Final Fit Research Articles

Cluster B personality disorders and its associated factors among psychiatric outpatients in Southwest Ethiopia: institutional-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundDiagnosis of co-occurring personality disorders, particularly the most comorbid cluster B personality disorders in psychiatric patients is clinically important because of their association with the duration, recurrence, and outcome of the comorbid disorders. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of cluster B personality disorders and associated factors among psychiatric outpatients in Jimma Medical Center.MethodsAn institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 404 patients with mental illnesses at Jimma Medical Center from July 15 to September 14, 2021. A systematic random sampling method was used to recruit the participants. Personality disorder questionnaire four (PDQ-4) was used to assess the prevalence of cluster B personality disorders through a face-to-face interview. Data were entered into Epi Data Version 4.6 and exported to SPSS Version 26 for analysis. Logistic regression analysis was done and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval in the final fitting model were declared as independent predictors of cluster B personality disorders.ResultAmongst 401 respondents with response rate of 99.3%, slightly less than one-fourth (23.19%, N = 93) were found to have cluster B personality disorders. Unable to read and write(AOR = 3.28, 95%CI = 1.43—7.51), unemployment(AOR = 2.32, 95%CI = 1.19—4.49), diagnosis of depressive (AOR = 3.72, 95%CI = 1.52–9.10) and bipolar-I disorders (AOR = 2.94, 95%CI = 1.37—6.29), longer duration of illness (AOR = 2.44, 95%CI = 1.33—4.47), multiple relapses (AOR = 2.21, 95%CI = 1.18–4.15)), history of family mental illnesses (AOR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.17—3.62), recent cannabis use (AOR = 4.38, 95%CI = 1.61—11.95), recent use of alcohol (AOR = 2.86, 95%CI = 1.34—6.10), starting to use substance at earlier age (AOR = 4.42, 95%CI = 1.51 -12.96), and suicidal attempt (AOR = 2.24, 95%CI = 1.01—4.96), were the factors significantly associated with cluster B personality disorders.ConclusionThe prevalence of cluster B personality disorders was high among mentally ill outpatients and found to be important for mental health professionals working in the outpatient departments to screen for cluster B personality disorders as part of their routine activities, particularly those who have mood disorders, longer duration of illness, multiple relapses, history of family mental illnesses, suicidal attempt and are a current user of alcohol and cannabis.

An Algorithm for Elective Amputation Combined with Targeted Muscle Reinnervation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome-A Perspective.

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) can result in a devastating condition. For a small number of patients, there is a non-response to any existing multimodal therapies and they ultimately request amputation. Such a drastic and final decision is not easy to take for both the patient and the surgeon and requires careful and interdisciplinary assessments and considerations. Furthermore, new surgical procedures, such as targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and hybrid prosthetic fitting, and multidisciplinary board advice should be included when considering amputation. In order to help other therapeutic teams in decision making for such rare but more than demanding cases, we aimed to propose an advanced algorithm for amputation indications in CRPS patients combining all these new factors. This algorithm consists of extensive pre-operative psychiatric assessment, diagnostic hybrid prosthetic fitting including fMRI analyses, multidisciplinary board advice as well as targeted muscle reinnervation and amputation procedures with final prosthetic fitting and rehabilitation. By involving multiple disciplines, this algorithm should provide optimized and individualized patient treatment on the one hand and a reliable base for decision making for therapists on the other.

Assessing Patient Experience and Attitude: BSC-PATIENT Development, Translation, and Psychometric Evaluation-A Cross-Sectional Study.

Health care organizations (HCO) did not consider engaging patients in balanced scorecard (BSC) implementations to evaluate their performance. This paper aims to develop an instrument to engage patients in assessing BSC perspectives (BSC-PATIENT) and customize it for Palestinian hospitals. Two panels of experts participated in the item generation of BSC-PATIENT. Translation was performed based on guidelines. Pretesting was performed for 30 patients at one hospital. Then, 1000 patients were recruited at 14 hospitals between January and October 2021. Construct validity was tested through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Additionally, the composite reliability (CR), interitem correlation (IIC), and corrected item total correlation (CITC) were assessed to find redundant and low correlated items. As a result, the scales had a highly adequate model fit in the EFA and CFA. The final best fit model in CFA comprised ten constructs with 34 items. In conclusion, BSC-PATIENT is the first self-administered questionnaire specifically developed to engage patients in BSC and will allow future researchers to evaluate the impact of patient experience on attitudes toward BSC perspectives, as well as to compare the differences based on patient and hospital characteristics.

