Probability Of Retention Research Articles

Impact of an intensive facility-community case management intervention on 6-month HIV outcomes among select key and priority populations in Uganda

IntroductionKey and priority populations (with risk behaviours and health inequities) are disproportionately affected by HIV in Uganda. We evaluated the impact of an intensive case management intervention on HIV treatment outcomes in Kalangala District, predominantly inhabited by fisher folk and female sex workers.MethodsThis quasi-experimental pre-post intervention evaluation included antiretroviral therapy naïve adults aged ≥ 18 years from six health facilities in the pre-intervention (Jan 1, 2017–December 31, 2017) and intervention phase (June 13, 2018–June 30, 2019). The primary outcomes were 6-month retention and viral suppression (VS) before and after implementation of the intervention involving facility and community case managers who supported participants through at least the first three months of ART. We used descriptive statistics to compared the characteristics, overall outcomes (i.e., retention, lost to follow up, died), and VS of participants by phase, and used mixed-effects logistic regression models to determine factors associated with 6-month retention in care. Marginal (averaging over facilities) probabilities of retention were computed from the final multivariable model.ResultsWe enrolled 606 and 405 participants in the pre-intervention and intervention phases respectively. Approximately 75% of participants were aged 25–44 years, with similar age and gender distributions among phases. Approximately 46% of participants in the intervention were fisher folk and 9% were female sex workers. The adjusted probability of 6-month retention was higher in the intervention phase, 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77–0.90) versus pre-intervention phase, 0.73 (95% CI: 0.69–0.77, p = 0.03). The retention probability increased from 0.59 (0.49–0.68) to 0.73 (0.59–0.86), p = 0.03 among participants aged 18–24 years, and from 0.75 (0.71–0.78) to 0.85 (0.78–0.91), p = 0.03 among participants aged ≥ 25 years. VS (< 1,000 copies/mL) was approximately 87% in both phases.ConclusionsAfter implementation of the case management intervention, we observed significant improvement in 6-month retention in all age groups of a highly mobile population of predominantly fisher folk.

Intermediate-mass Black Holes on the Run from Young Star Clusters

The existence of black holes (BHs) with masses in the range between stellar remnants and supermassive BHs has only recently become unambiguously established. GW190521, a gravitational wave signal detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration, provides the first direct evidence for the existence of such intermediate-mass BHs (IMBHs). This event sparked and continues to fuel discussion on the possible formation channels for such massive BHs. As the detection revealed, IMBHs can form via binary mergers of BHs in the “upper mass gap” (≈40–120 M ⊙). Alternatively, IMBHs may form via the collapse of a very massive star formed through stellar collisions and mergers in dense star clusters. In this study, we explore the formation of IMBHs with masses between 120 and 500 M ⊙ in young, massive star clusters using state-of-the-art Cluster Monte Carlo models. We examine the evolution of IMBHs throughout their dynamical lifetimes, ending with their ejection from the parent cluster due to gravitational radiation recoil from BH mergers, or dynamical recoil kicks from few-body scattering encounters. We find that all of the IMBHs in our models are ejected from the host cluster within the first ∼500 Myr, indicating a low retention probability of IMBHs in this mass range for globular clusters today. We estimate the peak IMBH merger rate to be at redshift z ≈ 2.

WGDTree: a phylogenetic software tool to examine conditional probabilities of retention following whole genome duplication events

