Longer Intervals Research Articles

Electrochemical synthesis of reduced graphene oxide and their anti-corosion properties

Reduced graphene oxide (Gr) has been synthesized electrochemically on the surface of copper metal at a fixed potential of 1.5 V versus a standard saturated calomel electrode (SCE). The synthesized Gr was then characterized with X-Ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, raman and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopies. The anti-corrosion behavior of Gr was tested with polarization measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in acidic medium of 0.5 M sulfuric acid solution. X-ray difraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Raman analyses revealed that the Gr is more thermo-stable than GO. The d-spacing between sheets in comparison Gr (~ 3.78 Å) is shorter than d-spacing between sheets in GO (~ 8.80 Å). The Gr film synthesized within 30 seconds shows the better anti-corrosion behavior in comparison to the films synthesized with longer time interval.

Effect of Water Stress and Cutting Frequency on Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Seed Production*

A split-plot experiment was conducted at the DemonstrationFarm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, during theperiod January 1999 - June 2000 to study the effect of water stress andcutting frequency on seed production of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).Three irrigation intervals (7, 14 and 21 days) were assigned to the mainplots and designated I1 , I2 and I3 , respectively, and three cuttingfrequencies; namely, 21, 28 and 35 days were assigned to the subplots andgiven the symbols C 1 , C 2 and C 3 , respectively. Data were collected onnumber of racemes per plant, number of pods per raceme, number ofseeds per pod, 1000-seed weight and final seed yield. Correlation analyseswere carried out between yield and some of its components. The resultsrevealed that shorter irrigation intervals (7 and 14 days) were significantlybetter than the longer interval (21 days), and the 35 days cuttingfrequency was the best for seed yield. Neither the number of seeds perpod nor the 1000-seed weight were affected by the cutting intervals.However, the former was significantly affected by irrigation intervals.Mean seed yield for the irrigation intervals was 77.9, 86.2 and 41,4 kg/hafor I1 , I2 and I3 , respectively. On the other hand, cutting frequenciesresulted in seed yields of 38.1, 78,2 and 89.2 kg/ha for C 1 , C2 and C3 ,respectively. Correlation analyses showed that seed yield was highlycorrelated with 1000-seed weight and number of seeds per pod.

Distinguishing between struggling and skilled readers based on their prosodic speech patterns in oral reading: An exploratory study in grades 2 and 4

The purpose of this study was to examine if prosodic patterns in oral reading derived from Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) could distinguish between struggling and skilled German readers in Grades 2 (n = 67) and 4 (n = 69). Furthermore, we investigated whether models estimated with RQA measures outperformed models estimated with prosodic features derived from prosodic transcription. According to the findings, struggling second graders appear to have a slower reading rate, longer intervals between pauses, and more repetitions of recurrent amplitudes and pauses, whereas struggling fourth graders appear to have less stable pause patterns over time, more pitch repetitions, more similar amplitude patterns over time, and more repetitions of pauses. Additionally, the models with prosodic patterns outperformed models with prosodic features. These findings suggest that the RQA approach provides additional information about prosody that complements an established approach.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Traumatic Brachial Plexus Injuries: A 6-Year Experience.

Background and Purpose: There is limited information in the literature on epidemiology of high-energy brachial plexus injuries evaluated with MR neurography (MRN). The aim of the present study is to describe the demographic characteristics of brachial plexus injuries secondary to motorcycle accident patients in the city of Fortaleza-Ceara, Brazil, and analyze the association of those data with the features of the brachial plexus lesions observed on MRN findings. Materials and Methods: A review of sixty medical charts and MRN findings of victims of motor vehicle accidents (MVA) in northeast, from November 2011 to November 2017. Demographic and imaging data collected included age, sex, laterality and level of the lesion and time interval between trauma and MRN examination. The MRN examinations were carried out on a GE 1.5T MR unit (Signa HDxT- General Electric, Milwaukee, USA) or on a Phillips 3T MR unit (Philips Achieva X-series - Philips Medical Systems, Best, The Netherlands). Dedicated multichannel phased-array coils. Results: The longest time interval from trauma to imaging was 330 days and between trauma and surgery was 692 days. Preganglionic lesions (avulsion) predominated, consisting of 52 patients (86.6%) reflecting the high energy trauma with upper limb traction from the neck. The lesions were most prevalent at the C6-C8 levels. Pseudomeningocele was identified in 62.9% of the preganglionic lesions and in only 1.6% of the postganglionic lesions. Regional muscle denervation changes were seen in all pre-ganglionic injuries and most of post-ganglionic injuries. Conclusions: MRN of the brachial plexus provides important insights into the distribution of neuromuscular lesions in high energy MVA trauma and these findings enrich the literature for researchers and clinicians focused on managing such patients and/or defining prognostic strategies.

