changes. A proof-of-concept study showed promise for high vocal intensity exercise to treat presbyphonia, which became the basis for a novel intervention for age-related voice changes known as Phonation Resistance Training Exercises (PhoRTE). Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) has also been proposed as an additional intervention to target and strengthen the aging respiratory system; however, EMST has undergone limited evaluation as an adjunct treatment for elderly patients undergoing voice therapy for presbyphonia. This study determined if the addition of EMST to PhoRTE voice therapy (PhoRTE + EMST) is at least as effective at voice improvement as PhoRTE alone.Prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blinded, non-inferiority.Participants aged 55 years or older with a diagnosis of vocal fold atrophy were randomized to complete PhoRTE therapy or PhoRTE + EMST. The primary outcome was change in Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). Secondary outcomes included the Aging Voice Index, maximum expiratory pressure, and acoustic and aerodynamic measures of voice. Repeated measures linear mixed models were constructed to analyze outcomes at a significance level of α = 0.10.Twenty-six participants were recruited for the study, and 24 participants were randomized to either treatment arm. Sixteen participants completed the entire study. Both treatment arms showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in VHI-10 (PhoRTE mean [M] = -8.20, P0.001; PhoRTE + EMST M = -9.58, P0.001), and PhoRTE + EMST was noninferior to PhoRTE alone (P = 0.069). Both groups experienced a statistically significant pre-post treatment decrease (improvement) in AVI scores (PhoRTE M = -18.40, P = 0.004; PhoRTE + EMST M = -16.28, P = 0.005). PhoRTE+EMST had statistically significantly greater changes in maximum expiratory pressure compared to PhoRTE alone (PhoRTE M = 8.24 cm HThis study demonstrates that voice therapy targeting high vocal intensity exercise (eg, PhoRTE) and EMST can play a role in improving voice outcomes for patients with presbyphonia.

Introductions : Along with the increasing life expectancy, there are many processes of development and growth found in human body. But the development and growth will stop at a certain stage, so many changes in the functioning of the human body will take place. During this period, physiological changes can arise which can lead to anxiety. Anxiety is often associated with anxiety in dealing with a situation that has never been experienced before. This study aims to determine the frequency distribution of physical changes and frequency of anxiety, and to determine the relationship between physical changes and anxiety of premenopause women. Methods : This study was an analytical study designed with a cross sectional design, carried out in March-May 2019. The study samples were 47 premenopause women aged 40-55 years in Jaharun A Village obtained through Purposive Sampling techniques from 90 populations. The data used in this study are primary data obtained from the questionnaires. The data obtained will be analyzed with univariate and bivariate analysis and tested with Chi Square test with a value of ?

The aim of the study was comparing the diagnostic role of the white light (WL) endoscopy, video laryngostroboscopy (VLS), and narrow-band imaging (NBI) in the evaluation of the benign vocal fold lesions.From March 2018 to June 2019, a total of 118 cases were enrolled in this study. Ninety-eight patients were suspected with vocal fold nodules, cysts, polyps, and sulcus vocalis and 20 patients without a history of dysphonia. Each patient was examined by WL, VLS, and NBI endoscopy. Recorded images and videos were analyzed and scored by three otorhinolaryngologists who had at least 3 years of experience in phoniatrics field. The evaluation results were compared between the methods and the physicians.A total of 118 cases were grouped by their confirmed diagnosis, vocal fold nodules (n = 28), vocal fold cyst (n = 24), vocal fold polyp (n = 9), and sulcus vocalis (n = 37). When the correct diagnosis rates of the physicians were compared, the statistical significance was found between the physicians in the WL and VLS method (P= 0.014, P= 0.027). No statistically significant difference was found among physicians in NBI method (P = 0.368). The difference between the diagnostic methods was found to be statistically significant in reaching the accurate diagnosis for benign vocal fold lesions (P0.001). While the difference between NBI-WL and VLS-WL was statistically significant (P0.001 and P0.001). The difference between NBI-VLS was not statistically significant while evaluating the vocal fold nodules, cysts, and sulcus vocalis separately (P= 0.102, P = 0.026, P = 0.157). Otherwise, it was statistically significant (P= 0.002) while evaluating total benign lesions in the study. The difference between NBI-VLS combination and VLS, NBI-VLS combination and VLS-WL combination were statistically significant (P0.001 and P= 0.001).This study showed that NBI assessments have similar accuracy and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) to VLS and have a higher value than WL endoscopy in reaching the diagnosis for benign vocal fold lesions. Therefore, NBI can be accepted as a promising approach to identify benign laryngeal lesions due to its optical properties.

Background An important focus of rehabilitation is thereturn to the meningful occupations which may include work and school activities. Purpose The aim of this study is to investigate predictive factors for return to work/study in traumatic brachial plexus injury patients undergoing rehabilitation and to investigate the level of satisfaction with treatment. Study Design Retrospective observational study with at least 1 year of follow-up. Methods One hundred and one individuals with traumatic brachial plexus injury enrolled in this study. Primary outcomes were return to work/study and satisfaction with treatment. A secondary outcome was the self-perception of what influenced return to work. Sociodemographic and related to injury data, rehabilitation interventions, muscle strength, and disability were analyzed as predictors. Associations were investigated using univariable and discriminant analysis and considered a level of significance of P Results Return to work/study occurred in 55% of the patients who participated in this study. Muscle strength discerned those who returned to work. Time interval between trauma and surgery and age were lower in those who returned to work. Thirty-one patients answered the question regarding self-perception of what influenced return to work. They indicated “necessity”, “rehabilitation”, “my desire” and “not become depressed”. Satisfaction was graded between 8.9 and 9.5 in 95% of the cases. Conclusions Return to work/study was related to muscle strength improvement and those who returned were younger and had less time elapsed from trauma. Individual factors and rehabilitation were pointed out as helpful in aiding return to work. Satisfaction with treatment was high. These findings can help to optimize goals in the rehabilitation environment.

Background: The foramen tympanicum is located on the anteroinferior region of the external acoustic meatus and posteromedial to the temporomandibular joint in children between the first and the fifth year of life. It is considered an anatomical variation when it persists in adults. The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence as well as to characterize the foramen tympanicum in CT scans of the population from southeastern Brazil. Materials and methods: A total of 78 CT scans of dry human skulls were used, which were selected randomly regarding the ages, ranged from 15 to 100 years, and composed a total of 20 female and 58 males. The foramen tympanicum was identified in the images of the axial plane and confirmed in the images of the coronal and sagittal planes. The largest diameter (in mm) was obtained. The descriptive statistics (in %), Fisher's test and chi-square test (χ2) were performed to compare the prevalence of foramen tympanicum between sexes and sides. The probability value ≤ 0.05 was defined as a level of significance. Descriptive statistics were performed to verify the mean diameter of the foramen on the right and left sides of the skulls. Results: The prevalence of foramen tympanicum was higher in females (P = 0.0070), bilaterally, as the absolute values of females were lower in relation to males. Fisher's exact test showed that the prevalence of foramen tympanicum was significantly higher in females (45%) than in males (15.52%). On the right side, the mean axial diameter was 2.23 mm (range 0.93–3.75 mm). On the left side, the mean axial diameter was 2.22 mm (range 0.9–3.61 mm). Conclusions: The knowledge of anatomical variations is extremally valuable for an accurate diagnosis, treatment plan and prognosis and a thorough preoperative assessment.