Identification of Farmers’ Barriers to Implement Sustainable Management Practices in Olive Groves

Current European agriculture policies and strategies are aimed to boost the transition from the predominant conventional to a more environmentally friendly agriculture model. As part of this, it is crucial to identify the barriers that exist to implementing crop-specific management practices so that appropriate mitigating steps to overcome these can be executed. Participatory action research, where farmers are research actors rather than objects, is essential to identify the main barriers farmers have to face. The objective of this study was to identify the main barriers to the adoption of a combination of sustainable management practices in olive cropping in Southern Spain. A 20-item questionnaire was designed and responded to by 200 Spanish olive farmers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the factor structure. The final best fit model included 14 items that were grouped in the following four barriers or facilitators: “lack of training/formation”, and “lack of economic/policy support” as barriers; “wellbeing–nature connection” and “environmental impact awareness” as facilitators. The mean scores on the different factors were higher than the theoretical mean, so the identification of the two barriers and the two facilitators for implementing sustainable practices was robust. Farmers, especially women, are concerned about their knowledge limitation in implementing sustainable management practices, which opens a window of opportunity for specific actions (i.e., training and demonstrative events) to be taken for accomplishing the agriculture sector transformation.

Psychometric evaluation of a nursing competence assessment tool among nursing students: a development and validation study

BackgroundNursing competence refers to the core abilities that are required for fulfilling one’s role as a nurse. A specific instrument comprehensively measuring competence among nursing students has not yet been developed. The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a nursing competence instrument for nursing students in bachelor training.MethodsA descriptive and explorative study design was used. Data were collected from students at one medical college in Taiwan in 2020 and 2021. A total of 241 nursing students participated in this study. We developed the initial instrument through systematic review, expert evaluations, and pilot versions. Its validity was then tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and criterion-related validity, while its reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha and test–retest analysis.ResultsThe final fit indexes of CFA were as follows: chi-square = 860.1 (p < 0.01), normed chi-square = 2.24, SRMR = 0.04, RMSEA = 0.07, CFI = 0.94, and TLI = 0.94. Cronbach’s alpha values for the subscales observed ranged from 0.91 to 0.98. The test–retest reliability coefficient for the Nurse Competence Scale was 0.515 (n = 30, p < 0.01).ConclusionsThe instrument exhibited acceptable psychometric properties, thereby proving itself a valuable tool for evaluating nursing students’ competence at bachelor training. Further assessments of its reliability, validity, and generality from mentors’ and scholars’ views in different contexts and cultures are recommended.

Comparative Analysis of Subjective Satisfaction Between Hearing Aid Users With Insurance Payment and General Payment

Background and Objectives This study aimed to compare subjective satisfaction and functional hearing gain between users of hearing aids with insurance payment (HA with IP) and hearing aids with general payment (HA with GP).Subjects and Method The functional hearing gain and subjective satisfaction of 42 HA with IP and 38 HA with GP were compared after the final fitting, retrospectively. Sound field pure tone and speech audiometry were performed after 4 sessions of hearing aids fitting. Subjective satisfaction was evaluated using the Korean version of abbreviated profile of hearing aid benefit (APHAB) and the international outcome inventory for hearing aids (IOI-HA).Results Sound field pure tone thresholds and speech discrimination scores were improved after the final fitting of hearing aids in both HA with IP and HA with GP groups. HA with IP group showed significantly better results in aversiveness of APHAB and the IOI-HA scores than HA with GP group did.Conclusion These results suggest that hearing aids with insurance payment provide considerable benefits and satisfaction, and can be a good alternative for hearing rehabilitation in hearing-impaired patients.

