Cumulative Number Research Articles

Faculty Development Program and the Outcome of Academic Development

Background: Faculty Development Programs (FDPs) aim to improve the academic careers of faculty members. This study was designed to assess the attitudes of faculty members and the impact of FDP on their academic improvement. Methods: 12 faculty members took part in the research from 2016 to 2019. Using a Delphi method, an open secure questionnaire was provided to 12 junior faculty members in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care (DACC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran. Then, the keywords of the latter were analyzed, leading to a 32-item closed-answer questionnaire, filled out by the same participants. Also, the impact of the study was assessed using bibliometric improvement indices. Results: Both the response rate and participation rate were 100%. Approximately all the participants considered FDP an advantageous and promising academic program. 65 percent of the participants had academic improvement, from “Assistant Professor” to “Associate Professor” rank. Besides, the cumulative number of citations to the participants had a 16.2 times improvement. Both latter results were significantly higher than the mean improvement of the cohort faculty members in the DACC, SBMU. Conclusion: Faculty members of DACC, SBMU had positive attitudes towards FDP and described it as “a well-designed multilateral academic teamwork, thriving ethical, educational, managerial and research-related capacities”. Also, objective improvement in some academic indices was observed. In many academic environments including developing countries, FDPs are effective scientific investment methods.

Connectome-based Brain Marker Moderates the Relationship between Childhood Adversity and Transdiagnostic Psychopathology during Early Adolescence.

Identifying brain-based markers of resiliency that reliably predict who is and is not at elevated risk for developing psychopathology among children who experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is important for improving our mechanistic understanding of these etiological links between child adversity and psychopathology and guiding precision medicine and prevention efforts for reducing psychiatric impact of ACEs. To examine associations between ACEs and transdiagnostic psychopathology during the transition from preadolescence to early adolescence and test whether these associations are moderated by a hypothesized resilience factor, a previously identified connectome variate (CV) that is associated with higher cognitive function and lower psychopathology. This study was conducted in a longitudinal design based on multicenter data from a community cohort of U.S. youth aged of 9-11 at baseline, who participated in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study (N=7,382 at baseline and 6,813 at 2-year follow-up). Linear regression models and moderation analyses were used to characterize concurrent and prospective associations between lifetime ACEs and number of DSM-5 psychiatric disorders (indexing transdiagnostic psychopathology) and to determine if individual variations in these associations were moderated by the CV derived from resting-state fMRI at baseline. Cumulative number of current DSM-5 psychiatric disorders assessed using the computerized self-admin version Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS-5) and lifetime ACEs assessed from child and parent reports at baseline (9-10 years) and 2-year-follow-up (11-12 years). ACE total scores correlated positively with the cumulative number of current DSM-5 psychiatric disorders at both baseline (r =.258, p < .001) and 2-year follow-up (r =.257, p < .001). The baseline CV score moderated the ACE-disorder associations at baseline (B = -0.021, p < .001) and at 2-year follow-up (B = -0.018, p = .008), as well as the association between the changes in ACE and in the number of disorders from baseline to year 2 (B = -0.012, p = .045). Post-hoc analyses further showed that the moderation effect of CV on ACE-psychopathology associations was specific to the threat-related ACEs and to female youth. These findings provide preliminary evidence for a connectome-based resiliency marker and suggest that functional connectivity strength in a broad system including frontal-parietal cortices and subcortical nuclei relevant to cognitive control may protect preadolescents who have experienced lifetime ACEs--especially females and those experiencing threat-related ACEs--from developing transdiagnostic psychopathology.

Sustainable approach for CO2 hydrogenation to formic acid with Ru single atom catalysts on nitrogen-doped carbon prepared from green algae