Factors influencing the timeliness of care for patients with lung cancer in Bangladesh

BackgroundThis study explored the factors associated with timeliness of care in the healthcare seeking pathway among patients with lung cancer in Bangladesh.MethodsA structured questionnaire was used for data collection from 418 patients with lung cancer through face-to-face interviews in three tertiary care hospitals. Log-rank tests were performed to test differences in the length of intervals between points in healthcare by socioeconomic characteristics and care seeking behaviours of the patients. Cox Proportional Hazard (PH) regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of the intervals after adjustment for variations in other variables.ResultsA higher education level was associated significantly (p < 0.05) with a shorter interval between first contact with a healthcare provider (HCP) and diagnosis (median 81 days) and initiation of treatment (median 101 days). Higher monthly household income was associated significantly with a shorter time from first contact and diagnosis (median 91 days), onset of symptom and diagnosis (median 99 days), onset of symptom and treatment (median 122 days), and first contact with any HCP to treatment (median 111 days). Consulting with additional HCPs prior to diagnosis was associated significantly with longer intervals from first contact with any HCP and diagnosis (median 127 days), onset of symptom and diagnosis (median 154 days), onset of symptom and treatment (median 205 days), and first contact with any HCP to treatment (median 174 days). Consulting with informal HCPs was associated significantly with a longer time interval from symptom to treatment (median 171 days). Having more than one triggering symptom was associated significantly with a shorter interval between onset of symptoms and first contact with any HCP.ConclusionThe predictors for timeliness of lung cancer care used in this study affected different intervals in the care seeking pathway. Higher education and income predicted shorter intervals whereas consulting informal healthcare providers and multiple providers were associated with longer intervals.

Longer interval between neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery is associated with improved pathological response, but does not accurately estimate survival in patients with resectable esophageal cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) has been shown to reduce tumor burden and achieve tumor regression in patients with esophageal cancer (ESC). However, the most beneficial time interval between the administration of nCRT and surgery remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the association of the duration of time between nCRT and surgery with the prognosis of patients with ESC. Patients with ESC who received nCRT following surgical resection (n=161) were reviewed and divided into the prolonged time interval group (time interval ≥66 days) and the short time interval group (time interval <66 days), according to the median value. Subsequent analysis revealed that the prolonged time interval group achieved a higher pathological complete response (pCR) rate compared with the short time interval group (49.4 vs. 26.3%; P=0.003). Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that it was possible to independently estimate a higher pCR rate based on a prolonged time interval (odds ratio, 2.131; P=0.042). However, no association between a prolonged time interval and disease-free survival (DFS) was detected using Kaplan-Meier curves (P=0.252) or multivariate Cox regression (P=0.607) analyses. Similarly, no association was identified between a prolonged time interval and overall survival (OS; P=0.946) based on Kaplan-Meier curve analysis, and subsequent multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that the time interval also failed to independently estimate OS (P=0.581). Moreover, female sex (P=0.001) and a radiation dose ≥40 Gy (P=0.039) served as independent factors associated with a higher pCR rate, and the pCR rate was an independent predictor of favorable DFS (P=0.002) and OS (P=0.015) rates. In conclusion, the present study revealed that a prolonged time interval from nCRT to surgery was associated with a higher pCR rate, but it failed to estimate the survival profile of patients with ESC.

Effects of Text4Hope-Addiction Support Program on Cravings and Mental Health Symptoms: Results of a Longitudinal Cross-sectional Study.

