Score Values Research Articles

The quantitative evaluation of cardiac structures and major thoracic vessels dimensions by means of lateral contrast radiography in Wistar albino rats (Rattus norvegicus)

The aim of this study was to define reference values for vertebral heart score (VHS) and modified left atrium (LA)-VHS, cardiac structures, and major thoracic vessels measurements and ratios obtained from thoracic contrast radiography Wistar albino rats. VHS, modified LA-VHS, left (LV) and right (RV) ventricles, interventricular septum (IVS), aorta (Ao), caudal vena cava (CaVC), and fourth thoracic vertebrae (v) length (T4) were measured from left lateral thoracic contrast radiographs of 50 young, healthy adult male Wistar albino rats. LV/T4, RV/T4, IVS/T4, Ao/T4, CaVC/T4, and CaVC/ Ao ratios were calculated from these values. Measurements were performed by two observers unaware of the signalment data for interobserver repeatability analysis. Median values and references ranges were 8.2v (7.4-9.1) for VHS, 1.2 (1.0-1.5) for modified LA-VHS, 7.8 mm (6.2-9.1) for LV, 3.4 mm (2.8-4.5) for RV, 2.1 mm (1.8-3.0) for IVS, 2.1 mm (1.8-2.8) for Ao, 2.2 mm (1.7-3.0) for CaVC, 4 mm (3.5-4.5) for T4, 2 (1.5-2.3) for LV/T4, 0.85 (0.68-1.22) for RV/T4, 0.52 (0.42-0.83) for IVS/T4, 0.53 (0.42-0.75) for Ao/T4, 0.55 (0.45-0.7) for CaVC/T4 and 1.05 (0.74-1.1.37) for CaVC/Ao. Further studies are now needed to determine whether measurement values obtained from contrast radiography in rats are useful in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy and heart failure. The radiographic measurement values presented in this study can be used as a reference baseline for both pet and laboratory rats.

The predictive value of the CONUT score combined with the A2DS2 scale for post-ischemic stroke infection

Background/Aim. Stroke-associated infection is the most common and most serious complication of ischemic stroke (IS), which is the most important cause of death and disability in humans. The aim of the study was to determine the predictive value of nutrition risk score ? Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) combined with Age, Atrial Fibrillation, Dysphagia, Sex, Stroke Severity (A2DS2) scale for post-IS infection (PISI) in IS patients. Methods. This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 333 IS patients admitted to the Emergency Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University from December 2017 to April 2019. Patients were divided into the NoPISI group (244 cases) and the PISI group (89 cases) based on whether they had a PISI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for PISI. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the accuracy of different variables in predicting the outcome. Results. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the CONUT score [odds ratio (OR) = 1.321, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.040?1.677, p < 0.05] and age (OR = 1.026, 95%CI: 1.004?1.048, p < 0.05) were independent influencing factors for PISI. With the increase of the CONUT score, the proportion of PISI increased. Area under the ROC curve for predicting PISI was 0.651, 0.696, and 0.725 for CONUT, A2DS2, and CONUT plus A2DS2, respectively. Conclusion. Combining the CONUT score and A2DS2 scale enhances their predictability of PISI, thereby serving as a valuable tool for early risk assessment and clinical intervention.

Novel serum biomarker of Golgi protein 73 for the diagnosis of clinically significant portal hypertension in patients with compensated cirrhosis.

Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) is the gold standard for evaluating clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH). However, reliable noninvasive methods are limited. Our study aims to investigate the diagnostic value of serum Golgi protein 73 (GP73) for CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis. The study enrolled 262 consecutive patients with compensated cirrhosis from three centers in China from February 2021 to September 2023, who underwent both serum GP73 tests and HVPG measurements. CSPH was defined as HVPG ≥ 10 mmHg. Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The prevalence of CSPH was 56.9% (n = 149). There were significant differences between the CSPH and non-CSPH groups in the median serum GP73 level (126.8 vs. 73.1 ng/mL, p < 0.001). GP73 level showed a significant positive linear correlation with HVPG (r = 0.459, p < 0.001). The AUC for the diagnosis of CSPH using serum GP73 alone was 0.75 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68-0.81). Multivariate logistic regression analysis determined that the levels of GP73, platelets and international normalized ratio were independently associated with CSPH. The combination of these three markers was termed "IP73" score with an AUC value of 0.85 (95% CI 0.80-0.89) for CSPH. Using 0 as a cut-off value, the specificity and sensitivity of IP73 score were 77.9% and 81.9%, respectively. The IP73 score offers a novel, simple and noninvasive method of assessing CSPH in patients with compensated cirrhosis. A cut-off value of the IP73 score at 0 can distinguish patients with or without CSPH.