A humidity compensation method for a temperature and humidity sensor

This paper introduces the method of humidity compensation in the temperature and humidity sensor to improve the measurement accuracy of humidity. The nonlinearity of humidity and humidity affected by temperature are compensated in circuit and data processing respectively. On the circuit, the sampling principle and the structure of the operational amplifier in the design are introduced. The data processing is mainly polynomial fitting of the chip test data by MATLAB software, so as to improve the humidity measurement accuracy. After the final fitting, the humidity error can reach ±1.5RH in the range of 10 °C to 50 °C.

Comparison of laboratory and clinical computational metrics of acoustic measures of hearing-aid processed speech

Computational auditory metrics are used to characterize hearing-aid fittings in the laboratory and the clinic. The purpose of this study is to compare the speech intelligibility index (SII) as a clinical metric to the laboratory based SII and the hearing-aid speech perception index (HASPI) and hearing-aid speech quality index (HASQI) laboratory metrics. These comparisons are drawn from a comprehensive dataset of hearing-aid fittings for 120 hearing-aid recipients from a hospital-based audiology clinic. Hearing-aid devices are drawn from multiple manufacturers and multiple technology levels, and a total of nine hearing-aid devices are included. Acoustic recordings are made with the hearing-aids positioned on the KEMAR manikin and include multiple hearing-aid settings for each patient (manufacturer’s recommended fit, first fit by the audiologist, and the final fitting selected by the patient). Metric values are computed for each of the settings, and these metric comparisons highlight the advantages and challenges of each metric in characterizing hearing-aid signal processing. In addition, the results provide insight regarding hearing-aid fittings from the manufacturer’s fitting versus clinician/patient driven fittings. [Work supported by NIH R01 DC012289, NIH NRSA T32DC012280, and GN Hearing OCG6790B.]

Robust parameter identification strategy of solid oxide fuel cells using bald eagle search optimization algorithm

Enhancing the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an attractive topic for academic research. One of the investigated solutions is to enhance the modeling accuracy. This paper presents a robust strategy based on a bald eagle search optimization (BES) algorithm to determine the best parameters of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) model. Six unknown parameters to be determined are E, A, Io, RΩ, B, and Imax. The sum of mean squared error (SMSE) between the measured and estimated stack voltages is minimized. Two scenarios of the SOFC operation mode are considered. The first is a steady-state model, and the second is the transient/dynamic-state model. In a dynamic state-based model, a demand disturbance is implemented, and the performance of the constructed model is examined. Furthermore, a comparison with previously reported approaches and other programmed algorithms has been performed to approve the proposed strategy. The high performance of the BES algorithm in terms of accuracy and robustness makes it an excellent algorithm for this application. To approve the performance of the proposed strategy, it will be investigated for several operating temperatures with multiple algorithms. The relevant results are auspicious where the final fitness, which expresses the identification accuracy, has been minimized by the BES to 2.6906 × 10−6 for 1073 K, 6.3942 × 10−6 for 1213 K 1.0401 for 1273 K.

Dynamic impact for ant colony optimization algorithm

• This paper proposes probability calculation extension for ACO algorithm called dynamic impact. • 2 problems were solved using this method. Real-world MMPPFO problem, and theoretical benchmark MKP problem. • MMPPFO problem final solution fitness has been improved by 33.2%. • MKP small instances results were 100% success rate, and for large instances average gap was improved by 4.26 times. • Algorithm showed superior performance across small and large datasets and sparse optimization problems. This paper proposes an extension method for Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm called Dynamic Impact. Dynamic Impact is designed to improve convergence and solution quality solving challenging optimization problems that have a non-linear relationship between resource consumption and fitness. This proposed method is tested against the real-world Microchip Manufacturing Plant Production Floor Optimization (MMPPFO) problem and the theoretical benchmark Multidimensional Knapsack problem (MKP). Using Dynamic Impact on single-objective optimization the fitness value is improved by 33.2% over the ACO algorithm without Dynamic Impact. Furthermore, MKP benchmark instances of low complexity have been solved to a 100% success rate even when a high degree of solution sparseness is observed. Large complexity instances have shown the average gap improved by 4.26 times.

