High Death Research Articles

The Effect of Vanadium Inhalation on the Tumor Progression of Urethane-Induced Lung Adenomas in a Mice Model

Lung cancer has the highest death rates. Aerosol drug delivery has been used for other lung diseases. The use of inhaled vanadium (V) as an option for lung cancer treatment is explored. Four groups of mice were studied: (1) Saline inhalation alone, (2) Single intraperitoneal (i.p.) dose of urethane, (3) V nebulization twice a week (Wk) for 8 Wk, and (4) A single dose of urethane and V nebulization for 8 Wk. Mice were sacrificed at the end of the experiment. Number and size of tumors, PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) and TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl tranferase dUTP nick-end labeling) immunohistochemistry were evaluated and compared within groups. Results: The size and number of tumors decreased in mice exposed to V-urethane and the TUNEL increased in this group; differences in the PCNA were not observed. Conclusions: Aerosol V delivery increased apoptosis and possibly the growth arrest of the tumors with no respiratory clinical changes in the mice.

IMPROVING BUSINESS PROCESSES BY USING LARAVEL ON THE NEW STUDENT REGISTRATION SYSTEM OF SD MARSUDIRINI GEDANGAN SEMARANG

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the delta variant was pretty crazy with high deaths, high transmission and increasing cases, so the government pulled the emergency brake in the form of emergency PPKM. Emergency PPKM up to PPKM level 1-4 where education is still 100% working from home. So that new student registration activities should be carried out using internet media and web-based applications. For prospective students who will enroll in the school, it can make it easier for them to register online, the registration menu is still in the form of uploading files. One of the PHP frameworks often recommended by PHP programming forums is the Laravel framework. So that the process of developing the registration information system of Marsudirini Elementary School uses the Laravel Framework. Considering the development of the web-based programming world with the emergence of the PHP Framework, the system development method also adapts to the concept of the PHP Framework, where the basis of the PHP Framework is Object Oriented Programming (OOP) PHP. Then the application development for SD Marsudirini Gedangan Semarang school registration system uses the Scrum method. The need for a registration information system consists of 2 business processes, namely the registration process and the admission process for new students, where the entire process will be a reporting to stakeholders. With the use of the Laravel framework, there is an improvement in the process of registering and uploading files, as well as verifying files by the registration administration.

Prevalence and materno-fetal outcomes of preeclampsia/eclampsia amongst pregnant women at a teaching hospital in north-central Nigeria: a retrospective cross-sectional study

BackgroundPreeclampsia/eclampsia (PE/E) contributes significantly to maternal, perinatal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the prevalence, materno-fetal outcomes and sociodemographic factors associated with PE/E at Nigerian Teaching Hospital from September 2014 to August 2019.MethodsThis was a retrospective cross-sectional study that analyzed deidentified secondary data of women managed for PE/E at a teaching hospital in north-central, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics were used to determine sample characteristics and study outcome estimates. Bivariate analysis was used to test for associations between sociodemographic factors and PE/E, materno-fetal outcomes while logistic regression analysis was used to test for the magnitude of these associations. The significance level was set at P < 0.05.ResultsThe prevalence of PE/E in this study was 3.60%. Preeclampsia was diagnosed in 3.02% of cases while eclampsia was the diagnosis in 0.58%. Case fatality rate was 3.9% and still birth rate was 10.7%. Majority of women (85.4%) did not have any maternal complication nor unfavorable outcome. Majority (67.7%), of babies weighed less than 2500 g and birth weight was the only sociodemographic factor that was significantly associated with fetal outcome (X2 = 15.6, P < 0.001).ConclusionsThe prevalence of PE/E in this study is high and is associated with high maternal and perinatal deaths. Majority of the cases of PE/E as well the fatalities occurred in women who had no formal education, unbooked and referred to the teaching hospital with worsening conditions. There is need for explorative research on community factors associated with PE/E and its outcome towards prevention and early management of cases.

