Degree Of Consistency Research Articles

Can fiscal incentives to saving alleviate looming old-age poverty?

Abstract We develop a general equilibrium overlapping generations framework with incompletely rational individuals to study old-age saving incentives. Such incentives are used worldwide to help achieve the high savings rate required to sustain sufficient consumption in old age. We show that they raise the welfare of financially illiterate individuals and those with a high degree of time inconsistency. They also reduce the incidence of poverty in old age. We further quantify the fiscal cost, crowd-out, and ability to target the transfers to individuals who need the most. Given the high prevalence of these schemes, our paper has broad policy implications.

New Tanino's Additive Consistency Trapezoidal Fuzzy Extension and Optimal Fuzzy Priority Vector Acquisition

Multiplication and division of fuzzy arithmetic have brought out theoretical drawbacks to fuzzy analytic hierarchy process based decision making systems. To cope with the drawbacks, trapezoidal fuzzy additive reciprocal preference matrices (TFARPMs) are utilized to characterize preference information and addition and subtraction of fuzzy arithmetic are applied to fuzzy numbers. This paper introduces formulas to calculate left and right spread indices and imprecision indices of cores and supports for fuzzy elements in a TFARPM. Based on the addition of fuzzy arithmetic, a transitivity equation system with a parameterized trapezoidal fuzzy vector is built and computational formulas are devised to identify values of parameters from imprecision indices of cores and supports of the trapezoidal fuzzy elements in a TFARPM. A fuzzy addition based non-parametric transitivity equation is then established to define additive consistency of TFARPMs. Properties of additively consistent TFARPMs are proposed and an index formula is brought forward to compute additive inconsistency degrees of TFARPMs. A novel approach is presented to generate additively consistent TFARPMs from fuzzy vectors and a new framework is put forward to normalize [0, 1]-valued trapezoidal fuzzy vectors. An absolute deviation based minimization model is developed and converted equivalently into a linear program to acquire normalized trapezoidal fuzzy priority vectors from TFARPMs. A closed-form solution of the minimization model is found to calculate normalized optimal trapezoidal fuzzy priority vectors of additively consistent TFARPMs. Two illustrating examples including a multi-criteria decision making problem are provided to validate the proposed models.

Comparison of biomechanical analysis results using different musculoskeletal models for children with cerebral palsy.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal model-based simulations have gained popularity as a tool for analyzing human movement biomechanics. However, when examining the same gait, different models with varying anatomical data and assumptions may produce inconsistent biomechanical results. This inconsistency is particularly relevant for children with cerebral palsy, who often exhibit multiple pathological gait patterns that can impact model outputs. Methods: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of selecting musculoskeletal models on the biomechanical analysis results in children with cerebral palsy. Gait data were collected from multiple participants at slow, medium, and fast velocities. Joint kinematics, joint dynamics, and muscle activation were calculated using six popular musculoskeletal models within a biomechanical simulation environment. Results: The degree of inconsistency, measured as the root-mean-square deviation, in kinematic and kinetic results produced by the different models ranged from 4% to 40% joint motion range and 0%-28% joint moment range, respectively. The correlation between the results of the different models (both kinematic and kinetic) was good (R0.85, P 0.01), with a stronger correlation observed in the kinetic results. Four of the six models showed a positive correlation between the simulated muscle activation of rectus femoris and the surface EMG, while all models exhibited a positive correlation between the activation of medial gastrocnemius and the surface EMG (P 0.01). Discussion: These results provide insights into the consistency of model results, factors influencing consistency, characteristics of each model's outputs, mechanisms underlying these characteristics, and feasible applications for each model. By elucidating the impact of model selection on biomechanical analysis outcomes, this study advances the field's understanding of musculoskeletal modeling and its implications for clinical gait analysis model decision-making in children with cerebral palsy.

