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The language employed by an individual when discussing topics of a moral nature (of the kind typically found in, e.g., social media) is revealing not only of the text affective contents itself, but also of the individual who wrote the text in the first place. Based on these observations, this work intends to illustrate how two kinds of morality-related information may be inferred from text by presenting a number of shallow and deep learning models of moral stance and moral foundations classification. In doing so, we introduce a novel corpus of texts labelled with moral foundation scores, and a novel approach to fine-grained, human-centric moral foundations classification that is, to the best of our knowledge, among the first NLP studies of this kind.

A strategy to prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) virologic reactivation (HBVr) and clinical reactivation (CR) during direct acting antiviral (DAA) treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV)/HBV dual infection remains an unresolved issue.Noncirrhotic patients with dual HCV/HBV infection were enrolled and allocated randomly to 1 of 3 groups as follows: 12 weeks of DAA alone (group 1), 12 weeks of DAA plus 12 weeks of entecavir (group 2), or 12 weeks of DAA plus 24 weeks of entecavir (group 3). The entire study duration was 72 weeks. The primary end point was the occurrence of HBVr (defined by an increase of HBV DNA level10-fold with quantifiable HBV DNA at baseline or the presence of HBV DNA with prior unquantifiable HBV DNA) and CR (defined by serum alanine aminotransferase level2-fold the upper limit of normal in addition to HBVr).Fifty-six patients were allocated randomly as follows: 20 patients in group 1, 16 patients in group 2, and 20 patients in group 3. In group 1, HBV DNA levels increased significantly as early as 4 weeks after initiation of DAA and persisted until the end of the study. During DAA treatment, HBVr occurred in 50% in group 1 vs 0% in group 2 and 0% in group 3 (P.001), whereas the majority of HBVr in groups 2 and 3 occurred 12 weeks after cessation of entecavir (cumulative incidence, 93.8% in group 2 and 94.7% in group 3). Three patients (5.4%; 1 in each group) showed CR at week 48 and did not receive entecavir treatment.Twelve weeks of entecavir is suggested to be co-administered with DAA for HCV/HBV dually infected patients.gov no: NCT04405011.

Summary Objective Vocal process granuloma (VPG) has a varied treatment success rate and may frustrate patients and physicians due to poor outcomes. There is still a lack of standard protocols to manage VPG. This study aimed to review the efficiency of a standardized low-dose laryngeal electromyographic (LEMG)-guided botulinum toxin A (BTA) injection in intractable vocal granulomas. Methods Twenty-four patients with intractable VPG were recruited. All patients underwent percutaneous LEMG-guided BTA injection on the thyroarytenoid-lateral cricoarytenoid muscle complex in an office setting. The injecting dose was standardized to 1 U in 0.1 mL normal saline at a time. We evaluated the treatment effect by measuring the lesion size with serial laryngoscope evaluations. Results The postinjection follow-up time varied from 3 to 23 months. Twenty-one patients (87.5%) experienced complete regression of the granuloma over 1–7 months (median 3 months). No major adverse effects were noted during the follow-up period. Conclusion For recalcitrant VPG, LEMG-guided low-dose BTA injection has the potential to be a safe, efficient, and effective treatment.

Collaborators : AP-HP / Université de Paris / INSERM COVID-19 research collaboration, AP-HP COVID CDR Initiative, “Entrepôt de Données de Santé” AP-HP Consortium: Pierre-Yves Ancel, Alain Bauchet, Nathanaël Beeker, Vincent Benoit, Mélodie Bernaux, Ali Bellamine, Romain Bey, Aurélie Bourmaud, Stéphane Breant, Anita Burgun, Fabrice Carrat, Charlotte Caucheteux, Julien Champ, Sylvie Cormont, Christel Daniel, Julien Dubiel, Catherine Ducloas, Loic Esteve, Marie Frank, Nicolas Garcelon, Alexandre Gramfort, Nicolas Griffon, Olivier Grisel, Martin Guilbaud, Claire Hassen-Khodja, François Hemery, Martin Hilka, Anne Sophie Jannot, Jerome Lambert, Richard Layese, Judith Leblanc, Léo Lebouter, Guillaume Lemaitre, Damien Leprovost, Ivan Lerner, Kankoe Levi Sallah, Aurélien Maire, Marie-France Mamzer, Patricia Martel, Arthur Mensch, Thomas Moreau, Antoine Neuraz, Nina Orlova, Nicolas Paris, Bastien Rance, Hélène Ravera, Antoine Rozes, Elisa Salamanca, Arnaud Sandrin, Patricia Serre, Xavier Tannier, Jean-Marc Treluyer, Damien Van Gysel, Gaël Varoquaux, Jill Jen Vie, Maxime Wack, Perceval Wajsburt, Demian Wassermann, Eric Zapletal; International audience; Several medications commonly used for a number of medical conditions share a property of functional inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), or FIASMA. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggest that the (ASM)/ceramide system may be central to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We examined the potential usefulness of FIASMA use among patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19 in an observational multicenter study conducted at Greater Paris University hospitals. Of 2,846 adult patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19, 277 (9.7%) were taking a FIASMA medication at the time of their hospital admission. The primary endpoint was a composite of intubation and/or death. We compared this endpoint between patients taking vs. not taking a FIASMA medication in time-to-event analyses adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and medical comorbidities. The primary analysis was a Cox regression model with inverse probability weighting (IPW). Over a mean follow-up of 9.2 days (SD=12.5), the primary endpoint occurred in 104 patients (37.5%) receiving a FIASMA medication, and 1,060 patients (41.4%) who did not. Despite being significantly and substantially associated with older age and greater medical severity, FIASMA medication use was significantly associated with reduced likelihood of intubation or death in both crude (HR=0.71; 95%CI=0.58-0.87; p

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an incapacitating neurodegenerative disease. Patients with PD and their caregivers may have interactive effects on each other’s psychological well-being. This study aimed to assess the dyadic dynamics of resilience, fatigue, and suicidal ideation on the depression severity of PD patients and their caregivers. In total, 175 PD patients and 175 caregivers were recruited at a medical center from August 2018 to May 2020. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the actor/partner effects on the psychological well-being of both the PD patients and their caregivers. The most common psychiatric diagnoses of both the PD patients (28.6%) and their caregivers (11.4%) were depressive disorders. The PD patients’ and their caregivers’ fatigue, suicidal ideation, and lack of resilience were significantly associated with the severity of their depression, respectively. Interactive effects existed between psychological well-being of individuals with PD and their caregivers. Clinicians must be aware of, and manage, these contributing factors between PD patients and their caregivers in order to prevent them from worsening each other’s depression.

Objective Tracheal granulation is one of the common long term complications in patients after tracheostomy. Hypertrophic tracheal granulation may cause airway obstruction and further operation may be required to recreate an airway. Distal tracheal granulation is clinically challenging because of its position and surgical field limitation. This retrospective case review study evaluated the outcomes of PEAK PlasmaBlade-assisted tracheal surgery in patients with distal tracheal granulation. Methods This study retrospectively reviewed patients with distal tracheal granulation following long-term tracheostomy. All patients received PEAK PlasmaBlade assistance tracheal surgery (PATS) between February 2013 and December 2019. The surgery was performed using the PEAK PlasmaBlade with TnA type tip, powered by a PULSAR Generator, and guided by a 45 ° rigid endoscope. Patients were regularly followed up for a minimum of 12 months. Results A total 21 patients had completed PATS. None of the patients experience immediate life-threatening complications during or after the procedure. All the 21 patients were free of recurrent obstructive granulation within 12 months after operation. Conclusion PATS is practical, effective, and safe for distal tracheal granulation and can be performed by single surgeon. Furthermore, it is technically less demanding than other surgical approaches and it has a rapid learning curve.

