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The classic equation for decomposing the wavefront aberrations of axis-symmetrical optical systems has the form, W ( h 0 , ρ , ϕ ) = ∑ j = 0 ∝ ∑ p = 0 ∝ ∑ m = 0 ∝ C 2 j + m 2 p + m m ( h 0 ) 2 j + m ( ρ ) 2 p + m ( cos ϕ ) m $$ W({h}_0,\rho,\phi )=\sum_{j=0}^{\propto } \sum_{p=0}^{\propto } \sum_{m=0}^{\propto } {C}_{\left(2j+m\right)\left(2p+m\right)m}({h}_0{)}^{2j+m}(\rho {)}^{2p+m}(\mathrm{cos}\phi {)}^m $$ where j, p and m are non-negative integers, ρ and ϕ are the polar coordinates of the pupil, and h0 is the object height. However, one non-zero component of the aberrations (i.e., C133h0ρ3cos3ϕ) is missing from this equation when the image plane is not the Gaussian image plane. This implies that the equation is a sufficient condition only, rather than a necessary and sufficient condition, since it cannot guarantee that all of the components of the aberrations can be found. Accordingly, this paper presents a new method for determining all the components of aberrations of any order. The results show that three and six components of the secondary and tertiary aberrations, respectively, are missing in the existing literature.

OBJECTIVE: Transforming growth factor [beta]1 (TGF-[beta]1) plays a role in repair and dentinogenesis in dental pulp. The purpose of this study was to study how TGF-[beta]1 affects 2 differentiation markers, Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx-2) and ALP, in dental pulp cells. STUDY DESIGN: Primary-cultured human dental pulp cells were treated with TGF-[beta]1 with or without pretreatment and coincubation with 1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1,4-bis(o-aminophenylmercapto)butadiene (U0126, a mitogen-induced extracellular kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) inhibitor), Noggin (a bone morphogenetic protein inhibitor), or 4-(5-benzol[1,3]dioxol-5-yl-4-pyrldin-2-yl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-be nzamide hydrate (SB431542, an activin receptor-like kinase (ALK) 5/Smad2/3 inhibitor). The differentiation status of pulp cells was evaluated by ALP staining and quantitative ALP activity assay. Changes in ALP and Runx-2 mRNA expression were determined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Cells under the treatment of TGF-[beta]1 (5 and 10 ng/mL) showed a decrease in ALP activity and gene expression of ALP and Runx-2. Pretreatment by U0126 and Noggin was not effective to prevent the TGF-[beta]1-induced decline of ALP activity. Interestingly, SB431542 prevented the TGF-[beta]1-induced decline of ALP activity and ALP and Runx-2 gene expression. CONCLUSION: TGF-[beta]1 down-regulates Runx-2 and ALP in human dental pulp cells via ALK5/Smad2/3 signaling. These events may play important roles at specific stages of pulpal repair and dentinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The labyrinthitis poses inferior quality of life with prolonged vestibular symptoms in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss with vertigo (SSNHLV). This study utilized a novel coherence analysis in video head impulse test (vHIT) to investigate vertigo outcomes in SSNHLV patients., Methods: A retrospective review included 48 SSNHLV patients completing high-dose steroid treatment between December 2016 and April 2023, and 38 healthy volunteers were prospectively enrolled between November 2022 and April 2023 in our academic tertiary referral center. Magnitude-squared wavelet coherence was measured between eye and head velocities in vHIT to represent the degree of correlation across different frequency bands. Vertigo recovery, assessed by visual analog scale equal to zero at 2 weeks and 2 months, was analyzed using a multivariable Cox regression model., Results: The VAS among patients with SSNHLV was 5.73 ± 2.45 (mean ± standard deviation). Higher coherent frequencies in the horizontal semicircular canal (SCC), posterior SCC, mean, and minimal coherent frequencies of all three SCCs combined were significantly associated with early complete vertigo remission at two weeks post-treatment. In the multivariate analysis, the minimal coherent frequency among the three SCCs emerged as an independent factor (hazard ratio [HR] 2.040, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.776-2.304). At two months post-treatment, in addition to the previously significant parameters, vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) abnormality in the posterior SCC, gains in the horizontal and posterior SCCs, total and overt saccades in the horizontal SCC, coherent frequency in the anterior SCC, and mean VOR gain of all three SCCs combined were also statistically significantly related to total vertigo relief., Conclusion: The greater minimal coherent frequency among the three SCCs was a strong factor contributing to earlier relief of vertigo in patients with SSNHLV. Coherence analysis in vHIT may be more sensitive than time series analysis for evaluating vertigo prognosis prediction.

This study primarily investigated the impacts of unnatural in-house deaths on nearby property prices. Propensity score matching was used to assess the homogeneity of experimental and control groups, and the difference-in-differences (DID) method was used for their comparison. Data for real estate transactions in Taipei City from 2012 to 2022 were retrieved from the Ministry of the Interior's real estate actual transaction price registration query system. The DID interaction variable coefficient of 0.066 was significant at the 10% level. A comparison of the experimental and control groups showed a 6.8% property price difference following an unnatural in-house death. This suggests that an unnatural in-house death has a positive impact on property prices nearby. There were four unnatural deaths at the Xining Public Housing from 2003 to 2012 and four at the Jinxing Building from 1984 to 2012. The high incidence of events and the disclosure of information may have depreciated nearby property prices. The study results show that the stigmatization of unnatural in-house deaths reduces nearby property prices. The depreciation of implicit prices reverted and followed a U-shape pattern after several years., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