Cardiovascular death risk in mid-range ejection fraction heart failure: insights from cardiopulmonary exercise test

Abstract Background The pivotal role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in the assessment of functional capacity and prognosis of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), either as a single CPET parameter (i.e. peak oxygen uptake, peak VO2), as a combination of CPET parameters (i.e. oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold (AT) and ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2 slope), or as a part of more comprehensive scores (i.e. Metabolic Exercise combined with Cardiac and Kidney Indexes, MECKI) is well established. Just few studies are available with respect a possible role of CPET in risk stratification of patients in HF with midrange EF (HFmrEF) subset, namely HF patients with LVEF between 40% and 49%. Purpose The aim of the present large Italian multicenter study was to characterize and to compare stable HFmrEF and HFrEF patients in terms of exercise capacity as well as of instrumental and laboratory variables. We analyzed a possible independent and incremental prognostic value of CPET parameters in identifying those HFmrEF patients at high cardiovascular death risk. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical and CPET data of stable HF patients with HFrEF and HFmrEF from the MECKI Score database. Five-thousand-seven-hundred-eleven patients, 4,535 with HFrEF and 1,176 with HFmrEF, were considered for the study. The end-point was cardiovascular death at 5 years. The median follow-up was 1343 days (25th–75th range, 627–2403 days). Results Cardiovascular death occurred in 552 HFrEF (12.2% event rate) and 61 HFmrEF (5.2% event rate) patients. At multivariate analysis, an independent role of variables included in the MECKI score (age, atrial fibrillation, LVEF, haemoglobin, sodium, MDRD, AT identification, VO2 at AT, peak VO2 also expressed as percentage of the maximum predicted, VE/VCO2 slope) was confirmed in HFrEF group (C-index=0.744) whereas, in the HFmrEF group, only age and peak VO2 remained outcome predictors (C-index=0.745). We identified a peak VO2 &amp;lt;55% of predicted and a VE/VCO2 slope &amp;gt;31 as the most accurate cut-off values able to identify a HFmrEF subgroup with a cardiovascular mortality rate significantly higher than the overall HFmrEF (5.2% vs 8.5%) (Figure 1). By using both cut-off values contextually, we recognized a relatively small HFmrEF population with a cardiovascular risk quite similar to the HFrEF sample (11.4% vs 12.2%) (Figure 1). Conclusions Present data support the CPET as a useful tool in the HFmrEF management. Besides the peak VO2, which resulted as a strong independent outcome predictor, also a number of other CPET variables were associated to the cardiovascular death risk. Particularly, a peak VO2 ≤55% of the maximum and a VE/VCO2 slope ≥31 identified a HFmrEF subgroup of patients with a high cardiovascular death risk, similar to the one observed in the HFrEF group. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None. Figure 1

A STUDY OF EVALUATION OF THYROID FUNCTION STATUS IN CONTINOUS AMBULATORY PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PATIENTS

Background/Aim: End-stage-renal-disease (ESRD) patients/CAPD have a high rate of abnormal thyroid hormone (include subclinical hypothyroidism and non-thyroidal illness syndrome) compared with those without kidney disease. These thyroid dysfunctions are associated with higher death risk due to cardiovascular disease in the general population, little is known about the effect of thyroid disease in patients received peritoneal dialysis. Methods: Cross-sectional research, 118 participants (59 healthy people, 57 CAPD patients) were enrolled. We examined the association of thyroid status, assessed by serum TSH, free T3, free T4 levels which were measured by immunoassay method. Results: Mean serum TSH level of patients were higher than those of control group, p&lt;0.05 (3.15±2.28 μUI/mL versus 1.65±0.82 μUI/mL); mean FT3 level of patients were lower than those of control group, p&lt;0.05 (2.42±0.46 pg/mL versus 3.01±0.41 pg/mL); mean FT4 level of patients were lower than those of control group, p&gt;0.05(1.26±0.24 ng/dL vs 1.18±0.18 ng/dL). Among 57 CAPD patients, 35.1% abnormal thyroid function; 19.3% subclinical hypothyroidism; 15.8% low FT3; 1 patient has low FT4. Mean serum TSH level of patients were higher than those of control group, p&lt;0.05 (3.15±2.28 μUI/mL versus 1.65±0.82 μUI/mL); mean FT3 level of patients were lower than those of control group, p&lt;0.05 (2.42±0.46 pg/mL versus 3.01±0.41 pg/mL); mean FT4 level of patients were lower than those of control group, (p&gt;0.05, 1.26±0.24 ng/dL vs 1.18±0.18 ng/dL). Conclusion: Subclinical hypothyroidism and low FT3syndrome are high in CAPD patients. Additionally, FT4 serum concentration is associated with PD duration and serum creatinine; FT3 is dependent risk factor of rate Kt/V Urea weekly, also cardiovascular disease. Key words: ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, continous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients (CAPD), abnormal thyroid function, subclinical hypothyroidism

