Marginal Differences Research Articles

Changes in attitudes toward suicide after brief gatekeeper education: Findings from population-based repeated cross-sectional surveys conducted among middle-aged and older adults

Objective This study aimed to investigate changes in attitudes toward suicide following a universal home visitation program that included a brief face-to-face educational session focusing on gatekeeper roles in Japan.Methods Between 2015 and 2017, members of 169 households in an intervention district from a northern Japanese township were invited to attend an educational session during home visits. The participation rate was 72.8%, with 94.5% of the participants aged over 40. Repeated cross-sectional population-based surveys were conducted among adults in the towns in 2015 and 2021. Data from the surveys, focusing on individuals aged 40-79 years and residing in the intervention and matched control districts (where no visits occurred and only information was distributed through leaflets), were used to assess the prevalence of self-reported views toward suicide. The self-reported views encompassed "no substantial thoughts," "inevitable," "shameful," "annoying," "tragic," "must be managed," and "romantic" in addition to personal and perceived stigma, depressive symptoms (assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-6), and suicidal ideation. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. The Cochran-Armitage test was used to analyze linear trends in the proportion of views that exhibited changes.Results Participation rates were 61.8% (n ＝ 357) in 2015 and 52.8% (n ＝ 257) in 2021. The intervention group showed a significant difference in the prevalence of the "inevitable" view between baseline and 4-year follow-up (P ＝ 0.026). Marginal pre-post differences were observed among the two types of stigma; however, the symptoms remained unchanged. A marginally significant difference in the change of the "inevitable" view was observed between the two groups. In the follow-up, more knowledgeable respondents in the intervention group were less likely to view suicide as "inevitable," a trend not seen in the control group.Conclusions The universal home visitation program, including a face-to-face session focusing on the gatekeeper role, was associated with a decreased prevalence of the "inevitable" attitude between the baseline and 4-year follow-up among community-dwelling adults aged 40-79. This suggests that face-to-face interactions with healthcare professionals can reduce the tendency to condone suicide among middle-aged and older adults in community settings.

Understanding the Role of Organic Hole Transport Layers on Pinhole Blocking and Performance Improvement in Sb2Se3 Solar Cells

AbstractSb2Se3 is an emerging semiconductor which has shown promise for low‐cost photovoltaic applications. After successive record‐efficiencies using a range of device structures, spiro‐OMeTAD has emerged as the default hole transport material (HTM), however, the function of HTM layers remains poorly understood. Here, thin‐film Sb2Se3 solar cells are fabricated with which three organic HTM layers ‐ namely P3HT, PCDTBT, and spiro‐OMeTAD are investigated. By comparing these against one another, and to a reference device, their role in the device stack are clarified. These organic HTM layers are found to serve a dual purpose, increasing both the average and peak efficiency by simultaneously blocking pinholes and improving the band alignment at the back contact, with marginal differences in performance between the different HTMs. This produced a champion device of 7.44% using P3HT, resulting from an improvement in all performance parameters. A more complex processing route, run‐to‐run variability, and lower overall device performance compared to the other organics challenge the assumption that spiro‐OMeTAD is the optimal HTM for Sb2Se3 devices. A Schottky barrier at the Au‐Sb2Se3 contact despite the deep work function of gold implies Fermi level pinning due to a defective interface, which each of the organic HTMs are equally capable of alleviating.

Two-stage group-sequential designs with delayed responses – what is the point of applying corresponding methods?

BackgroundIn group-sequential designs, it is typically assumed that there is no time gap between patient enrollment and outcome measurement in clinical trials. However, in practice, there is usually a lag between the two time points. This can affect the statistical analysis of the data, especially in trials with interim analyses. One approach to address delayed responses has been introduced by Hampson and Jennison (J R Stat Soc Ser B Stat Methodol 75:3-54, 2013), who proposed the use of error-spending stopping boundaries for patient enrollment, followed by critical values to reject the null hypothesis if the stopping boundaries are crossed beforehand. Regarding the choice of a trial design, it is important to consider the efficiency of trial designs, e.g. in terms of the probability of trial success (power) and required resources (sample size and time).MethodsThis article aims to shed more light on the performance comparison of group sequential clinical trial designs that account for delayed responses and designs that do not. Suitable performance measures are described and designs are evaluated using the R package rpact. By doing so, we provide insight into global performance measures, discuss the applicability of conditional performance characteristics, and finally whether performance gain justifies the use of complex trial designs that incorporate delayed responses.ResultsWe investigated how the delayed response group sequential test (DR-GSD) design proposed by Hampson and Jennison (J R Stat Soc Ser B Stat Methodol 75:3-54, 2013) can be extended to include nonbinding lower recruitment stopping boundaries, illustrating that their original design framework can accommodate both binding and nonbinding rules when additional constraints are imposed. Our findings indicate that the performance enhancements from methods incorporating delayed responses heavily rely on the sample size at interim and the volume of data in the pipeline, with overall performance gains being limited.ConclusionThis research extends existing literature on group-sequential designs by offering insights into differences in performance. We conclude that, given the overall marginal differences, discussions regarding appropriate trial designs can pivot towards practical considerations of operational feasibility.