Drug misuse is complex, and various treatment modalities are emerging. Providing supportive text messages to individuals with substance use disorder offers the prospect of managing and improving symptoms of drug misuse and associated comorbidities. This study evaluated the impact of the daily supportive text message program (Text4Hope-Addiction Support) in mitigating cravings and mental health symptoms in subscribers and quantify user satisfaction with the Text4Hope-Addiction Support program. Subscribers to the Text4Hope-Addiction Support program received daily supportive text messages for 3 months; the messages were crafted based on addiction counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy principles. Participants completed an anonymous web-based questionnaire to assess cravings, anxiety, and depressive symptoms using the Brief Substance Craving Scale (BSCS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale at enrollment (baseline), after 6 weeks, and after 3 months. Likert scale satisfaction responses were used to assess various aspects of the Text4Hope-Addiction program. In total, 408 people subscribed to the program, and 110 of 408 (26.9%) subscribers completed the surveys at least at one time point. There were significant differences between the mean baseline and 3-month BSCS scores P=.01 (-2.17, 95% CI -0.62 to 3.72), PHQ-9 scores, P=.004 (-5.08, 95% CI -1.65 to -8.51), and GAD-7 scores, P=.02 (-3.02, 95% CI -0.48 to -5.56). Participants who received the supportive text messages reported a reduced desire to use drugs and a longer time interval between substance use, which are reflected in 41.1% and 32.5% decrease, respectively, from baseline score. Approximately 89% (23/26) of the participants agreed that Text4Hope-Addiction program helped them cope with addiction-related stress, and 81% (21/25) of the participants reported that the messages assisted them in dealing with anxiety. Overall, 69% (18/26) of the participants agreed that it helped them cope with depression related to addiction; 85% (22/26) of the participants felt connected to a support system; 77% (20/26) of the participants were hopeful of their ability to manage addiction issues; and 73% (19/26) of the participants felt that their overall mental well-being was improved. Most of the participants agreed that the interventions were always positive and affirmative (19/26, 73%), and succinct (17/26, 65%). Furthermore, 88% (21/24) of the participants always read the messages; 83% (20/24) of the participants took positive or beneficial actions after reading; and no participant took a negative action after reading the messages. In addition, most participants agreed to recommend other diverse technology-based services as an adjunctive treatment for their mental and physical health disorders. Subscribers of Text4Hope-Addiction Support program experienced improved mental health and addiction symptoms. Addiction care practitioners and policy makers can implement supportive text-based strategies to complement conventional treatments for addiction, given that mobile devices are widely used.

Impact of radiotherapy delay following biopsy for patients with unresected glioblastoma.

Because of the aggressive nature of glioblastoma, patients with unresected disease are encouraged to begin radiotherapy within approximately 1 month after craniotomy. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential association between time interval from biopsy to radiotherapy with overall survival in patients with unresected glioblastoma. Patients with unresected glioblastoma diagnosed between 2010 and 2014 who received adjuvant radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy were identified in the National Cancer Database. Demographic and clinical data were compared using chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression modeling. Among 3456 patients with unresected glioblastoma, initiation of radiotherapy within 3 weeks of biopsy was associated with a higher hazard of death compared with later initiation of radiotherapy. After excluding patients who received radiotherapy within 3 weeks of biopsy to minimize the effects of confounders associated with short time intervals from biopsy to radiotherapy, the median interval from biopsy to radiotherapy was 32 days (IQR 27-39 days). Overall, 1782 (66.82%) patients started radiotherapy within 5 weeks of biopsy, and 885 (33.18%) patients started radiotherapy beyond 5 weeks of biopsy. On multivariable analysis, there was no significant difference in overall survival between these two groups (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.88-1.50; p = 0.374). In patients with unresected glioblastoma, a longer time interval from biopsy to radiotherapy does not appear to be associated with worse overall survival. However, external validation of these findings is necessary given that selection bias is a significant limitation of this study.

Longer intervals between SARS-CoV-2 infection and mRNA-1273 doses improve the neutralization of different variants of concern.