While research on organic thermoelectric polymers is making significant progress in recent years, realization of a single polymer material possessing both thermoelectric properties and stretchability for the next generation of self-powered wearable electronics is a challenging task and remains an area yet to be explored. A new molecular engineering concept of "conjugated breaker" is employed to impart stretchability to a highly crystalline diketopyrrolepyrrole (DPP)-based polymer. A hexacyclic diindenothieno[2,3-b]thiophene (DITT) unit, with two 4-octyloxyphenyl groups substituted at the tetrahedral sp3-carbon bridges, is selected to function as the conjugated breaker that can sterically hinder intermolecular packing to reduce polymers' crystallinity. A series of donor-acceptor random copolymers is thus developed via polymerizing the crystalline DPP units with the DITT conjugated breakers. By controlling the monomeric DPP/DITT ratios, DITT30 reaches the optimal balance of crystalline/amorphous regions, exhibiting an exceptional power factor (PF) value up to 12.5 µW m -1 K -2 after FeCl 3 -doping; while, simultaneously displaying the capability to withstand strains exceeding 100%. More significantly, the doped DITT30 film possesses excellent mechanical endurance, retaining 80% of its initial PF value after 200 cycles of stretching/releasing at a strain of 50%. This research marks a pioneering achievement in creating intrinsically stretchable polymers with exceptional thermoelectric properties., (© 2024 The Authors. Small published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Cost-efficient and easily integrable broadband mid-infrared (mid-IR) sources would significantly enhance the application space of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Thermal incandescent sources are superior to other common mid-IR emitters based on semiconductor materials in terms of PIC compatibility, manufacturing costs, and bandwidth. Ideal thermal emitters would radiate directly into the desired modes of the PIC waveguides via near-field coupling and would be stable at very high temperatures. Graphene is a semimetallic two-dimensional material with comparable emissivity to thin metallic thermal emitters. It allows maximum coupling into waveguides by placing it directly into their evanescent fields. Here, we demonstrate graphene mid-IR emitters integrated with photonic waveguides that couple directly into the fundamental mode of silicon waveguides designed to work in the so-called "fingerprint region" relevant for gas sensing. High broadband emission intensity is observed at the waveguide-integrated graphene emitter. The emission at the output grating couplers confirms successful coupling into the waveguide mode. Thermal simulations predict emitter temperatures up to 1000 °C, where the blackbody radiation covers the mid-IR region. A coupling efficiency η, defined as the light emitted into the waveguide divided by the total emission, of up to 68% is estimated, superior to data published for other waveguide-integrated emitters., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Objective: To evaluate the effects of time of surgery on the short-term outcomes of patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG)., Design: A retrospective cohort study., Setting: A single large-volume cardiovascular center., Patients: Patients undergoing elective OPCABG between September 2019 and July 2022., Interventions: Patients were divided into the following 2 groups according to the start time of surgery: morning (AM group, before 11 AM) and afternoon (PM group, after 11 AM). Propensity-score matching (PSM) with a 1:1 matching ratio was used to create comparable cohorts., Measurements and Main Results: The primary endpoint was the composite incidence of mortality and morbidities during hospitalization. Secondary endpoints included postoperative bleeding and transfusion, mechanical ventilation duration (MVD), and lengths of stay (LOS) in the intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital. From a consecutive series of 1,039 patients, PSM yielded 317 well-matched pairs. There was no difference in the composite incidence of in-hospital mortality and morbidities between the AM and PM groups (16.4% v 17.4%, p = 0.832). However, patients in the PM group were associated with less postoperative blood loss over the first 24 hours (470 v 540 mL, p = 0.002), decreased MVD (14 v 16 hours, p < 0.001), and shorter LOS in ICU (46 v 68 hours, p = 0.002) compared to patients in AM group., Conclusions: The current study suggested a lack of relevance regarding the time of surgery with in-hospital mortality and morbidities in patients undergoing OPCABG., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A mild, facile, and metal-free approach via the N -heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed S N Ar reaction between aryl aldehydes with perfluoroarenes to obtain the coveted functional perfluorinated diarylmethanones is disclosed. This method accommodates a diverse substrate range and exhibits notable tolerance toward various functional groups. Our success in modifying biologically relevant molecules, crafting a fully fluorinated bioisosteric analogue of drug candidate D1 , and highlighting the potential of these ketones as valuable electrolyte additives for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) underscores the versatility of our methodology.

This study focuses on the fabrication of nanocomposite thermoelectric devices by blending either a naphthalene-diimide (NDI)-based conjugated polymer (NDI-T1 or NDI-T2), or an isoindigo (IID)-based conjugated polymer (IID-T2), with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). This is followed by sequential process doping method with the small molecule 4-(2,3-dihydro-1,3-dimethyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-N,N-dimethylbenzenamine (N-DMBI) to provide the nanocomposite with n-type thermoelectric properties. Experiments in which the concentrations of the N-DMBI dopant are varied demonstrate the successful conversion of all three polymer/SWCNT nanocomposites from p-type to n-type behavior. Comprehensive spectroscopic, microstructural, and morphological analyses of the pristine polymers and the various N-DMBI-doped polymer/SWCNT nanocomposites are performed in order to gain insights into the effects of various interactions between the polymers and SWCNTs on the doping outcomes. Among the obtained nanocomposites, the NDI-T1/SWCNT exhibits the highest n-type Seebeck coefficient and power factor of -57.7 µV K -1 and 240.6 µW m -1 K -2 , respectively. However, because the undoped NDI-T2/SWCNT exhibits a slightly higher p-type performance, an integral p-n thermoelectric generator is fabricated using the doped and undoped NDI-T2/SWCNT nanocomposite. This device is shown to provide an output power of 27.2 nW at a temperature difference of 20 K., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Dihydroquinazolinone (DHQZ) has recently been harnessed as a ketone-derived pro-aromatic reagent extensively employed in (metalla)photoredox reactions as versatile group transfer agents. In this work, we outline a column chromatography-free protocol for the multigram-scale synthesis of pro-aromatic DHQZs as well as its use in a gram-scale nickel/photoredox dual-catalyzed cross-coupling in single-batch, photoflow, and simultaneous multiple smaller batches. While the single-batch approach leveraged moderate yields, a simple plug-flow photoreactor also exhibited amenable productivity (up to 45 % yield) despite the use of a heterogeneous base. Meanwhile, performing the metallaphotoredox-catalyzed reaction in multiple smaller batches in an improvised photoreactor facilitated high yields of up to 59 % and good reproducibility, implying a convenient alternative in the absence of photoflow setups., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Recent research efforts have concentrated on the development of flexible and stretchable thermoelectric (TE) materials. However, significant challenges have emerged, including increased resistance and reduced electrical conductivity when subjected to strain. To address these issues, rigid semiconducting polymers and elastic insulating polymers have been incorporated and nanoconfinement effects have been exploited to enhance the charge mobility. Herein, a feasible approach is presented for fabricating stretchable TE materials by using a doped semiconducting polymer blend consisting of either poly(3-hexylthiophene) ( P3HT ) or poly(3,6-dithiophen-2-yl-2,5-di(2-decyltetradecyl)-pyrrolo[3,4- c ]pyrrole-1,4-dione- alt -thienylenevinylene-2,5-yl) ( PDVT-10 ) as the rigid polymer with styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene ( SEBS ) as the elastic polymer. In particular, the blend composition is optimized to achieve a continuous network structure with SEBS , thereby improving the stretchability. The optimized polymer films exhibit well-ordered microstructural aggregates, indicative of good miscibility with FeCl 3 and enhanced doping efficiency. Notably, a lower activation energy and higher charge-carrier concentration contribute to an improved electrical conductivity under high tensile strain, with a maximum output power of 1.39 nW at a Δ T of 22.4 K. These findings offer valuable insights and serve as guidelines for the development of stretchable p-n junction thermoelectric generators based on doped semiconducting polymer blends with potential applications in wearable electronics and energy harvesting.