Ruthenium catalysts supported on nitrogen-doped carbon (NDC) have gained attention due to their exceptional catalytic performance for CO2 hydrogenation to formic acid, a key solution to mitigate CO2 emissions. However, conventional methods for preparing NDC typically rely on petrochemical compounds, which are not environmentally friendly. Herein, we propose a sustainable and innovative approach by employing protein-rich green algae as a source to prepare NDC for Ru catalysts. To maximize the CO2 reduction effect, flue gas exhausted from industrial processes was utilized as a CO2 feed to cultivate the green algae in a photobioreactor. The harvested green algae were pyrolyzed at 800 °C under an N2 atmosphere to prepare the NDC. After the metalation of Ru on prepared NDC, the Ru catalysts exhibited a turnover number of 7,599 for CO2 hydrogenation which demonstrated the potential of green algae as a raw material for NDC. However, the catalysts were deactivated due to the leaching or agglomeration of weakly bound Ru analyzed by experimental and theoretical investigations. We applied a NaBH4 treatment to stabilize the Ru active sites, and the treated catalysts retained 99.6 % of their initial catalytic activity after five recycling tests. Furthermore, Ru on NDC achieved a cumulative turnover number of 16,000 after 24 h. This study offers a sustainable and eco-friendly method for reducing CO2 emissions, combining the cultivation of green algae with waste flue gas and the production of formic acid via CO2 hydrogenation using improved Ru catalysts on algae-derived NDC.

The Influence of Housing Status and Food Insecurity on a Behavioral HIV/STI Prevention Intervention for Black Women under Community Supervision in New York City: A Moderation Analysis.

Black women in community supervision programs (CSPs) are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A randomized controlled trial of a group intervention titled Empowering African-American Women on the Road to Health (E-WORTH) demonstrated effectiveness in reducing sexual risk behaviors and STI incidence among Black women in CSPs. This secondary analysis aimed to assess the moderating effects of housing status and food security on E-WORTH effectiveness in reducing sexual risk behaviors and cumulative incidence of STIs over a 12-month period which were found significant in the original trial among a sample of 351 Black women in CSPs in New York City who use drugs and/or engage in binge drinking who reported engaging in HIV risk behaviors or testing positive for HIV. We examined the moderating effects of housing stability, housing independence, and food insecurity on reducing cumulative STI incidence and number of unprotected sex acts using mixed-effects negative binomial regression and logistic regression models that controlled for age, high school education, employment status, and marital status. Findings indicate that the intervention effect was moderated by housing stability, but not housing independence or food security. Compared to the control group, E-WORTH participants who were housing insecure had 63% fewer acts of condomless sex. Our findings highlight the importance of interventions designed for women in CSPs that account for upstream determinants of health and include service linkages to basic needs provisions. Further research is needed to unpack the cumulative impacts of multiple experiences of poverty faced by this population.

Experimental and numerical study on the damage evolution and acoustic emission multi-parameter responses of single flaw sandstone under uniaxial compression

Cracks are generally the weakest position in engineering rock mass. It is of great practical significance to study the influence of cracks on the fracture process of rock mass and the precursor criterion of failure for disaster prevention and mitigation projects. In this paper, particle flow program (PFC2D) is used to analyze the mechanical strength and damage evolution of fractured rock. The multi-parameter stage characteristics of acoustic emission (AE) and the difference of fracture precursor information of fractured rock mass under uniaxial compression (UC) are explored. The results are as follows: (1) The strength and modulus of elasticity of fractured rock samples are smaller than that of intact rock mass, and increase in quadratic function with the increase of fracture angle, and the strength of B-90 sample is closest to intact rock samples; (2) The PFC analysis shows that the cracks in the defective rock samples all originate from the tip of the prefabricated crack, and the crack initiation angle is basically in the range of 60°∼90°. The loading process mainly produces tensile damage, and the number of tensile cracks are far more than that of shear cracks. Compressive stress and tensile stress increase with the increase of load, but the force chain of failure surface is the smallest after complete failure of rock; (3) The acoustic emission ringing number, RA/AF value, b value and entropy value of sandstone have obvious stage characteristics, the main frequency signal is mainly low frequency signal, and large-scale cracks are mainly produced in the failure process. The sudden increase point of AE ringing times and RA/AF value accumulation curve can be used as critical failure point. The fluctuation of B value and entropy value reflects the instability of fracture development, and “cliff-like” descending point and ascending point can be regarded as the precursor of critical failure of rock; (4) The failure precursor of acoustic emission parameters of sandstone appears in the peak load period of 85 %–98 %. The order of response time of different parameters is: cumulative RA/AF value, cumulative event number, entropy value, B value. The response time of B-45 and B-15 is earlier, while that of B-60 and B-30 is later. The research results are expected to deepen the understanding of the relevant standards of damage evolution and failure precursors of defective rocks in engineering applications.