The humoral immune response against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern elicited by vaccination was evaluated in COVID-19 recovered individuals (Rec) separated 1-3 months (Rec2m) or 4-12 months (Rec9m) post infection and compared to the response in naïve participants. Antibody-mediated immune responses were assessed in 66 participants by three commercial immunoassays and a SARS-CoV-2 lentiviral-based pseudovirus neutralization assay. Immunoglobulin (Ig) levels against SARS-CoV-2 spike were lower in naïve participants after two doses than in Rec after a single dose (p<0.05). After two doses in Rec, levels of total Ig to receptor binding domain (RBD) were significantly increased in Rec9m compared to Rec2m (p<0.001). The neutralizing potency observed in Rec9m was consistently higher than in Rec2m against VOCs Alpha, Beta, Delta, and BA.1 sublineage of Omicron with 2.2-2.8-fold increases. Increasing the interval between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the vaccination with mRNA-based vaccines to more than 3 months generates a more efficient heterologous humoral immune response against VOCs by allowing enough time to mount a strong recall memory B cell response. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The 36-Month Survival Analysis of Conservative Treatment Using Platelet-Rich Plasma Enhanced With Injectable Platelet-Rich Fibrin in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a musculoskeletal disease that leads to pain, stiffness, and deformity of the load-bearing knee joints. Biologic products including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) are now in the spotlight for the treatment of KOA owing to their role of disease-modifying potential effect. There are still limited studies on the survival rate of KOA treated with biological intervention. We conducted this study to evaluate the primary outcome as the survival rate of KOA treated with PRP enhanced with injectable PRF that helps avoidunnecessary surgical intervention. There were 368 participants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants were informed about this prospective cohort study protocol and signed written consent forms. Each participant received one injection of 4 ml of PRP and 4 mlof injectable PRF (iPRF), the so-called "PRP enhanced with iPRF". Clinical assessment was evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS) at the second, fourth, sixth, 12th, 18th, 24th, 30th, and 36th-month post-treatment. If the VASpain score improved by more than 80% compared to the previous treatment, there was no need for a repeated dose. If the pain scores improved by 50% to 80% compared to the previous treatment, the participants were adviseda repeated dose. However, if the pain scores improved by less than 50% compared to the previous treatment, the participants were advised to undergo surgical intervention instead of a repeated dose. The primary outcome was recorded as any surgical treatment (either arthroscopic knee surgery, unicondylar arthroplasty, or total knee arthroplasty) at any time point post-treatment. The secondary outcome was recorded as the interval (months) between first-to-second, second-to-third, and third-to-fourth injections. The overall survival rate of knees that did not require surgical intervention during the 36-month follow-up was 80.18%. The mean number of injections was 2.52±0.07 times for overall participants. The mean interval time was 5.42±0.36, 8.92±0.47, and 9.58±0.55 months for the first-to-second, second-to-third, and third-to-fourth injections. This study supports the usage of PRP enhanced with iPRF as a biologic modality for the treatment of KOA. This treatment modality provides a satisfactory survival rate at the 36-month follow-up. The longer interval between each injection supports the disease-modifying effect of PRP enhanced with iPRF.

Cholecystectomy After Percutaneous Cholecystostomy for Acute Cholecystitis: Experience and Outcomes in an Academic Practice.

Percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) tube insertion has been shown to be an effective treatment of acute cholecystitis (AC) as a temporary step to subsequent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). However, the optimal time gap between PC implantation and LC has not been identified. Adult patients who underwent PC followed by LC for the treatment of AC between 2016 and 2020 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. One hundred twelve patients, consisting of 59.8% males, were included and received LC after a median of 65 [48 - 96.5] days following the PC placement. No deaths or reoperations occurred within 30days, but 16 (14.3%) patients were readmitted, and 16 (14.3%) required subsequent reintervention. Although a longer interval between PC and LC had no effect on perioperative outcomes, it was associated with considerably longer intensive care unit (ICU) stay. According to these findings, patients may benefit from early LC following PC for the treatment of AC.

Revisiting prognostic factors in glioma with leptomeningeal metastases: a comprehensive analysis of clinical and molecular factors and treatment modalities