Electrocardiogram and echocardiography findings and the outcomes of patients with myocardial infarction: Retrospective study in tertiary care hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is diagnosed when there is a rise in cardiac biomarkers along with supportive evidence in the form of typical symptoms, suggestive electrocardiographic (ECG) changes, or imaging evidence of a new loss of viable myocardium or a new regional wall motion abnormality. The data regarding the use of ECG and echocardiography (Echo) findings and their impact on mortality are still lacking in Ethiopia. This study assessed the utilization of ECG and Echo findings and outcomes of patients with MI in tertiary care hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia. A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients with MI who were admitted to the adult intensive care units (ICUs) of two selected hospitals between January 2018 and July 30, 2021. Data was entered and analyzed using the SPSS 25 software. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between in-hospital mortality and other variables. A P-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Among the 203 participants, 67.5% were male, and the mean age of the participants was 59 (13.8). Around two-thirds (66.5%) of patients had STEMI and a regional all-motion abnormality. More than half (54.1%) of the cases were in the anteroapical region. For MI, there was a 23.2% inconsistency between ECG and Echo findings. The rate of in-hospital mortality for patients with MI was 23%. Pulmonary hypertension [AOR = 7.8, 95% CI: 1.72-34.93], inferobasal regional wall motion abnormality [AOR = 7.9, 95% CI: 1.340-46.093], Killip's classes III and IV [AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.103-6.314], infection [AOR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.108-10.65], and ischemic stroke [AOR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.091-5.222] were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality compared with their counterparts. The mortality of patients with MI in this study was higher than in other reports. Killip's class, pulmonary hypertension, infection, ischemic stroke, and inferobasal regional wall motion abnormalities were significantly associated with the in-hospital mortality of the patients with MI. There was a higher degree of inconsistency between ECG and Echo findings. The treatment of patients with MI should be tailored to their specific risk factors and causes.

Association between mouth rinse use and changes in blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

Previous randomized controlled trials have shown that the use of antiseptic mouth rinses not only eradicates oral bacteria but also disrupts their ability to convert nitrate to nitrite, which is the key molecule in regulating blood pressure (BP). This study aimed to evaluate the association between the use of mouth rinses and changes in BP. The PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched from their respective inception dates to 18th December 2022 to identify potential interventional studies with information on the association between the use of mouth rinse and changes in BP. Five trials using a controlled, crossover design were identified for data analysis. The weighted mean difference was pooled using a random-effects model. The pooled results of five trials together showed that the use of mouth rinses did not result in a statistically or clinically significant increase in the systolic BP (SBP) (1.59 mmHg; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.15 to 3.33) or diastolic BP (DBP) (0.46 mmHg; 95% CI, -0.72 to 1.64). The trial sequential analysis did not present conclusive evidence supporting the association between mouth rinse use and BP elevation. Within the limits of the available evidence, our review and meta-analysis showed that mouth rinse use did not result in a statistically significant increase in the SBP, DBP, or mean arterial pressure (MAP). Nevertheless, the results should be interpreted cautiously due to the high degree of inconsistency across the studies.

Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers and the Quest for Consistency in Counter-Reformation Chant

This article examines early modern chant reform in the Premonstratensian order, with a geographical focus on the Low Countries. It seeks to document the state of Premonstratensian chants and the varying degrees of inconsistency that prompted the order’s commissioning of chant reformer Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (ca. 1632–1714) and his Antiphonarium Praemonstratense (1680). While surviving documentary evidence attests to the Premonstratensians’ frustrations with their repertory, most of these records do not point to specific ways in which their chants fell short. This article therefore addresses the context behind Premonstratensian reform through both official dicta of the Premonstratensian administrators and Low Countries breviaries and antiphoners from the fourteenth century onward, which are themselves part of a longer history of reform. The diversity of textual and melodic interpretations in these sources paints a picture of general inconsistency before 1680. By analyzing older Premonstratensian sources that were adapted to match Nivers’s reforms, it also becomes possible to see how his new antiphoner was received and understood, and thereby to measure the qualified impact and success of his reforms. While the order commissioned the 1680 antiphoner as part of a wholesale recalibration of the Premonstratensian liturgy, later editors of older manuscript antiphoners occasionally misunderstood or ignored his contributions in the sources they were meant to update.

