Careful Screening Process Research Articles

A Systematic and Critical Review on the Anatomy of the Ethmoidal Foramina.

The osteologic anatomy of the orbit is still a field of intense research, particularly as far as vascular channels are concerned. Among them, ethmoidal foraminas (EFs) are certainly those that have more clinical importance and indeed have been deeply investigated. Unfortunately, the vast production of articles, far from clarifying their anatomy, generated a certain degree of confusion. A search on Pubmed and Scopus databases updated up to December 31, 2023, has been carried out with the keyword "ethmoidal foramen" yielding a list of 357 items. With a careful screening process, 31 articles were enlisted to be included in the present review. A critical review process confirmed that many results published over the years appear inconsistent, particularly as far as EFs topography is concerned. The possible reasons for this lack of consistency can be traced back to inter-ethnical differences, uncertainty on the anterior bony landmarks employed in the investigations, and lack of a general consensus over EFs classification. A novel approach, based on the normalization of the distance of the anterior landmarks relative to the length of the orbit (relative depth index), should overcome some of the major problems encountered so far. Novel and clear guidelines to classify EFs and to locate them on the medial wall are required. Determining the relative depth index of EFs may be an interesting approach to solve the matter. Other methods can be also devised. However, direct measurements from bony landmarks, without any further analysis seem inadequate and possibly misleading.

The effect of oral supplementation of Paricalcitol on C-reactive protein levels in chronic kidney disease patients: GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of data from randomized controlled trials

BackgroundPrevious studies investigating the effect of oral supplementation of paricalcitol on reactive protein levels in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients reported inconsistent findings. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we have analyzed and interpreted the results obtained from previous randomized clinical trials on the effect of paricalcitol on C-reactive protein in CKD patients in the literature.MethodsMEDLINE, SciVerse Scopus, and Clarivate Analytics Web of Science databases were searched until January 2023 and related articles were obtained through a careful screening process allowing extraction of required data from selected articles. The effect size was calculated using a random effect model and weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity among studies was evaluated using Cochran’s Q test and I2.ResultsAmongst the 182 articles obtained from the initial search, 4 studies (6 arms) were finally included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis shows that C-reactive protein levels significantly decrease after oral supplementation with paricalcitol (WMD: -2.55 mg/L, 95% CI (-4.99 to -0.11; P = 0.04). The studies used in this meta-analysis showed significant heterogeneity (I2 = 66.3% and P = 0.01).ConclusionOral paricalcitol supplementation in CKD patients can significantly reduce C-reactive protein levels, which may prevent CKD progression.

Development and Implementation of a Real-time Inpatient Palliative Care Screening Process to Promote Earlier Palliative Care Referrals.

Development and Implementation of a Real-time Inpatient Palliative Care Screening Process to Promote Earlier Palliative Care Referrals.

Development and Implementation of a Real-Time Inpatient Palliative Care Screening Process to Promote Earlier Palliative Care Referrals.

Despite the previous development of criteria for palliative screening tools, there remains a lack of validated and practical screening processes for the general hospitalized patient population for everyday clinical use. This quality improvement project's aim was to implement a practical institution-based adult inpatient palliative care screening tool embedded into the electronic medical record with an automated alert process to assist in identifying patients earlier within hospital admission. The project used a preimplementation and postimplementation design and followed the Plan-Do-Study-Act process to measure the effectiveness of the tool and alert process in decreasing time from admission to palliative care referral and impact on referring patterns. During the project period, 1851 palliative care referrals were completed, and minimal difference (0.6%) was noted in the average time from admission to referral preimplementation and postimplementation ( P = .939). There was a 3.7% increase in referrals postimplementation and a shift in referring service patterns ( P = .321). Although the expected outcome of earlier palliative referrals during admissions was not met, the development and implementation of the tool and alert process is a step toward the creation of a standard practical tool for the general hospitalized patient population.

Photocatalysis screening for group III-V vdW heterostructures constructed by MX (M = Ga, In and X = P, As) monolayers.

