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Background: Routine placement of a drain for complicated appendicitis is one of the approaches to reduce postoperative complication. In a resource-limited hospital where radiologist-directed monitoring is not feasible, drainage is beneficial for complication follow-up. Nevertheless, emerging studies indicated drainage did not significantly impact on amelioration of patients’ outcomes. This study aimed to compare the postoperative results of pediatric patients with or without drainage after laparoscopic appendectomy for complicated appendicitis at a rural children's hospital. Methods: We performed a quasi-randomized recruitment of pediatric patients who underwent laparoscopic treatment for complicated appendicitis with or without drainage. Several parameters, including operative time, lengths of stay, complication rate, duration of antibiotic administration, and hospital charges were monitored for assessment. Results: From 05/2020 to 05/2022, there were 184 cases of recruited pediatric patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy for complicated appendicitis, with 91 patients in drain-placing group (49.5%). Demographic baseline and pre-surgery symptoms did not indicate any differences between two groups. Data of postoperative complications including intra-abdominal abscesses and wound infections showed no significance in discrepancy. Notably, patients of drainage group experienced longer length of stay than non-drainage group, with average of 8.5 days and 7.5 days, respectively (p

Lévy flights are useful in stochastic measurement, such as biology, human mobility, and financial mathematics, where trajectories contain many short flights and some long flights, and the step-lengths follow a power-law distribution. For cities inhabited by human beings, this paper proposes to use latent factors to study social-economical development trajectories and observes that the trajectories of four Asian cities exhibit Lévy flight characteristics. We collect the social and economical data such as GDP, goods producing industries, population, and general tertiary education, and map these data into social or economical factor through a deep-learning embedding method auto-encoder. We find that the step-lengths of these urban social-economical trajectories can be fitted approximately as a power-law distribution. We use the stochastic multiplicative processes (SMPs) to explain such pattern, wherein the presence of a boundary constraint, the SMP, leads to a power-law distribution. It means that these urban social-economical trajectories follow a Lévy flight pattern, where some years have large changes and many years have little changes.

Primary health care facilities frequently manage dengue cases on an ambulatory basis for the duration of the patient's illness. There is a great opportunity for specific messaging, aimed to reduce dengue virus (DENV) transmission in and around the home, to be directly targeted toward this high-risk ambulatory patient group, as part of an integrated approach to dengue management. The extent however, to which physicians understand, and can themselves effectively communicate strategies to stop focal DENV transmission around an ambulatory dengue case is unknown; the matter of patient comprehension and recollection then ensues. In addition, the effectiveness of N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET)-based insect repellent in protecting dengue patients from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes' bites has not been investigated.A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey, focusing on the mechanisms of DENV transmission and prevention, was performed using semi-structured questionnaires. This survey was targeted towards the patients and family members providing supportive care, and physicians routinely involved in dengue patient management in Southern Vietnam. An additional clinical observational study was conducted to measure the efficacy of a widely-used 13% DEET-based insect repellent to repel Ae. aegypti mosquitoes from the forearms of dengue cases and matched healthy controls.Among both the physician (n = 50) and patient (n = 49) groups there were several respondents lacking a coherent understanding of DENV transmission, leading to some inappropriate attitudes and inadequate acute preventive practices in the household. The application of insect repellent to protect patients and their relatives from mosquito bites was frequently recommended by majority of physicians (78%) participating in the survey. Nevertheless, our tested topical application of 13% DEET conferred only ~1hr median protection time from Ae. aegypti landing. This is notably shorter than that advertised on the manufacturer's label. No differences in landing time between febrile dengue cases or matched healthy controls (n = 19 experiments) were observed.Our study identifies missed opportunities for primary care physicians to improve public health through communication of strategies that could prevent focal dengue transmission in and around a case household. We advocate better access to more efficient communication methods for physicians and auxilliary health workers, supporting to educate those at high risk of DENV transmission. Our empirical testing of a widely-available 13% DEET-based repellent was limited in its protective efficacy against Ae. aegypti mosquito bites, and therefore DENV transmission, suggesting more frequent application is necessary to be beneficial.

Background Acoustic radiation force impulse point shear wave elastography (ARFI-pSWE), measuring shear-wave velocity (SWV), has been utilized to examine the liver stiffness caused by different etiologies. However, information on its reliability in staging liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients is scarce. Purpose The aim of the study is to examine the diagnostic performance of ARFI-pSWE and determine the optimal SWV cut-off values to predict significant fibrosis (F ≥2) and cirrhosis (F4) in CHB patients. Material and Methods All 114 adult CHB patients visiting the University Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between February 2019 and March 2021 underwent liver stiffness measurement using ARFI-pSWE and FibroScan. SWV results were tested against FibroScan for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was used to identify the optimal SWV cut-off values. Results There was a strong agreement between ARFI-pSWE and FibroScan (r = 0.92, p

The development of emotional exhaustion was examined at four time points across seven months among 987 high school students (female, 57.9%) in South Korea. Results of a multilevel growth model showed that the baseline and change in emotional exhaustion significantly varied across individuals and classrooms. At the individual level, depression, over-commitment, anxiety, teacher's academic pressure, and parental autonomy support were related to the initial level of emotional exhaustion; test anxiety and parental autonomy support were additionally associated with a decrease in emotional exhaustion over time. At the classroom level, teacher's autonomy support and academic pressure were associated with the baseline of emotional exhaustion, whereas higher teacher's autonomy support decreased emotional exhaustion. Results showed that the influence of not only individual and contextual factors but also teachers' and parental factors on students' emotional exhaustion had different mechanisms at different levels. These findings provide evidence for school psychologists and counselors when formulating intervention strategies for academic burnout. Policy perspectives are also discussed in light of psychological interventions for students., Author(s): Min Young Lee [sup.1] , Soohyun Cho [sup.2] , Vo Nhat Huy [sup.1] , Sang Min Lee [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.222754.4, 0000 0001 0840 2678, Department of Education, [...]