Melt-extruded formulations of fenofibrate with various grades of hydrogenated phospholipid exhibit promising in-vitro biopharmaceutical behavior

In the current study, it was demonstrated that three commercially available grades of hydrogenated phospholipids (HPL) differing in their content of phosphatidylcholine may be used as components for hot melt-extruded binary (HPL as sole excipient) or ternary (in combination with copovidone) solid dispersions of fenofibrate (FEN) at mass fractions between 0.5 and 20% (ternary) or 80% (binary). X-ray powder diffraction indicated complete conversion of crystalline fenofibrate into the amorphous state by hot melt extrusion for all ternary blends. In contrast, both the binary blends (HPL- and copovidone-based) contained minor remaining crystallites. Irrespectively, all solid dispersions induced during dissolution studies a supersaturated state of FEN, where the ternary ASDs showed enhanced and more complete release of FEN as compared to the binary blends and, even more pronounced, in comparison to the marketed micronized and nano-milled formulations. In terms of the cumulated amount permeated, there were marginal differences between the various formulations when combined dissolution/permeation was done using FeSSIF as donor medium; with FaSSIF as donor medium, the binary HPL-ASD containing the grade with the highest phosphatidylcholine fraction performed best in terms of permeation, even significantly better than the marketed nano-crystal formulation. Otherwise, no significant differences were seen between the various grades of HPL when FEN dissolution and permeation were analyzed for ternary solid dispersions. In conclusion, the in-vitro biopharmaceutical behaviour of hydrogenated phospholipid-containing blends manufactured by hot melt extrusion appears promising. They can be a viable formulation option for poorly water-soluble and lipophilic drug compounds like FEN.

The Effect of Segmentation Method on Medial Temporal Lobe Subregion Volumes in Aging.

Early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with volume reductions in specific subregions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL). Using a manual segmentation method-the Olsen-Amaral-Palombo (OAP) protocol-previous work in healthy older adults showed that reductions in grey matter volumes in MTL subregions were associated with lower scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), suggesting atrophy may occur prior to diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often progresses to AD. However, current "gold standard" manual segmentation methods are labour intensive and time consuming. Here, we examined the utility of Automatic Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields (ASHS) to detect volumetric differences in MTL subregions of healthy older adults who varied in cognitive status as determined by the MoCA. We trained ASHS on the OAP protocol to create the ASHS-OAP atlas and then examined how well automated segmentation replicated manual segmentation. Volumetric measures obtained from the ASHS-OAP atlas were also contrasted against those from the ASHS-PMC atlas, a widely used atlas provided by the ASHS team. The pattern of volumetric results was similar between the ASHS-OAP atlas and manual segmentation for anterolateral entorhinal cortex and perirhinal cortex, suggesting that ASHS-OAP is a viable alternative to current manual segmentation methods for detecting group differences based on cognitive status. Although ASHS-OAP and ASHS-PMC produced varying volumes for most regions of interest, they both identified early signs of neurodegeneration in CA2/CA3/DG and identified marginal differences in entorhinal cortex. Our findings highlight the utility of automated segmentation methods but still underscore the need for a unified and harmonized MTL segmentation atlas.

Postprandial plasma aminoacidemia and indices of appetite regulation following pea-rice blend, pea isolate and whey protein ingestion in healthy young adults.