OBJECTIVES Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential currents (IFC) are pain electrotherapies with questioned efficacy. Studies of their effects on tactile acuity of individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) are limited, hence, this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-three individuals with NSCLBP randomly allocated into three groups completed this study. Data collected from participants included age, gender, and anthropometric characteristics of height, weight, body mass index, and percentage body fat measured with standard instruments. Also, participants' tactile acuity, pain intensity, and disability were assessed before and after interventions with digital caliper, numerical pain rating scale, and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, respectively. Interventions consisted of stretching, strengthening, and stabilization exercises to all three groups in addition of TENS to group 1 and IFC to group 2, respectively, for five weeks. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation summarized the data. Inferential statistics of paired t-test, independent t-test, and analysis of variance tested the level of significance among variables at p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS Tactile acuity was significantly (p

Background and aim: Couples’ communication concerning sexual issues is influenced by various individual and social factors. The present study investigated the socio-demographic predictors of dyadic sexual communication among married women of reproductive age.\ud \ud Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted from May to October 2019 in comprehensive health centers of Qazvin City, Iran. The participants comprised 400 married women with mean age of 35.66 years recruited via a two-stage sampling method. The Dyadic Sexual Communication Scale (DSCS) and a socio-demographic questionnaire were used for data collection. Univariable and multivariable linear regression models with a significance level of 0.05 were used for statistical analysis.\ud \ud Results: The mean score of sexual communication was 59.19 out of 78 (SD = 12.63). Based on multivariable linear regression model, life satisfaction (β = 0.34 high vs. moderate), frequency of sexual intercourse (β = 0.20), moderate vs. poor economic status (β = 0.12), and using contraception (β = −0.09) were predictors of good dyadic sexual communication. These variables explained 32% of the variance concerning dyadic sexual communication among married women of reproductive age.\ud \ud Conclusion: Life satisfaction, frequency of sexual intercourse, moderate economic status, and using contraception were predictors of good dyadic sexual communication.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explain the key reasons for the existence of statistics in doctoral-level research, why and when statistical techniques are to be used, how to statistically describe the units of analysis/samples, how to statistically describe the data collected from units of analysis/samples; how to statistically discover the relationship between variables of the research question; a step-by-step process of statistical significance/hypothesis test, tricks for selecting an appropriate statistical significance test, and most importantly which is the most user-friendly and free software for carrying out statistical analyses. In turn, guiding Ph.D. scholars to choose appropriate statistical techniques across various stages of the doctoral-level research process to ensure a high-quality research output. Design/Methodology/Approach: Postmodernism philosophical paradigm; Inductive research approach; Observation data collection method; Longitudinal data collection time frame; Qualitative data analysis. Findings/Result: As long as the Ph.D. scholars can understand i) they need NOT be an expert in Mathematics/Statistics and it is easy to learn statistics during Ph.D.; ii) the difference between measures of central tendency and dispersion; iii) the difference between association, correlation, and causation; iv) difference between null and research/alternate hypotheses; v) difference between Type I and Type II errors; vi) key drivers for choosing a statistical significance test; vi) which is the best software for carrying out statistical analyses. Scholars will be able to (on their own) choose appropriate statistical techniques across various steps of the doctoral-level research process and comfortably claim their research findings. Originality/Value: There is a vast literature about statistics, probability theory, measures of central tendency and dispersion, formulas for finding the relationship between variables, and statistical significance tests. However, only a few have explained them together comprehensively which is conceivable to Ph.D. scholars. In this article, we have attempted to explain the reasons for the existence, objectives, purposes, and essence of ‘Statistics’ briefly and comprehensively with simple examples and tricks that would eradicate fear among Ph.D. scholars about ‘Statistics’. Paper Type: Conceptual.

Introduction The Epley maneuver is applied in the treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, the BPPV. However, dizziness and balance problems do not improve immediately after the treatment. Objective In this study, the effectiveness of the head-shaking maneuver before the Epley maneuver was investigated in the treatment of BPPV. Methods Between March 2020 and August 2020, ninety-six patients with posterior semicircular canal BPPV were analyzed prospectively. The patients were divided into two groups: patients who underwent the Epley maneuver only in the treatment (Group 1) and patients who underwent the Epley maneuver after the head-shaking maneuver (Group 2). The results of the Berg balance scale and dizziness handicap index were evaluated before the treatment and at the first week after the treatment. Results The improvement in functional, emotional, and physical dizziness handicap index and Berg balance scale values after the treatment was found to be statistically significant in both groups. It was determined that the change in functional and physical dizziness handicap index and Berg balance scale values of the patients in Group 2 was statistically higher than those in Group 1. Although, the change in emotional dizziness handicap index values in Group 2 was higher than those in Group 1, no statistical significance was found between the groups. Conclusion As a result of our hypothesis, we think that in the treatment of posterior semicircular canal BPPV, the otoliths adhered to the canal can be mobilized by the head-shaking maneuver, and this will contribute to the increase of the effectiveness of the Epley maneuver.

Introduction Assessing olfactory perception in olfactory disorders is of utmost importance in therapy management. However, the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test and the Sniffin’ Sticks are the only tests validated in Brazil. Objectives To evaluate the correlation and agreement between the Chemosensory Clinical Research Center olfactory test and the Brief-Smell Identification Test – University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test – in healthy participants and in participants with olfactory disorders based on the results and technical aspects of both tests. Methods Fifty participants without olfactory complaints and 50 participants with olfactory disorders who underwent the Chemosensory Clinical Research Center olfactory test and the Brief-Smell Identification Test were included. The following tests were used for statistical analysis: Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman’s correlation, intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman plot. An alpha error (significance level) of 0.05 was considered in the statistical analysis. Results Both tests were effective in distinguishing the groups without the presence of overlapping values ​​for the measured markers. Additionally, there was a strong correlation between Spearman’s correlation and intraclass correlation coefficient between the tests and for both nostrils. However, the correlations were lower when the groups were individually evaluated. The Bland-Altman plot showed no bias when all participants were simultaneously evaluated. Conclusions The tests to assess olfactory perception presented a high level of agreement. In our sample, we could infer that the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center olfactory test is similar to the Brief-Smell Identification Test and can be used in the routine diagnosis of patients with complaints of olfactory disorders, considering the advantage of its low cost.

Objectives This study aimed to describe existing knowledge of crisis supporters (volunteers responding to crisis calls/texts/messages) regarding self-harm and suicide in older adults and investigate knowledge translation through use of a novel online adaptive learning tool. Methods The online educational tool was tested in an Australian national sample of crisis supporters (trained volunteers) aged 18+. Knowledge Transfer was evaluated utilizing a pre/post intervention methodology for data collection. The collaboratively developed online educational tool comprised a pre-test (10 questions), middle learning module (individualised for participant's incorrect pre-test responses) and post-test (10 questions) on suicidal behaviours in older adults. Data analysed included the demographic characteristics of the participants, individual question scores, and summed pre- and post-tests scores. Group differences in change scores were assessed with either one-way between subjects ANOVA or independent samples t-test, depending on the number of groups within each variable. Pre-post education comparisons on individual change in scores were made using a paired samples t-test. Statistical significance was defined as p Results 104 crisis supporters completed the tool (pre-test, middle lesson and post-test). There was significant improvement in knowledge of crisis supporters after the intervention (pre-test scores Mean (M) = 4.56, SD = 1.62 and post-test scores M = 7.61, SD = 1.60; t (103) = 17.242, p Conclusion Dedicated training about suicidal behaviors in older adults is needed given their high rates of suicide and differing underlying reasons and needs compared to younger adults.

Objectives: To determine whether the statistical fragility of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in high-impact journals has improved in the last decade and to perform an umbrella review of all published data on the Fragility Index (FI) across medical specialties. Study Design and Setting: The FI was calculated for all eligible RCTs published from 2014–2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, and the Annals of Internal Medicine. Trials reporting dichotomous, statistically significant, superiority results were eligible. All previously published systematic reviews on the FI were included in the umbrella review and analyzed by medical (sub) specialty. Results: Of 2,544 screened RCTs, 643 were eligible for the FI analysis. These had a median sample size of 625 (interquartile range [IQR]: 265–2,056), a median FI of 12 (IQR: 3–28), and a median Fragility Quotient of 0.015 (IQR: 0.004–0.045). This is an improvement compared with the median FI of 8 (IQR: 3–18) of RCTs published a decade earlier in the same five journals (P < 0.001). The umbrella review included 57 publications across 15 different medical specialties, with a total of between 10 and 692 RCTs for each specialty. The median FI ranged between two and four for all disciplines. Conclusion: In the last decade, the median statistical robustness of RCTs published in high-impact journals has improved, yet the unchanged lower bound of the interquartile range reveals that statistical significance in 25% of trials is still dependent on three or less events. The umbrella review revealed that statistical fragility is prevalent across all medical specialties. The FI is an easy-to-understand metric that can be used to supplement reported P values and help readers look beyond merely reaching statistical significance.