A novel lifetime analysis of repairable systems via Daubechies wavelets

AbstractIt is well-known that minimally repaired systems are characterized by non-homogeneous Poisson processes. When the underlying lifetime distribution function or its associated intensity function is completely known, the statistical inference of the cumulative number of failures/repairs is made through some standard techniques. On the other hand, when the parametric form of the lifetime distribution or the intensity function is not known, non-parametric inference techniques such as non-parametric maximum likelihood estimate (NPMLE) and kernel-based estimates are employed. Since these techniques are based on the underlying lifetime data, the resulting estimates of the cumulative number of failures/repairs with respect to the system operation time are discontinuous and troublesome in assessing the reliability measures such as reliability function and mean time to failure, etc. In this paper, we propose a novel lifetime analysis of the repairable systems via Daubechies wavelets. More specifically, we generalize the seminal Daubechies wavelet estimate by Kuhl and Bhairgond (Winter Simul Conf Proc 1:562–571, 2000) by combining the ideas on NPMLE and KMBs. In both simulation experiments and real data analyses, we investigate applicability of our Daubechies wavelet-based approaches and compare them with the conventional non-parametric methods.

Safety Assessment of Co-Administered SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in BALB/c Mice

The onset of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in late 2019 presented a severe worldwide health crisis with widespread morbidity and mortality. Various vaccine platforms have been rapidly developed and approved for broad use in a swift and urgent response to prevent the transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, these vaccines differ significantly in terms of safety. Heterologous prime-boost vaccination enhances vaccine safety compared to homologous vaccination, although it could lead to a higher cumulative number of transient adverse events reported at each visit. Therefore, additional strategies are necessary to improve SARS- CoV-2 vaccine safety. Anecdotal options suggest that vaccine co-administration can significantly reduce these adverse effects and consequently, avert the need for frequent booster doses. This study reports the immunization outcomes against the SARS-CoV-2 virus by assessing the safety profiles of different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines co-administered in BALB/c mice. Vaccine combinations comprising mRNA/adenovirus26-vector, mRNA/inactivated, adenovirus26-vector/inactivated, and mRNA/adenovirus26-vector/inactivated vaccines were prepared in optimized doses, and their activities upon immunization evaluated in comparison with individual mRNA, adenovirus26-vectored and inactivated vaccines. Twenty-eight days post-immunization, safety profiles of the various treatments were evaluated through hematological and biochemical examination. Importantly, the co-administration regimens proved safe and were well-tolerated in mice, as evidenced by the normal hematological and biochemical values.

Rate of post Covid-19 symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background. Covid-19 pandemic has led to global pandemic and substantial health, economic and social impact. The causative agent is coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) which belongs to the coronavirus family. The clinical picture of the infection ranges from a flu-like symptoms to severe pneumonia and mortality. Till January 2022, the cumulative number of cases exceeded 600 million worldwide with mortality rate of more than 6 million. Objective: to identify rate of total and individual presentations of post COVID-19 conditions. Methodology: the literature was reviewed till 1st July 2022, in six databases, we identified 5486 articles; after removal of duplicates and screening for eligible studies according to inclusion criteria, 17 studies were included for further qualitative and quantitative analysis. Results: the results showed high rate of post COVID-19 condition among patients. With prevalence rate of 5 to 10%, fatigue was the most reported symptom with prevalence of 34% among patients (RE: 0.33%, 95%CI: 0.32-0.35). The second highest common symptom was breathlessness with prevalence of 31% (RE: 0.31, 95%CI: 0.20-0.43). Mental health symptoms including anxiety and depression were also distinctly frequent. We also reported on different neurocognitive symptoms including attention and memory problems with rate of 16% (RE: 0.16, 95%CI: 0.11-0.22) and 19% (RE: 0.19, 95%CI: 0.14-0.26) respectively. Conclusion: it is apparent that a significant percentage of individuals with COVID-19 (45%) continue to grapple with a variety of persistent symptoms. Among these, fatigue and dyspnea emerge as highly prevalent issues consistently reported across various groups of patients. However, it is evident that a considerable portion of patients also contend with a diverse array of other lingering symptoms, displaying variability both in number and severity.