Plant-derived proteins are often deficient in essential amino acids and have lower rates of digestibility than animal-derived proteins. Blending different plant-derived proteins could compensate for these deficiencies and may augment postprandial aminoacidemia over single-source plant proteins. This study assessed plasma amino acids and appetite hormones, appetite sensations and ad libitum energy intake following ingestion of a pea-rice protein blend (BLEND), compared with pea-only (PEA) and whey (WHEY) protein. In a randomised, double-blind, crossover design, ten healthy adults (M n 4, F n 6; mean (sd) age 22 (sd 3) years; BMI 24 (sd 3) kg·m2) ingested 0·3 g·kg·body mass-1 of BLEND, PEA or WHEY. Arterialised venous blood samples and appetite ratings were obtained in the fasted state and over 240 min postprandially. Energy intake was measured via an ad libitum buffet-style test meal. Mean plasma essential amino acid incremental AUC was higher in WHEY, compared with PEA (P < 0·01; mean diff (95 % CI): 44218 (15806, 72631) μmol·240 min·l-1) and BLEND (P < 0·01; 14358 (16031, 101121) μmol·240 min·l-1), with no differences between PEA and BLEND (P = 0·67). Plasma ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide-1, appetite ratings and ad libitum energy intake responses did not differ between treatments (P > 0·05 for all). Ingestion of a pea-rice protein blend did not augment postprandial aminoacidemia above pea protein, perhaps attributable to marginal differences in essential amino acid composition. No between-treatment differences in appetite or energy intake responses were apparent, suggesting that the influence of protein ingestion on perceived appetite ratings and orexigenic hormonal responses may not be solely determined by postprandial plasma aminoacidemia.

Clinical insights: Resolving the specter of cardiac sequelae in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) – A 24-month follow-up case series

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) emerged as a novel and severe complication. Objectives: The present prospective study followed patients in Brazil from February 2020 to December 2022, and evaluated children discharged from reference centers with an MIS-C diagnosis. The aim of the study is to describe long-term cardiac findings. Methods: Following a clinical and imaging procedure, children with MIS-C were followed up. Results: Thirty-six children during hospitalization coursed with fever; 61.1 % presented with gastrointestinal symptoms, 77.7 % with cardiocirculatory manifestations, and 28 % with respiratory issues. Shock was observed in 37 % of patients and the average hospital stay was 9 ± 5 days, with 54 % exhibiting severe symptoms requiring intensive care. Elevated inflammatory and cardiac markers were common; 42 % of patients presented elevated troponin and D-dimer levels. During intensive care, echocardiographic abnormalities were found in 56 % of the patients, including coronary dilation and pericardial effusion. All patients were hospitalized and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin, oral steroids, and acetylsalicylic acid, resulting in 86 % recovery. However, 14 % of the patient had persistent (mild cardiac) alterations at discharge. Sex and previous chronic conditions did not affect the persistence of cardiac findings, whereas marginal age differences indicated that older children tend to have more severe symptoms. BMI was identified as a risk factor but must be considered carefully. Six months post-discharge, all patients successfully recovered from cardiac alterations. Conclusion: Only few case series have reported persistent MIS-C findings, and this case series elicits a positive post-discharge prognosis for MIS-C over time.

Preoperative Psychopharmacological Treatment is Not a Risk factor for Poorer Patient-Reported Improvements 12 months After Hip or Knee Arthroplasty: A Multicenter Registry-Based Cohort study of 7,247 Procedures

BackgroundPreoperative psychopharmacological treatment (PPT) has been associated with increased hospital length of stay and readmission rate after hip and knee arthroplasty. However, little is known regarding the association between PPT and improvements in patient-reported outcomes postoperatively in a multicenter fast-track setting. Thus, the primary objective was to investigate whether PPT is a risk factor for poorer patient-reported improvements 12 months after surgery. Secondary objectives included assessment of additional time points and subgroups of PPT. MethodsThis multicenter registry-based cohort study included 4,021 primary hip and 3,226 primary knee arthroplasties performed from 2016 to 2020 at three fast-tack departments in Denmark due to primary osteoarthritis. The Oxford Hip/Knee Score (OHS/OKS), EQ-5D-3/5L, and EQ visual analog scale (VAS) were collected at baseline and three, six, 12, and 24 months after surgery. Exposure status was assigned using the Danish National Prescription Registry. Marginal mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multilevel Tobit regression and adjusted for age, sex, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index obtained from the Danish National Patient Register. ResultsNo associations were found between PPT and improvements in OHS (MD -0.5, CI -1.4 to 0.4) or OKS (MD -0.3, CI -1.2 to 0.5) after 12 months. However, PPT was associated with lower baseline OHS (MD -1.4, CI -2.2 to -0.6) and OKS (MD -2.1, CI -2.9 to -1.3), and 12 month follow-up OHS (MD -1.9, CI -2.8 to -1.1) and OKS (MD -2.4, CI -3.2 to -1.6). Similar findings were observed at other time points, using EQ-5D-3/5L or EQ VAS, and when evaluating PPT subgroups. ConclusionIn hip and knee arthroplasty, PPT was not a risk factor for poorer patient-reported improvements 12 months after surgery. However, PPT was associated with marginally poorer baseline and follow-up scores. Thus, arthroplasties remain effective treatments despite PPT from a patient-centered perspective.