Objective : To evaluate, by means of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), the volume change of maxillary sinuses in patients that underwent orthodontic maxillary posterior en masse intrusion anchored with miniplates. Materials and Methods : The sample consisted of pretreatment (T1) and posttreatment (T2) CBCT scans obtained from 14 patients (4 male and 10 female), with a mean age of 32.4 years, that underwent orthodontic maxillary posterior en masse intrusion anchored with miniplates in the zygomatic crest. The mean treatment duration was 20 months and the mean intrusion movement was 2.4 mm. Maxillary sinus volume was measured by means of the software ITK SNAP (version 3.8.0) in T1 and T2 CBCT scans. The changes in sinuses volume were calculated by T1-T2 values. Data were analyzed statistically with Wilcoxon test at 5% of level of significance and the method error was analyzed with Wilcoxon test, intraclass correlation and Dahlberg's formula. Results : The mean difference (T1-T2) was -242.85 mm³ (p = 0.396) for the right sinus and -32.5 mm³ (p = 0.875) for the left sinus. A slight increase in the volume of the sinuses was shown although these results were not statistically significant. Conclusion : The orthodontic maxillary posterior en masse intrusion anchored with miniplates did not influence significantly the maxillary sinus volume.

Delayed distal esophageal reconstruction with nonsupercharged jejunum is an option when gastric conduit is not available. This study aimed to describe a single-center experience with distal esophageal reconstruction with retrosternal Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy (RYEJ) and compare perioperative outcomes with retrosternal gastric pull-up (GP).An Institutional Review Board-exempt retrospective chart review was conducted of patients who underwent esophagostomy closure by the retrosternal route at the University of Minnesota Medical Center (Minneapolis, MN) from January 2009 to July 2019. Patients with colonic conduits were excluded. The study compared patients with RYEJ with a contemporary cohort of patients who underwent GP. The anatomic criteria for RYEJ were the absence of a gastric conduit and an esophageal remnant that reached the sternomanubrial joint. Patient characteristics, anastomotic leak and stricture rate, postoperative complications, hospital length of stay, 30-day readmission, and 90-day mortality were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using the Fisher exact test and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test with a significance level at P ≤.05.A total of 9 patients underwent RYEJ, and 10 patients had GP. Previous esophageal adenocarcinoma was more common in the RYEJ group (n = 5) compared with the GP group (n = 0) (P = .01). Patient demographics and comorbidities were comparable between the groups. No differences were found in all end points, including operating time, estimated blood loss, anastomotic leak or stricture rate, Clavien-Dindo class III to IV complications, hospital length of stay, or mortality.Retrosternal RYEJ without microvascular augmentation is a safe alternative for esophagostomy closure in patients with adequate esophageal length when the stomach is not available. The nonsupercharged jejunum can safely reach the level of the sternomanubrial joint.

Hydroclimatic processes such as precipitation, temperature, wind speed and dew point are usually considered to be independent of each other. In this study, the cross–correlations between key hydrological-cycle processes are examined, initially by conducting statistical tests, then adding the impact of long-range dependence, which is shown to govern all these processes. Subsequently, an innovative stochastic test that can validate the significance of the cross–correlation among these processes is introduced based on Monte-Carlo simulations. The test works as follows: observations obtained from numerous global-scale timeseries were used for application to, and a comparison of, the traditional methods of validation of statistical significance, such as the t-test, after filtering the data based on length and quality, and then by estimating the cross–correlations on an annual-scale. The proposed method has two main benefits: it negates the need of the pre-whitening data series which could disrupt the stochastic properties of hydroclimatic processes, and indicates tighter limits for upper and lower boundaries of statistical significance when analyzing cross–correlations of processes that exhibit long-range dependence, compared to classical statistical tests. The results of this analysis highlight the need to acquire cross–correlations between processes, which may be significant in the case of long-range dependence behavior.

Background Long term growth may be compromised in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The aims of the study were to evaluate the final height in a cohort of patients with pediatric-onset IBD with respect to genetic target and to determine factors influencing long-term growth. Methods This is a monocentric retrospective cohort study. All patients with diagnosed prepubertal onset IBD were enrolled. Patients were classified into two groups on the basis of the achievement of target height at time of the last follow-up. Clinical parameters were also recorded. Results 82 patients were identified: 42 with Crohn's Disease (CD) and 40 with Ulcerative Colitis (UC). The mean age at diagnosis was 11.0 (SD 4.0) years. Eighty-nine percent of patients achieved final target height. Mean difference between final and target height was -1.2 cm (SD: 5,4). No statistical significance was detected between CD and UC patients final height (p=0.16). Growth failure at the diagnosis and disease severity were the only factors associated with final height achievement failure (p=0.001 and p=0.01 respectively). Conclusions Most part of CD and UC patients achieve the target final height. Disease severity and low height at diagnosis seem to be the two best predictive factors for low final height.

This research is conducted by teenagers who do cyberbullying, with the aim to know the relationship between personality type with cyberbullying tendency. This research was conducted at SMP Untag Surabaya with 118 subjects with early teens characteristic which have age range about 12-15 years old, have Instagram account and live in Surabaya city. Methods of data retrieval using the scale of Extrovert Personality Type and Cyberbullying Tendency. Both scales were prepared by researchers with Likert model. The technique used in this research is Nonparametric Statistics in the form of correlation. Based on calculation SPSS version 20.0 obtained result (r = - 0,059) with significance value (p = 0,524). Since the level of significance gained is greater than 0.05 (p

Objective To analyze the clinical value of high b-value 3.0 T biparametric magnetic resonance with the Simplified Prostate Image Reporting and Data System (S-PI-RADS) in biopsy-naive men. Methods A retrospective analysis of the data of 224 patients who underwent prostate biopsy (cognitive fusion targeted biopsy combined with systematic biopsy) after a high b-value 3.0 T magnetic resonance examination at Haikou Hospital from July 2018 to July 2020 was performed. Two radiologists performed multi-parameter magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) with the prostate imaging report and data system version 2 (PI-RADS v2) and biparametric magnetic resonance imaging (bp-MRI) with the simplified prostate image reporting and data system (S-PI-RADS). The detection efficacy of the two regimens was evaluated by classifying prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) according to pathology, and the statistical significance of the differences between the two regimens was determined by Z-test. Results The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) values of mp-MRI based on PI-RADS v2 and bp-MRI based on S-PI-RADS to detect PCa were 0.905 and 0.892, respectively, while the AUC values for the detection of csPCa were 0.919 and 0.906, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two tests (Z values were 0.909 and 1.145, p > 0.05). Conclusion There was no significant difference in the detection efficacy of high b-value bp-MRI based on the S-PI-RADS score for prostate cancer and clinically significant prostate cancer compared with the standard PI-RADS v2 score with mp-MRI protocols, which can be applied clinically.

Objective: To compare the difference in the clinical therapeutic effect on dysmenorrhea in the patients with adenomyosis between acupuncture and ibuprofen sustained release capsules. Methods: A total of 40 patients were randomized into an acupuncture group and an ibuprofen group, 20 cases in each one. The treatment was given consecutively for 3 menstrual cycles and the follow-up lasted for 2 menstrual cycles. The score of visual analogue scale (VAS) at the most painful time during menstruation, menstrual flow, the score of COX menstrual symptom scale (CMSS) and the score of endometriosis health profile-5 (EHP-5), as well as the patients’ satisfaction and acceptance were compared between the two groups. Results: Three menstrual cycles after treatment, the VAS score at the most painful time, menstrual flow, CMSS score and EHP-5 score were all lower than those before treatment in either group, with statistical significance (all P 0.05), the menstrual flow was lower (P > 0.05), CMSS score was higher (P 0.05). The score of the patients’ satisfaction and acceptance in the acupuncture group were all higher than the ibuprofen group (both P Conclusion: Acupuncture is effective for analgesia and symptom-relief and the long-term effect is superior to the oral administration of ibuprofen.

