Favorable Scores Research Articles

Applicant faking warnings: Are they really effective?

Evidence suggests that a large percentage of job applicants fake their responses on personality tests. This faking has the potential to undermine the value and validity of personality tests in the selection context. Faking warnings are messages that try to dissuade applicants from faking by warning them about potential consequences and have been shown to be effective in reducing faking in some studies. We developed new faking warnings that leverage accountability and morality theory to reduce applicant faking. Accordingly, we examined the efficacy of our faking warnings in reducing applicant faking in one applied sample. We examined 534 mTurk participants who believed they were being considered for a real employment opportunity for a remote customer service position. Compared to participants not interested in the job, participants who were interested in the job had significantly more favorable personality scores. After informing participants that the position was fictitious and asking them to fill out the same personality measure as honestly as possible, the same previously interested participants received significantly less favorable personality scores. However, there were no differences in faking across the different faking warning conditions, suggesting the faking warnings were ineffective.

Minimally Invasive Transforaminal versus Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion in Patients Undergoing Revision Fusion: Clinical Outcome Comparison

We aim to compare perioperative/postoperative clinical outcomes between minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) and anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) in patients presenting for revision surgery. A retrospective database was reviewed for procedures between November 2005 and December 2021. Revision MIS-TLIF/ALIFs were included, whereas primary fusions or diagnosis of infection/malignancy/trauma were excluded. Patients were grouped into MIS-TLIF/ALIF cohorts. Preoperatively/postoperatively collected patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) included visual analog scale back/leg score, Oswestry Disability Index, Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Physical Function (PROMIS-PF), and Short-Form 12-Item Survey Mental/Physical Composite Scores. A total of 164 patients were eligible, with 84 patients in the MIS-TLIF cohort. The presence of degenerative spondylolisthesis and central stenosis, narcotic consumption on postoperative day 0/1, and postoperative urinary retention rates was greater in the MIS-TLIF cohort (P ≤ 0.036, all). Preoperative PROMs between cohorts did not significantly differ. Significantly favorable postoperative PROM scores were shown in the MIS-TLIF cohort with PROMIS-PF at 12 weeks/6 months (P ≤ 0.033, all). Most patients in both cohorts achieved overall minimum clinically important difference for visual analog scale back/leg score, Oswestry Disability Index, Short-Form 12-Item Survey Physical Composite Score, and PROMIS-PF. No differences were noted between cohorts within rates of MCID achievement. Patients undergoing revision fusion via MIS-TLIF or ALIF reported similar 1-year postoperative mean outcomes and rates of meaningful clinical achievement for physical function, mental health, disability, and back/leg pain. However, patients undergoing revision MIS-TLIF reported improved physical function at 12 weeks and 6 months. Perioperatively, patients undergoing revision MIS-TLIF were noted to consume significantly greater quantities of narcotics.

JS09.6.A Low incidence of radiation-induced brain lesions and stable QoL following proton irradiation for CNS and Skull Base tumors- results from the prospective MedAustron register REGI-MA-002015