Sensitivity of horizontal resolution and land surface model in operational WRF forecast for Online Nuclear Emergency Response System (ONERS)

Accurate Meteorological forecasts are crucial for the assessment of plume dispersion and dose prediction in nuclear power plant (NPP) sites. In this work the forecast sensitivity of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is tested by running a series of forecast simulations for horizontal resolution, and land surface models (LSM) in the context of Online Nuclear Emergency Response System (ONERS) for Indian NPP sites. 72 h forecast simulations are made for three seasons viz. summer, southeast and northeast monsoon using the Global Forecast data. Three simulation experiments, namely 2 km-NOAH, 3 km-NOAH and 3 km-NOAHMP are conducted using two different nested domain configurations (18–6–2 km and 9–3 km) and two LSM schemes (NOAH and NOAH-MP) and tested at four different NPP sites. Forecast comparison of surface winds, relative humidity, temperature, heat fluxes and planetary boundary layer heights with data from meteorological tower, radiosonde and the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications 2 (MERRA-2) shows 3 km-NOAH is equally capable in predicting surface parameters as well as vertical profiles compared to 2 km-NOAH with marginal differences. 3 km-NOAHMP shows less mean bias and better correlation for boundary layer height and heat fluxes. Comparison of spatial flow-field with 5th generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA5) data shows synoptic scale seasonal winds, sea level pressure systems and temperature hot-spots are better captured by 3 km-NOAHMP compared to 6 km coarse domain in the 18–6–2 km configuration. The daily accumulated rainfall by all simulations is overestimated compared to ERA5 data. The predictions by 3 km-NOAHMP better agree with Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM-IMERGE) data whereas 2 km-NOAH predicts delayed rainfall occurrence. Dispersion simulations of hypothetical plume release from a coastal NPP site with all three forecasts properly show the influence of local scale diurnal land-sea breeze and seasonal winds on the plume movement. Therefore the 9–3 km domain with NOAHMP LSM is found to be a suitable choice for operational weather forecast in ONERS for Indian NPP sites.

A multigroup random-intercept cross-lagged panel model for Finnish secondary school students in frame of situated expectancy-value theory

The aim of this study is to examine both within-person and between-person associations of academic self-concept and task values in literacy and mathematics to identify the most promising motivational construct to prevent motivational decline during school transitions. The sample included 3636 students (average age at the start: 15.73 years, SD: 0.32 years) followed up three times from lower secondary school (T1) to the third year (T3) of upper secondary education, either in vocational or academic tracks. Multi-group random intercept cross-lagged panel models detected several spillover (cross-lagged) effects between self-concept and task values in mathematics but not in literacy. There were also marginal but significant differences between students from different educational tracks in both subjects. Overall, utility value and academic self-concept in mathematics were found to be the most promising motivational constructs in changing motivational beliefs, thus presenting important starting points in motivational interventions. Educational relevance and implications statementThis study highlights that spillover effects are more pronounced in maths than in literacy, emphasising the need for tailored interventions in mathematics education. Moreover, the potential disruption in students' motivational beliefs during school transitions suggests the importance of ensuring continuity in support to help mitigate the impact of these transitions. While our results indicate limited carryover effects, it is possible that school transitions are experienced as breaks in motivational development. The role of utility value in exhibiting spillover effects over school transitions in both maths and literacy suggests the significance of emphasising the practical relevance of academic subjects to sustain students' motivation. Additionally, recognising the superior role of academic self-concept in maths in spillover effects on task values underscores the importance of nurturing students' confidence and beliefs in their own mathematical abilities.