Summary Objective To verify the immediate effects of voiced gargling on the electrical activity of extrinsic laryngeal muscles and vocal self-assessment. Methods A sample of 20 individuals of both sexes, mean age of 31.95 (±11.57) years, were equally divided in two groups according to the presence or absence of vocal complaint. Both groups were evaluated by surface electromyography of the suprahyoid (SH) and infrahyoid (IH) muscle areas during rest, phonation of the sustained vowel [Ɛ] in habitual and strong intensities; phonation of rising and falling glissando; and counting from 1 to 10. Surface electromyography was assessed before and after the voiced gargling exercise, which lasted 1 minute. All participants self-rated their voice and phonatory comfort after the exercise. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests were applied, as well as Fisher's exact test and linear-to-linear test. The level of significance was 5%. Results The percentage of electrical activity of the SH muscle area decreased in the glissando and counting tasks in the group with vocal complaint, as well as in phonation of sustained vowel in strong intensity in the group without complaint. Decrease was also observed in the right IH muscle area at rest and during sustained vowel phonation at habitual and strong intensities. Percentage of muscular electrical activity was lower in the group with complaint in the following situations: IH muscle area on both sides, at rest and during habitual phonation of sustained vowel and glissando before and after the exercise; right IH muscle area, during counting and strong phonation of sustained vowel before and after exercise; left IH muscle area, in the counting task, just after intervention. Most participants noticed improvement in voice (70%) and phonatory comfort (65%). Conclusions Voiced gargling during 1 minute promotes immediate effects on the electrical activity of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles in individuals with or without vocal complaint. Most individuals reported improved voice and phonatory comfort after exercise.

Physics is an important subject taught at the secondary level in Nigeria but the achievement of students in the subject is a concern to science educators. This study investigated the effectiveness of brain-based teaching strategy (BTS) on students’ achievement and score levels on the concept of heat energy. This investigation adopted the pretest, posttest, randomized control group quasi-experimental design. Simple random sampling technique was used to select two schools used for this study. Two research questions were raised to guide the study. Likewise, two null hypotheses were tested for acceptance or otherwise at 0.05 significance level. The sample involved ninety nine senior school students randomly selected from two schools in Ondo, Nigeria. Two instruments were used to gather data with internal consistency of 0.74 using Kuder Richarson Formular 21. The data collected were analysed using mean, t-test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Findings from this investigation reveals that brain-based teaching strategy has significant effect on physics students’ achievement and score levels in the concept of heat energy. This study concludes that brain-based teaching strategy should be used to teach heat energy at secondary school level in order to better students’ grades.

Study Objective Our objective was to determine if ovarian surgery at the time of ovarian detorsion is associated with impaired short-term ovarian function, as indicated by ovarian morphology on ultrasound when compared to detorsion alone. Design Retrospective cohort study Setting The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto Participants Confirmed ovarian torsion in patients ≤ 18 years from 1/1/2004 to 31/12/2018 with ovarian sparing surgery. Main Outcome Measures Data was collected on demographics, procedure, intraoperative findings and post-operative ultrasound. To determine ovarian function, we compared morphology on post-operative ultrasound between those with surgery to the ovary compared to those without surgery to the ovary at the time of detorsion. We also compared ovarian volume of affected and contralateral ovaries after detorsion and surgery to the affected ovary. Results 119 patients met inclusion criteria- 67 (56%) had detorsion with surgery to the ovary and 52 (44%) had detorsion alone. There was no statistically significant difference in appearance on post-operative ultrasound between these groups (p=0.446). There was also no statistically significant difference on post-operative ultrasound of affected and contralateral ovarian volumes after detorsion and surgery to the affected ovary (p=0.69). Patients that underwent surgery to the ovary experienced a lower rate of recurrence, however, this did not reach statistical significance with a p-value of 0.080. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that surgery e.g. cystectomy to the ovary at the time of ovarian detorsion does not appear to impact ovarian function when compared to detorsion alone, as indicated on postoperative imaging. There was also no difference in volume of the affected and contralateral ovaries in those cases that underwent surgery at the time of initial detorsion. This evidence would support that immediate cystectomy at the time of initial ovarian detorsion is not associated with impaired ovarian function thus avoiding the need for an interval cystectomy.

Identifying patients' social determinants of health (SDoH) can improve patient outcomes but may increase clinicians' documentation time. However, there is limited evidence of how many physicians document SDoH and the associated burden. To address this gap, this study examines documentation of SDoH and after-hours electronic health record (EHR) work among a nationally representative sample of US office-based physicians. This was a cross-sectional analysis of the 2018-2019 National Electronic Health Records Survey. A survey design-adjusted bivariate analysis was used to estimate the prevalence of SDoH documentation and compare this activity between physicians' and practices' characteristics. A modified multivariable Poisson model was used to estimate prevalence ratios of SDoH documentation and after-hours work. The study sample included a weighted sample of 303,389 US physicians (31.5%, female; 72.5%, aged ≥50 years; 48.8% primary care specialty). Of those, 84.3% reported documenting patients' SDoH information. Physicians documenting patients' SDoH tend to be younger (

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) in the short and long term in the treatment of patients with the myogenic temporomandibular joint disorder(TMD).This prospective, double-blind, controlled clinical study was conducted on patients with myogenic TMD at a university's oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic. Seventy-six patients were randomized into two groups (HILT, and control group), including 38 patients in one group. The patients were evaluated for pain, the range of motion of the jaw, disability, and quality of life. Assessments were performed before therapy (week 0) and after therapy (weeks 4 and 12). Data were evaluated using SPSS-20 and the level of significance was set at p0.05.There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of socio-demographic characteristics of the groups at the beginning of the study. In the 4th week, the VAS pain score was significantly decreased in the HILT group (47%) compared to the placebo HILT group (4%) (p0.001). The maximum mouth opening was significantly increased in the HILT group (27%) compared to the placebo HILT group (4%) at week 12 (p0.001). The HILT group showed a significant improvement in Jaw Functional Limitation Scale 20 (JFLS-20) and Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) compared to the placebo HILT group (p0.001 and p0.005 respectively).As a result of the study, it was concluded that HILT is a highly effective, non-invasive therapeutic method for patients with myogenic TMD.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is regarded as a brain disconnection syndrome. The functional connectivity from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) shows that the number and the strength of the connectivity in MCI will decrease. However, many studies have confirmed that, the decrease and increase in MCI actually coexist. This paper proposes a novel intrinsic-frequency connectivity to study the statistical significance between MCI and normal control (NC), especially stronger positive connectivity on an MCI group mean level. We use a multivariate empirical model decomposition to get intrinsic modal functions (IMFs) and calculate the correlations of the IMFs. In experiments, we use public data to test the proposed coefficient. When some dimension-reduction criteria are adopted, we can find some stronger intrinsic frequency correlation in MCI, which cannot be observed in traditional correlations. After further searched, the stronger connectivity is mainly distributed in the regions of MCI functional compensation and abnormal neuron recruitment hypothesis. From an intrinsic frequency spectrum, the reason for MCI’s stronger positive intrinsic frequency correlation is that NC’s correlation becomes smaller. One of explanations is that, the common respiration and cardiac noises in the intrinsic frequency correlation are removed, so that the positive correlation is weakened.