Dengue is one of the world's most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral diseases. As it is found mostly in urban and semi-urban areas, urbanization and associated human activities that affect the environment and larval habitats could become risk factors (e.g., lane width, conditions of street ditches) for the spread of dengue. However, there are currently no systematic studies of micro-scale urbanization-based risk factors for the spread of dengue epidemics. We describe the study area, two micro-scale environmental risk factors associated with urbanization, and meteorological data. Since the observations involve spatial and temporal correlations, we also use some statistical methods for the analysis of spatial and spatial-temporal data for the relationship between urbanization and dengue. In this study, we analyzed data from Kaohsiung, a densely populated city in southern Taiwan, and found a positive correlation between environmental risk factors associated with urbanization (ditches positive for mosquito larvae and closely packed streets termed "dengue lanes") and clustering effects in dengue cases. The statistical analysis also revealed that the occurrence of positive ditches was significantly associated with that of dengue lanes in the study area. The relationship between climate variables and positive ditches was also analyzed in this paper, indicating a relationship between dengue and both rainfall and temperature, with temperature having a greater effect. Overall, this work is immediately relevant and applicable for policymakers in government, who will need to reduce these favorable habitats for vector-born disease spreaders and implement regulations for new urban constructions to thus reduce dengue spread in future outbreaks., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

This paper presents the development of thermoelectric properties in nanocomposites comprising donor-acceptor random conjugated copolymers and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The composition of the conjugated polymers, specifically the ratio of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) to isoindigo (IID), is manipulated to design a series of random conjugated copolymers (DPP0, DPP5, DPP10, DPP30, DPP50, DPP90, DPP95, and DPP100). The objective is to improve the dispersion of SWCNTs into smaller bundles, leading to enhanced thermoelectric properties of the polymer/SWCNT nanocomposite. This dispersion strategy promotes an interconnected conducting network, which plays a critical role in optimizing the thermoelectric performance. Accordingly, the effects of morphologies on the thermoelectric properties of the nanocomposites are systematically investigated. The DPP95/SWCNT nanocomposite exhibits the strongest interaction, resulting in the highest power factor (PF) of 711.1 μW m -1 K -2 , derived from the high electrical conductivity of 1690 S cm -1 and Seebeck coefficient of 64.8 μV K -1 . The prototype flexible thermoelectric generators assembled with a DPP95/SWCNT film achieve a maximum power output of 20.4 μW m -2 at a temperature difference of 29.3 K. These findings highlight the potential of manipulating the composition of random conjugated copolymers and incorporating SWCNTs to efficiently harvest low-grade waste heat in wearable thermoelectric devices.