Optical efficiency and performance optimization of a two-stage secondary reflection hyperbolic solar concentrator using machine learning

This paper focuses on the geometric analysis of parabolic trough solar collectors (PTCs) with components of different sizes. The concentration ratio of the receiver tube, intercept factor, and optical efficiency are the three main features for PTCs geometric optimization. This study proposes a python-based algorithm for calculating the optical efficiency of PTCs based on a secondary hyperbolic mirror. This algorithm is suitable for writing programs, inputting AutoCAD data into software for simulation of different incident angles and focal lengths of the secondary hyperbolic mirror concentrator, and processing simulation data. The error between the simulated and theoretical optical efficiency results is less than 3.13%. To provide an accurate optical efficiency computing method for geometric designing, energy analyses, and optimizing solar concentration collectors, this paper presents an available method of predicting optical efficiency for solar concentrating design based on machine learning is presented. The optical efficiency was fitted using machine learning approaches numerically with a coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.97874). The optical efficiency fitting formulas for PTCs are generated by analyzing the secondary reflection hyperbolic data of samples computed through a variable reduction technique, while the R2 values are obtained from linear regression. Then the final optical efficiency fitting formula is applied to adequately characterize optical efficiency under different geometrical configurations, incidence angles, and tracking models for the optical and geometrical optimization of PTCs. Data from tests involving the secondary hyperbolic mirror concentrators are used to validate the ray-tracing model and compute optical efficiency based on a secondary reflection hyperbolic mirror.

Expanding the submillimeter wave spectroscopy and astronomical search for thioacetamide (CH3CSNH2) in the ISM

Context. One of the biggest unsolved mysteries of modern astrochemistry is understanding chemical formation pathways in the interstellar medium (ISM) and circumstellar environments. The detections (or even nondetections) of molecules composed of low-abundance atomic species (such as S, P, Si, and Mg) may help to constrain chemical pathways. Thioacetamide (CH3CSNH2) is the sulfur analog to acetemide (CH3CONH2) and it is a viable candidate to search for in astronomical environments – specifically toward regions where other S-bearing molecules have been found and, if possible, that also contain a detection of CH3CONH2. If detected, it would not only continue to expand the view of molecular complexity in astronomical environments, but also help to better elucidate the possible formation pathways of these types of species in these environments. Aims. Our aim is to expand the frequency range of the measured rotational spectrum of CH3CSNH2 beyond 150 GHz and then to use those measurements to extend the search for this species in the ISM. The new laboratory measurements and expanded search cover more parameter space for determining under what conditions CH3CSNH2 may be detected, leading to possible constraints on the formation of large S-bearing molecules found in the ISM. Methods. The rotational spectrum of CH3CSNH2 was investigated up to 650 GHz. Using the newly refined spectrum of CH3CSNH2, as well as additional spectroscopic data on the chemically related species CH3CONH2, a variety of astronomical sources were searched including data from the following large surveys: Prebiotic Interstellar Molecule Survey conducted with the Green Bank Telescope; Exploring molecular complexity with ALMA conducted with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array; and Astrochemical Surveys at IRAM conducted with the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique 30 m Telescope. Results. A total of 1428 transitions from the vt = 0 state with maximum values J = 47 and Ka = 20 in the range up to 330 GHz, and J = 95 and Ka = 20 in the range from 400–660 GHz were assigned. We also assigned 321 transitions from the vt = 1 state with the maximum values J = 35 and Ka = 9 up to 330 GHz. We achieved a final fit with a root-mean-square deviation of 43.4 kHz that contains 2035 measured lines from our study and the literature for vt = 0 and vt = 1 states of A and E symmetries. The final fit is based on the rho-axis-method Hamiltonian model that includes 40 parameters. An astronomical search for CH3CSNH2 was conducted based on all the new spectroscopic data. No transitions of CH3CSNH2 were detected toward any of the sources contained in our survey. Using the appropriate telescope and physical parameters for each astronomical source, upper limits to the column densities were found for CH3CSNH2 toward each source.