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss. The present consensus provides suggestions on diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up strategies for nAMD from a panel of 11 practicing ophthalmologists. The experts suggest that the baseline visit for nAMD management should include a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination via a multimodal approach consisting of visual and anatomical evaluation. Patients diagnosed with nAMD should be subjected to treatment with the goal of maintaining visual function while diminishing anatomical disease activity and minimizing treatment burden. Currently, anti-VEGF therapy is the main treatment strategy for nAMD, and evaluation involving comprehensive ophthalmologic examination within 1 month of completion of the loading phase comprising three monthly injections is recommended to guide subsequent management. Either a treat-and-extend or pro re nata regimen can be considered for the maintenance phase of anti-VEGF therapy, and the regimen should be chosen and adjusted according to disease activity, reimbursement criteria, financial burden, and patient preferences. In the event of inactive nAMD or poor treatment outcomes, after thorough evaluation and patient education, anti-VEGF therapy may be stopped. The consensus provides practical nAMD management guidelines for ophthalmologists and fellow healthcare professionals.

Background Tumor mutational burden (TMB) measurements aid in identifying patients who are likely to benefit from immunotherapy; however, there is empirical variability across panel assays and factors contributing to this variability have not been comprehensively investigated. Identifying sources of variability can help facilitate comparability across different panel assays, which may aid in broader adoption of panel assays and development of clinical applications. Materials and methods Twenty-nine tumor samples and 10 human-derived cell lines were processed and distributed to 16 laboratories; each used their own bioinformatics pipelines to calculate TMB and compare to whole exome results. Additionally, theoretical positive percent agreement (PPA) and negative percent agreement (NPA) of TMB were estimated. The impact of filtering pathogenic and germline variants on TMB estimates was assessed. Calibration curves specific to each panel assay were developed to facilitate translation of panel TMB values to whole exome sequencing (WES) TMB values. Results Panel sizes >667 Kb are necessary to maintain adequate PPA and NPA for calling TMB high versus TMB low across the range of cut-offs used in practice. Failure to filter out pathogenic variants when estimating panel TMB resulted in overestimating TMB relative to WES for all assays. Filtering out potential germline variants at >0% population minor allele frequency resulted in the strongest correlation to WES TMB. Application of a calibration approach derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas data, tailored to each panel assay, reduced the spread of panel TMB values around the WES TMB as reflected in lower root mean squared error (RMSE) for 26/29 (90%) of the clinical samples. Conclusions Estimation of TMB varies across different panels, with panel size, gene content, and bioinformatics pipelines contributing to empirical variability. Statistical calibration can achieve more consistent results across panels and allows for comparison of TMB values across various panel assays. To promote reproducibility and comparability across assays, a software tool was developed and made publicly available.

Introduction Making healthcare decisions for children can be challenging for parents or guardians. We aimed to characterize the decision-making preferences and stress of parents or guardians who were offered both appendectomy or nonoperative management (NOM) for children with acute appendicitis. Methods Criteria was developed for offering operative or NOM for patients. At the time of decision, parents or guardians completed a survey assessing their understanding of treatment options, stress and preferences in being given the choice. An outpatient follow-up survey was later administered to evaluate post-decision satisfaction. Results A total of 45 respondents were included in the study. Over 95% endorsed understanding of the risks/benefits of the options and felt supported and satisfied with their decision. Half felt the process was more than minimally stressful, 77% felt the decision was easy to make, 89% liked being asked and 95% preferred to make the decision themselves with varying degrees of input from their physician. Of the 62% of parents or guardians who completed the follow-up survey, >90% were satisfied with their decision and one respondent regretted their choice. Discussion When offered the choice between operative and NOM of acute appendicitis, half of parents or guardians felt greater than minimal stress. The majority endorsed adequate understanding of the options, felt it was an easy decision, and maintained the desire to be the primary decision maker for their child. Our study provides preliminary data on parental or guardian attitudes towards shared decision-making in the surgical setting. Follow-up studies should focus on identifying predictors for those who feel increased stress and difficulty with decision-making.

Abstract: Ketogenic diet and ketone bodies gained significant attention in recent years due to their ability to influence the specific energy metabolism and restoration of mitochondrial homeostasis that can help in hindering the progression of many metabolic diseases, including diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. A ketogenic diet consists of high fat and low carbohydrate contents, which makes the body glucose deprived and rely on alternative sources (ketone bodies) for energy. It has been initially designed and supplemented for the treatment of epilepsy, and, later, its influence on many energyderiving biochemical pathways made it a highly sorted food supplement for many metabolic diseases and even for bodybuilding and calorie restriction in healthy individuals. Among the reported therapeutic action over a range of diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease, gained the attention of many researchers and clinicians because of the higher benefits of the ketogenic diet on this disease. Complex pathology and multiple influencing factors of Alzheimer’s disease make exploration of its therapeutic strategies a demanding task. It was a common phenomenon that energy deprivation in neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, progress rapidly. The ability of ketone bodies to stabilize the mitochondrial energy metabolism makes it a suitable intervening agent. In this review, we will discuss various research progress made with regards to ketone bodies/ketogenic diet for the management of Alzheimer’s disease and elaborate in detail about the mechanisms that are influenced during their therapeutic action.

Background Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) was associated with a lower prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The impact of CHB on the link between NAFLD and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related virological implications remain unclear. Methods We recruited 2255 middle–to older–aged individuals who were examined serially for hepatic steatosis by ultrasonography and blood biochemistry as part of a population-based hepatocellular-carcinoma cohort study. In CHB patients, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance and variation in viral load trajectory were also evaluated. Results During the average follow-up of 6 years, 168 participants developed T2D. CHB, as compared with uninfected subjects, was associated with lower risks for both new development and persistence of hepatic steatosis. Furthermore, the risk of steatosis decreased with higher levels of past viral load trajectories (p for trend = 0.0002). However, concomitant steatosis at baseline in CHB patients was still significantly associated with a 1.98-fold increased risk for T2D after multivariate adjustment including age, impaired fasting glucose, cirrhosis, and time-varying body mass index, although CHB reduced the propensity of hepatic steatosis to develop diabetes, especially for patients with high levels of past viral-load trajectory. In CHB, the functional cure of HBV infection, as indicated by HBsAg seroclearance, was associated with a 1.41-fold (95% CI 1.12–1.79) increased risk of steatosis. In addition, the increased risk for progressive impairment of glucose metabolism due to steatosis was especially prominent after HBsAg seroclearance. Conclusion The data showed that HBV interferes with fatty liver disease and modulates its related T2D risk, offering additional insight into the interplay between NAFLD and CHB.