Prognostic nomogram based on pre-treatment HALP score for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

BackgroundTo explore the correlation of pre-treatment Hemoglobin-Albumin-Lymphocyte-Platelet (HALP) score with the prognosis of patients with advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) undergoing first-line conventional platinum-based chemotherapy. MethodsIn this retrospective cohort study, 203 patients with advanced NSCLC were recruited from January 2017 to December 2021. The cut-off value for the HALP score was determined by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The baseline characteristics and blood parameters were recorded, and the Log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier curves were applied for the survival analysis. In the univariate and multivariate analyses, the Cox regression analysis was carried out. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by the Concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve and compared with a single HALP score by ROC curve analysis. ResultsThe optimal cut-off value for the HALP score was 28.02. The lower HALP score was closely associated with poorer Progression-Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS). The male gender and other pathological types were associated with shorter OS. Disease progression and low HALP were correlated with shorter OS and PFS. In addition, nomograms were established based on HALP scores, gender, pathology type and efficacy rating, and used to predict OS. The C-index for OS prediction was 0.7036 (95% CI 0.643 to 0.7643), which was significantly higher than the C-index of HALP at 6-, 12-, and 24-months. ConclusionThe HALP score is associated with the prognosis of advanced NSCLC patients receiving conventional platinum-based chemotherapy, and the nomogram established based on the HALP score has a better predictive capability for OS.

Propensity Score Regression for Causal Inference With Treatment Heterogeneity

Understanding how treatment effects vary on individual characteristics is critical in the contexts of personalized medicine, personalized advertising and policy design. When the characteristics are of practical interest are only a subset of full covariate, non-parametric estimation is often desirable; but few methods are available due to the computational difficult. Existing non-parametric methods such as the inverse probability weighting methods have limitations that hinder their use in many practical settings where the values of propensity scores are close to 0 or 1. We propose the propensity score regression (PSR) that allows the non-parametric estimation of the heterogeneous treatment effects in a wide context. PSR includes two non-parametric regressions in turn, where it first regresses on the propensity scores together with the characteristics of interest, to obtain an intermediate estimate; and then, regress the intermediate estimates on the characteristics of interest only. By including propensity scores as regressors in the non-parametric manner, PSR is capable of substantially easing the computational difficulty while remain (locally) insensitive to any value of propensity scores. We present several appealing properties of PSR, including the consistency and asymptotical normality, and in particular the existence of an explicit variance estimator, from which the analytical behaviour of PSR and its precision can be assessed. Simulation studies indicate that PSR outperform existing methods in varying settings with extreme values of propensity scores. We apply our method to the national 2009 flu survey (NHFS) data to investigate the effects of seasonal influenza vaccination and having paid sick leave across different age groups.

Normalization of Cardiac Structural dimension and Function to Body Surface Area in South East Nigeria Children.

Standardizing cardiac valve structures and function to body surface area will help the clinician and surgeons in decision-making. To evaluate the z-scores of the sizes of cardiac structures and function and to present them in Gaussian curves and reference values. This was a cross-sectional study that involved 300 apparently healthy children. This study was performed among healthy children from birth to 18 years. Children with a normal echocardiogram, those with no chronic illness, no congenital heart defect, and no acquired heart defect were included in the study. The majority fell within the normal limits, as shown in the Gaussian curves. For instance, 40 (13.3%) of atrioventricular (AV) valve diameters were +1 Z-score above the normal, and only 5 (1.7%) were +2 Z-score above the normal. About 9.3% (28/300) had below -2 Z-score below normal, while only 5% had -1 Z-score below normal. Similarly, the left ventricular function z-scores were also derived at -3 Z-scores to +3 Z-scores. The standard reference values were compared with the results obtained from our Z score values. There was no significant difference noted in the Z-scores. P values ranged from 0.07 to 0.84 for all the cardiac structures except for gender, where Z-scores of the mitral valve and left pulmonary artery varied significantly (P = 0.02). Reference values of cardiac structure and function were presented using Z scores, and we noted no significant difference when compared with the Western standard values except for the mitral valve and left pulmonary artery.