Abstract Background Irradiation of intracranial tumors may induce endothelial damage in the surrounding normal brain tissues, resulting in an increase of capillary permeability. These changes can be depicted on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a new contrast medium uptake - not associated with tumor. Radiation-induced brain lesions (RIBL) occur after photon as well as proton irradiation. This study evaluated the incidence of RIBL after proton irradiation and their impact on Quality of Life (QoL). Material and Methods 421 patients treated between 01/2017 and 06/2021 were included. All patients participated in a prospective registry study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03049072). Follow-up evaluations including MRIs were at 3,6,12 months after treatment completion and annually thereafter. QoL parameters were assessed by EORTC-CTC30 and BN20 questionnaires. Results 48.9% (n=206) patients received therapy for intracranial non-CNS tumors (meningioma, pituitary adenoma, and other), 26.8% (n=113) for head and neck cancer with skull base involvement, 14.5% (n=61) for primary CNS tumors and 9.7% (n=41) for skull base tumor. Median follow-up was 24 months (range 6-54 ), 352 (86%) patients had proton therapy as primary treatment, 59 (14%) had salvage treatment with proton re-irradiation (ReRT). Median prescribed dose was 58.5 Gy (RBE) (range 40-78 Gy (RBE)), median D1% of brain tissue was 54.3 Gy (RBE) (range 30-76 Gy RBE). Local control and overall survival were 91% and 95% at 2 years. The cumulative RIBL incidence was 15.0% (n=63), with significantly lower occurrence in the primary RT group vs. the ReRT group (12.9% vs. 27.1%; p<0.001). According to Grade, the distribution was 10.5% (n=44) Grade I (asymptomatic, MRT finding only), Grade II RIBL, 13 (3.1%) (moderate symptoms) (grade 2) and 1,4% (n=6) developed Grade 3 toxicity. Actuarial 2-year RIBL incidence was 18.2% (95%CI: 14.1-23.2) for the all Grades and the entire, 15.7% (95%CI: 11.6-21) following primary radiation and 34.2% (95%CI: 21.9-50.9) after ReRT. All RIBL developed outside the residual tumor, but inside the Planning Target Volume (PTV), median D1% was 60.3Gy (RBE) (range 46.1- 122.3 Gy(RBE)), median time to development was 11.8 months (range 2.7-37 months) in the total cohort, for primary RT 14.2mo (4.3mo -37.1mo) and 6.0mo (2.7mo -19.3mo) following ReRT. At the time of analysis 26 of the 63 RIBL had resolved (41.3%). General QoL was not compromised. In a matched-pair analysis of 54/50 patients with/without RIBL, only at the 12 month a significant difference in the global health score in favour of non-RIBL patients was observed. At 24 months the score for RIBL patients improved without difference between the groups. Conclusion Overall incidence of RIBL after proton radiotherapy is very low - even for skull base tumors requiring high total doses and it had no significant negative impact on long term QoL.

Ligand-Based Virtual Screening and Molecular Docking of Benzimidazoles as Potential Inhibitors of Triosephosphate Isomerase Identified New Trypanocidal Agents.

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is a parasite that affects humans and other mammals. T. cruzi depends on glycolysis as a source of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) supply, and triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) plays a key role in this metabolic pathway. This enzyme is an attractive target for the design of new trypanocidal drugs. In this study, a ligand-based virtual screening (LBVS) from the ZINC15 database using benzimidazole as a scaffold was accomplished. Later, a molecular docking on the interface of T. cruzi TIM (TcTIM) was performed and the compounds were grouped by interaction profiles. Subsequently, a selection of compounds was made based on cost and availability for in vitro evaluation against blood trypomastigotes. Finally, the compounds were analyzed by molecular dynamics simulation, and physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties were determined using SwissADME software. A total of 1604 molecules were obtained as potential TcTIM inhibitors. BP2 and BP5 showed trypanocidal activity with half-maximal lytic concentration (LC50) values of 155.86 and 226.30 µM, respectively. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation analyzes showed a favorable docking score of BP5 compound on TcTIM. Additionally, BP5 showed a low docking score (−5.9 Kcal/mol) on human TIM compared to the control ligand (−7.2 Kcal/mol). Both compounds BP2 and BP5 showed good physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties as new anti-T. cruzi agents.

Identification of a 5-lncRNA-Based Signature for Immune Characteristics and Prognosis of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Verification of the Function of lncRNA SPATA41.

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide. Traditional tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system has many insufficiencies in predicting immune characteristics, overall survival (OS), and prognosis of LUSC. LncRNA is currently found involved in tumor development and effectively predicts tumor prognosis. We screened potential tumor-related lncRNAs for immune characteristics and constructed a nomogram combining lncRNA and traditional clinical indicators for prognosis prediction. We obtained the large-scale gene expression profiles of samples from 492 LUSC patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. SPATA41, AL034550.2, AP003721.2, AC106786.1, and AC078889.1 were finally screened to construct a 5-lncRNA-based signature. The risk score of the signature divided patients into subgroups of high-risk and low-risk with significant differences in OS. Their area under the curve (AUC) reached more than 0.70 in 1, 3, and 5 years. In addition, compared with the high-risk subgroup, the low-risk subgroup exhibited a remarkably favorable prognosis and TME score, along with a higher immune infiltration score and lower TIDE score. The signature also significantly related to chemotherapy response, especially in cisplatin, vinorelbine, and paclitaxel. Importantly, the nomogram we constructed had good reliability with the assessment of the calibration chart and consistency index (c-index). GO and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that co-expression mRNAs of the 5 lncRNAs were mainly focused on RNA splicing, DNA replication, and protein serine/threonine kinase activity. Functional assays demonstrated that SPATA41, one of the five OS-related lncRNAs, regulated invasion, migration, proliferation, and programmed death in vitro. In summary, our 5-lncRNA-based signature has a good performance in predicting immune characteristics and prognosis of LUSC patients.