ObjectivesIt has been suggested that psychosocial factors are related to survival time of inpatients with cancer. However, there are not many studies examining the relationship between spiritual well-being (SWB) and survival time among countries. This study investigated the relationship between SWB and survival time among three East Asian countries.MethodsThis international multicenter cohort study is a secondary analysis involving newly admitted inpatients with advanced cancer in palliative care units in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. SWB was measured using the Integrated Palliative Outcome Scale (IPOS) at admission. We performed multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model to identify independent prognostic factors.ResultsA total of 2,638 patients treated at 37 palliative care units from January 2017 to September 2018 were analyzed. The median survival time was 18.0 days (95% confidence interval [CI] 16.5–19.5) in Japan, 23.0 days (95% CI 19.9–26.1) in Korea, and 15.0 days (95% CI 13.0–17.0) in Taiwan. SWB was a significant factor correlated with survival in Taiwan (hazard ratio [HR] 1.27; 95% CI 1.01–1.59; p = 0.04), while it was insignificant in Japan (HR 1.10; 95% CI 1.00–1.22; p = 0.06), and Korea (HR 1.02; 95% CI 0.77–1.35; p = 0.89).Significance of resultsSWB on admission was associated with survival in patients with advanced cancer in Taiwan but not Japan or Korea. The findings suggest the possibility of a positive relationship between spiritual care and survival time in patients with far advanced cancer.

Evidence suggests that the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of primary care improves management of chronic disease, but there is limited research contrasting this model's effect when financed by a single payer versus multiple payers, and among patients with different types of health insurance. This study evaluates the impact of a statewide medical home demonstration, the Maryland Multi-Payer PCMH Program (MMPP), on adherence to antihypertensive medication therapy relative to non-PCMH primary care and to the PCMH model when financed by a single payer. The authors used a difference-in-differences analytic design to analyze changes in medication possession ratio for antihypertensive medications among Medicaid-insured and privately insured non-elderly adult patients attributed to primary care practices in the MMPP ("multi-payer PCMHs"), medical homes in Maryland that participated in a regional PCMH program funded by a single private payer ("single-payer PCMHs"), and non-PCMH practices in Maryland. Comparison sites were matched to multi-payer PCMHs using propensity scores based on practice characteristics, location, and aggregated provider characteristics. Multi-payer PCMHs performed better on antihypertensive medication adherence for both Medicaid-insured and privately insured patients relative to single-payer PCMHs. Statistically significant effects were not observed consistently until the second year of the demonstration. There were negligible differences in outcome trends between multi-payer medical homes and matched non-PCMH practices. Findings indicate that health care delivery innovations may yield superior population health outcomes under multi-payer financing compared to when such initiatives are financed by a single payer.

Objective Suicidal behavior and different mood states of bipolar I disorder (BD) have been shown to be associated with dysregulated proinflammatory cytokines. Only a few studies have examined the association between inflammation and SB in BD, and the association between proinflammatory cytokines, SB, and cognitive deficits in patients with BD remains unclear. Methods 77 patients with BD and 61 age-/sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Patients were divided into two groups: with suicidal ideation (SI; n = 21) and no SI (n = 56). SI was defined by a score of ≥1 in item 10 of Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R), soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor type 1 (sTNF-αR1), and C-reactive protein (CRP), were measured, and cognitive function was assessed using 2-back task and Go/No-Go task. Results Patients with SI had higher levels of sTNF-αR1 than those without SI and the controls (p = .004). BD patients with or without a history of suicide attempt had higher levels of CRP than the controls. SI was associated with serum levels of sTNF-αR1 and IL-6sR, even after additionally controlling for working memory and inhibitory control (p Conclusion This study indicates that serum levels of sTNF-αR1 have distinct differences between BD patients with or without SI, and our findings strengthen the hypothesis of a link between suicidal behavior and neuro-inflammation pathophysiology in BD.

BACKGROUND Atherosclerosis and vascular inflammatory response have been considered as risk factors for non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) vascular infection. The study aims to assess the risk of vascular infection by measuring atherosclerosis severity, NTS vascular infection (NTSVI) score, and serum levels of inflammatory markers in people with NTS bacteremia. METHODS A prospective observational study was conducted in two medical centers and two regional hospitals. Adults aged ≥50 years with NTS bacteremia who underwent computed tomography (CT) scan for revealing vascular infections were enrolled. The degree of atherosclerosis was scaled by a calcium score determined by a CT scan. Serum concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers were determined in the patients enrolled in a medical center. RESULTS Fourteen (20.3%) of 69 patients with NTS bacteremia had vascular infections. Calcium scores over the thoracic (12,540 vs. 3,261, P = 0.0005) and abdominal (9755 vs. 3,461, P = 0.0006) aorta of those with vascular infections were higher than those without vascular infection. All vascular infections were present in the high-risk group (NTSVI score ≥1), yielding a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 30.9%. Among 17 low-risk patients (NTSVI score

Drug-coated balloon (DCB) has emerged as an alternative therapeutic choice for in-stent restenosis (ISR) lesions. Cutting balloon angioplasty (CBA) is also a strategy utilized to treat tight stenotic lesions or ISR lesions. Few studies have focused on whether CBA plus DCB could achieve a better result in lowering the incidence of recurrent ISR. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of CBA plus DCB for ISR lesions.Between August 2011 and December 2017, 681 patients (937 lesions) were diagnosed with ISR and treated with DCBs in our hospital. The CBA plus DCB group comprised 90 patients who underwent PCI with further CBA plus DCB, and the DCB alone group comprised 591 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with DCB alone.Baseline characteristics, the types of previous stents, lesion type, prevalence of ostial lesion and left main lesion, and pre-PCI and post-PCI stenotic percentage showed no significant difference between the two groups. Only post-PCI reference luminal diameter and size of DCB were larger in the CBA plus DCB group. During the one-year follow-up period, late loss and clinical outcomes did not differ between the two groups before and after propensity score matching. The incidence of subtotal/total occlusion with delay flow was lower in the CBA plus DCB group after propensity score matching (4.1% versus 10.9%; P = 0.030).In these patients with ISR lesions, the clinical outcomes and the incidence of repeat target lesion revascularization were similar after treatment with CBA plus DCB versus DCB alone. Further study is warranted, including prospective, randomized comparisons.

Methods We sought to compare the prognostic impact of tumor differentiation with respect to adverse risk factors (RFs) identified by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines––including extranodal extension (ENE), positive/close margins, perineural invasion, lymphatic invasion, and vascular invasion––in patients with locally advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC). Results Between 1996 and 2018, 1179 consecutive patients with first primary pT3–4 OCSCC were included. A three‐level grading system was adopted––in which the final classification was assigned according to the most prevalent tumor grade. We identified 382/669/128 patients with well/moderately/poorly differentiated tumors, respectively. Compared with well/moderately differentiated tumors, poorly differentiated OCSCC had a higher prevalence of the following variables: female sex (4%/6%/11%), ENE, (14%/36%/61%), positive margins (0.5%/2%/4%), close margins (10%/14%/22%), perineural invasion (22%/50%/63%), lymphatic invasion (2%/9%/17%), vascular invasion (1%/4%/10%), and adjuvant therapy (64%/80%/87%). The 5‐year rates of patients with well/moderately/poorly differentiated OCSCC were as follows: local control (LC, 85%/82%/84%, p = 0.439), neck control (NC, 91%/83%/70%, p, Final tumor grading of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) is assigned according to the most prevalent grade. Relapses of poorly differentiated OCSCC tended to occur regionally and distantly. Poor tumor differentiation was the second most relevant adverse risk factor after extranodal extension. The NCCN guidelines should include poor differentiation as an adverse risk factor.