An examination of corporate environmental goals disclosure, sustainability performance and firm value – An Egyptian evidence

This paper explores the status quo of environmental goals disclosure (EGD) and empirically tests its impact on Egyptian corporate sustainability ratings and firm value. We find that Egyptian companies show a large degree of variability and inconsistency in their EGDs. However, EGDs have a positive impact on sustainability ratings and firm value. Companies that release more EGDs are more likely to gain membership in the Egyptian Sustainability Index and attain a high sustainability rank, to which the capital market reacts positively. Our findings have important implications, particularly for policymakers, companies, investors, environmental activists, and other stakeholder groups in developing nations. This study contributes insights from EGD practices in Egypt to the existing literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing nations. It also helps to resolve the conflicting predictions of socio-political theories and the voluntary disclosure theory, showing how both perspectives help to explain the relationships among corporate EGDs, sustainability ratings, and firm.

Effects of Massage Therapy for Achilles Tendinopathy - A Meta-Analysison Determining the Effects on Pain and Functional Outcome

Introduction: Achilles tendinopathy has become more common during the last thirty years, and this rise has been linked to increased participation in leisure and competitive sports. The condition is commonly seen among those who participate in activities such as running and jumping. Methodology: The study thoroughly assessed pertinent literature as part of its search approach. Reputable academic databases, suchas Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, and Pedro, were searched from 2015 to 2023 by an impartial reviewer. Studies examining massage therapy’s impact on Achilles tendinopathy were included, emphasizing pain relief and functional enhancements. Results: The meta-analysis examined three trials to evaluate the impact of a particular intervention (Kousar et al., 2022; Bussin et al., 2021; McCormack et al., 2016). An SMD of -0.788 (95% CI: -1.139 to -0.438, p&lt;0.001) indicated a statistically significant overall impact in the fixed-effects and random-effects model, with an SMD of -0.950 (95% CI: -2.745 to 0.844, p = 0.297). With a CI ranging from -3.064 to -1.837, Kousar et al. analysis of individual studies revealed a sizeable negative impact (SMD=-2.450), indicating a significant outcome in favor of the intervention. A less favorable result was indicated by Bussin et al.’s small positive impact (SMD=0.192), which had a CI of -0.292 to 0.676. Although the CI was broader, from -1.636 to 0.456, McCormack et al. observed a negative impact (SMD=-0.590), indicating a significant result favoring the intervention. The test for heterogeneity (I2 = 95.62%, p&lt;0.0001) found a high degree of inconsistency, indicating significant diversity between the investigations. Conclusion: These results imply that even if proof of a sizable overall impact exists, more investigation is necessary to identify and address variability-related causes in improving the precision and generalizability of the intervention’s benefits.