Analysis of the Epidemic Curve of the Waves of COVID-19 Using Integration of Functions and Neural Networks in Peru

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to claim victims. According to the World Health Organization, in the 28 days leading up to 25 February 2024 alone, the number of deaths from COVID-19 was 7141. In this work, we aimed to model the waves of COVID-19 through artificial neural networks (ANNs) and the sigmoidal–Boltzmann model. The study variable was the global cumulative number of deaths according to days, based on the Peru dataset. Additionally, the variables were adapted to determine the correlation between social isolation measures and death rates, which constitutes a novel contribution. A quantitative methodology was used that implemented a non-experimental, longitudinal, and correlational design. The study was retrospective. The results show that the sigmoidal and ANN models were reasonably representative and could help to predict the spread of COVID-19 over the course of multiple waves. Furthermore, the results were precise, with a Pearson correlation coefficient greater than 0.999. The computational sigmoidal–Boltzmann model was also time-efficient. Moreover, the Spearman correlation between social isolation measures and death rates was 0.77, which is acceptable considering that the social isolation variable is qualitative. Finally, we concluded that social isolation measures had a significant effect on reducing deaths from COVID-19.

Impact assessment of self-medication on COVID-19 prevalence in Gauteng, South Africa, using an age-structured disease transmission modelling framework

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of self-medication on the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 across different age groups, examine the interplay of vaccination and self-medication in disease spread, and identify the age group most prone to self-medication.MethodsWe developed an age-structured compartmentalized epidemiological model to track the early dynamics of COVID-19. Age-structured data from the Government of Gauteng, encompassing the reported cumulative number of cases and daily confirmed cases, were used to calibrate the model through a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) framework. Subsequently, uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were conducted on the model parameters.ResultsWe found that self-medication is predominant among the age group 15-64 (74.52%), followed by the age group 0-14 (34.02%), and then the age group 65+ (11.41%). The mean values of the basic reproduction number, the size of the first epidemic peak (the highest magnitude of the disease), and the time of the first epidemic peak (when the first highest magnitude occurs) are 4.16499, 241,715 cases, and 190.376 days, respectively. Moreover, we observed that self-medication among individuals aged 15-64 results in the highest spreading rate of COVID-19 at the onset of the outbreak and has the greatest impact on the first epidemic peak and its timing.ConclusionStudies aiming to understand the dynamics of diseases in areas prone to self-medication should account for this practice. There is a need for a campaign against COVID-19-related self-medication, specifically targeting the active population (ages 15-64).

Intraoperative neuromonitoring during thyroidectomy does not decrease vocal cord palsy risk, but the cumulative experience of the surgeon may

PurposeTo evaluate the influence of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) on vocal cord palsy (VCP) rates and assess the temporal trends in VCP rates.MethodsThe subjects of this retrospective study were patients who underwent thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer between March, 2014 and June, 2022, at a university hospital in Korea. We compared VCP rates between the non-IONM and IONM groups and analyzed the risk factors for VCP and VCP rates over time.ResultsA total of 712 patients were included in the analysis. The rates of transient and permanent VCP did not differ significantly between the non-IONM and IONM groups. Transient VCP occurred in 4.6% and 4.3% patients (p = 0.878) and VCP was permanent in 0.7% and 0.4% patients (p = 0.607) in the non-IONM and IONM groups, respectively. Among the nerves at risk, transient damage occurred in 2.8% and 3.0% patients (p = 0.901), and permanent damage occurred in 0.4% and 0.3% (p = 0.688), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed no significant risk factors for VCP. There was a significant decreasing trend in VCP rates over time as the cumulative number of cases increased (p = 0.017).ConclusionsIONM did not reduce the risk of VCP significantly. However, the declining trend of VCP rates suggests that the surgeon’s experience may mitigate VCP risk.

Heterologous survey of 130 DNA transposons in human cells highlights their functional divergence and expands the genome engineering toolbox

Experimental studies on DNA transposable elements (TEs) have been limited in scale, leading to a lack of understanding of the factors influencing transposition activity, evolutionary dynamics, and application potential as genome engineering tools. We predicted 130 active DNA TEs from 102 metazoan genomes and evaluated their activity in human cells. We identified 40 active (integration-competent) TEs, surpassing the cumulative number (20) of TEs found previously. With this unified comparative data, we found that the Tc1/mariner superfamily exhibits elevated activity, potentially explaining their pervasive horizontal transfers. Further functional characterization of TEs revealed additional divergence in features such as insertion bias. Remarkably, in CAR-T therapy for hematological and solid tumors, Mariner2_AG (MAG), the most active DNA TE identified, largely outperformed two widely used vectors, the lentiviral vector and the TE-based vector SB100X. Overall, this study highlights the varied transposition features and evolutionary dynamics of DNA TEs and increases the TE toolbox diversity.