Impact of Financial Distress on Financial Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange

Impact of Financial Distress on Financial Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange

Development and validation of a model integrating clinical and coronary lesion-based functional assessment for long-term risk prediction in PCI patients.

To establish a scoring system combining the ACEF score and the quantitative blood flow ratio (QFR) to improve the long-term risk prediction of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In this population-based cohort study, a total of 46 features, including patient clinical and coronary lesion characteristics, were assessed for analysis through machine learning models. The ACEF-QFR scoring system was developed using 1263 consecutive cases of CAD patients after PCI in PANDA III trial database. The newly developed score was then validated on the other remaining 542 patients in the cohort. In both the Random Forest Model and the DeepSurv Model, age, renal function (creatinine), cardiac function (LVEF) and post-PCI coronary physiological index (QFR) were identified and confirmed to be significant predictive factors for 2-year adverse cardiac events. The ACEF-QFR score was constructed based on the developmental dataset and computed as age (years)/EF (%) + 1 (if creatinine ≥ 2.0 mg/dL) + 1 (if post-PCI QFR ≤ 0.92). The performance of the ACEF-QFR scoring system was preliminarily evaluated in the developmental dataset, and then further explored in the validation dataset. The ACEF-QFR score showed superior discrimination (C-statistic = 0.651; 95% CI: 0.611-0.691, P < 0.05 versus post-PCI physiological index and other commonly used risk scores) and excellent calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 = 7.070; P = 0.529) for predicting 2-year patient-oriented composite endpoint (POCE). The good prognostic value of the ACEF-QFR score was further validated by multivariable Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis (adjusted HR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.18-3.04; log-rank P < 0.01) after stratified the patients into high-risk group and low-risk group. An improved scoring system combining clinical and coronary lesion-based functional variables (ACEF-QFR) was developed, and its ability for prognostic prediction in patients with PCI was further validated to be significantly better than the post-PCI physiological index and other commonly used risk scores.

The impact of moderate versus deep neuromuscular blockade on the recovery characteristics following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: A randomized double blind clinical trial.

Anesthesia with deep neuromuscular block for laparoscopic surgery may result in less postoperative pain with lower intra-abdominal pressure. However, the results in the existing literature are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of deep versus moderate neuromuscular block (NMB) on the postoperative recovery characteristics after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) for weight loss surgery. This is parallel-group, randomized clinical trial. The study was conducted at a tertiary care center. Patients undergoing LSG were included. Patients were randomly assigned to either deep (post-tetanic count 1-2) or moderate (train-of-four 1-2) NMB group. The primary outcomes were numeric rating scale scores of the postoperative pain at rest and postoperative shoulder pain. The secondary outcomes were the length of hospital stay (LOS) and postoperative complications. The statistics were performed using StatsDirect statistical software (Version 2.7.9). Two groups were identified: Group D (deep NMB), 29 patients, and Group M (moderate NMB), 28 patients. The BMI mean values for groups D and M were 44 and 45 kg/m2 respectively (P > 0.05). The mean durations of surgery for were 46.7 min and 44.1 min for groups M and D, respectively (P > 0.05). The mean train-of-four (TOF) counts were 0.3 and 0 for groups M and D, respectively (P < 0.05). The mean times from giving reversal agent to tracheal extubation (minutes) were 6.5 and 6.58 min for groups M and D, respectively (P > 0.05). In the recovery room, the means of pain scores were 3 and 4 for groups M and D, respectively (P > 0.05). Upon admission to the surgical ward, the median values of the pain score were non-significant (P > 0.05) (95% CI: 0.4-0.7). The opioid consumption in the recovery room was non-significant between both groups (P > 0.05) (95% CI: 0.3-0.6). Postoperative shoulder pain was non-significant between both groups (P > 0.05) (95% CI: 0.4-0.7). The median values of surgeon opinion of both groups were non-significant (P > 0.05). Regarding the LOS, the mean values of groups D and M were 1.20 and 1.21 days, respectively (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between moderate and deep NMB techniques in terms of duration of the surgical procedure, postoperative pain, shoulder pain, and length of hospital stay. Further studies on a larger sample size are required to investigate the long-term recovery characteristics of patients with obesity undergoing LSG.