A sonoelectrochemical method for preparing N-doped defective graphene nanosheets (N/O-dGNs) with point defects and 5-9 or 5-8-5 vacancies and oxygen-containing groups was successfully demonstrated. In this one-pot approach, the N-bonding configuration and N content of N/O-dGNs were finely tuned by the ultrasonic power (192, 320, and 640 W). The N content in atomic percentage (at%) for N/O-dGN (N/O-dGN 320W ) with point defects and 5-8-5 vacancy prepared at 320 W power was 5.6 at%, greater than 3.0 at% and 2.6 at% for N/O-dGN with point defects and 5-9 vacancies at 192 W and 640 W power (N/O-dGN 192W and N/O-dGN 640W ), respectively. N-bonding sites on N/O-dGN 320W were dominantly amine N (2.1 at%) and pyrrolic N (2.4 at%). Additionally, the electrocatalytic activity of N/O-dGN 192W , N/O-dGN 320W , and N/O-dGN 640W was successfully demonstrated for the sequential uric acid (UA) oxidation reaction (UOR), in which N/O-dGN 320W displayed a significant mass activity (2.51 A/g). As in the transient catalysis of UOR, N/O-dGN 320W with amine N showed 400.8 μA mM -1 cm -2 in sensitivity within a wide linear analysis range (1.5 × 10 -2 -6 mM) for amperometrically sensing UA. The results of real sample experiments using serum samples further demonstrated the potential of N/O-dGN 320W as a non-enzymatic UA sensor., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Disease mapping is a research field to estimate spatial pattern of disease risks so that areas with elevated risk levels can be identified. The motivation of this article is from a study of dengue fever infection, which causes seasonal epidemics in almost every summer in Taiwan. For analysis of zero-inflated data with spatial correlation and covariates, current methods would either cause a computational burden or miss associations between zero and non-zero responses. In this article, we develop estimating equations for a mixture regression model that accommodates spatial dependence and zero inflation for study of disease propagation. Asymptotic properties for the proposed estimates are established. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate performance of the mixture estimating equations; and a dengue dataset from southern Taiwan is used to illustrate the proposed method., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Nighttime crashes account for 74% of pedestrian fatalities in the United States, and reduced visibility is a significant cause of nighttime pedestrian crashes. Maintaining sufficient and uniform roadway lighting is an effective countermeasure to improve pedestrian visibility and prevent nighttime pedestrian crashes and injuries. Previous studies have not quantified the safety effects of roadway photometric patterns (i.e., average lighting level and uniformity) on nighttime pedestrian crashes on roadway segments., Method: This study investigated the association between two roadway photometric criteria (horizontal illuminance mean representing average lighting level and horizontal illuminance standard deviation representing lighting uniformity) and nighttime pedestrian crash occurrence in Florida roadway segments. The matched case-control method was used to decouple the confounding effects between the illuminance mean and standard deviation. Statistically-significant crash modification factors (CMFs) were developed to quantify the safety effects of the mean and standard deviation of horizontal illuminance on nighttime pedestrian crashes., Results: The results show that if the average lighting level on a roadway segment is increased from a low illuminance mean (<0.2 foot-candle [fc]) to a medium illuminance mean [0.2 fc, 0.5 fc], a medium-high illuminance mean (0.5 fc, 1.0 fc], and a high illuminance mean (>1.0 fc), the relative likelihood of nighttime pedestrian crashes on midblock segments in Florida tends to be reduced by 77.5% (CMF = 0.225), 81.2% (CMF = 0.188), and 85.5% (CMF = 0.145), respectively., Practical Applications: A poor uniformity (illuminance standard deviation ≥ 0.52 fc) is likely to increase the relative likelihood of nighttime pedestrian crashes on midblock segments in Florida by 80.3% (CMF = 1.803) compared to good uniformity (illuminance standard deviation < 0.52 fc)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: [Zhenyu Wang reports financial support was provided by The Center for Transportation, Equity, Decisions and Dollars (CTEDD) at the University of Texas at Arlington.]., (Copyright © 2023 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Previous studies on arteriovenous fistulas have demonstrated the potential benefit of drug coated balloons (DCBs) in maintaining the patency of dialysis access. However, stenoses involving stent grafts were excluded from these studies. Therefore, the aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of DCBs in treating stent graft stenosis., Methods: This was a prospective, single blinded, randomised controlled study. From March 2017 to April 2021, 40 patients with dysfunctional vascular access owing to stent graft stenosis were randomised to treatment with a DCB or conventional balloon. Clinical follow up was scheduled at one, three, and six months, and angiographic follow up was performed six months after the intervention. The primary outcome was angiographic late luminal loss at six months, and secondary outcomes included target lesion and access circuit primary patency at six months., Results: Thirty-six participants completed follow up angiography. The DCB group had a superior mean late luminal loss at six months compared with the control group (1.82 mm ± 1.83 mm vs. 3.63 mm ± 1.08 mm, respectively, p = .001). All 40 patients completed clinical follow up. The DCB group had a superior six month target lesion primary patency compared with the control group [hazard ratio (HR) 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.07 - 0.71; p = .005). Additionally, the DCB group had a numerically higher six month access circuit primary patency rate than the control group, although the difference was not statistically significant (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.26 - 1.11, p = .095)., Conclusion: Conventional balloon angioplasty is not durable in stent graft stenosis treatment. Treatment with DCBs provides less angiographic late luminal loss and potentially superior primary patency of the target lesion than treatment with conventional balloons. [ClinicalTrials ID: NCT03360279.]., (Copyright © 2023 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: High-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSCs) display a high degree of complex genetic alterations. In this study, we identified germline and somatic genetic alterations in HGSC and their association with relapse-free and overall survival. Using a targeted capture of 557 genes involved in DNA damage response and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways, we conducted next-generation sequencing of DNA from matched blood and tumor tissue from 71 HGSC participants. In addition, we performed the OncoScan assay on tumor DNA from 61 participants to examine somatic copy number alterations (SCNA)., Results: Approximately one-third of tumors had loss-of-function (LOF) germline (18/71, 25.4%) or somatic (7/71, 9.9%) variants in the DNA homologous recombination repair pathway genes BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, MRE11A, BLM, and PALB2. LOF germline variants also were identified in other Fanconi anemia genes and in MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway genes. Most tumors harbored somatic TP53 variants (65/71, 91.5%). Using the OncoScan assay on tumor DNA from 61 participants, we identified focal homozygous deletions in BRCA1, BRCA2, MAP2K4, PTEN, RB1, SLX4, STK11, CREBBP, and NF1. In total, 38% (27/71) of HGSC patients harbored pathogenic variants in DNA homologous recombination repair genes. For patients with multiple tissues from the primary debulking or from multiple surgeries, the somatic mutations were maintained with few newly acquired point mutations suggesting that tumor evolution was not through somatic mutations. There was a significant association of LOF variants in homologous recombination repair pathway genes and high-amplitude somatic copy number alterations. Using GISTIC analysis, we identified NOTCH3, ZNF536, and PIK3R2 in these regions that were significantly associated with an increase in cancer recurrence and a reduction in overall survival., Conclusions: From 71 patients with HGCS, we performed targeted germline and tumor sequencing and provided a comprehensive analysis of these 557 genes. We identified germline and somatic genetic alterations including somatic copy number alterations and analyzed their associations with relapse-free and overall survival. This single-site long-term follow-up study provides additional information on genetic alterations related to occurrence and outcome of HGSC. Our findings suggest that targeted treatments based on both variant and SCNA profile potentially could improve relapse-free and overall survival., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The current study was performed to systemically review the efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid (TXA) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery at a single large-volume cardiovascular center., Methods: A computerized search of electronic databases was performed to identify all relevant studies using search terms till December 31st, 2021. The primary outcomes were postoperative blood loss and the composite incidence of mortality and morbidities during hospitalization. Secondary outcomes included postoperative massive bleeding and transfusion, postoperative recovery profiles, coagulation functions, inflammatory variables, and biomarkers of vital organ injury., Results: Database search yielded 23 qualified studies including 27,729 patients in total. Among them, 14,136 were allocated into TXA group and 13,593 into Control group. The current study indicated that intravenous TXA significantly reduced total volume of postoperative bleeding in both adult and pediatric patients, and that medium- and high-dose TXA were more effective than low-dose TXA in adult patients (P < .05). The current study also demonstrated that intravenous TXA, as compared to Control, remarkably reduced postoperative transfusion incidences and volume of red blood cell and fresh frozen plasma, and reduced postoperative transfusion incidence of platelet concentrates (PC) (P < .05) without obvious dose-effects (P > .05), but TXA did not reduce PC transfusion volume postoperatively in adult patients (P > .05). For pediatrics, TXA did not significantly reduce postoperative transfusion incidence and volume of allogenic red blood cell, fresh frozen plasma and PC (P > .05). Additionally, the current study demonstrated that intravenous TXA did not influence the composite incidence of postoperative mortality and morbidities in either adults or pediatrics during hospitalization (P > .05), and that there was no obvious dose-effect of TXA in adult patients (P > .05)., Conclusions: This current study suggested that intravenous TXA significantly reduced total volume of postoperative bleeding in both adult and pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery at the single cardiovascular center without increasing the composite incidence of mortality and morbidities., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