Long-Term Survival after Linac-Based Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Radiotherapy with a Micro-Multileaf Collimator for Brain Metastasis.

Background: this study aimed to evaluate the prognostic factors associated with long-term survival after linear accelerator (linac)-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (fSRT) with a micro-multileaf collimator for brain metastasis (BM). Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 226 consecutive patients with BM who were treated with linac-based SRS or fSRT with a micro-multileaf collimator between January 2011 and December 2018. Long-term survival (LTS) was defined as survival for more than 2 years after SRS/fSRT. Results: The tumors originated from the lung (n = 189, 83.6%), breast (n = 11, 4.9%), colon (n = 9, 4.0%), stomach (n = 4, 1.8%), kidney (n = 3, 1.3%), esophagus (n = 3, 1.3%), and other regions (n = 7, 3.1%). The median pretreatment Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) score was 90 (range: 40–100). The median follow-up time was 13 (range: 0–120) months. Out of the 226 patients, 72 (31.8%) were categorized in the LTS group. The median survival time was 43 months and 13 months in the LTS group and in the entire cohort, respectively. The 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year survival rate in the LTS group was 59.1%, 49.6%, and 40.7%, respectively. Multivariate regression logistic analysis showed that female sex, a pre-treatment KPS score ≥ 80, and the absence of extracranial metastasis were associated with long-term survival. Conclusions: female sex, a favorable pre-treatment KPS score, and the absence of extracranial metastasis were associated with long-term survival in the current cohort of patients with BM.

How does oncoplastic surgery compare with standard partial mastectomy? A systematic review of patient reported outcomes.

Many breast-conserving surgical options exist for patients with breast cancer. Surgical choices can have lasting effects on a patient's life, so patient satisfaction is important to assess. Patient-reported outcome measures provide important tools when evaluating surgical modalities. This systematic review aimed to evaluate how patients describe breast-conserving surgical choices in standard partial mastectomy and oncoplastic surgery options. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses search was performed in PubMed for studies discussing standard partial mastectomy or oncoplastic surgery and measurement of preoperative and postoperative patient-reported outcomes using the BREAST-Q or other validated patient-reported outcome measures. Oncoplastic surgery was categorized as volume displacement or volume replacement. Articles in languages other than English, not involving partial mastectomy or oncoplastic surgery, or not measuring patient-reported outcomes were excluded. Weighted proportions were generated and analyzed with a Welch t test. Of 390 articles, 43 met inclusion criteria, and 8784 patients were included in a pooled database. Although standard partial mastectomy scored well, oncoplastic surgery performed significantly better than partial mastectomy in all postoperative BREAST-Q categories: satisfaction with breasts (74.3 versus 65.7), psychosocial well-being (81.3 versus 78.0), sexual well-being (61.6 versus 54.9), and satisfaction with outcome (85.4 versus 62.2). Level 2 volume displacement surgery had the most favorable scores. Breast-conserving surgical choices that include a variety of oncoplastic surgery and partial mastectomy methods all score well in patient-reported outcome measures, with oncoplastic surgery significantly preferred over partial mastectomy. Oncoplastic surgery should be considered in all cases, and the appropriate breast-conserving surgical choice should depend on the patient's tumor presentation and anatomy.

Predictors of outcomes of proximal humerus fractures in children and adolescents: A systematic review.