Early sexual activity lowers the incidence of intracranial aneurysm: a Mendelian randomization investigation.

Investigate the potential correlation between the age of initial sexual contact, the lifetime accumulation of sexual partners, and the occurrence of intracranial aneurysm (IA) employing a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach. This research aims to elucidate the causal relationship between intracranial aneurysm (IA) and sexual variables. Two distinct sexual variables, specifically the age had first sexual intercourse (n = 406,457) and the lifetime number of sexual partners (n = 378,882), were employed as representative parameters in a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study. Outcome data from 23 cohorts, comprising 5,140 cases and 71,934 controls, were gathered through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). To bolster analytical rigor, five distinct methodologies were applied, encompassing MR-Egger technique, weighted median, inverse variance weighted, simple modeling, and weighted modeling. Our investigation unveiled a causal relationship between the age first had sexual intercourse and the occurrence of intracranial aneurysm (IA), employing the Inverse Variance Weighted (IVW) approach [Odds Ratio (OR): 0.609, p-value: 5.684E-04, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.459-0.807]. This association was notably significant in the context of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (uIA) using the IVW approach (OR: 0.392, p-value: 6.414E-05, 95% CI: 0.248-0.621). Conversely, our findings did not reveal any discernible link between the lifetime number of sexual partners and the occurrence of IA (IA group: OR: 1.346, p-value: 0.415, 95% CI: 0.659-2.749; SAH group: OR: 1.042, p-value: 0.943, 95% CI: 0.338-3.209; uIA group: OR: 1.990, p-value: 0.273, 95% CI: 0.581-6.814). The two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) study presented herein provides evidence supporting a correlation between the age of initial engagement in sexual activity and the occurrence of intracranial aneurysm (IA), with a noteworthy emphasis on unruptured intracranial aneurysms (uIA). Nevertheless, our investigation failed to establish a definitive association between IA and the cumulative lifetime number of sexual partners.

Can the Culture Density of the Marine Copepod Pseudodiaptomus nihonkaiensis be Improved by Installing an Artificial Substrate?

The understanding of the increasing population density of copepods in culture tanks contributes to establish their stable cultures at high productions for aquaculture industry, which are preferred live feeds for fish larvae. In the present study, the semi-benthic copepod Pseudodiaptomus nihonkaiensis were used as target species. This genus is often found from brackish water and its tolerance to a wide range of salinity and water quality has attracted attention as a potential commercial live feed for aquaculture. Population growth and egg production in the semi-benthic copepod P. nihonkaiensis are investigated. Copepods were cultured in tanks without mesh, with mesh lining tank walls, and with 2, 4 or 8 mesh partitions in each tank to identify the effect of substratum surface area on copepod population density. Linear regression revealed peaks in nauplius, copepodite, adult and total densities, and the cumulative number of eggs for all sampling events to correlate positively with substratum surface area (p&lt;0.01). Greater substratum area within a culture tank may improve egg production by increasing habitat for ovigerous females. The simple installation of inexpensive artificial substrata in existing copepod culture tanks might improve the feasibility of using copepods as a live food in commercial-scale aquaculture.

Addressing Hospital Overwhelm During the COVID-19 Pandemic by Using a Primary Health Care-Based Integrated Health System: Modeling Study.

After strict COVID-19-related restrictions were lifted, health systems globally were overwhelmed. Much has been discussed about how health systems could better prepare for future pandemics; however, primary health care (PHC) has been largely ignored. We aimed to investigate what combined policies PHC could apply to strengthen the health care system via a bottom-up approach, so as to better respond to a public health emergency. We developed a system dynamics model to replicate Shanghai's response when COVID-19-related restrictions were lifted. We then simulated an alternative PHC-based integrated health system and tested the following three interventions: first contact in PHC with telemedicine services, recommendation to secondary care, and return to PHC for recovery. The simulation results showed that each selected intervention could alleviate hospital overwhelm. Increasing the rate of first contact in PHC with telemedicine increased hospital bed availability by 6% to 12% and reduced the cumulative number of deaths by 35%. More precise recommendations had a limited impact on hospital overwhelm (<1%), but the simulation results showed that underrecommendation (rate: 80%) would result in a 19% increase in cumulative deaths. Increasing the rate of return to PHC from 5% to 20% improved hospital bed availability by 6% to 16% and reduced the cumulative number of deaths by 46%. Moreover, combining all 3 interventions had a multiplier effect; bed availability increased by 683%, and the cumulative number of deaths dropped by 75%. Rather than focusing on the allocation of medical resources in secondary care, we determined that an optimal PHC-based integrated strategy would be to have a 60% rate of first contact in PHC, a 110% recommendation rate, and a 20% rate of return to PHC. This could increase health system resilience during public health emergencies.