O-277 Safety of pregnancy after early breast cancer in young women with hormone receptor-positive disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Study question Is it safe to have a pregnancy in women with prior history of hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer? Summary answer Pregnancy following breast cancer treatments in young women with history of hormone receptor-positive disease is safe with no detrimental effect on patients’ prognosis. What is known already Breast cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed in women of reproductive age. Both physicians and patients continue to have concerns about a potential detrimental effect of pregnancy after breast cancer, particularly in the setting of hormone receptor-positive disease. In recent years, several studies have demonstrated the safety of pregnancy after anticancer treatments in breast cancer survivors. Study design, size, duration A systematic literature search of Medline, Embase and Cochrane library with no language or date restriction up to January 1st, 2023, was performed following the PRISMA guidelines. We included retrospective or prospective case-control and cohort studies as well as prospective clinical trials comparing survival outcomes of premenopausal female patients with reported pregnancy or not after diagnosis and treatment for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Participants/materials, setting, methods Included patients were childbearing potential age women with a prior history of hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer. Outcomes of interest were disease-free survival and overall survival. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were extracted. Higgins I2 index was used to evaluate the degree of inconsistency in the results of the included studies. Pooled HRs were considered statistically significant with a P value of &amp;lt; 0.05 (two-sided). Main results and the role of chance Eight studies were eligible to be included in the final analysis. A total of 3,805 patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer were included in these studies, of whom 1,285 had a pregnancy after treatments. Median follow-up of the included studies ranged from 3.81 years to 15.8 years. In three studies (n = 987 patients) reporting on disease-free survival outcomes, no difference was observed between patients with or without a subsequent pregnancy (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.75 – 1.24, p = 0.781). Six studies (n = 3,504 patients) reported outcomes in terms of overall survival: patients with a pregnancy after breast cancer had better overall survival compared with those without a pregnancy (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.27 – 0.77, p &amp;lt; 0.05). At the subgroup analysis on timing of pregnancy, no detrimental effect of pregnancy after breast cancer in terms of disease-free survival was observed for patients achieving a late pregnancy (defined as 2 or 5 years after diagnosis) as compared to patients without a subsequent pregnancy (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.80 – 1.46, p = 0.611). Increased disease-free survival was observed in patients with an early pregnancy (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.47 – 0.85, p &amp;lt; 0.05). Limitations, reasons for caution This meta-analysis is based on abstracted data and most of the studies are retrospective cohort studies. Median follow-up in a large proportion of the studies was shorter than 10 years. Adjuvant hormone therapy before and after pregnancy was not available in many studies included. Wider implications of the findings Our results strengthen the evidence that having a pregnancy in women with prior history of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer is safe. Trial registration number not applicable

Effect of Students Attitude Towards Mathematics on their Mathematical Achievement at Secondary School Level

The effect of student’s attitude on mathematical achievement has gathered tremendous attention from various researchers. However, there is a degree of inconsistency in the findings regarding these effects. The aim of the study was to find out the effect of students’ attitude towards Mathematics on their mathematical achievement at secondary schools in AJ&amp;K. The objectives of the study were; to analyze students’ attitude in Mathematics at secondary level, to compare students’ attitude and academic achievement in Mathematics (gender wise) in AJ&amp;K and to find out the effect of students’ attitude on Mathematical achievement at secondary level in AJ&amp;K. The research was descriptive and quantitative in nature and cross-sectional survey was used to collect the data. All the students of 10th class of Govt. Secondary Schools in District Bagh AJ&amp;K were the population of the study. There were 1076 students (458 boys and 618 girls) studying in 10th class in Government Secondary Schools of District Bagh. Sample was taken using Stratified random sampling technique. The researcher selected 444 students (192 male and 252 female) using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The researcher developed five-point Likert scale questionnaire to collect the data. It was concluded that attitude had an impact on the mathematical achievements of the students. Parents’ education, qualification and social status had positive effect on academic achievements of students. It is recommended that students may be encouraged to achieve mathematical goals.

Detecting gene breakpoints in noisy genome sequences using position-annotated colored de-Bruijn graphs

BackgroundIdentifying the locations of gene breakpoints between species of different taxonomic groups can provide useful insights into the underlying evolutionary processes. Given the exact locations of their genes, the breakpoints can be computed without much effort. However, often, existing gene annotations are erroneous, or only nucleotide sequences are available. Especially in mitochondrial genomes, high variations in gene orders are usually accompanied by a high degree of sequence inconsistencies. This makes accurately locating breakpoints in mitogenomic nucleotide sequences a challenging task.ResultsThis contribution presents a novel method for detecting gene breakpoints in the nucleotide sequences of complete mitochondrial genomes, taking into account possible high substitution rates. The method is implemented in the software package DeBBI. DeBBI allows to analyze transposition- and inversion-based breakpoints independently and uses a parallel program design, allowing to make use of modern multi-processor systems. Extensive tests on synthetic data sets, covering a broad range of sequence dissimilarities and different numbers of introduced breakpoints, demonstrate DeBBI ’s ability to produce accurate results. Case studies using species of various taxonomic groups further show DeBBI ’s applicability to real-life data. While (some) multiple sequence alignment tools can also be used for the task at hand, we demonstrate that especially gene breaks between short, poorly conserved tRNA genes can be detected more frequently with the proposed approach.ConclusionThe proposed method constructs a position-annotated de-Bruijn graph of the input sequences. Using a heuristic algorithm, this graph is searched for particular structures, called bulges, which may be associated with the breakpoint locations. Despite the large size of these structures, the algorithm only requires a small number of graph traversal steps.