BackgroundMultiple processes impact the probability of retention of individual genes following whole genome duplication (WGD) events. In analyzing two consecutive whole genome duplication events that occurred in the lineage leading to Atlantic salmon, a new phylogenetic statistical analysis was developed to examine the contingency of retention in one event based upon retention in a previous event. This analysis is intended to evaluate mechanisms of duplicate gene retention and to provide software to generate the test statistic for any genome with pairs of WGDs in its history.ResultsHere a software package written in Python, ‘WGDTree’ for the analysis of duplicate gene retention following whole genome duplication events is presented. Using gene tree-species tree reconciliation to label gene duplicate nodes and differentiate between WGD and SSD duplicates, the tool calculates a statistic based upon the conditional probability of a gene duplicate being retained after a second whole genome duplication dependent upon the retention status after the first event. The package also contains methods for the simulation of gene trees with WGD events. After running simulations, the accuracy of the placement of events has been determined to be high. The conditional probability statistic has been calculated for Phalaenopsis equestris on a monocot species tree with a pair of consecutive WGD events on its lineage, showing the applicability of the method.ConclusionsA new software tool has been created for the analysis of duplicate genes in examination of retention mechanisms. The software tool has been made available on the Python package index and the source code can be found on GitHub here: https://github.com/cnickh/wgdtree.

Paralogous Genes Involved in Embryonic Development: Lessons from the Eye and Other Tissues.

During evolution, gene duplications lead to a naturally increased gene dosage. Duplicated genes can be further retained or eliminated over time by purifying selection pressure. The retention probability is increased by functional diversification and by the acquisition of novel functions. Interestingly, functionally diverged paralogous genes can maintain a certain level of functional redundancy and at least a partial ability to replace each other. In such cases, diversification probably occurred at the level of transcriptional regulation. Nevertheless, some duplicated genes can maintain functional redundancy after duplication and the ability to functionally compensate for the loss of each other. Many of them are involved in proper embryonic development. The development of particular tissues/organs and developmental processes can be more or less sensitive to the overall gene dosage. Alterations in the gene dosage or a decrease below a threshold level may have dramatic phenotypic consequences or even lead to embryonic lethality. The number of functional alleles of particular paralogous genes and their mutual cooperation and interactions influence the gene dosage, and therefore, these factors play a crucial role in development. This review will discuss individual interactions between paralogous genes and gene dosage sensitivity during development. The eye was used as a model system, but other tissues are also included.

Constraining hierarchical mergers of binary black holes detectable with LIGO-Virgo

Most of the binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected by LIGO and Virgo could be explained by first-generation mergers formed from the collapse of stars, while others might come from second (or higher) generation mergers, namely hierarchical mergers, with at least one of the black holes (BHs) being the remnant of a previous merger. A primary condition for the occurrence of hierarchical mergers is that the remnant BHs can be retained by the host star cluster. We present a simple formula to estimate the hierarchical merger rate in star clusters. We find this latter to be proportional to the retention probability. Further, we show that ∼2% of BBH mergers in nuclear star clusters (NSCs) may instead be of hierarchical mergers, while the percentage in globular clusters (GCs) is only a few tenths of a percent. However, the rates of hierarchical merger in GCs and NSCs are about the same, namely of ∼𝒪(10−2) Gpc−3 yr−1, because the total BBH merger rate in GCs is larger than that in NSCs. This suggests that if a gravitational-wave event detected by LIGO-Virgo is identified as a hierarchical merger, then it is equally likely that this merger originated from a GC or an NSC.

Employer Attitudes and the Hiring of Immigrants and International Students: Evidence from a Survey of Employers in Atlantic Canada

What are employers’ perceptions regarding hiring immigrants and international students in Atlantic Canada? How are these perceptions related to hiring outcomes? Our analysis, based on a 2019 random representative survey of 801 employers, finds that most report positive attitudes toward immigrants and international students. Probit analysis of the sample of employers who report receiving applications from immigrants and international students also finds that hiring from this group is positively associated with employers’ belief that multiculturalism enhances creativity in the workplace and (less clearly) with the belief that immigrants and international students are harder working than native-born local workers; negatively with beliefs that such workers accept lower pay, have language barriers, have higher training costs, hold unreliable credentials, and (less strongly) have lower retention probabilities; and not consistently with the belief that such workers may help in increasing exports, are unfamiliar with the Canadian culture or workplace, or may take jobs away from locals.