This study aimed to determine the impact on hearing prognosis of the coherent frequency with high magnitude-squared wavelet coherence (MSWC) in video head impulse test (vHIT) among patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss with vertigo (SSNHLV) undergoing high-dose steroid treatment. This study was a retrospective cohort study. SSNHLV patients treated at our referral center from December 2016 to December 2020 were examined. The cohort comprised 64 patients with SSNHLV undergoing high-dose steroid treatment. MSWC was measured by calculating the wavelet coherence analysis (WCA) at various frequencies from a vHIT. The hearing prognosis were analyzed using a multivariable Cox regression model and convolution neural network (CNN) of WCA. There were 64 patients with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.67. The greater highest coherent frequency of the posterior semicircular canal (SCC) was associated with the complete recovery (CR) of hearing. After adjustment for other factors, the result remained robust (hazard ratio [HR] 2.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.86-2.35). In the feature extraction with Resnet-50 and proceeding SVM in the horizontal image cropping style, the classification accuracy [STD] for (CR vs. partial + no recovery [PR + NR]), (over-sampling of CR vs. PR + NR), (extensive data extraction of CR vs. PR + NR), and (interpolation of time series of CR vs. PR + NR) were 83.6% [7.4], 92.1% [6.8], 88.9% [7.5], and 91.6% [6.4], respectively. The high coherent frequency of the posterior SCC was a significantly independent factor that was associated with good hearing prognosis in the patients who have SSNHLV. WCA may be provided with comprehensive ability in vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) evaluation. CNN could be utilized to classify WCA, predict treatment outcomes, and facilitate vHIT interpretation. Feature extraction in CNN with proceeding SVM and horizontal cropping style of wavelet coherence plot performed better accuracy and offered more stable model for hearing outcomes in patients with SSNHLV than pure CNN classification. Clinical and Translational Impact Statement-High coherent frequency in vHIT results in good hearing outcomes in SSNHLV and facilitates AI classification.

This cross-sectional observation study investigated the vitamin D (VD) status in Taiwanese pregnant women and the effects of VD supplementation and macronutrient intake on serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25[OH]D) level. Data on VD intake, daily sunlight exposure, and carbohydrate intake were obtained from 125 pregnant women at 30−37 weeks’ gestation. Serum 25[OH]D level was measured before delivery in all enrolled women; and the mean 25(OH)D level was 43 nmol/L or 17.2 ng/mL. The 25(OH)D level was significantly correlated with total VD intake of pregnant women (r = 0.239; p = 0.007). The severe VD deficiency group (n = 16; mean of 25(OH)D level = 8.5 ng/mL) had significantly lower total VD intake and supplementation than the groups with VD deficiency (n = 69), insufficiency (n = 32), and sufficiency (n = 8). Those with ≥400 IU/day total VD intake (including VD from food and supplementation) had significantly higher 25(OH)D concentration than those with <400 IU/day total VD intake. Those with 400 IU/day VD supplementation could significantly increase serum 25(OH)D concentrations for pregnant women. Among 85 pregnant women with carbohydrate intake of ≥300 g/day, serum 25(OH)D levels were negatively correlated with carbohydrate intake (p = 0.031). In conclusion, VD deficiency was highly prevalent in Taiwanese pregnant women. VD supplementation was the most effective method for increasing 25(OH)D concentration in pregnant women. Higher carbohydrate intake might reduce 25(OH)D levels.

Molecular design and precise control of thin-film morphology and crystallinity of solution-processed small molecules are important for enhancing charge transport mobility of organic field-effect transistors and gaining more insight into the structure-property relationship. Here, two donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) architecture small molecules TRA-IID-TRA and TRA-TIID-TRA comprising an electron-donating triarylamine ( TRA ) and two different electron-withdrawing cores, isoindigo ( IID ) and thienoisoindigo ( TIID ), respectively, were synthesized and characterized. Replacing the phenylene rings of central IID A with thiophene gives a TIID core, which reduces the optical band gap and upshifts the energy levels of frontier molecular orbitals. The single-crystal structures and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) analysis revealed that TRA-TIID-TRA exhibits the relatively tighter π-π stacking packing with preferential edge-on orientation, larger coherence length, and higher crystallinity due to the noncovalent S···O/S···π intermolecular interactions. The distinctly oriented and connected ribbon-like TRA-TIID-TRA crystalline film by the solution-shearing process achieved a superior hole mobility of 0.89 cm 2 V -1 s -1 in the organic field-effect transistor (OFET) device, which is at least five times higher than that (0.17 cm 2 V -1 s -1 ) of TRA-IID-TRA with clear cracks. Eventually, rational modulation of fused core in the π-conjugated D-A-D small molecule provides a new understanding of structural design for enhancing the performance of solution-processed organic semiconductors.

Objectives: To summarize the anesthetic management of patients undergoing mediastinal mass operation., Methods: Electronic databases were searched to identify all case reports of patients undergoing mediastinal mass operation. Information such as clinical characteristics, perioperative management and patients' outcomes were abstracted and analyzed., Results: Seventy-seven case reports with 85 patients aging from 34 days to 81 years were included. Mediastinal masses were located in anterior ( n  = 48), superior ( n  = 15), middle ( n  = 9) and posterior ( n  = 9) mediastinum, respectively. Clinical manifestations included dyspnea ( n  = 45), cough ( n  = 29), chest or radiating pain ( n  = 12), swelling ( n  = 8), fever ( n  = 7) and chest distress ( n  = 4). Most patients ( n  = 75) had signs of compression or invasion of vital structures. General anesthesia ( n  = 76) was the most commonly used method of anesthesia. Muscle relaxants were administered in 35 patients during anesthesia induction and spontaneous respiration was maintained in 37 patients. Mediastinal mass syndrome (MMS) occurred in 39 cases. Extracorporeal circulation was utilized in 20 patients intraoperatively. Three patients experienced cardiac arrest after ventilation failure and two patients died intraoperatively and one postoperatively., Conclusions: Peri-operative management of patients undergoing mediastinal mass operation could be challenging. Pre-operative multi-disciplinary discussion, well-planned anesthetic management and pre-determined protocols for emergency situations are all vital to patient safety., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2022 Tan, Lin, He, Lin and Yao.)