Unplanned hospital readmissions following HeartMate 3 implantation: Readmission rates, causes, and impact on survival.

Hospital readmissions following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) remain a frequent comorbidity, associated with decreased quality of life and increased resources utilization. This study sought to determine causes, predictors, and impact on survival of hospitalizations during HeartMate 3 (HM3) support. All patients implanted with HM3 between November 2014 to December 2019 at Columbia University Irving Medical Center were consecutively enrolled in the study. Demographics and clinical characteristics from the index admission and the first outpatient visit were collected and used to estimate 1-year and 900-day readmission-free survival and overall survival. Multivariable analysis was performed for subsequent readmissions. Of 182 patients who received a HM3 LVAD, 167 (92%) were discharged after index admission and experienced 407 unplanned readmissions over the median follow up of 727 (interquartile range (IQR): 410.5, 1124.5) days. One-year and 900-day mean cumulative number of all-cause unplanned readmissions was 0.43 (95%CI, 0.36, 0.51) and 1.13 (95%CI, 0.99, 1.29). The most frequent causes of rehospitalizations included major infections (29.3%), bleeding (13.2%), device-related (12.5%), volume overload (7.1%), and other (28%). One-year and 900-day survival free from all-cause readmission was 38% (95%CI, 31-46%) and 16.6% (95%CI, 10.3-24.4%). One-year and 900-day freedom from 2, 3, and ≥4 readmissions were 60.7%, 74%, 74.5% and 26.2%, 33.3%, 41.3%. One-year and 900-day survival were unaffected by the number of readmissions and remained >90%. Male sex, ischemic etiology, diabetes, lower serum creatinine, longer duration of index hospitalization, and a history of readmission between discharge and the first outpatient visit were associated with subsequent readmissions. Unplanned hospital readmissions after HM3 are common, with infections and bleeding accounting for the majority of readmissions. Irrespective of the number of readmissions, one-year survival remained unaffected.

MetaAnalysisOnline.com: A new easy-to-use bioinformatic tool for the meta-analysis of clinical trials.

e23012 Background: A meta-analysis is a formal, quantitative study design in epidemiology and clinical medicine that systematically assesses and consolidates previous research findings to derive comprehensive conclusions on a specific topic. Here, we aimed to establish a new tool for the visualization options useful for conducting a meta-analysis specifically designed for oncology trials. Methods: A meta-analysis can be based on binary data, continuous data, or time-to-event data. The most crucial statistical models, including the random effect model and the fixed effect model, are outlined alongside their respective statistical methods. Furthermore, we implemented graphical representations such as the forest plot, funnel plots, and Z-scope plots. While the forest plot effectively illustrates heterogeneity and pooled results, a funnel plot can reveal potential publication bias, and a Z-score plot shows the robustness of the used sample number. Results: The models and visualization options outlined have been integrated into a new, online web portal which can be accessed without the need for registration. The web application operates on an Ubuntu server running Apache and enables users to conduct meta-analyses using results typically used in oncology trials including binary (total and event numbers), continuous (mean and standard deviation data), and time-to-event data (hazard rate and CI data). Study results from common spreadsheet applications like Excel can be directly input into the system. The online platform utilizes the meta and metafor packages in the R programming environment (R version 4.2.2) for calculations and plots. The Shiny user interface is powered by shinyjs, shinydashboard, and rhandsontable R packages. The portal generates a forest plot to summarize meta-analysis results, a funnel plot for visual detection of potential bias, and a Z-score plot showing the sufficiency of the cumulative sample number. The analysis results of the tool were validated using IBM SPSS v28. The new bioinformatic tool is available at www.metaanalysisonline.com and requires no programming knowledge or command line use. Conclusions: Our platform aims to provide a user-friendly meta-analysis tool for epidemiological studies and oncology clinical trials, offering a swift and reproducible way to integrate the results from multiple studies.