Effect of codend mesh sizes on the size selectivity and exploitation pattern of cocktail shrimp (Trachypenaeus curvirostris) in shrimp trawl fishery of the South China Sea

This study aims at improving fishery management by testing and comparing the size selectivity and exploitation pattern of diamond-mesh codends, with mesh sizes ranging from 25 to 54 mm, for cocktail shrimp (Trachypenaeus curvirostris) in the South China Sea (SCS). Beginning from 25 mm, the minimum mesh size regulated by the shrimp trawl fishery industry, we investigated how the mesh sizes of the codends would affect the size selectivity and exploitation pattern in reference to the minimum conservation reference size (MCRS, 7.0 cm total length) of cocktail shrimp in the SCS. According to our results, the selective properties of the codend mesh sized at 25 mm in line with the regulation failed to protect the undersized individuals of cocktail shrimp because of its 50% retention length of 5.85 cm (confidence interval, CI: 5.16–6.18 cm), far less than the MCRS of cocktail shrimp. As the retention probability of a shrimp with a MCRS length was as high as 97.45 % (CI: 86.86–100.00%), more than 40% of the undersized shrimp was retained. It was proved that increasing the codend mesh size did not significantly improve the size selectivity and exploitation pattern which might be improved by other gear modifications.

Long-term retention of golimumab treatment in clinical practice in a large cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

To assess the golimumab retention rate during up to 8years of follow up, and any associated factors. Retrospective analysis of the BIOBADASER (Spanish registry of biological drugs) database, assessing all adults who had ever started golimumab >6months before the analysis for an approved indication (rheumatoid arthritis [RA], axial spondyloarthritis [SpA] or psoriatic arthritis [PsA]). Among 885 patients (RA 267, axial SpA 370, PsA 248) receiving 944 cycles of golimumab, the retention rate of golimumab was 71.1% (95% confidence interval: 68.0-73.9) at year 1% and 37.7% (95% CI: 33.3-42.1) at year 7 and at year 8. Retention was higher when golimumab was used as the first biological drug (81.7% at year 1, 49.9% at year 7, p<0.001). In Cox regression analysis, factors associated with golimumab retention included use as first-line therapy (hazard ratio [HR] for discontinuation 1.52 for second- and 1.79 for third/later-line vs. first-line), use in axial SpA or PsA rather than RA (HR for axial SpA vs. RA 0.59, for PsA vs. Rheumatoid arthritis 0.67), and treatment with concomitant methotrexate (HR 0.67). Factors associated with golimumab discontinuation were corticosteroid use (HR 1.46) and disease activity above median (HR 1.29) at golimumab initiation. Based on this retrospective analysis of the BIOBADASER registry, nearly two-fifths (37.7%) of adult rheumatology patients initiating golimumab will remain on treatment for 8years, with a higher probability of retention in axial SpA or PsA indications and when golimumab is used as first biologic.

Vectorial-Opinion Dynamics With Familiarity Neighborhoods in Virtual Social Groups

In this work, we mimic interactions among agents on social networks and examine their impact on the evolution of agents’ opinions. Each agent is entitled to an opinion represented by unit vectors of varying orientation. Agents are also characterized based on their inclination to alter their opinion and their susceptibility to the influence of peers with contrasting opinions. The agents constitute the nodes of a directed and time-varying influence network whose edges form their respective familiarity neighborhoods and govern their interactions. We also devise an interpersonal influence score to quantify the strength of the influence and the probability of acquisition, retention, or loss of a tie. This characterization of agents’ behavior and their interpersonal relationships differs from traditional bounded-confidence models based on the agreement in opinions alone. The agents with different traits form groups—liberal and conservative—distinguished by the distribution in opinions of their constituents. We analyze their interactions with different initial opinions, group compositions, network structures, and network evolution rates through simulations. The results reveal that flexible agents facilitate consensus among group members, while stubborn agents are instrumental in forming opinion clusters. This is substantiated by observing the average connectedness of the influence network and the average number of opinion clusters; groups with mostly flexible agents have better connectedness and fewer clusters than groups with stubborn agents in a majority. The simulations with stubborn agents reveal that new ties among agent pairs do not facilitate group consensus.