DKK-1 in psoriatic arthritis: Correlation with disease activity and enthesopathy

BackgroundPsoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a complex inflammatory disease with varied clinical characteristics. A pathognomonic characteristic of PsA is enthesitis. Entheseal inflammation ultimately leads to the production of new bone (enthesophytes). Dickkopf-related protein-1 (DKK-1) is a wingless (Wnt) inhibitor that inhibits osteoblast function. ObjectivesAssessment of the serum level of DKK-1 and its association with disease activity and enthesopathy in PsA patients. MethodsThis observational case–control study included 50 PsA patients and 50 healthy volunteers matched for age and gender. All participants were subjected to full medical history, clinical assessment, PSA activity using Disease Activity Index for Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA) score, the severity and extent of psoriasis were determined by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Ultrasonographic assessment of the entheses was done in accordance with the Madrid Sonographic Enthesitis Index (MASEI). Serum level of DKK-1 and correlation with disease activity and enthesopathy in PsA patients were assessed. ResultsThere was no significant difference between patients and controls regarding age and sex. The mean value of SPARCC index, DAPSA score and PASI score were 6.74±4.58, 33.24±15.26, and 8.35±10.93, respectively. There was significant difference between patients and controls regarding the serum levels of DKK-1 and MASEI score (p<0.0001). There was a significant positive correlation between serum DKK-1 and MASEI (r: 0.43527, p: 0.00158), MASEI inflammatory (r: 0.37958, p: 0.00655), and MASEI damage (r: 0.38384, p: 0.00593). ConclusionsSerum DKK-1 levels were elevated in PsA patients and were found to be correlated with MASEI score for enthesopathy.

The influence of job security on job performance among Jordanian nurses

BackgroundJob security is one of the basic needs of nurses and it has a great influence on their willingness to work. The effectiveness of job performance of nurses will reflect on the whole organization’s performance by providing high quality health services. AimThe purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between job security and employee performance among Jordanian nurses. MethodThe study utilized a descriptive, comparative cross-sectional design. It was conducted in two governmental and two private hospitals. A sample of 156 nurses was recruited conveniently to participate in the study. The Job security questionnaire and The Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance were used to collect data. ResultsThe mean value of the job security score was (3.26) which reflect a moderate level of job security. The employee performance score average was (2.68) reflecting a high level of job performance. There is a significant moderate positive relationship between job security and employee performance (r = 0.404, p < 0.01). Years of experience as a registered nurse (r = −0.18, p < 0.05), years of experience in the current hospital (r = −0.20, p < 0.05), and years of experience in the current unit (r = −0.19, p < 0.05) had a weak negative but significant relationship with employee performance. ConclusionNurses with moderate levels of job security obtained high scores on job performance. Future research can look into the characteristics of Jordanian nursing work environments that might have contributed to the observed differences between job security and employee performance.

The Diversification of College English Listening Course Teaching under the Background of Informationization

Abstract The traditional mode of listening teaching has been unable to fully adapt to the development trend of the times, and it is also difficult to meet the learning needs of students in the information age. In this paper, the multi-objective optimization algorithm is used to improve the teaching-training process to optimize the problems existing in the teaching of listening course, to provide a multi-objective teaching optimization algorithm to imitate the English listening teaching and learning process and to deal with the non-linear constraints in the multi-objective optimization problem utilizing a penalty function. The multi-objective teaching optimization algorithm is used as the basis to establish a diversified teaching model for college English listening courses, and the effectiveness of the teaching is verified by the listening learning performance, students’ multidimensional ability, and learning emotion. The results show that after 16 weeks of diversified teaching, the mean scores of students’ listening test scores in the experimental group increased by 9.52-24.50 points compared with those before the experiment, the mean value of short-term memory scores was the highest at 27.98, and the Cohen’s d value was above 0.861, and the mean scores of the students’ learning emotion test increased by 1.2938 points compared with those before the implementation. Applying the diversified teaching mode to the teaching of college English listening courses can improve students’ English listening performance, eliminate their anxiety and fear, and promote the diversification of college English listening teaching.