To harvest solar energy for water splitting and produce pollution-free hydrogen and oxygen, high-performance photocatalysts are essential. Here, by combining different two-dimensional (2D) group III-V MX (M = Ga, In and X = P, As) monolayers, we designed 144 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures to identify efficient photoelectrochemical materials. Using first-principles calculations, we investigated the stabilities, electronic properties, and optical properties of these heterostructures. After a careful screening process, we elected GaP/InP in a BB-II stacking configuration as the most promising candidate. This specific GaP/InP configuration has a type-II band alignment with a gap value of 1.83 eV. The conduction band minimum (CBM) is located at -4.276 eV, and the valence band maximum (VBM) is located at -6.217 eV, fully satisfying the requirements of the catalytic reaction under pH = 0. Additionally, light absorption has been improved through the construction of the vdW heterostructure. These results could help in understanding the properties of the III-V heterostructures and guide the experimental synthesis of these materials for photocatalysis applications.

Information seeking for coping with cancer: a systematic review

PurposeInformation seeking can be used to make sense of a situation or solve a problem. Information seeking can be considered a coping strategy when facing illness, crisis or other life-changing events. Cancer is a globally occurring, life-threatening disease, and this review aims to provide an overview of the existing literature on the active information seeking behaviour of cancer patients specifically focussing on how active information seeking serves as a coping strategy.Design/methodology/approachThis study adheres to current guidelines for conducting systematic reviews and consequently, thorough literature searches were conducted in four databases: Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Scopus which resulted in 7,179 publications. Following a careful screening process, this systematic review identifies 14 studies on the use of information seeking to cope with cancer.FindingsThe included studies consist of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to analysing the use of information seeking to cope with cancer. The included studies have focussed primarily on demographic factors, the impact of affect, information needs, sources and coping strategies.Research limitations/implicationsA number of research gaps within library and information science are identified. Bringing research in this field into information science could allow for a greater understanding of information literacy, the use of existing information and the process of information searching when using information seeking to cope with serious illness.Originality/valueThis systematic review focusses on how information seeking serves as a coping strategy for cancer patients and provides an overview of the recent literature.

Classifications of Sustainable Manufacturing Practices in ASEAN Region: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis of the Past Decade of Research

This paper aimed to map the existing sustainable manufacturing literature to explore and classify existing practices to highlight the potential prospect of and obstacles to achieving manufacturing sustainability in countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This paper systematically reviews the research on sustainable manufacturing in the ASEAN region from 2011 to 2020. We used the PRISMA framework for systematic literature, and 118 research articles specific to the ASEAN region were identified through a structured keyword search in Web of Science, SCOPUS, ProQuest, and other databases. After a careful screening process, only 115 records were found appropriate to be included for review in the current study. The results revealed three significant sets of manufacturing practices that are widely used for sustainable manufacturing. These are sustainable product development, sustainable manufacturing performance, and environmental assessment and monitoring. Furthermore, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the literature to highlight ASEAN countries’ collaborative efforts to achieve sustainability in manufacturing. The findings indicate that most of the earlier work on sustainable manufacturing focused on environmental assessment practices rather than providing holistic industrial engineering solutions. We recommend that the efforts focus on hybrid processes to establish sustainable manufacturing procedures in ASEAN member countries. Holistic solutions through industrial processing integration need to be developed to provide broader industrial solutions to protect the environment and society from the adverse effects of the manufacturing process with economic efficiency.

Facile Strategy on Hydrophilic Modification of Poly(ε-caprolactone) Scaffolds for Assisting Tissue-Engineered Meniscus Constructs In Vitro.

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) derived scaffolds have been extensively explored in the field of tissue-engineered meniscus (TEM) originating from their good biosafety and biomechanical properties. However, the poor intrinsic hydrophobicity severely hindered their wide applications for the scaffold-assisted tissue regeneration. Herein, we developed a simple strategy on surface modification of three-dimensional (3D) PCL scaffolds via a simply soaking treatment of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions to increase the hydrophilicity and roughness of scaffolds' surfaces. We investigated the effect of hydrolysis degree mediated by NaOH solutions on mechanical properties of 3D scaffolds, considering the importance of scaffolds' resistance to internal force. We also investigated and analyzed the biological performances of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and meniscal fibrocartilage cells (MFCs) onto the scaffolds treated or untreated by NaOH solutions. The results indicated that hydrophilic modification could improve the proliferation and attachment of cells on the scaffolds. After careful screening process condition, structural fabrication, and performance optimization, these modified PCL scaffolds possessed roughened surfaces with inherent hierarchical pores, enhanced hydrophilicity and preferable biological performances, thus exhibiting the favorable advantages on the proliferation and adhesion of seeded cells for TEM. Therefore, this feasible hydrophilic modification method is not only beneficial to promote smarter biomedical scaffold materials but also show great application prospect in tissue engineering meniscus with tunable architectures and desired functionalities.