The Impact of Ambivalent Attitudes on the Helpfulness of Web-Based Reviews: Secondary Analysis of Data From a Large Physician Review Website.

Previously, most studies used 5-star and 1-star ratings to represent reviewers' positive and negative attitudes, respectively. However, this premise is not always true because individuals' attitudes have more than one dimension. In particular, given the credence traits of medical service, to build durable physician-patient relationships, patients may rate their physicians with high scores to avoid lowering their physicians' web-based ratings and help build their physicians' web-based reputations. Some patients may express complaints only in review texts, resulting in ambivalence, such as conflicting feelings, beliefs, and reactions toward physicians. Thus, web-based rating platforms for medical services may face more ambivalence than platforms for search or experience goods. On the basis of the tripartite model of attitudes and uncertainty reduction theory, this study aims to consider both the numerical rating and sentiment of each web-based review to explore whether there is ambivalence and how ambivalent attitudes influence the helpfulness of web-based reviews. This study collected 114,378 reviews of 3906 physicians on a large physician review website. Then, based on existing literature, we operationalized numerical ratings as the cognitive dimension of attitudes and sentiment in review texts as the affective dimension of attitudes. Several econometric models, including the ordinary least squares model, logistic regression model, and Tobit model, were used to test our research model. First, this study confirmed the existence of ambivalence in each web-based review. Then, by measuring ambivalence through the inconsistency between the numerical rating and sentiment for each review, this study found that the ambivalence in different web-based reviews has a different impact on the helpfulness of the reviews. Specifically, for reviews with positive emotional valence, the higher the degree of inconsistency between the numerical rating and sentiment, the greater the helpfulness is (βpositive 1=.046; P<.001). For reviews with negative and neutral emotional valence, the impact is opposite, that is, the higher the degree of inconsistency between the numerical rating and sentiment, the lesser the helpfulness is (βnegative 1=-.059, P<.001; βneutral 1=-.030, P=.22). Considering the traits of the data, the results were also verified using the logistic regression model (θpositive 1=0.056, P=.005; θnegative 1=-0.080, P<.001; θneutral 1=-0.060, P=.03) and Tobit model. This study confirmed the existence of ambivalence between the cognitive and affective dimensions in single reviews and found that for reviews with positive emotional valence, the ambivalent attitudes lead to more helpfulness, but for reviews with negative and neutral emotion valence, the ambivalence attitudes lead to less helpfulness. The results contribute to the web-based review literature and inspire a better design for rating mechanisms in review websites to enhance the helpfulness of reviews.

An Audit of Orthopaedic Discharge Summaries Comparing Electronic With Handwritten Summaries: A Quality Improvement Project.