Watershed Segmentation with CAFIS and RCNN Classification for Pulmonary Nodule Detection

The premier cause for high cancer deaths in the world is the lung cancer. It is important for the radiologists to predict lung cancer at an early stage. Various research works on such nodule segmentation clearly manifest that they are ineffective. These investigations brought to the development of watershed segmentation-based topological interpretation (WSBTI) and an advanced optimized segmentation method of nodule detection. The supreme goal of this research work is to effectively recognize small anomalous nodule in the lung region. The noise discrimination can be eradicated by the primary step adaptive median filter with discrete-time complex wavelet transform enhancement technique. In the consequent step, WSBTI algorithm is effectively implemented for the prediction on abnormal node of lung. Ultimately, the procurement of nodule can be done by using coactive adaptive neuro fuzzy interference system classifier (CAFIS) and recurrent convolutional neural network classifier (RCNN). The average time of segmentation is 1.05 s. The high accuracy classification is 97% by using CAFIS method and 97.6% by RCNN method.

Trends in Characteristics and Outcomes of Hospitalized Young Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in the United States, 2004 to 2018.

BackgroundData are limited about young adults' characteristics and outcomes undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).Methods and ResultsWe used the National Inpatient Sample database to identify adults aged 18 to 45 years who underwent CABG between 2004 and 2018. The data were weighted to generate national estimates of the entire US hospitalized population. We identified 110 463 CABG cases, equivalent to 62.2 per 1 000 000 person‐years; 27.1% were women, and 70.2% were White adults. Overall, annual CABG volume per 1 000 000 significantly decreased from 87.3 in 2004 to 45.7 in 2018. The prevalence of obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, drug abuse, and chronic medical conditions increased over time. Overall, inpatient mortality was 1.76%; ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction, non–ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, renal failure, and valvular surgery were associated with higher inpatient mortality. Women had higher inpatient mortality than men (2.29% versus 1.57%), and Black patients had higher deaths than White patients (2.86% versus 1.58%). Inpatient mortality remained stable overall, according to sex, race, or clinical indication of CABG. However, the mean length of stay (8.4 days in 2004 to 9.5 days in 2018) and inflation‐adjusted cost of care ($40 522.8 in 2004 to $52 434.2 in 2018) significantly increased during the study period.ConclusionsDespite the increased burden of cardiometabolic risk factors, the inpatient mortality in young adults undergoing CABG remained stable during the last 15 years. However, CABG volumes have decreased, but length of stay and inflation‐adjusted costs have increased over time.

Dietary Risk-Related Colorectal Cancer Burden: Estimates From 1990 to 2019.