Identifying transmission of hot spots with temporal trends is important for reducing infectious disease propagation. Cluster analysis is a particularly useful tool to explore underlying stochastic processes between observations by grouping items into categories by their similarity. In a study of epidemic propagation, clustering geographic regions that have similar time series could help researchers track diffusion routes from a common source of an infectious disease. In this article, we propose a two-stage scan statistic to classify regions into various geographic clusters by their temporal heterogeneity. The proposed scan statistic is more flexible than traditional methods in that contiguous and nonproximate regions with similar temporal patterns can be identified simultaneously. A simulation study and data analysis for a dengue fever infection are also presented for illustration., (© 2021 The Author. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Purpose: To assess the response to pexidartinib treatment in six cohorts of adult patients with advanced, incurable solid tumors associated with colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) and/or KIT proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase activity., Patients and Methods: From this two-part phase I, multicenter study, pexidartinib, a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets CSF1R, KIT, and FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3), was evaluated in six adult patient cohorts (part 2, extension) with advanced solid tumors associated with dysregulated CSF1R. Adverse events, pharmacokinetics, and tumor responses were assessed for all patients; patients with tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) were also evaluated for tumor volume score (TVS) and patient-reported outcomes (PRO). CSF1 transcripts and gene expression were explored in TGCT biopsies., Results: Ninety-one patients were treated: TGCT patients ( n = 39) had a median treatment duration of 511 days, while other solid tumor patients ( n = 52) had a median treatment duration of 56 days. TGCT patients had response rates of 62% (RECIST 1.1) and 56% (TVS) for the full analysis set. PRO assessments for pain showed improvement in patient symptoms, and 76% (19/25) of TGCT tissue biopsy specimens showed evidence of abnormal CSF1 transcripts. Pexidartinib treatment of TGCT resulted in tumor regression and symptomatic benefit in most patients. Pexidartinib toxicity was manageable over the entire study., Conclusions: These results offer insight into outcome patterns in cancers whose biology suggests use of a CSF1R inhibitor. Pexidartinib results in tumor regression in TGCT patients, providing prolonged control with an acceptable safety profile., (©2021 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Institutions of higher education are increasingly diverse with more women and people of color hired, but there remains much work to be done to ensure that underrepresented faculty feel supported in their careers, evaluated fairly for tenure and/or promotion, and made to feel appreciated and valued in their institutions. This perspective paper will review how interpersonal and institutional prejudice disadvantage women of color in academia in aspects of their professional responsibilities including teaching, mentoring students, research, and service. The combination of these challenges explains why women of color are not rewarded in the same way and do not advance as quickly in their academic careers compared to white men. After considering the subtle and direct ways that biases cause harm to women of color, we present recommendations to better support women of color in faculty roles with the goal of combating prejudice pertaining to both racial/ethnic and gender biases., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestOn behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Objective To explore the characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with Heyde syndrome (HS) who undergo aortic valve replacement (AVR). Methods Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Ovid, WANFANG, VIP and CNKI were searched to identify all case reports of HS patients undergoing AVR surgery, using different combinations of search terms "Heyde syndrome", "gastrointestinal bleeding", "aortic stenosis", and "surgery". Three authors independently extracted the clinical data including the patients' characteristics, aortic stenosis severity, gastrointestinal bleeding sites, surgical treatments and prognosis. Results Finally, 46 case reports with 55 patients aging from 46 to 87 years, were determined eligible and included. Of them, 1 patient had mild aortic stenosis, 1 had moderate aortic stenosis, 42 had severe aortic stenosis, and 11 were not mentioned. Gastrointestinal bleeding was detected in colon ( n =8), jejunum ( n =6), ileum ( n =4), cecum ( n =3), duodenal ( n =3) and multiple sites ( n =8). No specific bleeding site was identified in 23 patients. Preoperative hemoglobin level ranged from 43 to 117 g/L. All but one of 16 patients showed decreased level of high molecule weight von Willebrand factor. Of the 55 patients, 43 underwent AVR, and 12 received transcatheter AVR. Aortic valves of 14 cases were replaced by mechanical valves, and 33 cases by biological valves. All patients recovered well during the follow-up, except 5 patients. One patient who had perivalvular leakage and gastrointestinal bleeding after AVR underwent the second AVR. Two patients had recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. Two patients died of life-threatening acute subdural hematoma and multiple organ failure, respectively. Conclusions HS is a rare syndrome characterized by aortic stenosis and gastrointestinal bleeding. AVR is an effective treatment for HS.

Reablement services are approaches for maintaining and improving the functional independence of older adults. Previous reablement studies were conducted in a home environment. Due to the limited evidence on the effects of multicomponent interventions and reablement in a community-based context, this study aimed to develop and evaluate the effect of community-based physical-cognitive training, health education, and reablement (PCHER) among rural community-dwelling older adults with mobility deficits. The trial was conducted in rural areas of New Taipei City, Taiwan. Older adults with mild to moderate mobility deficits were recruited from six adult daycare centers, and a cluster assignment was applied in a counterbalanced order. The experimental group ( n = 16) received a PCHER intervention, comprising 1.5 h of group courses and 1 h of individualized reablement training, while the control group ( n = 12) underwent PCHE intervention, comprising 1.5 h of group courses and 1 h of placebo treatment. A 2.5-h training session was completed weekly for 10 weeks. The outcome measures contained the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI), the Saint Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) Examination, the Barthel Index (BI), the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The PCHER significantly improved the DEMMI, SLUMS, BI, SPPB, and COPM (all p < 0.05), with medium-to-large effect sizes. PCHER also showed an advantage over PCHE in terms of the SPPB ( p = 0.02). This study verified that combining individualized reablement with group-based multicomponent training was superior to group courses alone in enhancing the functional abilities of community-dwelling older adults with mobility deficits.