Purpose The aim of this article is to evaluate the effect of basal ganglia hemorrhage on cardiac functions in the acute stage using transthoracic echocardiography. Methods Based on the data regarding computerize tomography and echocardiography data on the PACS imaging system of a single comprehensive medical center, a total of 110 cases with acute basal ganglia hemorrhage were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were further divided into four groups depending on the localization and extension of the hemorrhage as right basal ganglia hemorrhage (group 1), left basal ganglia hemorrhage (group 2), right basal ganglia hemorrhage with expansion into the ventricles (group 3) and left basal ganglia hemorrhage with expansion into the ventricles (group 4). Cardiac functions based on echocardiography findings were compared between groups. Results There were 70 males (63.6%) and 40 females (36.7%) in this cohort with average an age of 59.45 ± 10.26 years. The thickness of the diastolic interventricular septum was less than 11 mm. The difference in the amount of bleeding was significantly different between group 3 compared with group 1 (p = 0.041). The end systolic left ventricular diameter (LVDS) was significantly different between group 4 compared with group 1 (p = 0.030). The blood loss correlated with Pearson peak of mitral valve e′ (p = 0.034), and with Pearson peak of mitral annulus e′ (p = 0.037). There was no statistical significance in other echocardiographic parameters. Conclusion Acute intracerebral hemorrhage in basal ganglia is associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES To determine the accuracy of the 5-time stand-to-sit (5TSTS) test for the identification of older adults with reduced gait speed. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A total of 559 community-dwelling older adults were included in the study, divided into groups of women (n=465) and men (n=94). METHODS 5TSTS and gait speed were assessed. Multiple linear regression analysis with adjustment was performed in order to determine the association between 5TSTS and gait speed, followed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the identification of the usefulness of 5TSTS to discriminate older adults with reduced gait speed. Based on the ROC curve, we identified the area under the curve, the sensitivity, specificity, and cutoff points of the 5TSST. Statistical analyses were made using the SPSS software (version 25.0), and a significance level of 5% (P ≤ .05) was adopted. RESULTS The 5TSTS showed correlation with gait speed. Additionally, 5TSTS was able to discriminate reduced gait speed with moderate accuracy (P < .05; AUC between 0.7 and 0.8). For women, the cutoff scores for 5TSTS to identify gait speed

Objectives Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a technique reflecting motion of water proton within the tissue. Studies have investigated the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of bone marrow in musculoskeletal lesions. This study assessed the correlation between the ADC of bone marrow in the mandible and the mandibular cortical width (MCW) in the healthy patients. Methods This research was a retrospective cohort study. The patient underwent echo planar (EPI)-DWI and panoramic X-ray at the Nihon University School of Dentistry between April 2020 and October 2020. The predictor variable was mean MCW. The primary outcome variable was the mean ADC of mandibular bone marrow. The other variable was age. Data were analyzed using a Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was set at p Results We analyzed the records of 18 men (mean age, 44.94, age range 20–73 years) and 40 women (mean age, 47.98, age range 21–78 years). There was not significant difference between sex and mean ADC value, mean MCW (p = 0.853 and p= 0.43, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between MCW and the ADC of the mandibular bone marrow (r = .493, p Conclusions This suggests that in addition to evaluating the MCW, which is currently used for bone quality evaluation, measuring the ADC of bone marrow in the mandible could contribute toward the examination of bone quality and diseases.

Statistical significance functions as an arbiter of sorts for data analysis purporting to show a relationship between two or more variables. Unfortunately, in far too many situations, statistical significance may lead decision-makers relying on data and analytics to improve business decisions astray, particularly in the context of big data. In this article, I outline reasons why executives should develop a healthy discernment when seeing the phrase statistically significant in media outlets, internal analyses, consulting reports, and other sources. To overcome the limitations of focusing on statistical significance, I propose executives shift their attention towards the effect size reported from a statistical model. While not without limitation, effect sizes are more useful to decision-makers, highlight the practical implication of analyses, and help in quantifying the uncertainty inherent to working with data.

OBJECTIVE Valproic acid (VPA) is used for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder (BD). The aims of this study was to examine that long-term VPA use affects mortality in BD patients. METHODS Association analysis was conducted using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan. The long-term VPA use group was selected as patients treated with VPA for BD who used VPA only. The control group consisted of BD patients who were not treated with VPA or lithium. The lithium use group consisted by BD patients used lithium only was also joined the analysis. The cofactors included age (>65 years), sex and the Charlson Comorbidity Index. RESULTS The hazard ratio (HR) of mortality for the VPA group was 0.83 (95% confidence interval (CI), (0.70-0.99); P = 0.04) and the result of lithium group did not reach statistical significance. Furthermore only the duration> 3 years subgroup had a significantly lower incidence of mortality than the control group, with an HR of 0.54 (95% CI, (0.42-0.70); P

There is controversial evidence regarding the effect of acute resistance exercise (ARE) on heart rate variability (HRV) parameters, which indicates the activities of the cardiac autonomic nervous system. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on the effect of ARE on HRV parameters and identify its possible moderating factors.The PubMed-Medline, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) declaration was followed, and the methodological quality of the studies was evaluated. The level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. Main effect analyses between pre- and post-test interventions demonstrated an increase in normalized units low frequency (p0.001; standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.78; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.46‒1.11) and low frequency/high frequency ratio (p0.001; SMD = 0.82; 95%CI: 0.64‒0.99) and a decrease in standard deviation of the normal-to-normal (NN) interval (p0.001; SMD = -0.58; 95%CI: -0.85 to -0.30), root mean square of the successive differences (p0.001; SMD = -1.01; 95%CI: -1.29 to -0.74), and normalized units high frequency (p0.001; SMD: -1.08; 95%CI: -1.43 to -0.73) following ARE in healthy individuals range: 15 ± 1 to 48 ± 2 years; mean ± SD).There were differences between the subgroups in the number of sets used in an exercise (p = 0.05) for root mean square of the successive differences, as well as for exercise intensity (p = 0.01) and rest between sets (p = 0.05) for normalized units high frequency. Interestingly, there were differences between the subgroups in training volume for root mean square of the successive differences (p = 0.01), normalized units high frequency (p = 0.003) and normalized units low frequency (p = 0.02).Overall, there was a withdrawal of cardiac parasympathetic and activation of cardiac sympathetic modulations following ARE, and these changes were greater with higher training volume ∼30 min after ARE in healthy individuals. Furthermore, the number of sets, intensity, and rest between sets affected HRV parameters. However, gender, body mass index, and training status did not influence the changes in HRV parameters as a response to ARE.

Context Previously, the most common treatment for a concussion was prolonged physical and cognitive rest. Recently, researchers have suggested that earlier physical activity (PA) may be better at promoting recovery. Researchers have not evaluated the relationship between free-living PA (eg, walking) and symptom reporting or recovery duration. Objective To assess the relationship between free-living PA participation and 2 recovery outcomes in college-aged adults with a concussion. Design Prospective cohort. Setting National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and III universities. Patients or Other Participants Thirty-two college-aged adults (68.8% female, age = 19.8 ± 1.4 years) with a concussion. Main Outcome Measure(s) Participants completed a postconcussion symptom evaluation at visits 1 ( Results Participants averaged 2446 ± 441 counts per minute and spent 12.1% ± 4.2% of their PA performing MVPA. Participants yielded median (interquartile) symptom severities of 28 (24) and 2 (8) for visit 1 and 2, respectively. Average recovery time was 14.7 ± 7.5 days. Total PA did not significantly contribute to the model for visit 2 symptom severity (P = .122) or recovery time (P = .301). Similarly, %MVPA had little contribution to the model for visit 2 symptom severity (P = .358) or recovery time (P = .276). Conclusions We suggest that free-living PA may not be enough to reduce symptoms or shorten recovery. Thus, clinicians may need to provide patients with more structured PA protocols mimicking findings from previous researchers.