Performance comparison of a previously validated microhaplotype panel and a forensic STR panel for DNA mixture analysis

Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) are the most widespread markers in forensic genetics. However, STR stutter peaks can mask alleles from a minor contributor when analysing mixtures, hindering the interpretation of complex profiles. In this study we compared the performance of a previously described panel of microhaplotypes (MHs), an alternative type of forensic marker, against a standard STR kit. The parameters evaluated included: capability of determining the minimum number of contributors in the mixture; percentages of allele drop-outs and drop-ins; retrieval of alleles belonging to the minor contributor, and estimation of likelihood ratio (LR) values. In addition, the capacity of EuroForMix software to estimate each donor’s percentage of contribution was tested, as well as the impact on results when using manually, or automatically prepared libraries. The MH panel showed better performance than STRs for the detection of 2-contributor mixtures, but the lower degree of polymorphism per MH marker hindered the task of deconvolution with multiple contributors. MHs presented higher drop-in rates and lower drop-out rates, a higher capability to recover the minor contributor’s alleles and provided higher LR values than STRs, likely due to the much higher number of loci combined in the panel. Estimations of contributor ratios using EuroForMix showed promising results and marginal differences were found in these values between manually and automatically prepared libraries. Overall, results showed that the mixture detection performance of the MH panel was better or equal to the standard forensic autosomal STR panel, indicating microhaplotypes are informative markers for this purpose.

Novel Copper (II) Complexes with Fluorine-Containing Reduced Schiff Base Ligands Showing Marked Cytotoxicity in the HepG2 Cancer Cell Line.

Several novel copper (II) complexes of reduced Schiff bases containing fluoride substituents were prepared and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The complexes exhibited diverse structures, with the central atom in distorted tetrahedral geometry. The biological effects of the products were evaluated, specifically their cytotoxicity, antimicrobial, and antiurease activities, as well as affinity for albumin (BSA) and DNA (ct-DNA). The complexes showed marked cytotoxic activities in the HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, considerably higher than the standard cisplatin. The cytotoxicity depended significantly on the substitution pattern. The best activity was observed in the complex with a trifluoromethyl group in position 4 of the benzene ring-the dichloro[(±)-trans-N,N'-bis-(4-trifluoromethylbenzyl)-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine]copper (II) complex, whose activity (IC50 28.7 μM) was higher than that of the free ligand and markedly better than the activity of the standard cisplatin (IC50 336.8 μM). The same complex also showed the highest antimicrobial effect in vitro. The affinity of the complexes towards bovine serum albumin (BSA) and calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) was established as well, indicating only marginal differences between the complexes. In addition, all complexes were shown to be excellent inhibitors of the enzyme urease, with the IC50 values in the lower micromolar region.

P270. Marginal differences in surgical outcomes exist between obese and nonobese patients after endoscopic decompression surgery

P270. Marginal differences in surgical outcomes exist between obese and nonobese patients after endoscopic decompression surgery

Participation rates, characteristics, and differential effects on reading literacy of extracurricular tutoring in a German large-scale assessment

Because large-scale studies repeatedly indicated low reading literacy for many students, a need for interventions fostering reading literacy, such as extracurricular tutoring, has often been emphasized. Several reading promoting programs, suitable for extracurricular tutoring, were developed and shown to be effective in recent years. Moreover, these studies and analyses of extracurricular activities and tutoring yielded findings on learning-supporting characteristics and effects on students’ achievement of such extracurricular offers. Nevertheless, little is known to date about the implementation of extracurricular tutoring in practice in Germany, particularly about its participation rates, characteristics, and effects on students` reading literacy. Thus, the present study investigated participation rates of extracurricular tutoring in reading and in German among students in general and among various subgroups between Grades 5 and 7. Furthermore, the study examined general and subject-specific characteristics and effects of extracurricular tutoring on reading literacy. The analyses used a sample of students (N = 5113) of the National Educational Panel Study in Germany. In addition to descriptive analyses of characteristics and participation rates of extracurricular tutoring, effect sizes were calculated for comparing participation rates of subgroups of students. Furthermore, multi-group structural equation models were implemented to investigate average and differential effects of extracurricular tutoring, while controlling for initial reading literacy and other covariates. The results indicate that mainly students with low reading literacy and therefore a strong need for support participated in extracurricular tutoring, but the general participation rate was low. The descriptive outcomes showed a heterogeneous picture of tutoring offers and rare implementations of reading-promoting methods. Moreover, the results revealed no significant effects of extracurricular tutoring on students’ reading literacy overall but suggested marginal differences for students with a low initial reading literacy. For future studies, more detailed assessments of characteristics and methods of extracurricular tutoring are recommended, particularly, in large-scale investigations on specific tutoring methods for students with support needs which may lead to improved guidelines regarding promising implementations of evidence-based reading promoting programs.