Medication Adherence Among Hypertensive Patients in Kurdistan Region of Iraq: An Observational Follow-Up Study

Background: Adherence to medications is a main concern to hypertension control and incidence of CVD complications. This study aimed to measure the level of medication adherence of hypertensive patients after one month follow-up. Methods: An observational one-month follow-up study was conducted in 93 hypertensive patients in Kurdistan Region. Results: Patients’ mean age was 55.03 (25-85 years). The mean value of the MARS score of adherences was 7.68 out of 10. The mean values of dimensions of adherence were 3.20 of 4 (medication adherence behavior), 2.92 of 4 (attitude toward taking medication), and 1.55 of 2 (negative side effects and attitudes to medication). We found that the males, single and married, urban, those with no chronic disease, and those with higher levels of education were more likely to adhere to medication. The patients with shorter disease duration and treatment had higher adherence scores. The patients with no experience of the medication side effects had higher levels of medication adherence (8.80 vs. 7.00; P&lt;0.0001) and patients who took fewer tablets/day. Conclusions: We observed high-adherence level among hypertensive patients. Prolong disease duration, long treatment duration, increase number of tablets/days, and increase number of comorbidities may significantly decrease the medication adherence rate.

Hyperoxia therapy for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting after breast cancer surgery

Background/Aim. Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are one of the most common causes of patient dissatisfaction in the postoperative period after general anesthesia. Hyperoxia may prevent PONV after abdominal surgery, but the effectiveness of intraoperative and early postoperative hyperoxia in preventing PONV after breast cancer surgery has not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to assess if the application of intraoperative hyperoxia during surgery could prevent PONV. Methods. Forty female patients with breast cancer were recruited for the study, all of whom underwent surgical treatment of breast cancer with axillary sentinel node sampling or axillary lymph node dissection. A balanced general anesthesia was conducted, which was induced with propofol and maintained with sevofluran. Out of the 40 patients, 20 (in-tervention group) received a volatile gas mixture with a fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) of 0.8 L/min intraoperatively and, afterward, 3 L/min of oxygen via face mask for two hours after surgery. The other 20 patients (control group) received a FiO2 of 0.4 L/min during the surgery without further administration of oxygen in the early postoperative period. The presence and severity of PONV were assessed at 30 min, 4, 24, 32, 48, and 56 hrs after surgery with the use of the PONV numerical Intensity Scale by Wengritzky for evaluating clinically significant PONV in the first six hours after surgery. Data were collected in an Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using the independent Student?s t-test. Results. The overall incidence of PONV during the 30 min after the surgery was 17.5% (15% in the group of patients receiving FiO2 of 0.8 L/min and 20% in the group of patients receiving FiO2 of 0.4 L/min intraoperatively). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the frequency of PONV, as well as in the severity of PONV, measured with the PONV Intensity Scale by Wengritzky (p ? 0.05). Conclusion. We found no benefit of intra- and post-operative hyperoxia in reducing the incidence of PONV. The data do not support routine administration of hyperoxia, in addition to antiemetics, for the prevention of PONV in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.