Exploring the nexus of equality and efficiency in healthcare

PurposeThis study aims to explore the nexus of equality and efficiency by considering public hospitals' development dynamics, capacity and technology indicators.Design/methodology/approachData was collected from the Ministry of Health Public Hospital Almanacs from 2014 to 2017. The Gini index (GI) is used to estimate the inequality of distribution of hospital performance indicators. A bias-corrected efficiency analysis is calculated to obtain efficiency scores of public hospitals for the year 2017. A path analysis is then constructed to better identify patterns of causation among a set of development, equality and efficiency variables.FindingsA redefined path model highlights that development dynamics, equality and efficiency are causally related and health technology (path coefficient = 0.57; t = 19.07; p < 0.01) and health services utilization (path coefficient = 0.24; t = 8; p < 0.01) effects public hospital efficiency. The final path model fit well (X2/df = 50.99/8 = 6; RMSEA = 0.089; NFI = 0.95; CFI = 0.96; GFI = 0.98; AGFI = 0.94). Study findings indicate high inequalities in distribution of health technologies (GI > 0.85), number of surgical operations (GI > 0.70) and number of inpatients (GI > 0.60) among public hospitals for the years 2014–2017.Originality/valueStudy results highlight that, hospital managers should prioritize equal distribution of health technology and health services utilization indicators to better orchestrate equity-efficiency trade-off in their operations.

Patient-specific 3D-printed helmet for post-craniectomy defect \u2013 a case report

BackgroundPatients who undergo decompressive craniectomy (DC) are often fitted with a helmet that protects the craniectomy site from injury during rehabilitation. However, conventional “one-size-fits-all” helmets may not be feasible for certain craniectomy defects. We describe the production and use of a custom 3D-printed helmet for a DC patient where a conventional helmet was not feasible due to the craniectomy defect configuration.Case presentationA 65-year-old male with ethmoid sinonasal carcinoma underwent cranionasal resection and DC with free vastus lateralis flap reconstruction to treat cerebrospinal fluid leakage. He required an external helmet to protect the craniectomy site, however, the rim of a conventional helmet compressed the craniectomy site, and the straps compressed the vascular pedicle of the muscle flap. Computed topography (CT) scans of the patient’s cranium were imported into 3D modelling software and used to fabricate a patient-specific, strapless helmet using fused deposition modelling (FDM). The final helmet fit the patient perfectly and circumvented the compression issues, while also providing better cosmesis than the conventional helmet. Four months postoperatively, the helmet remains intact and in use.Conclusions3D printing can be used to produce low-volume, patient-specific external devices for rehabilitation where standardized adjuncts are not optimal. Once initial start-up costs and training are overcome, these devices can be produced by surgeons themselves to meet a wide range of clinical needs.

Impact of fear of hypoglycaemia on self-management in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: structural equation modelling.

This study aimed to explore the effect of fear of hypoglycaemia (FOH) on self-management and its specific action path in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to provide a basis for developing targeted nursing interventions. A cross-sectional study. From June to October 2019, we recruited 258 patients with T2DM from the endocrinology department of three hospitals to complete questionnaires, including the Hypoglycaemia Fear Survey-II, Diabetes Distress Scale, Self-Stigma Scale, Social Support Rating Scale and Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities, in Jiangsu Province, China. Pearson's correlation analyses and structural equation modelling were conducted to explore the relationship and influence path among the above variables. The correlation analysis of FOH, distress, self-stigma, social support and self-management showed that, except for social support not being correlated with FOH and distress (P > 0.05), all variables were correlated in pairs (r = -0.19-0.77, P < 0.01). The final model fit well, and the fitting indexes of the model were as follows: χ2/df = 2.191, GFI = 0.934, CFI = 0.954, TLI = 0.934, RMSEA = 0.068, and SRMR = 0.0649. The effects of FOH on self-management in patients with T2DM included one direct path and two indirect paths: (a) FOH had a direct impact on self-management (P < 0.05); (b) FOH had an indirect impact on self-management through distress (P < 0.05); and (c) FOH had an indirect impact on self-management through self-stigma and social support (P < 0.05). FOH could directly influence self-management in patients with T2DM. Furthermore, distress, self-stigma and social support were important mediating variables of FOH influencing self-management. Researchers can develop personalized interventions to improve the self-management of patients with T2DM by regulating distress, self-stigma and social support levels.