Roadway lighting is used to ensure nighttime safety and security for multimodal road users. However, the absence of reliable quantitative analyses of the safety effects of roadway lighting photometric characteristics prevents accurate assessment of street lighting maintenance and retrofitting projects. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between nighttime crash risk and two critical photometric criteria, i.e., average lighting level and uniformity. To achieve this goal, high-resolution horizontal illuminance data were collected in Florida for 300 + center-miles from 2011 to 2014. Based on the data, a matched case-control study was conducted to address two major issues existing in previous studies: (1) the confounding effects of illuminance standard deviation on illuminance mean and (2) spatially-unrelated extreme values for ratio-based uniformity. By eliminating the confounding effects through a random matching strategy (one case, a segment with nighttime crashes, to one control, a segment without nighttime crashes at 1,046 strata), this study successfully isolated the negative effects of the standard deviation and developed more significant crash modification factors (CMFs) for average lighting levels: 0.679 for increasing the average lighting level from [0 fc, 0.5 fc] to (0.5 fc, 1.0 fc] and 0.581 for increasing the average lighting from [0 fc, 0.5 fc] to higher than 1.0 fc. Additionally, a CMF of 1.391 for a max-min ratio greater than 10 was identified by controlling the segment length at a short uniform unit (1,200 ft). The developed CMFs overcame the underestimation issue in previous studies and are implementable in current street lighting design and safety management., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Regioregular polythiophenes have been widely used in organic electronic applications due to their solution processability with chemical modification through side chain engineering, as well as their microstructural organization and good hole transport properties. Here, we introduce alkylthio side chains, (poly[(3-alkylthio)thiophene]s; P3ATT s), with strong noncovalent sulfur molecular interactions, to main chain thienyl backbones. These P3ATT s were compared with alkyl-substituted polythiophene (poly(3-alkylthiophene); P3AT ) variants such that the effects of straight (hexyl and decyl) and branched (2-ethylhexyl) side chains (with and without S atoms) on their thin-film morphologies and crystalline states could be investigated. P3ATT s with linear alkylthio side chains ( P3HTT , hexylthio; P3DTT , decylthio) did not attain the expected higher organic field-effect transistor (OFET) mobilities with respect to P3HT (hexyl) and P3DT (decyl) mainly due to their lower regioregularity (76-78%), although P3ATT s exhibit an enhanced tendency for aggregation and compact molecular packing, as indicated by the red-shifting of the absorption spectra and the shortening of the π-π stacking distance, respectively. Moreover, the loss of regioregularity issue can be solved by introducing more soluble 2-ethylhexylthio branched side chains to form poly[3-(2-ethylhexylthio)thiophene] ( P3EHTT ), which provides enhanced crystallinity and efficient charge mobility (increased by up to a factor of 3) with respect to the poly(2-ethylhexylthiophene) ( P3EHT ) without S atoms in the side moieties. This study demonstrates that the presence of side chain alkylthio structural motifs with nonbonded interactions in polythiophene semiconductors has a beneficial impact on the molecular conformation, morphologies, structural packing, and charge transport in OFET devices.

Objective: To investigate the perioperative management of patients with hemophilia A (HA) who undergo cardiac surgery., Design: Retrospective analysis of the published literature., Setting: University hospital., Participants: HA patients undergoing cardiac surgery., Interventions: The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, CNKI, VIP, and WANFANG databases were searched with the terms "hemophilia A," "cardiac surgery," "cardiopulmonary bypass," "coronary artery bypass graft," "valve disease," and "congenital heart disease" to identify relevant articles. Data regarding patient characteristics, perioperative management protocols, and clinical outcomes were extracted and analyzed., Measurements and Main Results: Fifty articles, with 72 patients aging from 12 days to 80 years, were included. The analyzed population consisted of 36 (50%) mild HA, 10 (14%) moderate HA, and 25 (35%) severe HA patients. Factor VIII inhibitors were detected in 7 cases. Surgical procedures included 27 coronary artery bypass grafting procedures, 15 valve surgeries, 8 combined coronary artery bypass grafting with valve surgery procedures (1 with left ventricular assist device), 1 ventricular aneurysm resection with valve surgery, 11 corrections of congenital heart disease, 7 adult aortic surgeries, 3 heart transplantations, and 1 repair of heart injury. Factor VIII concentrates were used as a substitution therapy to ensure normalization of perioperative coagulation function. Although an uneventful clinical outcome was achieved in the majority of cases, 20% of patients developed complications with different severities., Conclusions: Execution of a perioperative management strategy with a multidisciplinary approach, a thorough factor replacement protocol, and careful monitoring of factor levels facilitate an optimal outcome for HA patients undergoing cardiac surgery., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: Walking is an effective, well accepted, inexpensive, and functional intervention. This study compared the outcomes and changes in walking behavior of self-monitored (SM) and supervised (SU) walking interventions for older adults.Participants were assigned to SM (n = 21) and SU (n = 21) walking groups according to their place of residence. Both groups exercised and wore a pedometer for 3 months.The outcome measures were step count, body mass index (BMI), and physical function. Two-way repeated-measure ANOVA and independent t tests were used to compare the intervention effects. We also plotted the trends and analyzed the walking steps weekly.Only BMI exhibited a group × time interaction. The pre-posttest differences showed knee extension muscle strength (KEMS) and Timed Up and Go test were significantly improved in the SM group, whereas BMI, KEMS, 30-s sit-to-stand, functional reach were significantly improved, but 5-m gait speed significantly slower in the SU group. For participants attending ≥50% of the sessions, those in the SM and SU groups had similar results for all variables, except for 2-min step (2MS) and daily walking step counts.Both self-monitored and supervised walking benefit older adults in most physical functions, especially lower-extremity performance, such as muscle strength, balance, and mobility. The effects of both programs do not differ significantly, except for BMI and 2MS (ie cardiopulmonary endurance). We recommend pedometer-assisted self-monitored walking for older adults because of its ability to cultivate exercise habits over the long term, whereas supervised walking to establish effective exercise intensity., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Arginine synthesis deficiency due to the suppressed expression of ASS1 (argininosuccinate synthetase 1) represents one of the most frequently occurring metabolic defects of tumor cells. Arginine-deprivation therapy has gained increasing attention in recent years. One challenge of ADI-PEG20 (pegylated ADI) therapy is the development of drug resistance caused by restoration of ASS1 expression and other factors. The goal of this work is to identify novel factors conferring therapy resistance. Methods: Multiple, independently derived ADI-resistant clones including derivatives of breast (MDA-MB-231 and BT-549) and prostate (PC3, CWR22Rv1, and DU145) cancer cells were developed. RNA-seq and RT-PCR were used to identify genes upregulated in the resistant clones. Unbiased genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screening was used to identify genes whose absence confers sensitivity to these cells. shRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout as well as overexpression approaches were used to validate the functions of the resistant genes both in vitro and in xenograft models. The signal pathways were verified by western blotting and cytokine release. Results: Based on unbiased CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screening and RNA-seq analyses of independently derived ADI-resistant (ADIR) clones, aberrant activation of the TREM1/CCL2 axis in addition to ASS1 expression was consistently identified as the resistant factors. Unlike ADIR, MDA-MB-231 overexpressing ASS1 cells achieved only moderate ADI resistance both in vitro and in vivo , and overexpression of ASS1 alone does not activate the TREM1/CCL2 axis. These data suggested that upregulation of TREM1 is an independent factor in the development of strong resistance, which is accompanied by activation of the AKT/mTOR/STAT3/CCL2 pathway and contributes to cell survival and overcoming the tumor suppressive effects of ASS1 overexpression. Importantly, knockdown of TREM1 or CCL2 significantly sensitized ADIR toward ADI. Similar results were obtained in BT-549 breast cancer cell line as well as castration-resistant prostate cancer cells. The present study sheds light on the detailed mechanisms of resistance to arginine-deprivation therapy and uncovers novel targets to overcome resistance. Conclusion: We uncovered TREM1/CCL2 activation, in addition to restored ASS1 expression, as a key pathway involved in full ADI-resistance in breast and prostate cancer models., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Background: Reablement is a philosophy of change in long-term care (LTC). Assessing the knowledge and competence of LTC professionals who provide reablement services is vital in LTC research. This study aimed to develop a scale for the assessment of long-term care reablement literacy (LTCRL) and employ this scale to assess the performance of home care workers in Taiwan., Methods: To develop this scale, we employed the modified Delphi technique based on the theoretical framework of health literacy and the content of service delivery in reablement. Home care workers from northern, central, and southern Taiwan were selected through purposive sampling (N = 119). Participants answered a self-administered questionnaire that included items related to basic demographic characteristics and questions to assess LTCRL., Results: Based on the experts' consensus on the procedure of the modified Delphi technique, the LTCRL assessment sale consists of 29 questions on four aspects of knowledge acquisition: the abilities to access/obtain, understand, process/appraise, and apply/use. The results revealed that higher education levels and better Chinese language proficiency are associated with higher LTCRL outcomes among home care workers., Conclusions: The LTCRL assessment scale based on a modified Delphi technique is useful and feasible for evaluating LTCRL in home care workers who provide reablement services in Taiwan.