Background We compared the clinical outcomes of patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) with cN+pN0 versus cN0pN0 disease. Methods A total of 1309 OCSCC patients with pN0 disease were included. Of them, 1019 and 290 cases had cN0pN0 and cN+pN0 disease, respectively. For comparison purposes, we also examined 799 patients with pN+disease (cN0pN+/cN+pN+, n = 239/560). Subgroup analysis was performed in a propensity score‐matched cohort with cN0pN0 and cN+pN0 disease (n = 284 each). Results Compared with cN0pN0, patients with cN+pN0 had a higher prevalence of the following variables: betel chewing, pT3−4, depth ≥10 mm, perineural invasion, and treatment with surgery and adjuvant therapy. The prognosis of patients with cN+pN0 (mean: 52 nodes) and cN0pN0 (mean: 39 nodes) disease was similar both in the original cohort and after propensity score matching. However, the 5‐year outcomes were more favorable for cN+pN0/cN0pN0 compared with cN0pN+/cN+pN+ (local control, 88%/88%/83%/81%; neck control, 94%/93%/82%/76%; distant metastases, 4%/3%/13%/31%; disease‐free survival, 84%/83%/68%/52%; disease‐specific survival, 92%/92%/77%/57%; overall survival, 81%/82%/59%/42%; all p values 0.05). cN+pN0 disease (vs. cN0pN0) was not significantly associated with local control, neck control, distant metastases, and survivals either in univariable or multivariable analyses. Conclusions Despite a higher risk factor burden, the prognosis of patients with cN+pN0 disease did not differ from that of cases with cN0pN0. The higher nodal yield and the more frequent use of adjuvant therapy in cN+pN0 disease may explain the lack of significant differences in terms of neck control compared with cN0pN0 disease., Patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma and cN+pN0 disease are characterized by a higher prevalence of adverse risk factors. However, this was not found to translate into a less favorable prognosis; therefore, the presence of cN+pN0 disease should not be considered as an adverse prognostic factor

Background: Accurate pre-operative staging and correct surgical selection of patients with malignant melanoma reduces unnecessary morbidity and mortality, improves distant control and may improve survival. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography (18F-FDG PET-CT) has been shown to be useful in exclusion of metastatic sites and aids in surgical planning in stage III and potentially resectable stage IV disease. The primary objective of the study was to determine whether the use of PET-CT alters the initial staging and management of patients with advanced and recurrent melanoma. Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical records of patients with malignant melanoma referred for staging PET-CT over a three-year period at our institution was performed. Pre- and post-PET-CT stage was recorded and a descriptive analysis was done to determine whether PET-CT resulted in a change in stage grouping and whether this change effected a change in clinical management. Results: A change in stage grouping occurred in 21/39 (53.8%) of patients, 76.2% of which were up-staged and 23.8% down staged. On analysis of stage III/IV and recurrent melanoma, a change in stage occurred in 90% of stage III, 50% of stage IV and 50% of recurrent melanoma patients. This effected a change in management in 86.7% of patients with stage III, IV and recurrent melanoma collectively. Conclusion: PET-CT is a useful tool in the staging and subsequent management of melanoma. Its utility is pronounced in advanced and recurrent melanoma.&nbsp

Cognitive and mood changes are frequently mentioned as complaints before, during and after menopausal transition. There is substantial biological evidence for such associations to occur, as there are many mechanisms through which estrogens can affect the brain, by regulating metabolism, increasing cerebral blood flow and dendritic outgrowth, by acting on nerve growth factors through co-localisation of receptors, via neurotransmitters synthesis and turn-over and many more. However, the evidence for objective and longer term changes in cognitive function and mental health over the menopausal transition and beyond is less clear. While hormone treatment including estrogens could potentially reverse these psychological issues, the evidence of long-term benefit is also inconclusive. However, for women with severe menopausal complaints, and particularly for those who undergo early menopause, including women with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency, personalised hormone treatment at least up to the natural age of menopause around 50 should be considered, which is probably safe up to 10 years of treatment, unless contraindicated. This paper reviews the evidence for changes in psychological health related to menopausal transition and hormone treatments.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have revolutionized the paradigm for HCV treatment. However, patients with HBV and HCV co-infection receiving DAAs are at significant risk of HBV reactivation, with limited literature addressing the roles of serum chemokines/chemokines. We aimed to explore the profiles and predictive value of serum cytokines/chemokines regarding HBV reactivation in this clinical setting. METHODS From 2017 to 2019, 25 patients with HBV and HCV co-infection scheduled for DAA therapy were prospectively enrolled. At enrolment and after DAA treatment, serial serum cytokine/chemokine levels were examined. The baseline and dynamic levels were compared between those with versus without HBV virologic (defined by an increase of serum HBV DNA to >10 times) and clinical reactivation (defined by > 1.5-fold elevated ALT level than nadir and >100 U/L; or > 2-fold increase from nadir and greater than the upper normal limit, in addition to virologic reactivation). RESULTS There were 20 patients (80%) experiencing HBV virologic reactivation and 6 patients (24%) experiencing clinical reactivation. Patients with clinical reactivation had higher pre-treatment TNF-alpha (27.93 versus 18.85 pg/mL, P = 0.015), lower week-4 IFN-gamma (1.07 versus 8.74 pg/mL, P = 0.020) levels and significant declines of CCL2 and TNF-alpha (P

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common syndrome that has a significant impact on prognosis in various clinical settings. To evaluate whether new evidence supports changing the current definition/classification/staging systems for AKI suggested by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2012 Clinical Practice Guideline, the Taiwan AKI-TASK Force, composed of 64 experts in various disciplines, systematically reviewed the literature and proposed recommendations about the current nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for AKI. The Taiwan Acute Kidney Injury (TW-AKI) Consensus 2020 was established following the principles of evidence-based medicine to investigate topics covered in AKI guidelines. The Taiwan AKI-TASK Force determined that patients with AKI have a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease, and death. After a comprehensive review, the TASK Force recommended using novel biomarkers, imaging examinations, renal biopsy, and body fluid assessment in the diagnosis of AKI. Clinical issues with regards to the definitions of baseline serum creatinine (sCr) level and renal recovery, as well as the use of biomarkers to predict renal recovery are also discussed in this consensus. Although the present classification systems using sCr and urine output for the diagnosis of AKI are not perfect, there is not enough evidence to change the current criteria in clinical practice. Future research should investigate and clarify the roles of the aforementioned tools in clinical practice for AKI.