PurposeTo comprehensively investigate prognostic factors, including clinical and molecular factors and treatment modalities, in adult glioma patients with leptomeningeal metastases (LM).MethodsTotal 226 patients with LM (from 2001 to 2021 among 1495 grade 2 to 4 glioma patients, 88.5% of LM patients being IDH-wildtype) with complete information on IDH mutation, 1p/19q codeletion, and MGMT promoter methylation status were enrolled. Predictors of overall survival (OS) of entire patients were determined by time-dependent Cox analysis, including clinical, molecular, and treatment data. Subgroup analyses were performed for patients with LM at initial diagnosis and LM diagnosed at recurrence (herein, initial and recurrent LM). Identical analyses were performed in IDH-wildtype glioblastoma patients.ResultsMedian OS was 17.0 (IQR 9.7–67.1) months, with shorter median OS in initial LM than recurrent LM patients (12.2 vs 20.6 months, P < 0.001). In entire patients, chemotherapy and antiangiogenic therapy were predictors of longer OS, while male sex and initial LM were predictors of shorter OS. In initial LM, higher KPS, chemotherapy, and antiangiogenic therapy were predictors of longer OS, while male sex was a predictor of shorter OS. In recurrent LM, chemotherapy and longer interval between initial glioma and LM diagnoses were predictors of longer OS, while male sex was a predictor of shorter OS. A similar trend was observed in IDH-wildtype glioblastoma.ConclusionActive chemotherapy and antiangiogenic therapy demonstrated survival benefit in glioma patients with LM. There is consistent female survival advantage, whereas longer interval between initial glioma diagnosis and LM development suggests longer OS in recurrent LM.

Bony Remodeling of Adolescent Displaced Clavicle Fractures: A FACTS Study

Background: Bony remodeling of displaced clavicle fractures in adolescents remains poorly understood. Purpose: To evaluate and quantify clavicle remodeling in a large population of adolescents with completely displaced fractures, which were treated nonoperatively, to better understand the factors that may influence this process. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Patients were identified from the databases of a multicenter study group investigating the functional outcomes of adolescent clavicle fractures. Patients between the ages of 10 and 19 years with completely displaced middiaphyseal clavicle fractures that were treated nonoperatively and who had further radiographic imaging of the affected clavicle at a minimum of 9 months from initial injury were included. Fracture shortening, superior displacement, and angulation were measured on the injury and final follow-up radiographs using previously validated techniques. Furthermore, fracture remodeling was classified as complete/near complete, moderate, or minimal, using an original classification system found to have good to excellent reliability (interobserver reliability = 0.78, intraobserver reliability = 0.90). Classifications were subsequently analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to determine the factors associated with deformity correction. Results: Ninety-eight patients (mean age, 14.4 ± 2.0 years) were analyzed at a mean radiographic follow-up of 3.4 ± 2.3 years. Fracture shortening, superior displacement, and angulation significantly improved during the follow-up period by 61%, 61%, and 31%, respectively (P < .001). Furthermore, while 41% of the population had initial fracture shortening >20 mm at final follow-up, only 3% of the cohort had residual shortening >20 mm. Fracture remodeling was found to be associated with follow-up time; those with longer follow-up time demonstrated more remodeling (P = .001). Eighty-five percent of patients aged <14 years and 54% of patients aged ≥14 years at time of injury with a minimum follow-up of 4 years underwent complete/near-complete remodeling. Conclusion: Significant bony remodeling occurs in adolescent patients with completely displaced clavicle fractures, including older adolescents, and appears to continue over longer time intervals, even beyond the adolescent years. This finding may help explain the low rate of symptomatic malunions in adolescents, even in severely displaced fractures, and particularly when compared with rates reported in adult studies.

Susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion is associated with gait speed in a large sample of middle-aged and older adults

BackgroundMultisensory integration is the ability to appropriately merge information from different senses for the purpose of perceiving and acting in the environment. During walking, information from multiple senses must be integrated appropriately to coordinate effective movements. We tested the association between a well characterised multisensory task, the Sound-Induced Flash Illusion (SIFI), and gait speed in 3255 participants from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. High susceptibility to this illusion at longer stimulus onset asynchronies characterises older adults, and has been associated with cognitive and functional impairments, therefore it should be associated with slower gait speed. MethodGait was measured under three conditions; usual pace, cognitive dual tasking, and maximal walking speed. A separate logistic mixed effects regression model was run for 1) gait at usual pace, 2) change in gait speed for the cognitive dual tasking relative to usual pace and 3) change in maximal walking speed relative to usual pace. In all cases a binary response indicating a correct/incorrect response to each SIFI trial was the dependent variable. The model controlled for covariates including age, sex, education, vision and hearing abilities, Body Mass Index, and cognitive function. ResultsSlower gait was associated with more illusions, particularly at longer temporal intervals between the flash-beep pair and the second beep, indicating that those who integrated incongruent sensory inputs over longer intervals, also walked slower. The relative changes in gait speed for cognitive dual tasking and maximal walking speed were also significantly associated with SIFI at longer SOAs. ConclusionsThese findings support growing evidence that mobility, susceptibility to falling and balance control are associated with multisensory processing in ageing.