Purpose:Minimally displaced pediatric proximal humerus fractures can be reliably managed non-operatively; however, there is considerable debate regarding the appropriate management of severely displaced proximal humerus fractures, particularly in older children and adolescents with limited remodeling potential. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review to answer the questions: “What are the functional and quality-of-life outcomes of pediatric proximal humerus fractures?” and “What factors have been associated with a poorer outcome?”Methods:A review of Medline and Embase was performed on 4 July 2021 using search terms relevant to proximal humerus fractures, surgery, non-operative management, pediatrics, and outcomes. Studies including ≥10 pediatric patients with proximal humerus fractures, which assessed clinical outcomes by use of an established outcome measure, were selected. The following clinical information was collected: participant characteristics, treatment, complications, and outcomes.Results:Twelve articles were selected, including four prospective cohort studies and eight retrospective cohort studies. Favorable outcome scores were found for patients with minimally displaced fractures, and for children aged less than 10 years, irrespective of treatment methodology or grade of fracture displacement. Older age at injury and higher grade of fracture displacement were reported as risk factors for a poorer patient-reported outcome score.Conclusion:An excellent functional outcome can be expected following non-operative management for minimally displaced pediatric proximal humerus fractures. Prospective trials are required to establish a guideline for the management of severely displaced proximal humerus fractures in children and adolescents according to fracture displacement and the degree of skeletal maturity.Level of evidence:level V.

Theoretical-Conceptual Framework of the Methodology for the Development of Language Competence in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language at the Pre-University Level

In the last five years, the Dominican educational system has undergone a series of transformations, as a result of the implementation by the Ministry of Education (MINERD) of a process of revision and update of the curricular bases, with a view to the implementation of a new curricular design by competencies. These reformulations seek, in short, the achievement of the goals set around the improvement of educational quality demanded by society and the "right to full and comprehensive human development of all citizens. The general objective of the study is to develop a methodology with the integration of technology for the development of linguistic competence in the learning process of the English language, as a foreign language at the pre-university level of the Dominican educational system, and thus positively influence in the fulfillment of the objectives foreseen in the curricular design (linguistic level B2) For the fulfillment of the outlined objectives, the various scientific methods of theoretical, empirical and statistical-mathematical research are used. For data collection, two questionnaires were used for teachers to publicize the methodologies that are implemented for the development of linguistic skills in the teaching of English as a foreign language at pre-university levels, generating a scientific contribution for their contribution and perfect it. The results obtained from the research indicate a group satisfaction index by teachers of 0.9, thanks to the strategies and their impact on the development of linguistic skills as a foreign language, taking advantage of the influence of families. Also, a favorable score was obtained in the activity plan for teacher training. On the other hand, the application of focus group techniques in which the methodological conceptions and the plan to train teachers are considered. Finally, recommendations are made for the strengthening of these activities and at the same time, collaborate to continue with the effectiveness of the strategies in linguistic competences.

The Effect of a Card Game upon Achievements within Medical Terms Topic: MedTerm Game

The study was attempted to determine the efficiency of the card game named ‘MedTerm’ upon the students’ achievements of the medical terms. The research was one group pre-test and post-test without control group research design and the study group elected by using the convenience sampling method consisted of the first-year students (n=46) elderly care program of the vocational school of health services of a university in northern Turkey. All students who voluntarily participated in the study played the card game named ‘MedTerm’ in order to learn medical terms. In the research, ‘The Medical Terms Achievement Test (MTAT)’ consisted of 57 open-ended questions was used as data collection tool. Achievement scores related to medical terms before and after the game were evaluated. At the end of the implementation, the semi-structured interviews were also conducted with randomly selected students.. As a result of the research, a statistically significant difference was found between the pre-test mean scores and the post-test mean scores in favour of the post-test (t=-17.141, p<0.05). In accordance with the data obtained, it can be said that the ‘MedTerm’ card game increases elderly care program students’ sound and partial understandings of medical terms and their achievements. In addition, it was concluded that all students expressed positive views concerning the functioning of the course.