Introduction The 2015 dengue outbreak in southern Taiwan caused substantial mortality. We analyzed the causes of death among these patients. Materials and methods This retrospective study was conducted at a medical center in Tainan from August 2015 to December 2015. Dengue was diagnosed based on the detection of serum dengue NS1 antigen, IgM, or viral RNA in the blood. Causes of death were retrieved from chart reviews by three clinicians. Results There were 4488 cases of dengue in the study hospital, with an in-hospital fatality rate of 1.3% (60 cases). The mean age of the 60 fatal cases was 73 years, among whom 90% were aged ≥65 years. Twenty-eight (46.7%) patients died of severe dengue, and 29 (48.3%) deaths were possibly related to dengue. Of the latter, 24 (40%) died of secondary infections. Thirteen cardiac arrest events, including out-of-hospital (5 events) and in-hospital (8) cardiac arrests in the emergency department, occurred during the dengue epidemic. Seven (53.8%) patients did not receive medical aid before the event. Of the 40 deaths that occurred within one week after hospitalization, 60% died of severe dengue. In contrast, 50% of 20 deaths that occurred one week after hospitalization were related to hospital-acquired infections, mainly pneumonia. Conclusion Of 60 fatal cases, with a predominance of elderly patients, deaths were related to severe dengue within the first week after admission and secondary infections thereafter. The absence of medical care before cardiac arrest events highlights the importance of health education for warning signs of dengue.

PURPOSE:People with cancer are at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. ASCO's COVID-19 registry promotes systematic data collection across US oncology practices.METHODS:Participating practices enter data on patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer treatment. In this analysis, we focus on all patients with hematologic or regional or metastatic solid tumor malignancies. Primary outcomes are 30- and 90-day mortality rates and change over time.RESULTS:Thirty-eight practices provided data for 453 patients from April to October 2020. Sixty-two percent had regional or metastatic solid tumors. Median age was 64 years. Forty-three percent were current or previous cigarette users. Patients with B-cell malignancies age 61-70 years had twice mortality risk (hazard ratio = 2.1 [95% CI, 1.3 to 3.3]) and those age > 70 years had 4.5 times mortality risk (95% CI, 1.8 to 11.1) compared with patients age ≤ 60 years. Association between survival and age was not significant in patients with metastatic solid tumors ( P = .12). Tobacco users had 30-day mortality estimate of 21% compared with 11% for never users (log-rank P = .005). Patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 before June 2020 had 30-day mortality rate of 20% (95% CI, 14% to 25%) compared with 13% (8% to 18%) for those diagnosed in or after June 2020 ( P = .08). The 90-day mortality rate for pre-June patients was 28% (21% to 34%) compared with 21% (13% to 28%; P = .20).CONCLUSION:Older patients with B-cell malignancies were at increased risk for death (unlike older patients with metastatic solid tumors), as were all patients with cancer who smoke tobacco. Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 later in 2020 was associated with more favorable 30- and 90-day mortality, likely related to more asymptomatic cases and improved clinical management.

Facial action unit (AU) detection in the wild is a challenging problem, due to the unconstrained variability in facial appearances and the lack of accurate annotations. Most existing methods depend on either impractical labor-intensive labeling or inaccurate pseudo labels. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end unconstrained facial AU detection framework based on domain adaptation, which transfers accurate AU labels from a constrained source domain to an unconstrained target domain by exploiting labels of AU-related facial landmarks. Specifically, we map a source image with label and a target image without label into a latent feature domain by combining source landmark-related feature with target landmark-free feature. Due to the combination of source AU-related information and target AU-free information, the latent feature domain with transferred source label can be learned by maximizing the target-domain AU detection performance. Moreover, we introduce a novel landmark adversarial loss to disentangle the landmark-free feature from the landmark-related feature by treating the adversarial learning as a multi-player minimax game. Our framework can also be naturally extended for use with target-domain pseudo AU labels. Extensive experiments show that our method soundly outperforms lower-bounds and upper-bounds of the basic model, as well as state-of-the-art approaches on the challenging in-the-wild benchmarks. The code is available at https://github.com/ZhiwenShao/ADLD., This paper has been accepted by IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing

The most commonly encountered tumour of the spine is metastasis, and thoracic spine is the most commonly metastatic spine. Controversy exists regarding the optimal surgical approach for this kind of patient. The author conducted a study to assess the differences between anterior thoracotomy and a posterior approach in patients with malignant epidural cord compression in the thoracic spine.Between January 2004 and December 2017, 97 patients with metastatic thoracic lesion were stratified into two groups by approach method to the lesion site: Group A - mean anterior thoracotomy, decompression and fixation; and Group P - represented posterior decompression and fixation. Survival time, neurologic status, each complication by surgery or in hospital, and days in intensive care unit(ICU) were compared.Twenty-five patients were grouped in Group A, and 72 patients belonged to Group P. Lung cancer was the most common primary cancer in both groups. Operation time (213.0 vs. 199.2 min, p = 0.380) and blood loss (912.5 vs. 834.4 ml, p = 0.571) were not statistically significantly different between the two groups. Six patients in Group A (24%) and 6 in Group P (8.3%) developed complications (p = 0.040). Patients in Group A required more days of care in ICUs (2.36 vs. 0.19 days, p 0.001). The longer survival was seen in Group P (15.4 vs. 11.2 months) but with no significant difference.A lower surgical complication rate and fewer days of care in ICU were seen in Group P. The authors would prefer a posterior approach for those with thoracic metastatic tumour.

Abstract: Application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a major breakthrough in the field of cancer therapy, which has displayed tremendous potential in various types of malignancies. However, their response rates range widely in different cancer types and a significant number of patients experience immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) induced by these drugs, limiting the proportion of patients who can truly benefit from ICIs. Gut microbiota has gained increasing attention due to its emerging role in regulating the immune system. In recent years, numerous studies have shown that gut microbiota can modulate antitumor response, as well as decrease the risk of colitis due to ICIs in patients receiving immunotherapy. The present review analyzed recent progress of relevant basic and clinical studies in this area and explored new perspectives to enhance the efficacy of ICIs and alleviate associated irAEs via manipulation of the gut microbiota.