Background: Colorectal cancer remains a public health problem worldwide. Dietary risk factors play a key role in the carcinogenesis and progression of colorectal cancer. This study aimed to explore the geographical and temporal trends in various dietary factor-related colorectal cancers.Methods: Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study, including the deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), age-standardized rate (ASR), and summary exposure value (SEV) among 4 world regions, 11 age groups, 21 regions, and 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2019. The estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to evaluate the variation trend of ASR.Results: Dietary factors were the leading cause of colorectal cancer death and DALY rate, regardless of age. Dietary factor-related deaths and DALYs accounted for 32 and 34% of global colorectal cancer, respectively. Further analysis showed that low whole grain intake remained the leading cause of cancer death and DALY rate, followed by milk and calcium. Diets that were low in whole grains, milk, and calcium accounted for 81.61% of deaths and 81.64% of DALYs. Deaths and DALYs of dietary factors related to colorectal cancer grew by half from 1990 to 2019. All ASRs remained higher for men than women. Asia carried the highest colorectal cancer burden attributed to dietary risks, especially for East Asia [age-standardized death rate (ASDR): EAPC = 1.15, 95% CI:0.88–1.42; DALY: EAPC = 1.08, 95% CI:0.82–1.34]. The heavy burden also existed in high-middle and middle socio-demographic index (SDI) quintiles. China has always had the highest deaths and DALYs of colorectal cancer attributable to dietary risks, followed by the USA, India, and Japan.Conclusions: Large variations existed in the dietary risk-related colorectal cancer burdens among sexes, regions, and countries. More targeted interventions to address modifiable dietary risk factors would save 32% of deaths and 34% of DALYs for colorectal cancer.

The Intersections of Pandemic, Public Policy and Social Inequality in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the United States of America (U.S.) under enormous strain, leaving it with higher deaths during the first wave of the outbreak (per 100,000 of population) compared to all other advanced economies. In addition to the elderly, Minorities across all age groups in the U.S. are amongst those hardest hit by the virus. The disparate impact has been attributed to various enduring problems related to the social determinants of health adversely affecting Minorities. The present study explores the relationship between the pandemic, public policy, and race/ethnicity-based vulnerability, as the three have fused to disproportionately impact Minorities. We ask, does greater stringency of state measures aimed at controlling the spread of the virus lead to improved mortality rates for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites equally? And, if not, to what extent does the role of pre-existing and COVID-specific vulnerability play in determining outcomes observed between groups? To answer these questions, we rely on a mix of correlational and regression analyses. Our findings point to the highly divergent impact of public policy and vulnerability on COVID-19 mortality. This suggests that state-led policy to address both the short-term and long-term consequences of the pandemic needs to account for the particular nature of vulnerability affecting Minorities in the U.S.

Variceal Bleeding is Leading Cause of Upper GI Bleed: A Study from Northern Part of Pakistan

Background: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a leading cause of hospitalization in medical emergencies around the world, with a high death and morbidity rate. In all cases of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, endoscopy is the primary diagnostic tool. Key management of depends on diagnosing the exact cause of disease. Methodology: This descriptive study was carried out at Gastroenterology Department, PIMS, Islamabad from January 2019 to December 2019. All patients having history of upper gastrointestinal bleed were included in the study. Patients unfit for endoscopy i.e. with perforation, peritonitis, comatose needing intubation and those unwilling to undergo the procedure were excluded. Total 490 patients fulfilled the criterion. The cause of GI bleed was noted upon endoscopy. Data was noted on set performa and further statistical analysis was performed via SPSS v 26. Results: Among 490 patients, 298 (61%) were males while 192 (39%) were females. Most common age group presenting with upper GI bleed belongs to old age group i.e. had age above 60 years (n=235, 47.9%) followed by 40 to 59 years (n=174, 35.5%).Most common cause of upper GI bleed was found to be variceal bleed (n=292, 59.5%), followed by ulcer bleed (n=88, 18.0%) and stomach cancer (n=28, 6%). In 82 (17%) cases no reason for gastrointestinal bleed could be found out. Chi-square test showed Variceal bleed to be the most significant reason (χ2=65.2, P-Value&lt;0.001) of Upper GI bleed. Conclusion: Variceal bleed is the most significant cause of upper GI bleed in our study population. This trend can be attributed to increased prevalence of hepatitis C in Pakistan. Special attention to the patient’s symptoms especially with history of HCV can help in early diagnosis and timely management. Keywords: Variceal Bleed, Upper GI Bleed, Endoscopy, Ulcer, Hepatitis C.