A review of knowledge and attitudes of young people on cervical cancer and HPV vaccination

Cervical cancer is a significant global health concern worldwide, and the second most common cause of cancer mortality, especially in developing countries. Since young people are more affected by cervical cancer, we aimed to investigate young people’s knowledge of and attitudes towards cervical cancer and human papillomavirus vaccination by comparing developing and developed countries' results, by reviewing the published literature. Due to the medical nature of the question, the search was confined to Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Over 100 abstracts published up to March 2018 which included young people’s knowledge and attitudes were found. After a careful screening process of all authors, 50 of these articles were considered as appropriate, and reviewed. Human papillomavirus infection, cervical cancer, and human papillomavirus vaccines knowledge are generally low among young people. The knowledge level is higher in developed countries but is still insufficient. Cervical cancer is potentially preventable. Effective screening and education programs with regard to human papillomavirus vaccination and infection can lead to a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality.

Safety of clomiphene citrate: a literature review.

Clomiphene citrate (CC) is a nonsteroidal compound and induces ovulation indirectly. The wide usage of the CC raises a question; is it safe or not? In the light of this question, this review aimed to highlight all researches and insights into the association between the use of CC and risk of genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, embryotoxicity, teratogenicity and risk of different cancer types. We conducted a MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar search. After a careful screening process of all authors, 32 of these articles were considered as appropriate, and reviewed. Our evaluations showed that CC has genotoxic, cytotoxic, embryotoxic and teratogenic properties. There is no association between the use of CC and risk of ovarian, breast, uterine, cervix, endometrium, lung, colorectal cancer, and lymphoma. However, risk increased especially after 6 cycles of use and especially in nulligravid women. The use of CC should be restricted to 6 cycles. Moreover, malignant melanoma and thyroid cancer risk was found to be higher among CC treated women in almost all studies. Further works should be conducted especially in animal models to assess its risk features.

Diffusion weighted imaging for the differential diagnosis of benign vs. malignant ovarian neoplasms.

In order to assess the diagnostic accuracy of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in differentiating between benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms, a systemic meta-analysis was conducted. Relevant studies were retrieved from scientific literature databases, including the PubMed, Wiley, EBSCO, Ovid, Web of Science, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP databases. Following a multi-step screening and study selection process, the relevant data was extracted for use in the present study. Statistical analyses were performed using Meta-disc software version 1.4 and STATA statistical software version 12.0. A total of 285 articles were retrieved from the database searches. Following a careful screening process, 10 case-control studies were selected for the present meta-analysis. The 10 studies investigated the efficacy of DWI in diagnosing ovarian neoplasms, and included a combined total of 1,159 subjects, of which 559 patients had malignant lesions and 600 had benign lesions. The results showed that the pooled sensitivity, pooled specificity, pooled positive likelihood ratio, pooled negative likelihood ratio, pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and area under the curve of the summary receiver operating characteristics curve of DWI for differentiating between benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms were 0.93, 0.89, 7.58, 0.10, 85.33 and 0.95, respectively. A subgroup analysis based on ethnicity revealed no significant difference between Asians and Caucasians. Another subgroup analysis by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) type showed that the DORs for GE Healthcare Life Sciences and Siemens AG machines were 100.76 [95% confidence interval (CI), 65.28-155.53] and 30.85 (95% CI, 10.40-91.53), respectively; this indicates that the diagnostic efficiency of the GE Healthcare Life Sciences MRI is superior compared with the Siemens AG MRI. The DWI demonstrated an excellent diagnostic performance in discriminating between benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms, and predicted the surgical outcome in ovarian neoplasms.

Is It Helpful to Give Older People with Cancer the Same Chance at Rehabilitation as Older General Medical Patients?