Background/purpose Streptococcus pneumoniae causes pneumonia and other invasive diseases, and is a leading cause of mortality in the elderly population. The present study aimed to provide current antimicrobial resistance and epidemiological profiles of S. pneumoniae infections in Taiwan. Methods A total of 252 nonduplicate S. pneumoniae isolates were collected from patients admitted to 16 hospitals in Taiwan between January 2017 and December 2019, and were analyzed. The minimum inhibitory concentration of antibiotics was determined using the Vitek 2 automated system for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Furthermore, epidemiological profiles of S. pneumoniae infections were analyzed. Results Among the strains analyzed, 88% were recognized as invasive pneumococcal strains. According to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute criteria for non-meningitis, the prevalence of penicillin-non-susceptible S. pneumoniae demonstrated a declining trend from 43.6% in 2017 to 17.2% in 2019. However, the rate of penicillin-non-susceptible S. pneumoniae was 85.7% based on the criteria for meningitis. Furthermore, the prevalence of ceftriaxone-non-susceptible S. pneumoniae was 62.7% based on the criteria for meningitis. Isolates demonstrated higher susceptibility toward doripenem and ertapenem than toward meropenem and imipenem. An increased rate of non-susceptibility toward levofloxacin was observed in southern Taiwan (15.1%) and elderly patients (≥65 years; 11.4%). Most isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and linezolid. Conclusion Empirical treatment with ceftriaxone monotherapy for pneumococcal meningitis should be carefully monitored owing to its high non-susceptibility rate. The susceptibility rates of most isolates to penicillin (used for treating non-meningitis pneumococcal diseases), carbapenems (ertapenem and doripenem), respiratory quinolones (moxifloxacin and levofloxacin), vancomycin, and linezolid suggested the potential of these antibiotics in treating pneumococcal diseases in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE There is a reported elevated risk of cerebral aneurysms in patients with intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs). However, the natural history, rate of spontaneous regression, and ideal treatment regimen are not well characterized. In this study, the authors aimed to describe the characteristics of patients with dAVFs and intracranial aneurysms and propose a classification system. METHODS The Consortium for Dural Arteriovenous Fistula Outcomes Research (CONDOR) database from 12 centers was retrospectively reviewed. Analysis was performed to compare dAVF patients with (dAVF+ cohort) and without (dAVF-only cohort) concomitant aneurysm. Aneurysms were categorized based on location as a dAVF flow-related aneurysm (FRA) or a dAVF non–flow-related aneurysm (NFRA), with further classification as extra- or intradural. Patients with traumatic pseudoaneurysms or aneurysms with associated arteriovenous malformations were excluded from the analysis. Patient demographics, dAVF anatomical information, aneurysm information, and follow-up data were collected. RESULTS Of the 1077 patients, 1043 were eligible for inclusion, comprising 978 (93.8%) and 65 (6.2%) in the dAVF-only and dAVF+ cohorts, respectively. There were 96 aneurysms in the dAVF+ cohort; 10 patients (1%) harbored 12 FRAs, and 55 patients (5.3%) harbored 84 NFRAs. Dural AVF+ patients had higher rates of smoking (59.3% vs 35.2%, p < 0.001) and illicit drug use (5.8% vs 1.5%, p = 0.02). Sixteen dAVF+ patients (24.6%) presented with aneurysm rupture, which represented 16.7% of the total aneurysms. One patient (1.5%) had aneurysm rupture during follow-up. Patients with dAVF+ were more likely to have a dAVF located in nonconventional locations, less likely to have arterial supply to the dAVF from external carotid artery branches, and more likely to have supply from pial branches. Rates of cortical venous drainage and Borden type distributions were comparable between cohorts. A minority (12.5%) of aneurysms were FRAs. The majority of the aneurysms underwent treatment via either endovascular (36.5%) or microsurgical (15.6%) technique. A small proportion of aneurysms managed conservatively either with or without dAVF treatment spontaneously regressed (6.2%). CONCLUSIONS Patients with dAVF have a similar risk of harboring a concomitant intracranial aneurysm unrelated to the dAVF (5.3%) compared with the general population (approximately 2%–5%) and a rare risk (0.9%) of harboring an FRA. Only 50% of FRAs are intradural. Dural AVF+ patients have differences in dAVF angioarchitecture. A subset of dAVF+ patients harbor FRAs that may regress after dAVF treatment.

Purpose Few large-scale studies have focused on the prevalence of symptoms and signs during the last days of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer. Identifying the patterns of specific symptoms according to cancer type is helpful to provide end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer. We investigated the prevalence and severity of symptoms and signs associated with impending death in patients with advanced cancer. Methods In this secondary analysis of an international multicenter cohort study conducted in three East Asian countries, we compared the severity of symptoms and signs among dying patients 3 days before death according to the type of primary cancer using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Post hoc analysis was conducted for multiple comparisons of each symptom according to the type of primary cancer. Results We analyzed 2131 patients from Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Fatigue, dry mouth, drowsiness and dyspnea were present in nearly half of the patients, and edema of lower extremities was the most common sign in all dying patients. According to cancer type, edema of lower extremities was the most common symptom and fatigue/ ascites were the most severe symptoms in digestive tract cancer. For lung cancer, respiratory secretion was the most prevalent and dyspnea/ respiratory secretion were the most severe symptoms. Conclusion We demonstrated the prevalence and severity of symptoms and signs associated with impending death of patients with advanced cancer in East Asia. Our study can enable clinicians to recognize the specific symptoms and signs at the very end of life.

Introduction: Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended in patients with resected stages II to IIIA (and select IB) NSCLC; however, recurrence rates are high. In the phase 3 ADAURA study (NCT02511106), osimertinib was found to have a clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with resected stages IB to IIIA EGFR-mutated (EGFRm) NSCLC. Here, we report prespecified and exploratory analyses of adjuvant chemotherapy use and outcomes from ADAURA. Methods: Patients with resected stages IB to IIIA EGFRm NSCLC were randomized 1:1 to receive osimertinib or placebo for 3 years. Adjuvant chemotherapy before randomization was not mandatory, per physician and patient choice. DFS in the overall population (IB-IIIA), with and without adjuvant chemotherapy, was a prespecified analysis. Exploratory analyses included the following: adjuvant chemotherapy use by patient age, disease stage, and geographic location; DFS by adjuvant chemotherapy use and disease stage. Results: Overall, 410 of 682 patients (60%) received adjuvant chemotherapy (osimertinib, n = 203; placebo, n = 207) for a median duration of 4.0 cycles. Adjuvant chemotherapy use was more frequent in patients: aged less than 70 years (338 of 509; 66%) versus more than or equal to 70 years (72 of 173; 42%); with stages II to IIIA (352 of 466; 76%) versus stage IB (57 of 216; 26%); and enrolled in Asia (268 of 414; 65%) versus outside of Asia (142 of 268; 53%). A DFS benefit favoring osimertinib versus placebo was observed in patients with (DFS hazard ratio = 0.16, 95% confidence interval: 0.10-0.26) and without adjuvant chemotherapy (hazard ratio = 0.23, 95% confidence interval: 0.13-0.40), regardless of disease stage. Conclusions: These findings support adjuvant osimertinib as an effective treatment for patients with stages IB to IIIA EGFRm NSCLC after resection, with or without previous adjuvant chemotherapy. (C) 2021 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Early, accurate diagnosis of invasive fungal disease (IFD) improves clinical outcomes. 1,3-beta-d-glucan (BDG) (Fungitell, Associates of Cape Cod, Inc., Falmouth, MA, USA) detection can improve IFD diagnosis but has been unavailable in Australia.To assess performance of serum BDG for IFD diagnosis in a high-risk Australian haematology population.We compared the diagnostic value of weekly screening of serum BDG with screening by Aspergillus polymerase chain reaction and Aspergillus galactomannan in 57 at-risk episodes for the diagnosis of IFD (proven, probable, possible IFD).IFD episodes were: proven (n = 4); probable (n = 4); possible (n = 18); and no IFD (n = 31). Using two consecutive BDG results of ≥80 pg/mL to call a result 'positive', the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value was 37.5%, 64.5%, 23.1% and 80.7% respectively. For invasive aspergillosis, test performance increased to 50%, 90.3%, 57.1% and 87.5% respectively if any two of serum BDG/Aspergillus polymerase chain reaction/galactomannan yielded a 'positive' result. In proven/probable IFD, five of eight episodes returned a positive BDG result earlier (mean 6.6 days) than other diagnostic tests. False-negative BDG results occurred in three of eight episodes of proven/probable IFD, and false positive in 10 of 31 patients with no IFD. Erratic patterns of BDG values predicted false positive results (P = 0.03). Using serum BDG results, possible IFD were reassigned to either 'no' or 'probable' IFD in 44% cases. Empiric anti-fungal therapy use may have been optimised by BDG monitoring in 38.5% of courses.The BDG assay can add diagnostic speed and value but was hampered by low sensitivity and positive predictive value in Australian haematology patients.