Radiation hardness characterization of low gain avalanche detector prototypes for the high granularity timing detector

The high granularity timing detector (HGTD) is a crucial component of the ATLAS phase II upgrade to cope with the extremely high pile-up (the average number of interactions per bunch crossing can be as high as 200). With the precise timing information (&lt;i&gt;σ&lt;sub&gt;t&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt;～30 ps) of the tracks, the track-to-vertex association can be performed in the “4-D” space. The Low Gain Avalanche Detector (LGAD) technology is chosen for the sensors, which can provide the required timing resolution and good signal-to-noise ratio. Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK) has produced the LGAD with thicknesses of 35 μm and 50 μm. The University of Science and Technology of China(USTC) has also developed and produced 50 μm LGADs prototypes with the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) of Chinese Academy of Sciences. To evaluate the irradiation hardness, the sensors are irradiated with the neutron at the JSI reactor facility and tested at USTC. The irradiation effects on both the gain layer and the bulk are characterized by &lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;-&lt;i&gt;V&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C&lt;/i&gt;-&lt;i&gt;V&lt;/i&gt; measurements at room temperature (20 ℃) or −30 ℃. The breakdown voltages and depletion voltages are extracted and presented as a function of the fluences. The final fitting of the acceptor removal model yielded the &lt;i&gt;c&lt;/i&gt;-factor of 3.06×10&lt;sup&gt;−16&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;−2&lt;/sup&gt;, 3.89×10&lt;sup&gt;−16&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;−2&lt;/sup&gt; and 4.12×10&lt;sup&gt;−16&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;−2&lt;/sup&gt; for the HPK-1.2, HPK-3.2 and USTC-1.1-W8, respectively, showing that the HPK-1.2 sensors have the most irradiation resistant gain layer. A novel analysis method is used to further exploit the data to get the relationship between the &lt;i&gt;c&lt;/i&gt;-factor and initial doping density.

Sleep Quality Among Adolescents and Its Relation to Inhalant, Khat, and Internet Use, and Physical Illness: A Community-Based Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study.

Sleep-related health problems are under investigated among adolescents in low-income countries, including our country, Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the sleep quality and its associated factors among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 799 adolescents from May 27 to July 27, 2021, using a systematic random sampling technique. Sleep quality was assessed by using the Petersburg sleep quality index. The data was entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 21. A logistic regression model was used, and variables with a P-value less than .05 in the final fitting model were stated as independent predictors of poor sleep quality (PSQ). About 1 in 3 adolescents (38%) had a poor sleep quality. The rates of inhalant, khat, and internet use disorders were 16%, 38%, and 18%, respectively. Also, 27.4% of adolescents used alcohol as a sleep medication, and 75% of adolescents with internet addiction had PSQ. Moreover, adolescents with physical illness had about 4 times higher odds of association with PSQ (AOR = 3.76 and 95% CI = 2.30-6.15%CI), and inhalant use disorder (AOR = 1.98 and 95% CI = 1.29-3.04%CI), internet addiction (AOR = 3.33 and 95% CI = 2.09-5.30%CI), and khat use disorder (AOR = 1.74 and 95% CI = 1.11-2.73%CI), were positively associated with PSQ. PSQ was higher among adolescents, and problematic inhalants, khat, and internet use and physical illness were risk factors for PSQ.

Retentive force of telescopic crowns combining fiber-reinforced composite and zirconia.