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which went into effect on January 1, 2022, is regarded by key trading partners as part of efforts to promote deep integration of the global supply chain following the COVID-19 pandemic. The absence of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in the RCEP is a significant obstacle, which might be at odds with current ISDS protocols under other treaties. This article analyzes the contexts, causes, and impacts of the RCEP's lack of ISDS regulations, explores the potential for a new ISDS model, and discusses participating countries' challenges in resolving international investment disputes within the RCEP framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To produce highly efficient and repeatable perovskite solar cells (PSCs), comprehending interfacial loss and developing approaches to ameliorate interfacial features is essential. Nonradiative recombination at the SnO2–perovskite interface in SnO2-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) leads to significant potential loss and variability in device performance. To improve the quality of the SnO2 electron transport layer, a novel polymer-doped SnO2 matrix, specifically using polyacrylic acid, was developed. This matrix is formed by spin-coating a SnO2 colloidal solution that includes polymers. The polymer aids in dispersing nanoparticles within the substrate and is evenly distributed in the SnO2 solution. As a result of the polymer addition, the density and wetting properties of the SnO2 layer substantially improved. Subsequently, perovskite-based photovoltaic devices comprising SnO2 and Spiro-OMeTAD layers and using (FAPbI3)0.97(MAPbBr3)0.03 perovskite are constructed. These optimized devices exhibited an increased efficiency of 17.2% when compared to the 15.7% power conversion efficiency of the control device. The incorporation of polymers in the electron transport layer potentially enables even better performance in planar perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the planar heterojunction perovskite solar cell (PSC) structure, among numerous contenders, tin oxide (SnO2) has been utilized, instead of TiO2, as the material for the electron transport layer (ETL) owing to its good band alignment, ultraviolet light resistance, strong charge extraction, and low photocatalytic activity. However, the morphology of the SnO2 ETL has proven to be unstable under low-temperature processing, leading to low electron extraction in PSCs. Therefore, the surface morphology must be modified to achieve high-performance PSCs. In this review, we provide an overview of the fundamental insights into how surface variations affect the ETL performance. The significance and the design rule of surface modification for an efficient SnO2 ETL, that is, the intentional alteration of the SnO2 interface, are discussed. Based on the evaluations, distinct surface engineering procedures and how they are implemented are presented. The effects of chemical and physical interactions on the properties of SnO2 are elucidated in detail; these have not been considered in previous studies. Finally, we provide an outlook on, highlight the key challenges in, and recommend future research directions for the design of the interfaces of highly efficient and stable PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered considerable attention over the past decade owing to their low cost and proven high power conversion efficiency of over 25%. In the planar heterojunction PSC structure, tin oxide was utilized as a substitute material for the TiO2 electron transport layer (ETL) owing to its similar physical properties and high mobility, which is suitable for electron mining. Nevertheless, the defects and morphology significantly changed the performance of SnO2 according to the different deposition techniques, resulting in the poor performance of PSCs. In this review, we provide a comprehensive insight into the factors that specifically influence the ETL in PSC. The properties of the SnO2 materials are briefly introduced. In particular, the general operating principles, as well as the suitability level of doping in SnO2, are elucidated along with the details of the obtained results. Subsequently, the potential for doping is evaluated from the obtained results to achieve better results in PSCs. This review aims to provide a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the effects of different types of doping on the performance of ETL SnO2 and potentially instigate further development of PSCs with an extension to SnO2-based PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, metal chalcogenides have received considerable attention as prospective anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of their high theoretical capacities based on their alloying or conversion reactions. Herein, we demonstrate a gallium(III) telluride (Ga2Te3)-based ternary composite (Ga2Te3–TiO2–C) synthesized via a simple high-energy ball mill as a great candidate SIB anode material for the first time. The electrochemical performance, as well as the phase transition mechanism of Ga2Te3 during sodiation/desodiation, is investigated. Furthermore, the effect of C content on the performance of Ga2Te3–TiO2–C is studied using various electrochemical analyses. As a result, Ga2Te3–TiO2–C with an optimum carbon content of 10% (Ga2Te3–TiO2–C(10%)) exhibited a specific capacity of 437 mAh·g−1 after 300 cycles at 100 mA·g−1 and a high-rate capability (capacity retention of 96% at 10 A·g−1 relative to 0.1 A·g−1). The good electrochemical properties of Ga2Te3–TiO2–C(10%) benefited from the presence of the TiO2–C hybrid buffering matrix, which improved the mechanical integrity and electrical conductivity of the electrode. This research opens a new direction for the improvement of high-performance advanced SIB anodes with a simple synthesis process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]