Road Junction Configurations and the Severity of Traffic Accidents in Japan

In many countries, 40–60% of the traffic accidents occur at junctions, making the reduction of junction accidents paramount to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals. In Japan, the road safety guidelines specify the proximity between junctions and non-perpendicular angles at junctions as the two main risk factors behind junction accidents, yet their impact remains understudied. Using binomial logistic regression models, this study investigates the impact of junction intervals and junction angles on the severity of traffic accidents. The study found that, in general, (1) shorter intervals between adjacent junctions helps reduce the risk of serious accidents, which is the opposite of the current road safety guidelines in Japan, and (2) results from the junction angle analysis were mixed but there was no evidence that the roads should meet at a right angle to reduce traffic accidents. Some types of accidents also returned a non-linear curve, e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle collisions at four-armed junctions involving a driver aged 65 years and over have the highest risk of fatal/serious accidents when adjacent junctions were 32 m apart, and the risk reduces at a shorter or longer interval. These results suggest that the current road safety guidelines require updating to improve road safety around junctions.

Persistence of the immune response after two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 (AZD1222): 1 year of follow-up of two randomized controlled trials.

The trajectory of immune responses following the primary dose series determines the decline in vaccine effectiveness over time. Here we report on maintenance of immune responses during the year following a two-dose schedule of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/AZD1222, in the absence of infection, and also explore the decay of antibody after infection. Total spike-specific IgG antibody titres were lower with two low doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines (two low doses) (P = 0.0006) than with 2 standard doses (the approved dose) or low dose followed by standard dose vaccines regimens. Longer intervals between first and second doses resulted in higher antibody titres (P < 0.0001); however, there was no evidence that the trajectory of antibody decay differed by interval or by vaccine dose, and the decay of IgG antibody titres followed a similar trajectory after a third dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. Trends in post-infection samples were similar with an initial rapid decay in responses but good persistence of measurable responses thereafter. Extrapolation of antibody data, following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19, demonstrates a slow rate of antibody decay with modelling, suggesting that antibody titres are well maintained for at least 2 years. These data suggest a persistent immune response after two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 which will likely have a positive impact against serious disease and hospitalization.

Preservation of long-term memory in older adults using a spaced learning paradigm

How much information we retain depends on type/schedule of training. It has been widely acknowledged that spaced learning is advantageous compared to massed learning for cognitively healthy young adults and should be considered an educational standard. Literature would suggest that the spacing effect is preserved with age, though it is unclear whether this effect translates to more ecologically valid concepts such as face-name associations, which are particularly susceptible to deterioration with age. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of spacing across recent/remote retention intervals, and the effect of age on spacing in cognitively healthy older adults using the Face-Name Pairs task. Experiment 1 results suggest that the beneficial memory effects of spacing are particularly observed with long-term memory. Experiment 2 results suggest that older adults are impaired at learning compared to younger adults, that the spacing effect influences both older and younger adults at longer intervals, and that spaced-trained participants display similar forgetting patterns at longer intervals, irrespective of age. These results may have some implications regarding improving the conditions under which optimum retention occurs (namely, whether spacing is beneficial when learning ecologically valid concepts at longer intervals outside of laboratory settings), and may provide insight into the effect of age on our ability to learn and remember face-name associations.

A novel exposure mode based on UVA-LEDs for bacterial inactivation.

As an emerging UV source, ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) are increasingly being used for disinfection purposes. UVA-LEDs have a higher output power, lower cost, and stronger penetration and cause less harm than UVC-LEDs. In this study, a novel exposure mode based on UVA was proposed and well demonstrated by various experiments using S. aureus as an indicator. Compared with single-dose exposure, fractionated exposure with a 15min interval between treatments resulted in increased S. aureus inactivation. A longer interval or lower first irradiation dose was unfavorable for inactivation. Fractionated exposure changed the inactivation rate constant and eliminated the shoulder in the fluence-response curves. This resulted in changing the sensitivity of bacteria to UVA and improving bacterial inactivation. Moreover, the fractioned exposure mode has universality for various bacteria (including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria). S. aureus was not reactivated by photoreactivation or dark repair after UVA treatment. As expected, the cells were damaged more seriously after fractionated exposure, further suggesting the advantages of this new exposure mode. In addition, the mechanism by which bacteria were inactivated after fractionated exposure was investigated, and it was found that •OH played an important role. A longer interval between treatments showed an adverse effect on inactivation, mainly due to the reduction of •OH and recovery of intracellular GSH. In summary, the current work provides novel ideas for the application of UVA-LEDs, which will give more choices for disinfection treatment.