This study investigated changes in the retentive force of telescopic crowns fabricated by combining a zirconia primary crown and a fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) secondary crown. Primary zirconia crowns were produced with a nominal convergence angle of 0°. Forty-eight secondary crowns were milled from FRC and divided into three study groups (n=16/group) based on milling parameters and post-milling adjustment. The offset parameter used for the final milling step of the inner crown surface was adjusted for a tight initial fit in Group 1 (milling offset: +10 µm, i.e., 2 × 10 µm = 20 µm lower inner diameter compared with the CAD file of the crown) and for improved initial fit (milling offset: -10 µm, i.e., an enlargement of the inner crown diameter by 2 × 20 µm = 40 µm in relation to Group 1) in Groups 2 and 3. The inner surfaces of the secondary crowns were polished with diamond paste in Groups 1 and 2, and silicon points were used for Group 3. The retentive force was measured using a universal testing device. The secondary crown was placed on the primary crown, with the final fitting force set to a load of 100 N. This test was conducted before and after aging (10,000 insertion/removal cycles) under dry and wet conditions. A generalized linear model was used to estimate the differences in the retentive force to elucidate the effects of the milling parameters and polishing methods. We realized an initial retentive force of approximately 10 N. In Groups 2 and 3, the difference was statistically significant between the dry and wet conditions before aging (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the dry and wet conditions after aging in any of the groups (P > 0.05). An adequate initial retentive force can be achieved with telescopic crowns combining zirconia and FRC.

Evaluation of the Influence between Local Meteorology and Air Quality in Beijing Using Generalized Additive Models

Previous studies have confirmed the inextricable connection between meteorological factors and air pollutants. This study presents the complex nonlinear relationship between meteorological variables and four major air pollutants under high-concentration air pollution in Beijing. The generalized additive model combined with marginal effects is used for quantitative analysis. After controlling the confounding factors such as long-term trends, seasonality and spatio-temporal deviation, the final fitting results exhibit that temperature, relative humidity and visibility are the most significant meteorological variables associating with PM2.5 concentration, and the marginal effect reaches 80%, −23% and 270%, respectively. Temperature and relative humidity are the most significant variables for SO2, and the marginal effect reaches 15% and 7%. The most significant variables for O3 are temperature and solar radiation, with marginal effect of up to 70% and 8%. Atmospheric pressure and temperature results in a positive effect on CO, and the marginal effect can reach 18% and 80%. All these indicate that local meteorological variables are a significant driving factor for air quality in Beijing. Other variables, such as wind speed, visibility, and precipitation, display some influence on air pollutants, but have less explanatory power in the model. Overall, our study provides a better understanding of the relationship between local meteorological variables and air quality, as well as an insight into how climate change affects air quality.

The Relationship Between Khat Use Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Prisoners with Life Time Trauma Exposure in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundProblematic khat use is an emerging health problem worldwide. Trauma experience, crime, and substance misuse is closely related. However, there is lack of evidence whether post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and life time trauma exposure has a relationship with problematic khat use among prisoners in our country Ethiopia, or elsewhere. Therefore, this study assessed the relationship between PTSD and life time trauma exposure with khat use disorder among newly admitted prisoners in Bench Shako and West Omo zone correctional institution, Mizan Aman, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 411 (N=422) prisoners from April 20 to July 19, 2019, by using a consecutive sampling technique. Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder were assessed with a life event check list and Post-traumatic stress disorder – civilian version (PCL-C), respectively. The WHO ASSIST tool was used to assess khat, alcohol, and tobacco use disorder. Antisocial personality disorder, criminal, and clinical history were also assessed. The data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and then exported to Statistical Package for Social Science version 21. A logistic regression model was used and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 in the final fitting model were stated as independent predictors of PTSD.ResultsNearly one out of four prisoners exposed to life time trauma exposure developed PTSD, and the prevalence of khat use disorder among prisoners with life time trauma exposure and PTSD was 45% and 85%, respectively. Prisoners with khat use disorder had more than 5 times higher odds of association with PTSD than their counterparts (AOR=5.3, 95% CI=2.4–11.8). In addition, antisocial personality disorder (AOR=2.8, 95% CI=1.6–5.5), criminal recidivism (AOR=2.5, 95% CI=1.5–4.3), and being a driver (AOR=2, 95% CI=1.2–3.3) were positively associated with PTSD.ConclusionKhat use disorder was higher among prisoners with life time trauma exposure and PTSD, and khat use disorder was positively associated with PTSD.