Background Definitions for central lung cancer have been ambiguous in guidelines, causing difficulty in selecting candidates for invasive mediastinal staging among patients with radiologically node-negative, early-stage lung cancer. Research Question What is the optimal definition for central lung cancer, which is robust to inter-reader and institutional variation, to select candidates for invasive mediastinal staging among those with clinical T1N0M0 lung cancer? Study Design and Methods Two retrospective cohorts were evaluated for the associations of central lung cancer according to 13 definitions based on chest CT with occult nodal metastasis. Univariable and multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed with the pathological N category as an ordinal outcome. Robust definitions, which retained statistical significance across multi-reader, dual-institutional datasets, were identified. For these definitions, binary diagnostic performance and inter-reader agreement were investigated. Results In the two cohorts, 807 patients (median age, 63 years; interquartile range, 56-71 years; 410 women; 33 pN1, 48 pN2, and 1 pN3) and 510 patients (median age, 65 years; interquartile range, 58-71 years; 267 women; 33 pN1, 20 pN2, and no pN3) were included, respectively. Three definitions robust to inter-reader variation and dataset heterogeneity were identified: definition 7 (concentric lines arising from the midline, inner one-third, medial margin; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-3.51; P=0.02), definition 10 (location index-based inner one-third, center; adjusted OR, 3.60; 95% CI, 1.49-8.25; P=0.003), and definition 12 (location index-based inner one-third, medial margin; adjusted OR, 3.57; 95% CI, 1.91-6.52; P Interpretation Three definitions exhibited robust associations with occult nodal metastasis. However, selecting candidates for invasive mediastinal staging solely based on a central tumor location would be suboptimal.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate surgical outcomes (i.e. length of stay [LOS], 30-day morbidity, mortality, reoperation, and readmission rates) with the use of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway, and determine its association with the rate of compliance to the different ERAS components.Methods: This was a prospective cohort of patients, who underwent the following elective procedures: stoma reversal (SR), colon resection (CR), and rectal resection (RR). The primary endpoint was to determine the association of compliance to an ERAS pathway and surgical outcomes. These were then retrospectively compared to outcomes prior to the implementation of ERAS.Results: A total of 267 patients were included in the study. The overall compliance to the ERAS component was 92.0% (SR, 91.8%; CR, 93.1%; RR, 90.7%). There was an associated decrease in morbidity rates across all types of surgery, as compliance to ERAS increased. The average total LOS decreased in all groups but was only found to have statistical significance in SR (12.1±6.7 days vs. 10.0±5.4 days, P=0.002) and RR (19.9±11.4 days vs. 16.9±10.5 days, P=0.04) groups. Decreased postoperative LOS was noted in all groups. Morbidity rates were significantly higher after ERAS implementation, but reoperation and mortality rates were found to be similar.Conclusion: Increased compliance to ERAS protocol is associated with a decrease in morbidity across all surgery types. The implementation of an ERAS protocol significantly decreased mean hospital LOS, without any increase in major surgical complications. Having your own hospital ERAS pathway improves documentation and accuracy of reporting surgical complications.

Adult spine deformity; Anemia; Patient outcome assessment Deformidad de la columna en adultos; Anemia; Evaluación del resultado del paciente Deformitat de la columna en adults; Anèmia; Avaluació dels resultats del pacient Study Design Retrospective cohort. Purpose This study aims to evaluate the impact of anemia on functional outcomes, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and early hospital readmission (EHR) rates after adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery at the time of discharge from the hospital. Overview of Literature Concerns with risks of transfusion, insufficient evidence for its benefits, and the possibility of associated adverse outcomes have led to restrictive transfusion practices. Therefore, patients are discharged according to patient blood management programs that are implemented in hospitals nationwide to reduce unnecessary blood transfusions. However, not many comprehensive kinds of studies exist on the effect of postoperative anemia on functional life and complications. Methods Anemia severity was defined following the 2011 World Health Organization guidelines. All patients had HRQoL tests as well as complete blood counts pre- and postoperatively. EHR is the admission within 30 days of discharge and was used as the dependent parameter. Results This study comprised 225 surgically treated ASD patients with a median age of 62.0 years, predominantly women (80%). Of the 225 patients, 82, 137, and six had mild, moderate, and severe anemia at the time of discharge, respectively. Seventeen of the patients (mild [11, 64.7%]; moderate [5, 29.4%]; severe [1, 5.9%]) were readmitted within 30 days. The mean hemoglobin values were higher in readmitted patients (p=0.071). Infection was the leading cause of readmission (n=12), but a low hemoglobin level was not observed in any of these patients at the time of discharge. Except for Scoliosis Research Society-22 questionnaire, HRQoL improvements did not reach statistical significance in early readmitted patients in the first year after surgery. Conclusions The results of this study demonstrated that the occurrence and the severity of postoperative anemia are not associated with EHR in surgically treated patients with ASD. The findings of the current research suggested that clinical awareness of the parameters other than postoperative anemia may be crucial. Thus, improvements in HRQoL scores were poor in early readmitted patients 1 year after surgery. European Spine Study Group is a clinical research group funded by a research grant from DePuy-Synthes.

Because of the limited published information on complications that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients experience during and after cardiac surgery, we investigated OSA as a risk factor for postoperative outcomes.This project used the Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group's data collected between 2011 and 2017 based on The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database Data Collections form. A retrospective analysis of 1555 patients with OSA and 10,450 patients without OSA across 5 medical centers undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, isolated valve surgery, and combined coronary artery bypass grafting valve surgery was conducted. We used 1:1 nearest-neighbor propensity score matching with no replacement to balance characteristics among patients with and without OSA.There was a statistically significant increased risk of postoperative pneumonia, increased length of total and postoperative stay, and time to initial extubation. Two outcomes trended toward significance: intra- and postoperative intraaortic balloon pump use. Outcomes that failed to show statistical significance were surgical site infection, atrial fibrillation, cerebrovascular accident, permanent pacemaker placement, and blood products given. A chart review conducted on a subset of the study cohort revealed that more than 40% of OSA patients did not receive continuous positive airway pressure or bilevel positive airway pressure therapy postoperatively during their hospitalization.Our study aligns with the literature in concluding that OSA has deleterious effects on postoperative outcomes of cardiac surgery patients. Further research to better stratify OSA patients by severity are still needed. Additionally heightened awareness of the need to screen, diagnose, and properly treat patients for OSA is needed.

We examined the outcomes of children (18 years) operated on for anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA).We linked patients undergoing ALCAPA repair between 1982 and 2003 in the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium with the National Death Index and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to examine their outcomes through 2019.We identified 228 children (median age, 6.0 months) operated on for ALCAPA. At the time of repair, 38.6% had severe mitral regurgitation (MR), and 71.4% had severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Repair included primarily coronary reimplantation in 173 and the Takeuchi procedure in 34; concurrently, 18 underwent mitral valve (MV) operation. In-hospital death occurred in 31 (13.6%) and was not associated with MR severity (P = .846); however, among patients with moderate or severe MR, risk of death was 28% lower when undergoing MV operation (P = .033). After adjustment for other risk factors, only infant operation reached statistical significance for in-hospital death (adjusted odds ratio, 12.99; 95% CI, 1.61-104.59; P = .016). Among those discharged alive with long-term data available (n = 155), the 30-year transplant-free survival reached 95.5% (95% CI, 92.3%-98.8%) and was not associated with the degree of preoperative MR or LV dysfunction. Coronary reimplantation was associated with better long-term survival compared with other surgical techniques (adjusted odds ratio, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02-0.74; P = .023).Favorable long-term outcomes can be expected after coronary artery reimplantation for ALCAPA, even in patients with severe LV dysfunction at presentation. MV operation predicted decreased risk for in-hospital mortality in patients with moderate/severe MR, but MR severity predicted neither in-hospital nor longer-term outcomes.