Introduction Discharge summaries (DS), which are sent from inpatient to outpatient settings, transmit critical clinical information. DS play a crucial role in the discharge process since they provide critical information about the patients that is simple to remember and help with patient follow-up in the community. This audit sought to determine if a quality improvement (QI) program may have an influence on the severity of mistakes at the moment of discharge and to assess the existing degree of inconsistencies on handwritten DS for orthopaedic patients. Methodology From the orthopaedics department at a tertiary care facility in south India, 100 handwritten DS and 100 electronic DS over six months were randomly chosen, and they were retrospectively audited against a predetermined set of criteria. The errors were compiled and compared by three reviewers. Results Some of the criteria, such as the doctor's signature, the speciality of admission, procedural therapy at the hospital, and the date of admission, were contained in all handwritten and electronic DS. Some of the metrics showed that electronic DS performed better than handwritten DS in areas such as hospital complications, which increased from 50% to 100%, contact information, which increased from 34% to 95%, and condition at discharge, which increased from 66% to 96%. Also, understandability increased from 58% to 100%, prognostic details increased from 70% to 96%, allergies increased from 66% to 100%, physical examination findings increased from 88% to 100%, admission diagnosis increased from 80% to 100%, patient/physician details increased from 92% to 100%, the information given to patient increased from 88% to 100%, problem list/issue pending increased from 35% to 92%, investigation increased from 80% to 100%, discharge medications increased from 88% to 100%, follow-up plan increased from 80% to 100%, discharge diagnosis increased from 94% to 100%, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code increased from 93% to 100%, and days of admission increased from 92% to 100%. Conclusion Following the deployment of electronic DS, we were able to better care for patients and lessen their discomfort.We advise converting to electronic DS to enhance patient care and better record-keeping since this will become a significant problem if all notes are not accurately filled and are not readable.

IFogRep: An intelligent consistent approach for replication and placement of IoT based on fog computing

Recently, the Internet of Things (IoT) has played key roles in every aspect of daily routine tasks. IoT applications suffer from higher latency and limited network bandwidth in the internet core. However, due to bandwidth and resource constraints, the resultant massive data traffic triggers storage overhead, high latency, and network bottleneck problems. Therefore, cloud computing and fog computing are introduced as popular IoT assistance. In fact, using a fog layer with such a highly dynamic environment raises a placement problem that needs to identify the optimal fog node that can be assigned to place the sensed data there. However, using a single copy of the datum in a single node can increase the concurrent access and maximize the network latency. Therefore, replication is considered a known technique to improve availability by publishing many replicas to many sites. However, using replication causes a degree of temporal data inconsistency and requires the application to be tolerant. This work proposes a novel intelligent solution for dynamic consistent replication and optimal placement of IoT using fog computing. The results show the ability of the current work to reduce the system latency and cost of replica access and increase the data availability.

Active Information Acceptance of Children: Differences in Retraction of Information Acceptance Depending on the Discrepancy between Accepted and Observed Information and Presence or Absence of a Question

이 연구는 유아가 정보 제공자에게서 낯선 정보를 수용한 이후, 그와 불일치하는 사례들을 관찰하였을 때 기존의 정보 수용을 철회하는지를 알아보았다. 구체적으로, 이미 수용한 정보 제공자의 정보와 직접 관찰한 사례들이 불일치하는 정도(완전 불일치, 대부분 불일치), 그리고 관찰 사례들을 접하기 전에 기존의 수용 정보에 관한 성인의 질문을 접하는지 유무에 따라 유아가 기존의 정보 수용을 철회하는지를 알아보았다. 연구 참여자는 5세 101명(남: 49명, 여: 52명)이었으며, 온라인 실험으로 이를 알아보았다. 자료는 SPSS 20.0으로 교차분석과 이항검정을 하였다. 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 유아는 이미 수용한 정보 제공자의 정보와 이후에 관찰한 사례들이 완전히 불일치할 때에는 기존의 정보 수용을 철회하지만, 대부분 불일치할 때에는 기존의 정보 수용을 유지하는 경향이 있었다. 둘째, 기존의 정보 수용에 관한 질문을 접한 유아는 대부분 불일치 조건에서 기존의 정보 수용을 철회하는 경향이 있었다. 이 연구를 통해 질문이 특정 조건에서 유아의 능동적인 정보 수용을 도울 수 있다는 것을 알 수 있다.This study aims to investigate whether children retract their initial acceptance of unfamiliar information provided by an informant after encountering inconsistent information. Specifically, the study examines whether the degree of inconsistency between the previously accepted information and the directly observed examples (complete inconsistency, mostly inconsistency), and whether children were exposed to questioning by an adult about their prior acceptance before being presented with the observed examples, influence children's tendency to retract their initial acceptance. The study involves 101 five-year-olds (49 boys, 52 girls) who were interviewed online as participants. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 with cross-analysis and binomial test. The results suggest that children retract their prior acceptance of information when presented with complete inconsistency, but tend to maintain their prior acceptance when there is mostly inconsistency. Furthermore, when questioned about their prior acceptance, children tend to retract their acceptance in mostly mismatched situation. This study provides valuable insights into children's information acceptance and highlights the role of questioning in promoting active information acceptance under a specific condition.