Understanding terror states of online users in the context of COVID-19: An application of Terror Management Theory

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided psych challenges for many in society. One such challenge is the anxiety that is created in many people faced with the risk of death from the disease. Another issue is understanding how individuals cope psychologically with the threat of death from the disease. In this study we examine the manifestation of death anxiety and various coping mechanisms through the lens of terror management theory (TMT) and online platforms. We take a novel approach to testing the theory using big data analytics and machine learning, focusing on the user-generated content of Twitter users. Based on a sample of all tweets in the UK mentioning COVID-19 terms over a 5-month period, we evaluate dictionary mentions of anxiety and death, and various TMT defense mechanisms, and calculate the pattern of latent death anxiety or ‘terror’ states of Twitter users via Hidden Markov Models. The research identifies four online ‘terror’ states, with high death and anxiety mentions during the peak of the pandemic. Further we examine various TMT defense mechanisms that have been proposed in the literature for coping with death anxiety and find that online social connection, achievement and religion all play important roles in improving the model and explaining movement between states. The paper concludes with various implications of the study for future research and practice.

LOGISTIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT FOR PREDICTION OF COVID-19 INFECTED INDIVIDUALS: CASE STUDY IN CENTRAL JAVA PROVINCE, INDONESIA

In early 2020, covid-19 spread fast in the worldwide and cause the high death. The disease started from the Asian region which resulted in a viral pandemic in 2020. In order to anticipate the increasing of the cases, a strategy is needed to inhibit its transmission. The mathematical model approach is important tool for predicting of covid-19 spread in populations. In this paper we propose and analyze the dynamical behaviour of a developed logistic model by considering the effect of the contact patterns in reducing the covid-19 spread process. To verify the developed logistic model, numerical simulation was given with case study of covid-19 spread for patients under supervision in Central Java Province, Indonesia. Based on simulation results, it was found that physical distancing can reduce the growth of the covid-19 spread for patient under supervision. It can be seen from the number of covid-19 spread for patients under supervision with physical distancing intervention smaller compared to without physical distancing intervention.

STATUS OF COVID-19 IN THE WORST AFFECTED TWENTY COUNTRIES AND THE WORLD AT THE END OF 2020

The COVID-19 become ‘the first-worst pandemic’ of 21st century. The causative agent SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus and is primarily transmitted between people through respiratory droplets. At the end of year 2020, COVID-19 has infected 84,532,824 people and carried out 1,845,597 deaths across the globe. Here, the epidemiology of COVID-19 in the worst affected twenty countries and the world up to December 2020 is reviewed. The distribution of COVID-19 across the globe observed about 78.70% of reported positive cases and 81.63% of the reported deaths in twenty countries viz. USA, India, Brazil, Russia, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, Columbia, Argentina, Mexico Turkey, Poland, Iran, South Africa, Ukraine, Peru, Indonesia and Belgium. The highest COVID-19 cases were observed in the USA (20,640,214) with 6,235.66 cases per lakh people and this is far ahead than the world average of 2,910 cases per lakh people. The highest 351,590 number of deaths occurred in the USA but the highest deaths per lakh people is observed in Belgium (172.4) which is very higher than the world average (13.9). In the starting of year 2020, the case fatality rate was 2.17 % in January month, the highest 8.12 % in April and controlled to 1.78 % in December. The case fatality rate of Mexico (8.8 %) is very high compared to the world average (2.2 %). With the collective efforts of scientists and the governments, eight vaccines are in market and vaccination is in progress to combat the worst pandemic Covid-19.