Tissue is the issue: Chemotherapy response score (CRS) is most predictive of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced, high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) (488)

Tissue is the issue: Chemotherapy response score (CRS) is most predictive of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced, high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) (488)

Eliminating postoperative opioid prescriptions is associated with lower long term opioid use (523)

<b>Objectives:</b> Since postoperative narcotics have been associated with the risk of long-term opioid use, they are no longer prescribed at our institution for patients undergoing robotic surgery for endometrial hyperplasia or endometrial carcinoma. This study compared postoperative narcotic use in the current cohort with a historical cohort who were prescribed postoperative opioids to assess the effect of the change in practice. <b>Methods:</b> We performed a retrospective chart review of 123 patients who underwent a robotic hysterectomy for endometrial hyperplasia or carcinoma. Group 1 patients underwent surgery between August 2017 and February 2018 and received opioid prescriptions. Group 2 underwent surgery between January and June 2020 and did not receive postoperative opioid prescriptions. We reviewed medical records and the New York State Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (I-STOP), which reports all narcotic prescriptions filled in the state in the past 12 months. Narcotic use was assessed in one- month intervals for a total of 12 months after surgery. Demographic information, including diagnosis, histology, adjuvant therapy, insurance, median income based on zip code, and medical comorbid conditions, were collected. Results were analyzed using a hierarchical Bayesian ordinal regression model to determine whether Group 2 had a lower risk of opioid use and to evaluate other possible factors. The variable of interest was the time (months) from surgery to the patient filling an opiate prescription. <b>Results:</b> Group 1 had 57 patients, and Group 2 had 66 patients. There was no significant difference in age, median income, cancer stage, grade, histology, or adjuvant therapy between the groups. Group 1 had significantly more patients with private insurance (93% vs 53% p <0.0001) and fewer patients with favorable CCI scores of 1-4 (70% with vs 50%, p 0.02) compared to Group 2; however, only private insurance remained significant after Bonferroni correction. Prescriptions for opioids were filled more often by patients in Group 1 than Group 2 at immediate postop 0-1 months (79% vs 7%), 1-6 months (14% vs 6%) and 6-12 months (17% vs 6%). Opioid use was significantly higher across all measured time frames in patients who were prescribed postoperative opioids with a mean effect size of -0.99 with a 95% credible interval of -1.93 to -0.11. Lower Grade endometrial cancer was also associated with reduced opioid use with a mean effect size of -2.66 with 95% credible interval of -4.7 to -0.45 for Grade 1 and mean effect size -2.18 with 95% credible interval -4.4 to -0.16 for Grade 2. Fig. 1 <b>Conclusions:</b> Eliminating postoperative opioid prescriptions was associated with a significant decrease in both short- and long-term opioid use. While insurance type varied between the two groups, this was not an independent risk factor. The clinical relevance of the association of grade with opioid use is unclear as there was no association with stage or adjuvant therapy. Limitations of our study are the small sample size and possible confounders, including increasing awareness of the opioid crisis and a change in prescribing practices by other providers over time. This study supports avoiding prescribing opioids in the postoperative period.

Invasive brain tissue oxygen and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring versus ICP-only monitoring in pediatric severe traumatic brain injury.

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability and death in the pediatric population. While intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is the gold standard in acute neurocritical care following pediatric severe TBI, brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2) monitoring may also help limit secondary brain injury and improve outcomes. The authors hypothesized that pediatric patients with severe TBI and ICP + PbtO2 monitoring and treatment would have better outcomes than those who underwent ICP-only monitoring and treatment. Patients ≤ 18 years of age with severe TBI who received ICP ± PbtO2 monitoring at a quaternary children's hospital between 1998 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. The relationships between conventional measurements of TBI were evaluated, i.e., ICP, cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), and PbtO2. Differences were analyzed between patients with ICP + PbtO2 versus ICP-only monitoring on hospital and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) length of stay (LOS), length of intubation, Pediatric Intensity Level of Therapy scale score, and functional outcome using the Glasgow Outcome Score-Extended (GOS-E) scale at 6 months postinjury. Forty-nine patients, including 19 with ICP + PbtO2 and 30 with ICP only, were analyzed. There was a weak negative association between ICP and PbtO2 (β = -0.04). Conversely, there was a strong positive correlation between CPP ≥ 40 mm Hg and PbtO2 ≥ 15 and ≥ 20 mm Hg (β = 0.30 and β = 0.29, p < 0.001, respectively). An increased number of events of cerebral PbtO2 < 15 mm Hg or < 20 mm Hg were associated with longer hospital (p = 0.01 and p = 0.022, respectively) and PICU (p = 0.015 and p = 0.007, respectively) LOS, increased duration of mechanical ventilation (p = 0.015 when PbtO2 < 15 mm Hg), and an unfavorable 6-month GOS-E score (p = 0.045 and p = 0.022, respectively). An increased number of intracranial hypertension episodes (ICP ≥ 20 mm Hg) were associated with longer hospital (p = 0.007) and PICU (p < 0.001) LOS and longer duration of mechanical ventilation (p < 0.001). Lower minimum hourly and average daily ICP values predicted favorable GOS-E scores (p < 0.001 for both). Patients with ICP + PbtO2 monitoring experienced longer PICU LOS (p = 0.018) compared to patients with ICP-only monitoring, with no significant GOS-E score difference between groups (p = 0.733). An increased number of cerebral hypoxic episodes and an increased number of intracranial hypertension episodes resulted in longer hospital LOS and longer duration of mechanical ventilator support. An increased number of cerebral hypoxic episodes also correlated with less favorable functional outcomes. In contrast, lower minimum hourly and average daily ICP values, but not the number of intracranial hypertension episodes, were associated with more favorable functional outcomes. There was a weak correlation between ICP and PbtO2, supporting the importance of multimodal invasive neuromonitoring in pediatric severe TBI.