Photoluminescent Properties and Mechanism of Novel Cyanine-Borondifluoride Curcuminoid Hybrids as Red-to-Near Infrared and Endoplasmic Reticulum-Targeting Dyes.

Synthesis-oriented design led us to the discovery of a series of novel cyanine-borondifluoride curcuminoid hybrids called Nanchang Red (NCR) dyes that overcome the intrinsic low synthetic yields of symmetrical cyanine-difluoroboronate (BF2 )-hybridized NIR dyes. The hybridization endows NCR dyes with high molar extinction coefficients, efficient red-to-NIR emission, and enlarged Stokes shifts. Quantum chemical calculations revealed that the asymmetrical layout of the three key electron-withdrawing and electron-donating fragments results in a special pattern of partial charge separation and inconsistent degrees of charge delocalization on their π-conjugated backbones. While the nature of the hemicyanine fragment exerts significant influence on the excitation modes of NCR dyes, the borondifluoride hemicurcuminoid fragment is the major contributor to the enlarged Stokes shifts. Cell imaging experiments illustrated that a subtle change in the N-heterocycle of the hemicyanine fragment has a remarkable effect on the subcellular localization of NCR dyes. Unlike other previously reported cyanine-BF2 hybridized dyes, which mainly target mitochondria, the benzothiazole and indole-based NCR dyes accumulate in both the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lipid droplets of HeLa cells, whereas the benzoxazole and quinoline-based NCR dyes stain the ER specifically.

GRADE guidance 36: updates to GRADE's approach to addressing inconsistency

ObjectivesTo update previous Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) guidance by addressing inconsistencies and interpreting subgroup analyses. Study Design and SettingUsing an iterative process, we consulted with members of the GRADE working group through multiple rounds of written feedback and discussions at GRADE working group meetings. ResultsThe guidance complements previous guidance with clarification in two areas: (1) assessing inconsistency and (2) assessing the credibility of possible effect modifiers that might explain inconsistency. Specifically, the guidance clarifies that inconsistency refers to variability in results, not in study characteristics; that inconsistency assessment for binary outcomes requires consideration of both relative and absolute effects; how to decide between narrower and broader questions in systematic reviews and guidelines; that, with the same evidence, ratings of inconsistency may differ depending on the target of certainty rating; and how GRADE inconsistency ratings relate to a statistical measure of inconsistency I2 depending on the context in which one views results. The second part of the guidance illustrates, based on a worked example, the use of the instrument to assess the credibility of effect modification analyses. The guidance explains the stepwise process of moving from a subgroup analysis to assessing the credibility of effect modification and, if found credible, to subgroup-specific effect estimates and GRADE certainty ratings. ConclusionThis updated guidance addresses specific conceptual and practical issues that systematic review authors frequently face when considering the degree of inconsistency in estimates of treatment effects across studies.

Validation of a Resectability Scoring System for Prediction of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Surgical Outcomes.