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. In recent decades, dengue fever has spread throughout the world. In 2014 and 2015, southern Taiwan experienced its most serious dengue outbreak in recent years. Some statistical models have been established in the past, however, these models may not be suitable for predicting huge outbreaks in 2014 and 2015. The control of dengue fever has become the primary task of local health agencies. This study attempts to predict the occurrence of dengue fever in order to achieve the purpose of timely warning. We applied a newly developed autoregressive model (AR model) to assess the association between daily weather variability and daily dengue case number in 2014 and 2015 in Kaohsiung, the largest city in southern Taiwan. This model also contained additional lagged weather predictors, and developed 5-day-ahead and 15-day-ahead predictive models. Our results indicate that numbers of dengue cases in Kaohsiung are associated with humidity and the biting rate (BR). Our model is simple, intuitive and easy to use. The developed model can be embedded in a "real-time" schedule, and the data (at present) can be updated daily or weekly based on the needs of public health workers. In this study, a simple model using only meteorological factors performed well. The proposed real-time forecast model can help health agencies take public health actions to mitigate the influences of the epidemic., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Physical exercise and cognitive training were previously demonstrated to improve the physical functioning and decrease the incidence of falls for older adults. This study aimed to utilize an interactive exergame mat system to develop a novel cognitive-physical training program and explore the training effects on physical performance, cognitive function, dual-task walking (DTW), and fall risk compared to the control condition. In this quasi-experimental non-randomized controlled intervention study, 110 community-dwelling older adults participated. The exercise group ( n = 56; mean age, 70.7 ± 4.6 years) performed ladder-type, three-by-three grid-type, and circle-type mat exergames with simultaneous cognitive-physical training (EMAT), while the control group ( n = 54; mean age, 72.0 ± 5.7 years) underwent a multicomponent exercise intervention focused on physical and cognitive training. A 2 h training session was completed weekly for 3 months. Functional fitness (including upper- and lower-extremity strength and flexibility, grasp strength, aerobic endurance, static balance, dynamic balance and agility), a foot tapping test (FTT), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), DTW, and a fall risk questionnaire (FRQ) were assessed before and after the interventions. The EMAT program enhanced upper-extremity strength, lower-extremity strength and flexibility, aerobic endurance, and dynamic balance and agility; improved DTW and FTT performances; and decreased FRQ score. EMAT also showed a significant advantage over control in terms of lower-extremity strength and flexibility, aerobic endurance, dynamic balance and agility, and FRQ score (all P < 0.05). The current study provides evidence of the effects of a novel mat exergaming program on physical and cognitive performance. EMAT effectively reduced the fall risk and increased the dual-task ability of walking, factors that are important in fall prevention for community-dwelling older adults., (Copyright © 2020 Peng, Tien, Lin, Peng and Song.)

A new organic small-molecule family comprising tetracyanoquinodimethane-substituted quinoidal dithioalky(SR)terthiophenes ( DSTQ s) ( DSTQ-6 ( 1 ); SR = SC 6 H 13 , DSTQ-10 ( 2 ); SR = SC 10 H 21 , DSTQ-14 ( 3 ); SR = SC 10 H 21 ) was synthesized and contrasted with a nonthioalkylated analogue ( DRTQ-14 ( 4 ); R = C 14 H 29 ). The physical, electrochemical, and electrical properties of these new compounds are thoroughly investigated. Optimized geometries obtained from density functional theory calculations and single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveal the planarity of the SR-containing DSTQ core. DSTQ s pack in a slipped π-π stacked two-dimensional arrangement, with a short intermolecular stacking distance of 3.55 Å and short intermolecular S···N contacts of 3.56 Å. Thin-film morphological analysis by grazing incident X-ray diffraction reveals that all DSTQ molecules are packed in an edge-on fashion on the substrate. The favorable molecular packing, the high core planarity, and very low lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level (-4.2 eV) suggest that DSTQ s could be electron-transporting semiconductors. Organic field-effect transistors based on solution-sheared DSTQ-14 exhibit the highest electron mobility of 0.77 cm 2 V -1 s -1 with good ambient stability, which is the highest value reported to date for such a solution process terthiophene-based small molecular semiconductor. These results demonstrate that the device performance of solution-sheared DSTQ s can be improved by side chain engineering.

Mapping of disease incidence has long been of importance to epidemiology and public health. In this paper, we consider identification of clusters of spatial units with elevated disease rates and develop a new approach that estimates the relative disease risk in association with potential risk factors and simultaneously identifies clusters corresponding to elevated risks. A heterogeneity measure is proposed to enable the comparison of a candidate cluster and its complement under a pair of complementary models. A quasi-likelihood procedure is developed for estimating the model parameters and identifying the clusters. An advantage of our approach over traditional spatial clustering methods is the identification of clusters that can have arbitrary shapes due to abrupt or noncontiguous changes while accounting for risk factors and spatial correlation. Asymptotic properties of the proposed methodology are established and a simulation study shows empirically sound finite-sample properties. The mapping and clustering of enterovirus 71 infections in Taiwan are carried out for illustration., (© 2019 The International Biometric Society.)