Docking Based Identification of Bioactive Diosmin as Potential Multi-Targeted Anti SARS-Cov-2 Agent

Abstract. The pandemic COVID-19, caused by the organism severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the family Coronoviridae has become a serious global healthcare crisis. The biggest demand of the present time is to develop efficacious medication for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. In the present study, we performed the interaction of 50 flavonoids selected from the Pubchem database, with five efficacious protein targets for SARS-CoV-2: main protease (Mpro), spike glycoprotein-receptor binding domain (SGp-RBD), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) and non-structural protein15 (NSP15, an endonuclease). All the work involve in the present study was accomplished by using Maestro 12.4 (Schrodinger Suite) to obtain the docking scores and ADME-T study result of selected ligands with the five effective target proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Molecular docking-based results indicated that diosmin has the most favorable docking scores -10.16, -11.52, -9.75, -11.25 and -10.25 kcal/mol for the Mpro, SGp-RBD, ACE-2, RdRp and NSP-15 protein targets and had acceptable drug suitability as a therapeutic agent against COVID-19. The structure of this compound can be further useful to medicinal chemists, pharmacologists, and clinicians for efficiently discovering or developing effective drugs to cure COVID-19.

A comparison of clinical characteristics, radiographic findings, and outcomes of bihemispheric versus unihemispheric gunshot wounds to the head

IntroductionUnihemispheric head gunshot wound (HGSW) are associated with improved survival; however, specific clinical and radiographic characteristics associated with survival have not been clearly defined. To further guide prognosis estimates and care discussions, this study aims to identify unihemispheric HGSWs injury patterns; comparing them to bihemispheric HGSWs characterizing factors associated with improved clinical outcomes and survival. MethodsPatients presenting to our Level 1 trauma center from January 2013 through May 2019 with HGSW injury were reviewed. Patients were grouped into those with unihemispheric versus bihemispheric HGSWs and survivors versus non-survivors. Clinical variables and head computed tomography (CT) features were compared using comparative statistics. Results62 HGSW patients met study criteria (unihemispheric = 33, bihemispheric = 29).Regardless of injury type, avoidance of injury to multiple lobes, temporal, parietal and basal ganglia brain regions and intracranial vascular injury were also associated with survival (p < 0.05). Lower admission GCS score and lower motor GCS score was associated with reduced survival in unihemispheric HGSW injury (p < 0.05). Unihemispheric HGSW survivors demonstrated improved clinical outcomes, with reduced hospital length of stay (5 days vs. 47 days, p = 0.014) and intensive care unit length of stay (3 days vs. 20 days, p = 0.021) and more favorable disposition location. ConclusionWe found presenting clinical features and CT imaging patterns previously associated with improved survival in HGSW patients is similar in unihemispheric specific injuries. Importantly, a more favorable admission GCS score may portend survivability in unihemsipheric HGSW. Furthermore, unihemispheric HGSW survivors may have improved clinical outcomes, length of stay and disposition location.