Targeted Delivery of Macrophage Membrane Biomimetic Liposomes Through Intranasal Administration for Treatment of Ischemic Stroke.

Ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) and Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) can be used for ischemic stroke treatment, however, the lack of targeting to the ischemic region limits the therapeutic effect. To address this, we leveraged the affinity of macrophage membrane proteins for inflamed brain microvascular endothelial cells to develop a macrophage membrane-cloaked liposome loaded with Rg3 and PNS (MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS), which can precisely target brain lesion region through intranasal administration. MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS was prepared by co-extrusion method and was performed by characterization, stability, surface protein, and morphology. The cellular uptake, immune escape ability, and blood-brain barrier crossing ability of MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS were studied in vitro. The in vivo brain targeting, biodistribution and anti-ischemic efficacy of MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS were evaluated in MACO rats, and we determined the diversity of the nasal brain pathway through the olfactory nerve blockade model in rats. Finally, the pharmacokinetics and brain targeting index of MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS were investigated. Our results indicated that MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS was spherical with a shell-core structure. MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS can avoid mononuclear phagocytosis, actively bind to inflammatory endothelial cells, and have the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Moreover, MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS could specifically target ischemic sites, even microglia, increase the cumulative number of drugs in the brain, improve the inflammatory environment of the brain, and reduce the infarct size. By comparing olfactory nerve-blocking rats with normal rats, it was found that there are direct and indirect pathways for nasal entry into the brain. Pharmacokinetics demonstrated that MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS exhibited stronger brain targeting and prolonged drug half-life. MM-Lip-Rg3/PNS might contribute to the accumulation of Rg3 and PNS in the ischemic brain area to improve treatment efficacy. This biomimetic nano-drug delivery system provides a new and promising strategy for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

가족 사별과 중노년기의 삶의 만족도 및 우울감

This study aims to examine the association of family bereavement with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms among middle-agedand older adults, in terms of (1) experience of family bereavement, (2) experience of different types of family bereavement, and (3) the cumulative number of family losses. We analyzed data from the 1st (2006; N = 9,687; all family losses experienced until 2006) and 8th (2020; N = 5,236; recent family losses experienced in the past four years) waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. First, recent family bereavement was negatively associated with life satisfaction, while family bereavement across the life span was not significant for life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Second, among losses across the life span, father and spouse deaths were significant for life satisfaction and depressive symptoms; among recent losses, only spousal bereavement was associated with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Finally, the cumulative number of family losses across the life span (including father, mother, and spouse) was significant for life satisfaction and depressive symptoms, whereas the cumulative number of recent family losses (including father, mother, siblings, children,and spouse) was not significant. These findings underscore the importance of examining both exposure and cumulative effects of family bereavement.

Obesity, psychological well-being related measures, and risk of seven non-communicable diseases: evidence from longitudinal studies of UK and US older adults

BackgroundWe examined the role of psychological well-being related measures in explaining the associations between obesity and increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs: hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and memory-related disease) in older adults.MethodsData were from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), UK (baseline: Wave 4—2008/2009; n = 8127) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), US (baseline: Waves 9 and 10—2008/2010; n = 12,477). Objective body mass index was used to define obesity. A range of psychological well-being related measures (e.g., depressive symptoms, life satisfaction) was available in ELSA (n = 7) and HRS (n = 15), and an index of overall psychological well-being was developed separately in each study. NCDs were from a self-reported doctor diagnosis and/or other assessments (e.g., biomarker data) in both studies; and in ELSA, NCDs from linked hospital admissions data were examined. Longitudinal associations between obesity status, psychological well-being measures, and NCDs were examined using Cox proportional hazard models (individual NCDs) and Poisson regression (a cumulative number of NCDs). Mediation by psychological well-being related measures was assessed using causal mediation analysis.ResultsObesity was consistently associated with an increased prospective risk of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and a cumulative number of NCDs in both ELSA and HRS. Worse overall psychological well-being (index measure) and some individual psychological well-being related measures were associated with an increased prospective risk of heart disease, stroke, arthritis, memory-related disease, and a cumulative number of NCDs across studies. Findings from mediation analyses showed that neither the index of overall psychological well-being nor any individual psychological well-being related measures explained (mediated) why obesity increased the risk of developing NCDs in both studies.ConclusionObesity and psychological well-being may independently and additively increase the risk of developing NCDs.