Dynamical modelling of lipid droplet formation suggests a key function of membrane phospholipids.

Cells store triacylglycerol (TAG) within lipid droplets (LDs). A dynamic model describing complete LD formation at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane does not yet exist. A biochemical-biophysical model of LD synthesis is proposed. It describes the time-dependent accumulation of TAG in the ER membrane as the formation of a potential LD (pLD) bounded by spherical caps of the inner and outer monolayers of the membrane. The expansion rate of the pLD depends on the TAG supply, the elastic properties of the ER membrane, and the recruitment of phospholipids (PLs) to the cap-covering monolayers. Model simulations provided the following insights: (a) Marginal differences in the surface tension of the cap monolayers are sufficient to fully drive the expansion of the pLD towards the cytosol or lumen. (b) Selective reduction of PL supply to the luminal monolayer ensures stable formation of cytosolic LDs, irrespective of variations in the elasto-mechanical properties of the ER membrane. (c) The rate of TAG supply to the cytosolic monolayer has a major effect on the size and maturation time of LDs but has no significant effect on the TAG export per individual LD. The recruitment of additional PLs to the cap monolayers of pLDs critically controls the budding direction, size, and maturation time of LDs. The ability of cells to acquire additional LD initiation sites appears to be key to coping with acutely high levels of potentially toxic free fatty acids.

Clusters of Relative Deprivation for Children under 12 Years of Age

ABSTRACT We compare children according to whether and to what extent they are deprived using the data from the German family survey “Growing up in Germany (in short: AID:A)” 2019. We classify the children into different types of relative deprivation using a Ward cluster analysis and use multinomial logistic regression models to estimate each child’s probability of being assigned to each type. Our results indicate the prevalence of relative deprivation of children covaries with economic and non-economic resources available to the children’s households. Further, we find only marginal differences between children within the same household.

Bullying Victimization is Associated with Heightened Rates of Anxiety and Depression Among Autistic and ADHD Youth: National Survey of Children's Health 2016-2020.

Autistic youth and youth with ADHD have heightened rates of bullying victimization, anxiety, and depression. The purpose of this research is to use nationally representative US data to 1) estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among bullied neurodivergent youth and 2) investigate whether the association between bullying victimization and anxiety or depression is significantly greater among autistic youth and youth with ADHD. For this research, we used five years of data (2016-2020) from the nationally representative National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), youth ages 12-17years (n = 71,973). Data were analyzed with R and the R survey package to estimate average marginal percentages, risk differences, and additive interactions as recommended by STROBE guidelines. The study identified heightened anxiety and depression among bullied autistic or ADHD youth. Results also showed that the increase in the rate of anxiety or depression associated with bullying victimization was significantly greater among autistic youth and youth with ADHD relative to non-autistic non-ADHD youth; interactions were significant among both male and female youth. Autistic youth, youth with ADHD, and youth with co-occurring autism and ADHD are particularly vulnerable to bullying victimization and associated depression and anxiety. Future research is needed to understand why the association between bullying victimization and depression/anxiety is significantly greater among autistic and non-autistic ADHD youth. Recommendations include exploring school-wide anti-stigma initiatives to stop the reciprocal bullying-anxiety/depression cycle, routine bullying and mental health screening of autistic and ADHD youth, and clinical management of bullied autistic and ADHD youth with anxiety or depression.