Although the complexity of age combined with a cancer diagnosis can result in unmet supportive care needs there are seldom resources to assess or address such needs for older people with cancer (OPWC). The purpose of this project was to trial a service to improve the care for OPWC through (1) an expanded supportive care screening process and (2) capacity building of subacute ambulatory care services (SACS) staff to increase referrals to community-based rehabilitation. Methods/design: Collaboration between allied health (AH) staff at an inner city general hospital with a large cancer service, a cancer specialist hospital, and a SACS service in Melbourne, Australia, developed an AH geriatric screening assessment (GSA) tool. Parallel to this process training was provided to SACS staff in relation to working with OPWC. Although close to one half (44%) of SACS staff who participated in this program (n = 22) had over 6 years’ experience, 32% had not worked with OPWC. Prior to training, 81% did not feel confident in their knowledge about working with this cohort. After their training 72% were more confident about normal aging and implications for care of OPWC. Of the 491 patients screened, 80% were older than age 65, however, only 25 resided in the SACS catchment area. More than one third of these did not have clear rehabilitation needs, and the remainder were not referred due to ongoing medical issues. Less than one half of the patients in the catchment area were discussed in a Multi-disciplinary Meeting (MDM) but all were referred to allied health and assessed using the GSA. Although this project did not result in referrals of OPWC to SACS the training program for SACS staff was a success and allied health assessments were improved to include GSA factors. The complexity of care for OPWC was further highlighted through interviews with staff involved with the study.

Bariatric Surgery: A Review of the Available Procedures and Complications for the Emergency Physician

Morbid obesity is a serious and widespread disease that has considerable morbidity and mortality. Bariatric surgery has become widely available in both community and academic centers as a weight loss option for the morbidly obese. Although the procedure is offered to patients after a careful screening process, it is highly invasive and is performed in patients with significant pre-existing comorbidities from obesity. Knowledge of possible postoperative complications and their management is important as it will affect Emergency Departments nationwide. A basic understanding of the available procedures, the anatomical changes of each procedure, and the common complications for each is important to the emergency physician who will need to evaluate and manage the postbariatric surgery patient.

A pilot study of 'fast track' antenatal screening for haemoglobinopathies.

The NHS Plan launched in 2000 advocated a linked antenatal and neonatal screening programme for haemoglobinopathies. Currently screening practices vary widely across the UK and patient sampling is generally performed in a hospital setting. The process is flawed and frequently fails to provide accurate and timely information. In this study we demonstrate that organisational changes can improve the efficiency and quality of screening. The primary care screening process described here has increased partner testing rates and allowed early identification of at risk couples.

Characteristics of Patients Selected for Treatment on a Schizophrenia Research Unit

The patients admitted to the mesearch unit are representative of young adult chronic patients who ave schizophrenia but have not had episodes ofsevere violence. Onset of late adolescence, and their symptomatobogy is persistent. Despite repeated hospitalizations, the patients primarily reside in the community. The careful screening process enables the research ward to function by providing a patient population that is likely to cooperate with the treatment protocol and with whom a research and therapeutic alliance can be forged. The selection process eliminates both assaultive and higher-functioning However, since most research units have similar selection criteria, the study are likely to be similar to those of patients who participate in research programs based in other inpatient settings.

University/community action: An innovative approach to community contracting

The University/Community Action (UCA) program, an undergraduate field education program at the University of Oregon, has developed a placement contracting process with community agencies that achieves a balance of needs between participating agencies, students, and the sponsoring Human Services Department. The experience of the UCA program suggests that agencies will contribute financially to field program maintenance when students are available for agency work 32 hours a week over a 9-month period and university instructors are regularly available for consultation. The specific contracting process includes a careful screening process for reviewing agency applications for students, evaluating student applicants for the program, and matching students with approved placements. This rigorous contracting process has enabled the UCA program to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to learn to initiate developmental systems interventions within their agencies and has resulted in a financially secure, sound educational program.

Psychodynamic time-limited groups for adult children of aging parents.

A short-term therapy group for adults with aging parents is described. This group model relies heavily on a careful screening process in order to identify individuals best able to focus on intrapsychic issues. The developmental crisis of adult children of aging parents and the beginning process of conflict resolution are illustrated through case material that highlights key psychodynamic issues.