Aloe emodin-conjugated sulfonyl hydrazones as novel type of antibacterial modulators against S. aureus 25923 through multifaceted synergistic effects

Aloe emodin-conjugated sulfonyl hydrazones were designed and synthesized as novel type of antibacterial modulators. Aloe emodin benzenesulfonyl hydrazone 5a (AEBH-5a) was preponderant for the treatment of S. aureus 25923 (MIC = 0.5 μg/mL) over norfloxacin and presented high selectivity between bacterial membranes and mammalian membranes. Especially, AEBH-5a could eliminate the formed biofilms and relieve the development of S. aureus 25923 resistance. The antibacterial mechanism of AEBH-5a from extracellularity to intracellularity illustrated that AEBH-5a could destroy bacterial membrane integrity, leading to the leakage of protein and nucleic acid. Besides, AEBH-5a could not only interact with DNA and induce oxidative stress but also inhibit lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity as well as render metabolic inactivation. In silico ADME studies prediction of AEBH-5a revealed a favorable bioavailability score and prominent drug-likeness profile. This research showed that the multifaceted synergistic effect initiated by aloe emodin-conjugated sulfonyl hydrazones is a reasonable and effective tactic to combat menacing bacterial infections.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of clinical pharmacists to medication error reporting in ministry of health and population hospitals in Egypt

Objective This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices toward medication errors (MEs) reporting among pharmacists working in Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) hospitals in Alexandria. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among all pharmacists who are responsible for reporting medication errors in the Egyptian online reporting system (NO HARMe). Results The majority of pharmacists received training on MEs reporting using the Egyptian online reporting system. Around half of the pharmacists knew the correct definition for medication errors. All respondents were aware of the presence of a MEs reporting system in Egypt. Clinical pharmacists’ attitudes towards MEs reporting was favorable with an overall mean score of 4.20 ± 0.73 in a score ranging from 1 (most unfavorable attitudes score) to 5 (most favorable score). Only 60.7% of the surveyed pharmacists used the system to report MEs. Antibiotics were the most frequent drug category reported and the prescribing stage was the stage in which pharmacists perceived the greatest volume of reports were made (89.3% and 71.4%, respectively). Lack of time was the most frequently identified barrier to reporting, followed by lack of feedback to the report submitted (73.2%, 54.5%, respectively). Inconsistent with the results of other studies, fear from legal consequences and being recognized as an incompetent provider was reported by only 12.5% and 11.6% of pharmacists, respectively. Conclusion The majority of pharmacists have good knowledge and favorable attitudes towards medication error reporting, however around two fifths do not report medication errors.

The influence of information about nutritional quality, environmental impact and eco-efficiency of menu items on consumer perceptions and behaviors

While food and dietary patterns are major determinants of a population’s health, our daily food choices also put pressure on the environment. In that context, providing graphical and comprehensive information is a widely used and potentially promising communication tool to promote healthier and more environmentally sustainable choices when eating out-of-home. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the influence of information about environmental impact and nutritional quality of meal options on consumers’ food choices, consumption and perceptions. A total of 80 men and 80 women were recruited, consisting of students and employees of Université Laval (Quebec City, Canada). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions, with menu information displaying: 1) greenhouse gas emissions scores, 2) nutritional quality scores, 3) eco-efficiency scores or 4) no information (control). Participants had to choose between two meals (i.e., beef burritos or chicken meal) both showing one of the above-mentioned conditions and then consume the chosen meal. Results indicated that nutritional and environmental information had an impact on meal choice. More specifically, participants exposed to such information tended to choose more frequently the meal with the most favorable score for the related condition (p-values < 0.05). However, no impact was observed on the amount of food consumed (p-values > 0.05). These findings suggest that communicating information about environmental impact and nutritional quality of menu items to consumers within institutional settings could be relevant to tackle more sustainable food choices.