Direction of Pigeon Pea Exports from Myanmar- An Application of Markov Chain Model

Background: Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) is the third most important pulse crop of Myanmar. The country was the largest exporter of pigeon pea in south and south-east Asia, accounting for 90 per cent of the overall global export volume. This study focuses to figure out the trend and direction of pigeon pea export from Myanmar. Methods: This work is based on secondary data and export figures for 10 years were gathered from the Ministry of Commerce and Trade Map. Markov chain model was adopted as an analytical tool to study the direction of pigeon pea trade and a compound annual growth rate was employed to investigate the trend in Myanmar’s pigeon pea export for 10 years. Result: The growth rate of pigeon pea export registered a negative CAGR but was not statistically significant at 5 per cent level of significance. Markov chain analysis of pigeon pea export from Myanmar showed that besides India, Singapore was further a reliable market as revealed through retention probabilities (0.96 and 0.60, correspondingly), while China, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries were highly unstable markets for Myanmar pigeon pea.

Export performance and trade directions of Indian floriculture

The present study was initiated with the objective of examining the production, export performance and trade directions of Indian floriculture. The data were divided into pre-NHM period (1994-95 to 2004-05) and post-NHM period (2005-06 to 2018-19) and was analyzed by estimating growth rates and using Markov chain approach. The results showed that area, production, productivity and export of floriculture in India showed positive and significant growth throughout the study periods. Floriculture exports of India represented the growth rate of 11.03 percent during the period 1994-95 to 2018-19. Netherlands, Germany and U.K. are the most stable importers of Indian flowers and having better potential as reflected by their higher probabilities of retention and showed increased probability retention in Post-NHM period than Pre-NHM period.

Control transfer and old shareholder governance of the “seller”: who hinders the management retention?

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the inhibitory effect of non-controlling shareholders governance mechanism on the retention of self-interest management, which provides theoretical support and practical basis for standardizing the control transfer behavior of listed companies and improving the governance mechanism of non-controlling shareholders.Design/methodology/approachTaking A-share listed companies with control transfer from 2000 to 2017 as sample, this paper investigates the strategy, path and retention consequence of the target company’s market selected top management who collude with the new controlling shareholder to avoid the risk of being taken over by control transfer.FindingsThis research explores that negative earnings management behavior may reduce the real premium of control transfer after deducting the “shell value”. The lower the real premium of control transfer after deducting the “shell value”, the higher the probability of management retention after control transfer. This paper also reveals that the real premium of control transfer after deducting the “shell value” plays complete mediation role between the negative earnings management behavior of the management and their own retention. The mediation effect of “collusion and price reduction” in the control transfer will be inversely moderated by the governance mechanism of noncontrolling shareholders including the old shareholders of the seller.Originality/valueThis paper not only constitutes a supplement to the existing literature but also provides empirical evidence for standardizing the control transfer behavior of listed companies, and making good use of the old shareholders of the seller to improve corporate governance and alleviate agency conflict after control transfer.

Predictors of linkage to hepatitis C virus care among people living with HIV with hepatitis C infection and the impact of loss to HIV follow-up.

ObjectiveHalf of the people living with HIV (PLWH) with hepatitis C virus (HCV) remain untreated for HCV. We examined predictors of HCV linkage to care among PLWH and the impact of HIV lost to care.Design and methodsWe conducted a retrospective review of PLWH/HCV from our HIV clinics between 2014 and 2017, and examined predictors of HCV linkage to care. We used the Kaplan–Meier method to estimate the probability of HIV retention and HCV linkage over time.ResultsOf 615 PLWH/HCV, 34% linked to HCV care and 21% were cured. Higher odds of linkage to HCV care were among blacks (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.59, 5.47), prior injection drug users (IDUs; aOR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.39, 6.01), Medicare (aOR: 3.09, 95% CI: 1.56, 6.11), and cirrhotics (aOR: 2.80, 95% CI: 1.52, 5.14). Reduced odds for linkage were in active IDU (aOR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.45) and those seen by an advanced practice provider (aOR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.92). The main reason for failure to link to HCV care was lost to HIV care. At 3 years, the overall probability of being retained in HIV care was 53%; among those who had an HCV evaluation visit, it was 75% vs. 41% with no HCV evaluation visit. Accounting for loss to follow‐up, PLWH/HCV had a 65% probability of having an HCV evaluation at 3 years.