BACKGROUND Irreparable rotator cuff tears (IRCTs) pose treatment challenges both clinically and financially. As cost-effectiveness initiatives are prioritized, value-based health care delivery models are becoming increasingly common. The purpose of this study was to perform a comprehensive analysis of the cost, complications, and readmission rates of 3 common surgical treatment options for IRCTs: superior capsular reconstruction (SCR), arthroscopically assisted lower trapezius tendon transfer (LTTT), and reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). METHODS Between 2018 and 2020, 155 patients who underwent shoulder surgery at a single institution for IRCT with minimal to no arthritis were identified. Procedures performed included 20 SCRs, 47 LTTTs, and 88 RSAs. A cost analysis was designed to include a period of 60 days preoperatively, the index surgical hospitalization, and 90 days postoperatively, including costs of any readmission or reoperation. RESULTS Mean standardized costs were as follows: preoperative evaluation SCR $507, LTTT $507, and RSA $730; index surgical hospitalization SCR $19,675, LTTT $15,722, and RSA $16,077; and postoperative care SCR $655, LTTT $686, and RSA $404. Significant differences were observed in the index surgical costs (P < .001), with SCR incurring an additional average cost of $3953 and $3598 compared with LTTT and RSA, respectively. The 90-day complication, reoperation, and readmission rates were 0%, 0%, and 0% in the SCR group; 2.1%, 0%, and 0% in the LTTT group; and 3.4%, 0%, and 1.1% in the RSA group, respectively. With the numbers available, differences among the 3 surgical procedures with respect to complication (P = .223), reoperation (P = .999), and readmission rates (P = .568) did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS The mean standardized costs for the treatment of 3 common IRCT procedures inclusive of 60-day workup and 90-day postoperative recovery were $16,915, $17,210, and $20,837 for LTTT, RSA (average added cost $295), and SCR (average added cost $3922), respectively. This information may provide surgeons and institutions with cost-related information that will become increasingly relevant with the expansion of value-based surgical reimbursements.

Objective: Variable treatment strategies and protocols have been applied to reduce time durations in the process of acute stroke management. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of our intra-arterial thrombectomy (IAT) protocol for decreasing door-to-recanalization time duration and improve successful recanalization.Methods: A systemic and endovascular protocol included door-to-image, image-to-puncture and puncture-to-recanalization. We retrospectively analyzed the patients of pre- (Sep 2012–Apr 2014) and post-IAT protocol (May 2014–Jul 2018). Univariate analysis was used for the statistical significance according to variable factors (age, gender, the location of occluded vessel, successful recanalization TICI 2b-3). Independent t-test was used to compare the time duration.Results: Among all 267 patients with acute stroke of anterior circulation, there were 50 and 217 patients with pre- and post-IAT protocol. Age, gender, and the location of occluded vessel have no statistical significance (p＞0.05). In pre- and post-IAT group, successful recanalization was 39 of 50 (78.0%) and 185/217 (85.3%), respectively (p＜0.05). Post-IAT (48.8%, 106/217) group had a higher tendency of good outcome than pre-IAT group (36.0%, 18/50) (p＞0.05). Pre- and post-IAT group showed 61.7±21.4 vs. 25±16.0 (p＜0.05), 102.0±29.8 vs. 82.7±30.4 (min) (p＜0.05), and 79.1±47.5 vs. 58.4±75.3 (p＜0.05) in three steps, respectively.Conclusions: We suggest that the application of systemic and endovascular IAT protocols showed a significant time reduction for faster recanalization in patients with LVO. To build-up the well-designed IAT protocol through puncture-to-recanalization can be needed to decrease time duration and improve clinical outcome in recanalization therapy in acute stroke patients.

Objetivo: Avaliar a experiência de cárie dentária e fatores relacionados em adolescentes de 15 a 19 anos de uma escola pública de Manaus-AM. Métodos: O delineamento do estudo foi do tipo transversal, cuja amostra foi constituída por 103 escolares. Para avaliar a cárie dentária foram realizados exames clínicos utilizando o Índice CPO-D (cariados, perdidos, obturados por dente) para avaliar presença de cárie dentária em ficha individual. Também foram aplicados dois questionários referentes aos hábitos de higiene bucal e à percepção da presença de dor dentária nos últimos seis meses e impacto das condições de saúde bucal na vida diária. O Índice Significant Caries Index (SIC) foi utilizado para avaliar a presença da doença cárie dentária em um terço da população com maior CPO-D. Para análise dos dados foram utilizados os programas Microsoft Excel® e Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), adotando o nível de significância de 0,05. Para verificar a hipótese de associação entre variáveis foi utilizado o teste Qui-quadrado de Pearson. Resultados: A média do índice CPO-D encontrada foi de 1,2 considerada baixa; sendo o componente cariado (C) o responsável pela maior parte do Índice CPO-D. O Índice SIC foi de 4,4 evidenciando que um terço da amostra apresentava Índice CPO muito superior à média encontrada, mostrando desigualdade na distribuição da doença no grupo estudado. A frequência de escovação por 3 vezes ao dia foi relatada pela maioria dos adolescentes (57,3%). No entanto, sobre a frequência de consulta dos adolescentes ao cirurgião-dentista, constatou-se que 48,6% dos estudantes nunca procuraram atendimento. Houve relação estatisticamente significante entre presença de cárie dentária e irritabilidade causada pelos dentes (p = 0,011) e dificuldade para falar (p = 0,007). Conclusão: Este estudo apontou baixa experiência de cárie dentária, sendo a frequência de escovação por 3 vezes ao dia relatada pela maioria dos adolescentes. Houve relação estatisticamente significante entre presença de cárie dentária e as questões sobre incômodo ao escovar os dentes e dificuldade para falar.

Background Public health guidelines have called for innovative and flexible physical activity (PA) intervention strategies to promote PA and health amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, this study's purpose was to examine the effects of a home-based, YouTube-delivered PA intervention grounded in self-determination theory on young adults’ free-living PA, sedentary behavior, and sleep quality (NCT04499547). Methods Sixty-four young adults (48 females; age: 22.8 ± 3.4 years, mean ± SD; body mass index = 23.1 ± 2.6 kg/m2) were randomized (1:1) into the intervention group, which received weekly aerobic and muscle-strengthening PA videos, or control group, which received weekly general health education videos, for 12 weeks. Our primary outcome was free-living moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and our secondary outcomes were sedentary behavior, light PA, and sleep quality (measured using ActiGraph accelerometers) along with muscle-strengthening PA frequency, self-determination theory-related motivation (non-regulation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, and intrinsic regulation), and perceived PA barriers (assessed using validated questionnaires). Repeated measures analysis of variances (ANOVAs) examined between-group differences at an adjusted significance level of 0.004 and effect sizes as partial eta-squared (ηp2). Results We observed statistically significant interaction effects for MVPA, sleep efficiency, muscle-strengthening PA frequency, non-regulation, integrated regulation, intrinsic regulation, and perceived PA barriers (F(1, 62) = 10.75–77.67, p < 0.001–0.002, ηp2 = 0.15–0.56) with all outcomes favoring the intervention group. We observed no statistically significant differences in either group for sedentary behavior, light PA, sleep duration, or external, introjected, and identified regulations after 12 weeks (F(1, 62) = 1.11–3.64, p = 0.06–0.61). Conclusion With national COVID-19 restrictions still in place and uncertainty regarding post-pandemic PA environments and behaviors, a remote, YouTube-delivered PA intervention may help foster clinically meaningful improvements in young adults’ free-living MVPA, muscle-strengthening PA frequency, sleep efficiency, PA-related intrinsic motivation, and perceived PA barriers., Graphical Abstract Image, graphical abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze treatment outcomes and tolerance in patients in whom cabozantinib was used after previous targeted therapy. Patients and methods Cabozantinib was administered in dose 60 mg/day, a subset of patients received initial dose of 40 mg/day. The treatment was administered until to progression or unacceptable toxicity. CT scans were assessed according to the RECIST 1.1 and toxicity of treatment was assessed based on the CTCAE (version 4). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). We performed a multivariate analysis of risk factors for treatment outcomes (PFS, OS) by Cox regression analysis. All statistics were evaluated at the significance level alpha = 0.05. Results 54 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) were evaluated. Median PFS in all patients treated with cabozantinib was 9.3 months (95% CI 5.3 - 13.3). One-year survival was 85.2% (95% CI 72.9 - 93.4%). Treatment response was observed in 45.9% of cases, including one complete remission. Cox regression analysis demonstrated that presence of subsequent treatment was the only factor with a significant effect on OS (P=0.008). Adverse events occurred in 88.9% of patients, grade 3 - 4 in 46.3%. Conclusion The analysis of our cohort of patients treated with cabozantinib in the second or higher lines of treatment showed that cabozantinib represents an effective and safe therapy and contributes to longer survival of our mRCC patients.