Clinical-Immunological Correlates in Post-COVID-19 Endogenous Psychoses.

Objectives. To carry out a clinical and immunological study of the potential impact of coronavirus infection on the course of endogenous psychoses. Materials and methods. A total of 33 female patients aged 16-48 years with depressive-delusional states (F20.01, F21, F31) developing after coronavirus infections took part; group 1 consisted of 15 people who developed depressive-delusional states 1-2 months after COVID-19; group 2 consisted of 18 people with similar psychoses developing at later time points (2-6 months). The severity of psychopathological symptoms was assessed using the PANSS and HDRS-21 scales. The activity of inflammatory markers leukocyte elastase (LE) and α1-proteinase inhibitor (α1-PI) was determined in patients' blood. Absolute neutrophil and lymphocyte contents and their ratio (the neutrophil:lymphocyte index) were also evaluated. Standard values for indicators from healthy donors corresponding to patients in terms of age and sex were used as control values. Results. Endogenous psychosis developing at longer intervals after coronavirus infection (group 2) was found to be associated with "typical" inflammatory reactions, with increases in the activity of acute-phase proteins (α1-PI: 43.0 (35.6-49.7) IU/ml, p = 0.001) and neutrophil degranulation activity (LE - 254.8 (238.0-271.0) nmol/min·ml, p < 0.001), which was associated with the development of depressive-delusional states with dominance of manifestations of positive affectivity (anxiety, melancholy) and the extended nature of delusional disorders, which were mostly incongruent to affect. Conversely, development of endogenous psychosis during the first two months after COVID-19 (group 1) was characterized by a spectrum of inflammatory biomarkers with a decrease in neutrophil count ((2.6 ± 0.9)·109/liter, p < 0.05) and low LE activity (196 (172-209.4) nmol/min·ml, p < 0.001). This immunological profile was associated with predominance of manifestations of negative affectivity (apathy, asthenia, adynamia) in the structure of depressive-delusional states and the relatively undeveloped nature of delusional disorders, which were predominantly congruent to affect. Conclusions. The clinical and biological correlates found here presumptively indicate that experience of COVID-19 infection has a modulatory effect on neuroinflammation and the structure of endogenous psychosis.

Axillary Lymph Node Uptake on 18F-FDG PET/CT after COVID-19 Vaccination: A Direct Comparison Study with Influenza Vaccination.

To compare vaccinated-side axillary lymph node uptake on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) after coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and influenza vaccination. We retrospectively analyzed 177 patients who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT after COVID-19 or influenza vaccination. We compared the uptake of the vaccinated-side axillary lymph nodes of 109 COVID-19 vaccinated patients with those of a lot of influenza-vaccinated patients. We also compared the uptake between 66 patients who received the first COVID-19 vaccination with 43 who received the second COVID-19 vaccination. 18F-FDG-avid axillary lymph nodes on the vaccinated side were significantly more frequently observed in the COVID-19 group (45%) than in the influenza group (19%) (p<0.001). When the interval between vaccination to PET/CT was within 7 days, there was no significant difference in the frequency of 18F-FDG-avid vaccinated-side axillary lymph nodes between the groups (COVID-19 group: 41% vs. influenza group: 45%, p=0.724). When the interval was over 7 days, 18F-FDG-avid lymph nodes were much more frequent in the COVID-19 group (47%) than in the influenza group (7%) (p<0.001). Comparing the first and second COVID-19 groups, 18F-FDG-avid lymph nodes were more frequent in the second vaccination group than in the first vaccination group, but the difference was not significant. 18F-FDG-avid vaccinated-side axillary lymph nodes were more frequently observed in the COVID-19 group than in the influenza group. In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, a delay of 18F-FDG PET/CT examination is recommended by a longer interval from vaccination than in the influenza vaccine.