Differential Effects of Three Crab Trap Escape Ring Sizes on Retention of Male and Female Blue Crabs

AbstractThe blue crab Callinectes sapidus supports a valuable commercial fishery in Texas waters. Several regulatory tools are used to manage the catch of blue crabs, including the use of escape rings, which are designed to allow for the escapement of undersized individuals. In this study, we first examined the relationship between carapace width (CW) and carapace length (CL) for male and female blue crabs (with an eye toward the effectiveness of the escape rings). Second, we examined the retention rates for male and female blue crabs across a range of CWs for three different escape ring sizes: 60.3 (current Texas minimum escape ring size), 63.5, and 66.7 mm. Male crabs were found to have a greater CL at a given CW than did female crabs, and this discrepancy between the sexes increased at larger CWs. Assuming that CL is the primary determinant in crab trap retention, this would suggest that males are typically retained at a smaller CW than females and this discrepancy at size of retention increases for larger escape rings. This interpretation was validated in the retention analyses for the three escape ring sizes examined in this study. Overall, the carapace width at 50% retention (CW50) increased with increasing escape ring size for each sex and the discrepancy between CW50 for male and female crabs increased from 4.4 mm (60.3‐mm ring) to 5.0 mm (63.5‐mm ring) to 7.2 mm (66.7‐mm ring). The probability of retention is given for a range of potential minimum CWs (127, 140, and 152 mm) for each escape ring size. Fishery managers should select appropriate escape ring sizes given the target legal minimum CW for the blue crab fishery and also consider the differential performance of these escape ring sizes between sexes when using crab trap escape rings as a management tool.

Real-world Implementation of a Smartphone-Based Psychoeducation Program for Bipolar Disorder: Observational Ecological Study.

BackgroundSIMPLe is an internet‐delivered self‐management mobile app for bipolar disorder (BD) designed to combine technology with evidence-based interventions and facilitate access to psychoeducational content. The SIMPLe app was launched to the real world to make it available worldwide within the context of BD treatment.ObjectiveThe main aims of this study are as follows: to describe app use, engagement, and retention rates based on server data; to identify patterns of user retention over the first 6-month follow-up of use; and to explore potential factors contributing to discontinuation of app use.MethodsThis was an observational ecological study in which we pooled available data from a real-world implementation of the SIMPLe app. Participation was open on the project website, and the data-collection sources were a web-based questionnaire on clinical data and treatment history administered at inclusion and at 6 months, subjective data gathered through continuous app use, and the use patterns captured by the app server. Characteristics and engagement of regular users, occasional users, and no users were compared using 2-tailed t tests or analysis of variance or their nonparametric equivalent. Survival analysis and risk functions were applied to regular users’ data to examine and compare use and user retention. In addition, a user evaluation analysis was performed based on satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and reasons to discontinue app use.ResultsWe included 503 participants with data collected between 2016 and 2018, of whom 77.5% (n=390) used the app. Among the app users, 44.4% (173/390) completed the follow-up assessment, and data from these participants were used in our analyses. Engagement declined gradually over the first 6 months of use. The probability of retention of the regular users after 1 month of app use was 67.4% (263/390; 95% CI 62.7%-72.4%). Age (P=.002), time passed since illness onset (P<.001), and years since diagnosis of BD (P=.048) correlate with retention duration. In addition, participants who had been diagnosed with BD for longer used the app on more days (mean 97.73, SD 69.15 days; P=.002) than those who had had a more recent onset (mean 66.49, SD 66.18 days; P=.002) or those who had been diagnosed more recently (mean 73.45, SD 66 days; P=.01).ConclusionsThe user retention rate of the app decreased rapidly after each month until reaching only one-third of the users at 6 months. There exists a strong association between age and app engagement of individuals with BD. Other variables such as years lived with BD, diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, and taking antipsychotics seem relevant as well. Understanding these associations can help in the definition of the most suitable user profiles for predicting trends of engagement, optimization of app prescription, and management.