ANALISIS KUMULATIF COVID-19 PROVINSI PAPUA TAHUN 2020 MENGGUNAKAN MODEL DISTRIBUSI JOHNSON SB

Coronavirus belongs to the coronaviridae family. The coronavirus family groups are alpha (α), beta (β), gamma (γ) and delta (δ) coronavirus. Although research related to covid-19 in several provinces in Indonesia has been conducted by several researchers so far there has been no research related to the Covid-19 model in Papua province. One of the obstacles faced by some researchers is related to the Covid-19 data parameters which are difficult to estimate, so that the model formulated could not describe the outbreak well. Therefore the aim of this study is to conduct a cumulative analysis of the 2020 Papua province Covid-19 using the Johnson SB distribution model. The methods used to perform the analysis are Kolmogorov Smirnov for testing the suitability of the Covid-19 data to the model, Johnson SB to show the data distribution model, Maximum Likelihood to estimate the parameters and the Johnson SB cumulative distribution function to describe the probability of Covid-19 data. 19 Papua Province in 2020. The secondary data on the number of Covid-19 cases in Papua, obtained from the Papua Provincial Health Office is used in this research. The results showed that, the highest increase in the number of patients every day, starting from September 1 2020 to October 31, 2020 for infected cases was on 16-17 September, by 274 patients. Meanwhile, most recovery (308 patients) happened to be on 30-31 October and the highest death (5 people) was on 27-28 September. The highest cumulative probability for cases of infection, recovery and death were (Confirmed &lt;4965) = 0.3, Prob(Cured &lt;6408) = 0.9 and Prob(died &lt;91) = 0.4 respectively.

Deaths and Injuries from Unintentional Falls: An Analysis of Nepal Police Records

Falls are a major cause of unintentional injury-related global mortality and morbidity. The actual mortality and morbidity from falls in Nepal have been overlooked and not systematically studied. This study, therefore, aims to present the national status of fall-related deaths and injuries. The study analyzed the fall incidents recorded by Nepal Police for five fiscal years (17 July 2014 to 16 July 2019). These incident recordings were in the form of narratives, and possible variables were extracted for the analysis. In five years, 4,714 people were injured or died from falls in Nepal. The average age of the fall victim was 35.6 years (SD=19.94); the mean age of the person who died from falls was slightly lower (30.9 years) than the injured person (40.4 years). The analysis showed that the fall cases were remarkably greater for males than females. This study found that Bagmati Province, where the capital city was located has the highest death and injury rates from falls, followed by Gandaki Province and Province 1. The study identified 11 different locations of falls. These findings revealed that Nepal has a considerable burden of fall deaths and injuries. However, the actual burden of fall injuries might be higher due to the under-reporting of the incidents through the Nepal Police data recording system.

The Identification of Persuasive Educational Message About Covid-19 Issue in New Media

Indonesia has becoming one of the countries with highest rate in Covid-19 transmission and part of 15 biggest countries in the world with highest death rate because of it. Various efforts have been conducting to persuade people such as delivering the Covid-19 education messages by new media TikTok. This research is a qualitative research with content analysis as the method. The object choosen are three video in new media TikTok that come from the point of view of the health workers, family of the health workers and society. The theory used is The Persuasive Theory. The results show that the persuasive carried out through the research object used an evidence-based approach, using humor and based on diction. Based on diction is carried out from the side of the health worker family members. Based on the evidence is carried out from the point of view of people affected by the virus. The humor approach is carried out from the perspective of medical personnel. The message structure contained in the video object shows uniformity, including the presentation of messages consisting of one-sided, the order in which the message is presented using the climax flow and drawing conclusions that indicate the message is expressed or addressed directly.

Embryo Development and Behavior in Sea Urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) Under Different Light Emitting Diodes Condition

This study aims to evaluate the effect of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of different wavelengths on the embryonic development, covering behavior, righting behavior, and phototaxis of collector urchins (Tripneustes gratilla). The collector urchins were divided into three groups according to the type of LED illumination they received: full-spectrum (400–750 nm wavelength), red light (630 nm), or blue light (450 nm). The results of the embryonic development experiment indicated that the blue LED group had the highest proportion of embryos reaching the prism stage at the 24th hour and the highest proportion of embryos entering the 4-arm pluteus stage, but it also had the highest death rate at the 48th hour. The full-spectrum and red LED groups exhibited similar speeds of embryonic development. In the experiment on covering behavior performed on adult urchins, our findings indicated that the blue LED group gripped the most acrylic sheets for cover, exhibiting the most covering behavior, followed by the full-spectrum group and then the red LED group. Moreover, behavior varied with coloration, as collector urchins with a lower level of melanin exhibited more covering behavior than those with a higher melanin level. In addition, the righting behavior experiments demonstrated that the blue LED group spent the longest time righting themselves. It is possible that the relatively strong stimulation from the blue LED illumination led to a higher level of stress in the collector urchins and hence slowed their righting. The phototaxis experiment revealed the most significant negative phototactic response in collector urchins when they were under the blue LED light, followed by the full-spectrum light; the red LED light did not induce any positive or negative phototactic response in the collector urchins. This experimental result verified collector urchins’ high sensitivity to and dislike of the blue LED light. The study results confirmed that the blue LED light environment accelerated the embryonic development of collector urchins; however, the relatively strong stimulation from that light also caused them to engage in covering behavior or move away from the light. These results indicate that short-wavelength irradiation significantly affects the embryonic development and behavior pattern of this species.