The most used pancreatic cancer (PC) resectability criteria are descriptive in nature or based solely on dichotomous degree of involvement (< 180° or > 180°) of vessels, which allows for a high degree of subjectivity and inconsistency. Radiographic measurements of the circumferential degree and length of tumor contact with major peripancreatic vessels were retrospectively obtained from pre-treatment multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) images from PC patients treated between 2001 and 2015 at two large academic institutions. Arterial and venous scores were calculated for each patient, then tested for a correlation with tumor resection and R0 resection. The analysis included 466 patients. Arterial and venous scores were highly predictive of resection and R0 resection in both the training (n = 294) and validation (n = 172) cohorts. A recursive partitioning tree based on arterial and venous score cutoffs developed with the training cohort was able to stratify patients of the validation cohort into discrete groups with distinct resectability probabilities. A refined recursive partitioning tree composed of three resectability groups was generated, with probabilities of resection and R0 resection of respectively 94 and 73% for group A, 61 and 35% for group B, and 4 and 2% for group C. This resectability scoring system (RSS) was highly prognostic, predicting median overall survival times of 27, 18.9, and 13.5 months respectively for patients in RSS groups A, B, and C (p < 0.001). The proposed RSS was highly predictive of resection, R0 resection, and prognosis for patients with PC when tested against an external dataset.

Association between Dyslipidemia and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This study aimed to use meta-analysis to estimate the association between dyslipidemia and meibomian gland dysfunction. The following databases were searched: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Case-control and cohort studies assessing the association between dyslipidemia and meibomian gland dysfunction were included. The association was assessed using odds ratios. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed with the χ2 statistic and degree of inconsistency. The quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42022347982). The systematic review included three case-control and two cohort studies. The odds of hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia in meibomian gland dysfunction were 5.45 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65 to 17.95) and 3.28 (95% CI, 1.25 to 8.62), respectively. The odds of elevated serum low-density lipoprotein and reduced high-density lipoprotein in meibomian gland dysfunction were 2.72 (95% CI, 1.24 to 5.98) and 1.15 (95% CI, 0.74 to 1.79), respectively. The current study's limitation is that the effects of sex, age, and meibomian gland dysfunction severity on the association between dyslipidemia and meibomian gland dysfunction were not assessed. The current study suggests a significant association between dyslipidemia and meibomian gland dysfunction. This finding suggests that meibomian gland dysfunction diagnosis may call for dyslipidemia screening.

물질의 상태 분류에 대한 머신러닝 기반 교사교육 프로그램의 교육적 효과

Objectives In this study, a machine learning-based teacher education program for classifying the state of matter was developed and implemented for elementary and secondary science teachers and machine learning model for state classification of matter was established. And by analyzing the model evaluation and the experience of science teachers qualitatively, it was attempted to confirm the effectiveness of the program and the perception of science teachers about the application of machine learning to science classes.&#x0D; Methods For 31 elementary and middle school science teachers enrolled in the Graduate School of Education at the College of Education located in the central region, a total of three matter classification activities were performed and a decision tree algorithm was applied to the machine learning model. And the effectiveness of the program was confirmed through model performance evaluation such as accuracy and F1-score. In addition, we qualitatively analyzed the thoughts of science teachers on the application of machine learning.&#x0D; Results TAs a result of evaluating the performance of the built model during a total of 3 state of matter classification activities, it was determined that the accuracy and F1-score values increased statically, resulting in the educational effect of the Machine Learning-Based Teacher Education Program on the Classifying State of Matter. And as a result of analyzing the data of the study participants, it was revealed that there are cases in which the states of matter are classified through a deductive thinking process based on knowledge. As a result of comparing evaluation indicators of the machine learning models, the macroscopic classification criteria had a greater effect than the microscopic classification criteria. And when the classification results between the machine learning model and the research participants for various examples were compared, in the case of mixtures, the degree of inconsistency increased. In addition, through qualitative research analysis, the thoughts of science teachers on the application of machine learning were derived into nine topics, including ‘experience the process of creating science concepts’, ‘cognitive conflict’, and ‘communication’.&#x0D; Conclusions Machine learning should be actively introduced into teacher education as an inquiry-learning method of science education. And educational materials such as textbooks that can properly reflect scientific reasoning processes such as inductive thinking should be developed based on machine learning-based education programs. And it is necessary to discuss from a scientific point of view whether mixtures should be included in the learning of Classifying State of Matter.