P541 Effectiveness, safety and durability of vedolizumab in active moderate-severe Crohn’s Disease

Abstract Background Vedolizumab (VDZ) has demonstrated efficacy and safety in moderate-severe Crohn’s Disease (CD) in GEMINI registration trials. Nevertheless, the patient profile in actual clinical practice differs from that included in controlled studies so additional data are needed. The primary objective of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and durability of VDZ in active moderate-severe CD in real clinical practice. Methods Unicentric retrospective observational study. All patients treated in our center with VDZ with moderate-severe CD were included. Effectiveness was assessed 16 weeks after treatment iniciation and at the last visit with available data. Remission (RmLE) and steroid-free response (RsLE) were considered to be the achievement of a Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI) ≤4 or a decrease of at least 3 points from the previous HBI. To evaluate the durability of VDZ, a Kaplan-Meier survival curve was performed. In addition, adverse effects attributable to VDZ during follow-up were recorded. Results We included 26 patients whose clinical-demographic features are shown in Table 1. The median follow-up of patients was 52 weeks (IQR= 24–78). At 16 weeks after initiation of VDZ treatment, RmLE and RsLE were achieved in 19.2% and 69.2% of patients respectively. At the last follow-up visit, 27% of patients achieved RmLE with 61.5% presenting RsLE (Figure 1). The probability of retention of VDZ treatment at median follow-up was 57%, not differing significantly between bionaive patients from those with previous failure to other biologic treatments (Figures 2 and 3). There were no serious adverse effects or effects that required discontinuation of VDZ. Three mild adverse effects were documented in 11.5% of patients (arthralgia, dyspnea and a mild viral infection). Conclusion In our series of patients, VDZ proved effectiveness and safety in line with that described in other real clinical practice series. The durability of VDZ at one year in this series of refractory CD was also considerable and did not vary according to previous exposure to biologic agents.

New codend designs to improve the size selectivity of fyke net for narrow-clawed crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus)

The narrow-clawed crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus) is one of the most ecologically and economically important freshwater species in Turkey. However, the harvest of this species has declined from 7937 t in 1984 to 696 t in 2019. One of primary reasons for this decrease in stock is the use of fishing gears with poor size selectivity. In this study, new codend designs were investigated to improve the size selectivity of fyke nets forP. leptodactylus. Seven codends of three different designs were tested: (1) a commercially used standard codend with 34 mm mesh size (Com34); (2) sorting grids with 20 (SG20), 25 (SG25) and 30 mm (SG30) bar spacing attached to the last circle of the net; and (3) a stiff rigged net, the last part of the fyke nets (codend) with 34 (SRN34), 42 (SRN42) and 50 mm (SRN50) mesh size. The average length at 50% retention probability (L50) and selection range (SR) (L75–L25) values ofCom34were 9.4 cm and 3.1 cm, respectively. For theSG20,SG25andSG30grids, theL50values were 11.3 cm, 11.6 cm and 12.0 cm, while theSRvalues were 1.4 cm, 1.3 cm and 0.6 cm, respectively. For theSRN34,SRN42andSRN50codends, theL50values were 10.9 cm, 11.6 cm and 11.6 cm, while theSRvalues were 2.1 cm, 2.1cm and 1.1 cm, respectively. Overall, the commercial codend resulted in lowerL50values when the minimum conservation reference length of 10 cm was considered. However, all tested new codend designs showed improved selectivity compared with the standard, with optimum results obtained withSG20.SG20grid decreased discarding by 15.7% compared to the classic commercial fyke net; thus, this is a very important result for the sustainability of naturalP. leptodactylusstocks.