Impact of socio-economic status and race on emergency hospital admission outcomes: Analysis from hospital admissions between 2001 and 2012.

Socio-economic and racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare quality have been the point of huge discussion and debate. There is currently a public debate over healthcare legislation in the United States to eliminate the disparities in healthcare. We reviewed the literature and critically examined standard socio-economic and racial/ethnic measurement approaches. As a result of the literature review, we identified and discussed the limitations in existing quality assessment for identifying and addressing these disparities. The aim of this research was to investigate the difference between health outcomes based on patients' ability to pay and ethnic status during a single emergency admission. We conducted a multifactorial analysis using the 11-year admissions data from a single hospital to test the bias in short-term health outcomes for length of stay and death rate, based on 'payment type' and 'race', for emergency hospital admissions. Inconclusive findings for racial bias in outcomes may be influenced by different insurance and demographic profiles by race. As a result, we found that the Self-Pay (no insurance) category has the shortest statistically significant length of stay. While the differences between Medicare, Private and Government are not significant, Self-Pay was significantly shorter. That 'Whites' have more Medicare (older) patients than 'Blacks' might possibly lead to a longer length of stay and higher death rate for the group.

The Goldilocks effect: female geladas in mid-sized groups have higher fitness.

The cost–benefit ratio of group living is thought to vary with group size: individuals in ‘optimally sized’ groups should have higher fitness than individuals in groups that are either too large or too small. However, the relationship between group size and individual fitness has been difficult to establish for long-lived species where the number of groups studied is typically quite low. Here, we present evidence for optimal group size that maximizes female fitness in a population of geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Drawing on 14 years of demographic data, we found that females in small groups experienced the highest death rates, while females in mid-sized groups exhibited the highest reproductive performance. This group size effect on female reproductive performance was largely explained by variation in infant mortality (and, in particular, by infanticide from immigrant males) but not by variation in reproductive rates. Taken together, females in mid-sized groups are projected to attain optimal fitness due to conspecific infanticide and, potentially, predation. Our findings provide insight into how and why group size shapes fitness in long-lived species.

Covid-19 and public health

The UK has the highest death rate from Covid-19 in the world, and it is vulnerable groups who have suffered the most. This article describes the multiple failures of government that led to this tragedy. The depletion of and disinvestment in public health services, communicable disease control and community health services over decades meant those reliant on these services were failed. The fundamental tenets of public health were set aside, and public health expertise ignored, in favour of establishing a parallel, privatised system for epidemic control which failed expensively and spectacularly. Long-established principles of infectious disease control and rules and standards for scientific evaluation were not followed, and our ‘world-class scientists’ fatally departed from World Health Organisation advice. Covid has been used as a cover for more privatisation and less scrutiny and accountability. It has exposed the gap between rich and poor and erosion in our public services. However, rather than ameliorating inequalities, the government has presided over enormous inter- and intra-generational transfers of harms and risks from rich to poor and to those in institutional settings, and from older prosperous people to children. Above all, Covid has been a cover for enormous transfers of wealth from the public purse and public services to private interests — notably in health services. There is a political solution to the undermining of public health, commercial conflicts and lack of public accountability: the government must bring forward legislation to reinstate a publicly funded, publicly operated and fully integrated National Health and Care Service, and set out clear plans for reinvestment and restoring and rebuilding health and care services.