Isomeric effects on the electron impact scattering for selected five membered heterocyclic ring molecules

We present electron scattering cross-sectional data for selected isomers of the five-membered ring molecules, specifically oxazole and isoxazole, thiazole and isothiazole, and imidazole and pyrazole. The ab-initio R-matrix method, incorporating static exchange polarization approximations, is employed for this calculation from energy range 0.1 eV to 20 eV. Three shape resonances are identified and characterized in each system, consisting of two π* and one σ* shape resonances. Notably, thiazole and isothiazole exhibit additional σ* resonance which is which is at a lower energy than other σ* resonance. The calculated resonance positions align well with available experimental as well as theoretical data. We also performed electronic structure calculations to aid in characterization of resonances. Comparison of the scattering cross-sectional data with their respective isomers reveal marginal differences in the magnitude of the elastic cross section particularly below 1 eV. This discrepancy may be attributed to variations in the long-range electronic dipole contribution to the electron-molecule interaction process. Further, to understand dependency of dipole moment on elastic cross section, we performed a fitting procedure for the elastic cross sections at 0.1 eV with square of the dipole moment of all the five membered ring molecules studied here. The fitting formula so obtained was used to estimate the cross section for other three five membered ring molecules: Furan, Thiophene and Pyrrole. Additionally, total ionization cross sections are computed using the binary-encounter-Bethe (BEB) model, demonstrating nearly identical results when compared with their isomers. Our findings offer insights into the influence of structural changes on the electron scattering data, providing guidance for other theoretical investigations.

Effect of micro and nanobubble size and concentration on membrane fouling: Strategies for energy-saving and ultrafiltration efficiency enhancement

The impact of micro and nanobubbles (MNBs) on preventing membrane fouling in various filtration techniques has been effectively demonstrated. However, there remains a gap in understanding the influence of their size and concentration on membrane fouling. Moreover, the substantial energy demand for MNBs-aided filtration processes hinders the wide adoption of this technology on a global scale. This study controlled MNB size and concentration by optimizing the release pressure of air-saturated water and introducing intermittent operation schemes. At 0.35 MPa, the MNBs averaged 91 μm and 117.9 nm with concentrations of 3.27E+3 and 6.85E+6 particles mL−1. Increasing the pressure to 0.60 MPa reduced the average size to 31 μm and 119.9 nm. Concentrations to 6.43E+5 and 9.40E+6 particles mL−1. Bubbles released at 0.60 MPa reduced TMP from −0.0109 MPa attained with 0.35 MPa bubbles to −0.0052 MPa making a 70 % decrease. Comparing continuous and optimal intermittent release patterns (30 min) revealed marginal differences: normalized transmembrane pressure (4 %), cleaning efficiency (9 %), and rejection efficiency (2.4 %). Our approach enhances membrane filtration efficiency, maintains performance, reduces energy consumption, and advances sustainable filtration technologies encouraging global adoption.

Insights into atypical segmental layer thicknesses and phase retardation in thick corneas using ultrahigh-resolution polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

BackgroundAccurately assessing corneal structural status is challenging when thickness deviates from the average. Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) measures tissue-specific polarization changes, providing additional contrast for accurate segmentations and aids in phase retardation (PR) measurements. Previous studies have shown PR's effectiveness in identifying sub-clinical keratoconus (KC) in asymmetric cases. Thus, this study aims to assess PR distribution in thick corneas with and without KC.MethodsIn this retrospective and cross-sectional study, 45 thick corneas from 30 Asian-Indian subjects, categorized into healthy (n = 26) and KC (n = 19) groups were analyzed. All eyes underwent standard clinical evaluations, tomographic assessments, and corneal biomechanics measurements. PR and individual layer thicknesses were measured using custom-designed ultrahigh-resolution PS-OCT. PR en-face maps were generated. Individual layer thicknesses and PR analysis was conducted across multiple zones, extending up to 8–10 mm in diameter. All eyes in the study had not undergone interventions, received topical medications, or had previous corneal disease history.ResultsSignificant differences were found in spherical and cylindrical powers, keratometry, pachymetry, and biomechanical indices (all P < 0.01). Thickness profiles from PS-OCT showed significant differences in the 4–8 mm zones only. Bowman's layer thickness significantly differed only in the central 2 mm zone (P = 0.02). The median PR values showed marginal differences in the central 2 mm zone (P = 0.0565). Additionally, there were significant differences observed in the 2–4 mm and 4–6 mm zones (P = 0.0274 and P = 0.0456, respectively). KC eyes exhibited an atypical PR distribution and corneal thinning, while normal eyes maintained a uniform Bowman’s layer thickness and PR maps with larger areas of higher PR.ConclusionThe study revealed distinctive PR distribution in thick corneas among healthy and KC groups. Using an ultrahigh-resolution PS-OCT the significance of Bowman's layer thickness in these groups was also emphasized. The study offered potential improvements in clinical diagnostics by enhancing our understanding of corneal structure and its altered function.