How Substitutable are Workers? Evidence from Worker Deaths

To assess the substitutability between workers within a firm, and between incumbent workers and outsiders, we estimate how exogenous worker exits affect a firm’s demand for incumbent workers and new hires. Using matched employer-employee data from Germany, we analyze the effects of 34,000 unexpected worker deaths and show that these worker exits on average raise the remaining workers’ wages and retention probabilities for a period of several years. The average effect masks substantial heterogeneity: Coworkers in the same occupation as the deceased see positive wage effects; coworkers in other occupations instead experience wage decreases when a high-skilled worker or manager dies. Finally, when the external labor market in the deceased’s occupation is thin, incumbents’ wages respond more and external hiring responds less to a worker death. Taken together, our findings imply that incumbent workers are closer substitutes to one another compared to outsiders, that high-skilled workers and managers are complements to coworkers in other occupations, and that thin external markets for skills lead to higher firm-specificity of human capital and lower replaceability of incumbents.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the timing of indwelling catheter extubation in patients undergoing gynecological and obstetric surgery.

The timing of urinary catheter removal after gynecological and obstetric surgery remains controversial. This meta-analysis investigated the optimal timing of urinary catheter removal. The PubMed, Ovid Medline, Cochrane, and Embase databases were searched for literatures published between 2010 and 2021 relating to randomized controlled studies examining the timing of catheter removal. The modified Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoring criteria was used to assess the quality of the literatures. After extracting the literature data, the Revman 5.3 software was used for analysis and to obtain the statistical forest plots. A total of 345 literatures were screened and 11 literatures were finally included. Meta-analysis showed that there was no statistical difference in the occurrence of urinary tract infection (UTI) rate between extubation at 6 hours and immediately after surgery [odds ratio (OR) =1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.58 to 4.81; P=0.35], but the urinary retention rate was significantly lower in patients who were extubated at 6 hours post-surgery compared to immediately after surgery (OR =0.06; 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.36; P=0.002). In patients who were extubated at 12 hours post-operation, the rate of UTI was significantly higher than immediate extubation post-operation (OR =2.32; 95% CI: 1.31 to 4.10; P=0.004), while the probability of urinary retention was significantly lower than extubated immediate (OR =0.18; 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.83; P=0.03). Similarly, in patients who were extubated at 24 hours post-operation, the UTI rate was significantly higher than that patients who were immediately extubated (OR =4.51; 95% CI: 2.02 to 10.09; P=0.0002) and the urinary retention rate was significantly lower than extubated immediately (OR =0.06; 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.32; P=0.001). The UTI rate of patients who were extubated 48 hours after surgery was not significantly different from that of patients extubated 24 hours after surgery (OR =1.62; 95% CI: 0.76 to 3.45; P=0.21) and the incidence of urinary retention was not significantly different (OR =0.28; 95% CI: 0.07 to 1.18; P=0.08). The optimal time for removal of the urinary catheter is 6 hours after gynecological and obstetric surgery.

Study of the Filtration Performance of Multilayer and Multiscale Fibrous Structures.

As the incidence of small-diameter particles in the air has increased in recent decades, the development of efficient filtration systems is both urgent and necessary. Nanotechnology, more precisely, electrospun nanofibres, has been identified as a potential solution for this issue, since it allows for the production of membranes with high rates of fibres per unit area, increasing the probability of nanoparticle collision and consequent retention. In the present study, the electrospinning technique of polyamide nanofibre production was optimized with the variation of parameters such as polymer concentration, flow rate and needle diameter. The optimized polyamide nanofibres were combined with polypropylene and polyester microfibres to construct a multilayer and multiscale system with an increased filtration efficiency. We observed that the penetration value of the multilayer system with a PA membrane in the composition, produced for 20 min in the electrospinning, is 2.7 times smaller than the penetration value of the system with the absence of micro and nano fibers.