Background Of the types of pulmonary hypertension, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) may be cured through pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). In this study, we investigated patient experiences with PEA for CTEPH treatment in Taiwan. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent PEA in two medical centers between January 2005 and December 2019. We measured the following outcomes: in-hospital complications, improvements in cardiac function and exercise capacity, survival using Kaplan–Meier analysis after PEA. Results Twenty-seven patients (female: 17) with a mean age of 52.6 years underwent PEA. Pre-operatively, most patients were New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA FC) III (n = 19) and IV (n = 7). The mean periods from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis and from diagnosis to operation were 22.6 and 22.3 months, respectively. After PEA, mean intubation time, and length of intensive care unit and hospital stay were 9, 11, and 20 days, respectively. Most patients' NYHA FCs improved to I (n = 15) and II (n = 10). The mean 6-min walk test (6MWT) result improved by 60.5%. The in-hospital mortality, mean follow-up period, and 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 3.7%, 77.0 months, 96.3%, and 84.3%, respectively. Furthermore, 5- and 10-year disease-specific survival rates were both 96.3%. Conclusion When pre-operative and post-operative statuses were compared, we found a significant improvement in NYHA FC and 6MWT distance. Our study also found a lower in-hospital mortality rate compared to other published studies, except compared to the newer data provided by the University of California, San Diego group.

With the increasing demand for renewable energy integration and DC power consumption, the application and investigation of residential low voltage DC (LVDC) power system have attracted more attention in recent years. The residential DC power system has advantages on distributed generation integration and conversion cost reduction, which could provide high efficiency and high power quality power supply to consumers. However, the lack of voltage level standards challenges the commercial application of the LVDC power system. In this paper, a comprehensive study on the performance of different voltage levels is proposed, in order to provide a voltage level guidance for DC power supplier and appliance manufacturer. Existing voltage selections from applications and researches are compared with each other in terms of voltage compatibility, topology, power supply capability and electrical safety. Comparative simulation is conducted in the residential DC power system model of a community with four household subsystems. Based on the simulation and investigation, the comparison result indicates that: 240V and 380V is optimal for the unipolar residential system with low power demand and ±375V bipolar DC system should be used in heavy load scenarios.

Background The risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is reduced but not eliminated after nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aimed to investigate the role of serum Prothrombin Induced by Vitamin K Absence or Antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) and alpha-fetoprotein in predicting HCC and mortality in cirrhotic CHB patients at virological remission (VR) following NA therapy. Methods Patients with CHB-related cirrhosis undergoing NA therapy from two medical centers in Taiwan were retrospectively included. Serum PIVKA-II were quantified by an automated chemiluminescence assay. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to identify predictors for HCC and death. Serial on-treatment PIVKA-II levels after VR were investigated. Results Overall, 293 CHB-related cirrhosis patients were included. At VR, the mean age was 55, and the mean PIVKA-II level was 35 mAU/mL. After a mean follow-up of 78 months, 76 patients developed HCC and 19 died. After adjustment for confounding factors, alpha-fetoprotein >7 ng/mL (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.84, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.73–4.67) and PIVKA-II >50 mAU/mL (HR: 2.46, 95%CI: 1.35–4.49) at VR significantly predicted HCC development. In patients with alpha-fetoprotein ≤10 ng/mL or ≤20 ng/mL at VR, PIVKA-II >50 mAU/mL increased 2.45 or 3.16-fold risk of HCC, respectively. PIVKA-II levels after VR increased serially in patients who developed HCC afterwards. Conclusions In patients with CHB-related cirrhosis, serum alpha-fetoprotein >7 ng/mL and PIVKA-II >50 mAU/mL at the time of antiviral therapy-induced VR is associated with a greater risk of HCC. PIVKA-II is a predictive marker for HCC in patients with low normal alpha-fetoprotein level.

The applications of fumigation and the challenges that high-containment facilities face in achieving effective large volume decontamination are well understood. The Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State University sought to evaluate a novel system within their biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) and animal biosafety level 3 agriculture (ABSL-3Ag) facility.The system chosen for this study is the CURISAfter cycle optimization, the smaller laboratory had a total of 60 BIs over two treatments that demonstrated a greater than 6-log reduction of bacterial spores. The larger laboratory (192 BIs) and the necropsy suite (206 BIs) had no BIs positive for spore growth when incubated at 60°C for 24 h per manufacturer's specifications.Overall successful results through multiple components of this study demonstrate that the HHP device, paired with the pulsed 7% H

Purpose To compare the outcomes of using an internal limiting membrane (ILM) flap and the conventional ILM peel technique for small- or medium-sized full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) repair. Design Retrospective, interventional case series. Methods Eyes with an FTMH ≤ 400 µm that underwent vitrectomy with either a single-layer inverted ILM flap (flap group, 55 eyes) or an ILM peel (peel group, 62 eyes) were enrolled. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements were obtained preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Results Primary hole closure was achieved in 54 (98%) and 60 (97%) eyes in the flap and peel groups, respectively. The preoperative and postoperative 12-month BCVA were comparable between the groups but were significantly better in the flap than in the peel groups at 1 month (logMAR, mean ± SD, 0.83 ± 0.43 vs. 1.14 ± 0.50, P = 0.001), 3 months (0.58 ± 0.33 vs. 0.82 ± 0.43; P = 0.002), and 6 months (0.56 ± 0.32 vs. 0.72 ± 0.48; P = 0.028). In the flap group, foveal gliosis was less common than the peel group at 1 month (P = 0.030) and restored external limiting membrane and interdigitation zone was more common at 3 months (P = 0.046 and Conclusions Both the single-layer ILM flap and conventional ILM peel techniques closed FTMHs and improved vision. ILM flaps were associated with better visual outcomes up to 6 months postoperatively and should be considered in FTMHs ≤ 400 µm.

To compare the tunnel transposition and elevation transposition methods used for superficialization of the basilic vein in terms of complication and patency rates.This retrospective study included patients who underwent 2-stage basilic vein transposition between August 2016 and December 2019. Patients were categorized into brachial-basilic fistula tunnel transposition (n = 32) and elevation transposition (n = 21) groups using medical records. Primary patency was defined as a conduit that remains patent without any re-intervention to maintain patency. Primary assisted patency was defined as a conduit that has undergone intervention to maintain patency but has never been thrombosed.The distribution of baseline characteristics was similar between the 2 groups. Coronary artery disease was the only variable that was significantly different between the tunnel transposition and elevation transposition groups (31.1% vs. 4.8%, P = 0.035). The tunnel transposition group had a greater amount of blood loss (P0.001) and a longer period of hospitalization (P = 0.002) than the elevation transposition group. The rates of suture repair to stop bleeding from the conduit was significantly different between the tunnel transposition and elevation transposition groups (31.8% vs. 4.8%, P = 0.035), whereas those of other complications were not significantly different. The elevation transposition group had a significantly higher primary patency rate than the tunneled transposition group (P = 0.033); however, primary assisted patency was achieved in all patients (100%) in both groups.Elevation transposition might be a more reliable method than tunnel transposition for superficialization of a basilic venous fistula.