Ulceration or reulceration is a common complication following partial or total fifth ray amputations. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of reulceration following partial fifth ray amputations. This was a multicenter review of 117 consecutive limbs that underwent partial fifth ray amputations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centers. Procedures were performed at various levels along the fifth metatarsal. Incidence of postoperative ulceration was evaluated on the ipsilateral foot. We hypothesized there would be an association between location of resection and development of reulceration. Seventy-one of 117 patients (60.7%) experienced repeat ulceration following a partial fifth ray amputation. Median follow-up time was 19 months. There was no statistical difference based on location of amputation (proximal, middle, distal, isolated base) with regards to reulceration (p = .166), further amputation (p = .271), transmetatarsal amputation (p = .160), or below knee amputation (p = .769). There was statistical significance in the follow up time between study sites (p = .013), fifth ray amputation reoperation rate between study sites (p = .001), and reulceration rates between study sites (p = .017). Partial fifth ray amputations can be a good initial salvage procedure to clear infection and prolong bipedal ambulatory status. The results of the present study put forward that there is not an association between location of amputations of the fifth ray and development of reulceration, transfer lesions or more proximal amputations.

PURPOSE High-quality evidence comparing supine to prone percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for the treatment of complex stones is lacking. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of supine position (SUP) and prone position (PRO) PCNL. MATERIALS AND METHODS A noninferior randomized controlled trial was performed according to the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials) criteria. The inclusion criteria were patients over 18 years of age with complex stones. SUP was performed in the Barts flank-free modified position. Except for positioning, all the surgical parameters were identical. The primary outcome was the difference in the success rate on the first postoperative day (POD1) between groups. The secondary outcome was the difference in the stone-free rate (SFR) on the 90th postoperative day (final SFR). A noninferiority margin of 15% was used. Demographic, operative, and safety variables were compared between the groups. Statistical significance was set at p

Aim This article aimed to review adverse events and complications to orthognathic surgery based upon 10 years. Material and methods This study was a retrospective investigation between 2009 and 2018. Independent variables such as sex, age, pre-operative conditions, diagnosis, type of surgery, bleeding volume, surgery duration, and hospitalization were recorded. The data regarding orthognathic surgery adverse events and complications were evaluated and statistically analyzed with a significance level of p Results A total of 891 patients were included in this study (male 39.1%, female 60.9%) with a mean age of 26.4 ± 6.09 years. A neurosensory disturbance was found as immediate post-operative sequelae as 93.5%. The four most frequent complications had a relapse (6.4%), post-operative TMD (5.7%), unfavorable osteotomy (5.5%), and infection (4.9%), which seem to be more common in males. An average blood loss was 497 ± 371 ml and the average operative time was 401 ± 109.3 min. Complication rates were statistically affected by bleeding volume (p-value = 0.01), operative time (p-value = 0.03), and type of skeletal deformity (p-value = 0.01). Conclusion Although numerous complications were recorded, no fatal complications were experienced. Bleeding time, operative time, and skeletal classification have significant influence on orthognathic surgery complications. However, a multitude of factors could be modified to reduce the complication rate and improve the result of the treatment. One of the most significant factors was the operative time.

Background Despite advances in shoulder arthroplasty, treatment options for advanced glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHOA) remain limited. Surgical management includes total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA), reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA), and hemiarthroplasty. The rates of TSA and RSA for the treatment of GHOA in the United States has increased in recent years. Trends in shoulder arthroplasty in recently trained surgeons have not been explored. The purpose of the study was to examine the trends in arthroplasty use (TSA, RSA, and hemiarthroplasty) for primary GHOA among American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons (ABOS) Part II examinees, and to identify patterns based on geographic region or fellowship training. Methods ABOS Part II examinees with at least 1 shoulder arthroplasty in the examination years 2008-2019 were collected. Hemiarthroplasty, TSA, and RSA performed from 2007-2018 for a diagnosis of primary GHOA were included. Arthroplasty for primary or secondary diagnoses of fracture, infection, tumor, rotator cuff arthropathy or tear, revision, and non-arthroplasty procedures were excluded. Proportion and volume of cases were evaluated, with sub-analyses of geographic region and fellowship training. Univariate logistic regression determined statistical significance (P Results A total of 946,946 cases from 8609 ABOS Part II examinees were submitted, with 8733 shoulder arthroplasties performed. Overall, 3923 arthroplasties for primary GHOA were included (44.9% of all shoulder arthroplasties). TSA was used in 50.9% of cases. The proportion of RSA performed for primary GHOA has increased over the past 11 years, with RSA surpassing TSA as the most common procedure for primary GHOA over the last 4 years (P Conclusion Utilization of RSA for treatment of primary GHOA by ABOS Part II examinees has increased significantly over the past twelve years. Among ABOS Part II examinees, RSA has recently surpassed TSA as the most common arthroplasty utilized for treatment of primary GHOA. Examination of early-career surgical practice allows for consideration of training influence in treatment of GHOA. As volume of shoulder arthroplasty continues to increase, trends and procedure volume have implications for clinical practice and patient outcomes. Level of evidence: Level III

We sought to evaluate the role of robotic-assisted lung surgery on hospital volume using difference in difference (DID). We propose hospital adoption of robotic thoracic technology increases total volume of specific procedures as compared to non-robotic hospitals.The 2010-2015 Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dataset was queried for open, video-assisted thoracoscopic, and robotic-assisted thoracic surgeries. Incident Rate Ratios (IRR) from DID analysis determined the significance of robotic technology. For each technique, length of stay and elements of charges were compared to determine statistical significance.A total of 28,484 lung resection procedures performed at 162 hospitals, 65 of which had robotic capabilities were included. Robotic hospitals experienced an 85% increase in total lung surgical volume (IRR 1.85, p-value0.001). This increase in volume was consistent for each lung resection procedure separately.Hospital adoption of robotic technology significantly increases the overall lung surgical volume for select lung resection procedures.

Background Less than half of medical school professorships and decanal ranks are held by women. Our study investigates the gender-based geographical distribution and differences in lifetime peer-reviewed publications, H-index, and grant funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of all allopathic medical school deans in the United States (US). Methods A cross-sectional cohort study utilizing data from US allopathic medical school websites, PubMed, and the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools regarding lifetime peer-reviewed publications and quantity/monetary sum of NIH grants received by medical school deans. Descriptive statistics, independent sample T-tests, and ANOVA were performed with statistical significance defined as P Results Women occupied 33/157 (21.0%) dean positions overall. Compared to women, men possess higher mean number of lifetime peer-reviewed publications (112.0 vs. 55.2, P = 0.001) and H-index (43.2 vs. 25.7, P = 0.001); however, there are no differences in the mean number of NIH grants (27.5 vs. 19.1, P = 0.323) nor mean total NIH funding received ($18,931,336 vs. $14,289,529, P = 0.524). While significant differences in mean H-index between all US regions were found (P = 0.002), no significant differences exist between major US regions regarding the mean lifetime publication count (P = 0.223), NIH grants received (P = 0.200), nor total NIH funding (P = 0.824) received. Conclusion A significant discrepancy in the gender distribution, lifetime peer-reviewed publications, and H-index of allopathic medical school deans exists across the US, highlighting the need for adequate support for women in academic medicine. Greater implementation of mentorship, increased institutional support, and diversity training can improve the representation of women in medical school decanal positions.