Exploring the Potential of Exosome-Related LncRNA Pairs as Predictors for Immune Microenvironment, Survival Outcome, and Microbiotain Landscape in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Accumulating studies have demonstrated the indispensable roles of exosomes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer progression and the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the clinical relevance of exosome-related lncRNAs (ER-lncRNAs) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. Three subtypes were identified by consensus clustering of 3459 valid ER-lncRNA pairs, of which subtype A is preferentially related to favorable prognosis, lower stromal and immune scores, and higher tumor purity scores. Higher immune cell infiltration, higher mRNA levels of immune checkpoints, higher stromal and immune scores, and lower tumor purity were found in subtype C, which presented a poor prognosis. We developed a prognostic risk score model based on 8 ER-lncRNA pairs in the GEO cohort using univariate Cox regression analysis and LASSO Cox regression analysis. Patients were divided into a high risk-score group and low risk-score group by the cut-off values of the 1-year ROC curves in the training set (GEO cohort) and the validation set (TCGA cohort). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, Decision curve analysis (DCA), clinical correlation analysis, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression all confirmed that the prognostic model has good predictive power and that the risk score can be used as an independent prognostic factor in different cohorts. By further analyzing the TME based on the risk model, higher immune cell infiltration and more active TME were found in the high-risk group, which presented a poor prognosis. Patients with high risk scores also exhibited higher mRNA levels of immune checkpoints and lower IC50 values, indicating that these patients may be more prone to profit from chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The top five most abundant microbial phyla in ESCC was also identified. The best ER-lncRNAs (AC082651.3, AP000487.1, PLA2G4E-AS1, C8orf49 and AL356056.2) were identified based on machine learning algorithms. Subsequently, the expression levels of the above ER-lncRNAs were analyzed by combining the GTEx and TCGA databases. In addition, qRT-PCR analysis based on clinical samples from our hospital showed a high degree of consistency. This study fills the gap of ER-lncRNA model in predicting the prognosis of patients with ESCC and the risk score-based risk stratification could facilitate the determination of therapeutic option to improve prognoses.

Effects of an herbal diet, diet x boar line and diet x genotype interactions on skin lesions and on growth performance in post-weaning pigs using a cross-classified experiment

The aims of the present study were to assess the effect of an herbal diet (HD; basal diet plus a supplement with chicory herbs) on production traits and lesions scores in post weaning pigs, and to study possible boar x diet and genotype x diet interactions considering the two feeding groups HD and control (CON). In this regard, a cross-classified research design was implemented, aiming on an equal number of boar offspring in both groups HD and CON. Grouping of piglets (993 crossbred piglets from 14 different Piétrain boars sire to German Landrace or German Edelschwein sows) was done after weaning, and the feeding experiment was conducted in post-weaning period up to the pig age of nine weeks. Studied traits included the post-weaning weight (PWW) at the age of nine week 9, average daily gain (ADG) considering the period from weaning until week 9 and a skin lesion score (LS) at week 9. Herbal diet effects and sire x diet effects were inferred via linear models for Gaussian distributed PWW and ADG, and via generalized linear mixed models with a logit link function for categorical LS. Possible genotype x diet interactions were proved in multiple-trait models via Gibbs sampling, by defining same traits recorded either in CON and HD as different traits, i.e., post-weaning weight control (PWWCON) and post-weaning weight herbal diet (PWWHD), average daily gain control (ADGCON) and average daily gain herbal diet (ADGHD), and lesion score control (LSCON) and lesion score herbal diet (LSHD). The dietary treatment had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on PWW and ADG. The dietary treatment significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the behavior of the pigs, with a lower and favorable LS score for the pigs allocated to HD. Significant sire x diet interactions were identified for LS, PWW and ADG. Pearson correlations between estimates for sire effects from both diets CON and HD (i.e., the sire x diet effect) were 0.84 for PWW, 0.71 for ADG and 0.56 for LS. Genetic correlations smaller than 0.80 between PWWCON and PWWHD, ADGCON and ADGHD, and LSCON and LSHD indicate genotype x diet interactions, especially for the functional and low heritability LS. Hence, re-rankings of sires according to their estimated breeding values (EBV) were observed in both environments CON and LD, displaying smaller genetic and EBV variations for LS in the HD group. The HD dietary supplement contributed to fewer skin lesions, probably due to the favorable effect on pig behavior, but a more pronounced genetic differentiation seems to be possible in the more challenging CON environment. Generally, the results from the present study indicate the importance of genotype x feeding interactions for pig breeding, suggesting specific boars for different feeding environments.