The long-term outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among patients dually infected with HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the long-term liver outcomes of HBV/HCV-coinfected patients after antiviral therapy. A total of 11,359 chronically HCV-infected patients with interferon-based therapy were registered in a nationwide Taiwanese Chronic Hepatitis C Cohort. A propensity score matched (PSM) cohort of HCV mono-infected (n = 7020) and HBV/HCV (n = 702) co-infected patients by age, sex, and fibrosis was recruited for outcome analysis. The primary outcome was liver-related complications, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver decompensation during a mean follow-up period of 4.44 years. Among HBV/HCV co-infected patients, patients without HCV-SVR had a significantly higher 10-year cumulative incidence of major liver-related complications than those with HCV-SVR. However, among patients with HCV-SVR in the PSM cohort, the risk of major liver-related complications, both HCC and liver decompensation, did not differ between HBV/HCV co-infected and HCV mono-infected patients. Similar results were observed among those without HCV-SVR. A substantial lower risk of major liver-related complications was found in HBV/HCV co-infected patients with HCV SVR and subsequent anti-HBV nucleot(s)ide analogues treatment. Overall, factors associated with major liver-related complications included age ≥ 65 year-old, BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2, FIB-4 ≥ 3.25, eGFR

This study analysed the clinical patterns and outcomes of elderly patients with organophosphate intoxication. A total of 71 elderly patients with organophosphate poisoning were seen between 2008 and 2017. Patients were stratified into two subgroups: survivors (n = 57) or nonsurvivors (n = 14). Chlorpyrifos accounted for 33.8% of the cases, followed by methamidophos (12.7%) and mevinphos (11.3%). Mood, adjustment and psychotic disorder were noted in 39.4%, 33.8% and 2.8% of patients, respectively. All patients were treated with atropine and pralidoxime therapies. Acute cholinergic crisis developed in all cases (100.0%). The complications included respiratory failure (52.1%), aspiration pneumonia (50.7%), acute kidney injury (43.7%), severe consciousness disturbance (25.4%), shock (14.1%) and seizures (4.2%). Some patients also developed intermediate syndrome (15.5%) and delayed neuropathy (4.2%). The nonsurvivors suffered higher rates of hypotension (P P P = 0.001) than survivors did. Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that patients with shock suffered lower cumulative survival than did patients without shock (log-rank test, P P = 0.009). The mortality rate was 19.7%. Acute cholinergic crisis, intermediate syndrome, and delayed neuropathy developed in 100.0%, 15.5%, and 4.2% of patients, respectively.

To evaluate the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and diabetic macular edema (DME) and the effect of OSA on refractory DME in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).Retrospective clinical cohort study.A population-based study was conducted at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from March 1, 2009, to March 1, 2020. Among 14,152 patients who had undergone polysomnography (PSG) and whose data were registered on the sleep center's PSG database, 121 patients (242 eyes) with T2DM were enrolled according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 3620 for diabetic retinopathy (DR). Patients with a secondary cause of macular edema and those lacking medical records were excluded. All patients with T2DM enrolled in our study received both optical coherence tomography (OCT) and PSG. The prevalence of severe (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] ≥30) and nonsevere (AHI30) OSA was compared between patients with and without DME and refractory DME.In total, 102 eyes (54 patients) were divided into groups of 40 eyes with DME or 62 eyes without DME. Severe OSA (odds ratio, 7.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32-40.96; P = .023) was significantly associated with DME. Refractory DME was significantly more frequent in patients with severe OSA (27%) than in those with nonsevere OSA (0%; P = .009). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that OSA (hazard ratio, 2.97; CI, 1.08-8.16; P = .034) independently increased the DME risk after adjustment for age, sex, glycohemoglobin level, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.Severe OSA is a risk factor for DME and is associated with having refractory DME.

Purpose Breast cancer is increasing around the globe, including Asia. We aimed to examine the survival and risk of contralateral breast cancer (CBC) in Asian breast cancer patients with BRCA mutations. MethodsA total of 128 breast cancer patients with germline BRCA mutations and 4,754 control breast cancer patients were enrolled. Data on clinical pathologic characteristics, survival and CBC were collected from the medical record. The rates of survival and CBC were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method. Results The mean age of onset in BRCA mutation carriers was significantly younger than control patients (BRCA vs. Non-BRCA: 43.9 vs. 53.2 years-old). BRCA mutation carriers had a higher proportion of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (52%) than control patients (12%, pBRCA mutation patients than in control cases (hazard ratio (HR) = 3.95, 95% CI 2.71-5.75); when stratified by genotype, the HRs (95%CI) were 4.84 (3.00-7.82) for BRCA1 and 3.13 (1.78-5.49) for BRCA2 carriers, respectively. Moreover, BRCA1 mutation patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) as their first breast cancer had the highest risk of CBC (HR = 5.55, 95% CI 3.29-9.34). However, we did not observe any differences in relapse-free survival and overall survival between mutation carriers and control patients. ConclusionOur study suggest that BRCA patients had a significantly higher risk of developing CBC, particularly for BRCA1 mutation carriers with TNBC as the first breast cancer.

InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) grown with an asymmetric multiple quantum well (MQW) are proposed for use in an optical link with an avalanche photodiode (APD) based receiver. In contrast to the high photoresponse of red AlGaInP LEDs in APDs, the proposed blue LEDs provide improved light output and enhanced system bandwidth for directed line-of-sight optical links passing through a 100-cm-long water tank. This improvement is due to the nonuniform carrier distribution within the InGaN MQWs being mitigated by using a thin GaN barrier near the n-GaN to facilitate hole transport capacity. In addition, bandwidth degradation resulting from APD module saturation can also be avoided by using these blue LEDs, successfully establishing a 300 Mbit/s LED-based underwater data link. The proposed InGaN LEDs (zero bias) under illumination exhibit a peak responsivity of 0.133 at λ = 370 nm, an ultraviolet (UV)-to-visible rejection ratio of 4849 and a 3-dB cut-off frequency of 33.3 MHz. Using violet UV laser diodes and the proposed LEDs respectively as the optical transmitter and receiver, an underwater optical link (L = 100 cm) with a data transmission rate of up to 130 Mbit/s and a bit error rate of 4.2 × 10−9 is also demonstrated.

The accuracy in the measurement of magnetization curve (M-H) for soft materials is easily influenced by the external static field in the unshielded environment. To eliminate the influence from the environmental field, the measurement system must be placed in a zero-gauss chamber. However, such a device is not widely available and also costly. In this work, the rapid M-H measurement system with a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor serving as the zero-field detector is proposed. The M-H curve is obtained by integrating the voltage in the pickup coil to determine the magnetization of the test sample under a sweeping magnetic field. The environment field component along the direction of the sweeping field is suppressed by using the output of the GMR sensor as the trigger signal to determine the offset field in the measured M-H curve. The experimental results show that the M-H curves for various kinds of soft magnetic samples, e.g. mu-metal wire, can be obtained under the interference of an applied static field. The proposed method helps improve the accuracy of the rapid M-H measurement system in the unshielded environment.