Comparison of Full Outline of UnResponsiveness Score and Glasgow Coma Scale in Predicting the Outcome of Children aged 3 to12 Years with Altered Level of Consciousness Admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: The commonly used Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score for assessing consciousness has several shortcomings, especially in intubated patients. Recently, the Full Outline UnResponsive Score (FOUR) has been validated as an alternative to the GCS due to its additional benefits in evaluating brainstem reflexes and respiratory patterns. The use of the FOUR score can overcome the shortcomings of the GCS and aid in prognosticating patients with altered sensorium. Aim: To compare the FOUR score with GCS score to find a better scoring system for predicting outcomes among children aged 3-12 years with non-traumatic causes of Altered Level Of Consciousness (ALOC) in the hospital. Materials and Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted on a total of 100 children with ALOC in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Telangana, from December 2020 to November 2021. FOUR and GCS assessments were performed simultaneously within two hours of admission. For statistical analysis, continuous variables are expressed as mean±standard deviations. The predictive values of the GCS score and FOUR score were established using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, by calculating the Area Under the Curve (AUC) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Results: The mean age of the study population was 7.3±5.2 years, and the mean duration of hospital stay was 7.5±6.74 days. In-hospital mortality was 34%, and the survival rate was 66%. The mean FOUR score for in-hospital mortality and survival was 8.47±3.01 and 12.24±1.46, respectively (p-value &lt;0.001). The mean GCS scores were 11.35±1.64 in survivors and 7.45 ±2.63 in non-survivors (p-value &lt;0.001). A FOUR score of &lt;10 was associated with higher mortality than a FOUR score of &gt;10 (p&lt;00.05). The Area Under Curve (AUC) for the FOUR score was 0.862 with a 95% CI (0.774 to 0.95) in the ROC curve (p-value &lt;0.001), and for the GCS score, the AUC was 0.822 with a 95% CI (0.723 to 0.92) and p-value &lt;0.001. The FOUR Score has a higher AUC than the GCS in the ROC curve, indicating that the FOUR Score has better discrimination than the GCS in outcome assessment. Conclusion: FOUR score and GCS score were comparable for predicting outcomes in children with ALOC. However, the FOUR score showed better discrimination than the GCS; hence, the FOUR score can be used as an alternative tool to the GCS for prognosis.

Practical Teaching of College Music Courses Based on Vocal Rhythmic Pedagogy

Abstract Under the development needs of the times, cultivating students’ ability to master rhythms is crucial to improving the quality of English talent cultivation. The vocal rhythm teaching method is used to establish an optimization model for music teaching in colleges and universities in this paper. In this teaching model, a real-time music beat recognition method combining music styles is proposed based on recurrent neural network and long and short-term memory neural network, and the feature fusion of mutual attention mechanism is utilized to carry out emotion recognition of multimodal music, to accurately control the music learning effect of students. Concerning the effectiveness of the optimization model of music teaching in colleges and universities, it is applied to the teaching practice, and the data are quantitatively analyzed in terms of music recognition ability and teaching effect. The results show that the recognition rate of the multimodal music emotion recognition method for 10 kinds of emotion categories of folk songs reaches up to 0.98, and the mean value of the final music literacy assessment scores of the experimental class after the experiment is increased by 2.89-3.38 points compared with that before the experiment, and the positive classroom mood shows a very significant difference at the level of 5%. The application of the optimization mode of college music teaching based on vocal rhythmic teaching methods in the practical teaching of music courses can cultivate students’ interest in music, help students improve their aesthetic level, and promote their overall development.

Adaptation and Validation of the Mandarin (Simplified) Chinese Version of the Voice Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire.

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Mandarin (simplified) Chinese version of the Voice Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire (MC-VFHQ). A total of 358 participants were included from June 2020 to April 2021: 243 patients with voice disorders (patient group) and 115 vocally healthy individuals (control group). The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content validity, clinical, sensitivity and specificity were analyzed, and the cutoff point was determined. The internal consistency of the MC-VFHQ was high, and the internal consistency assessed with Cronbach α coefficients for the subscale scores ranged from 0.821 to 0.983; the values for the total score were 0.952 and 0.943 in the patient and control group, respectively. Test-retest reliability was high for the total score (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)=0.924) and the subscales (ICCs=0.969, 0.939, 0.922). The patient group had significantly higher total score, subscale scores, and item scores than the control group (P < 0.001). The cutoff point for screening between the two groups was 63.5, with a sensitivity of 84.8% and a specificity of 84.30%. The MC-VFHQ is a valid and reliable tool for identifying individuals with probable vocal fatigue. It has good reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity in the Mandarin Chinese-speaking population.

Research on Efficient English Teaching Model Combining Corpus Microtext Analysis

Abstract Aiming at the goal of improving the quality of English teaching and combining the characteristics of English teaching, this paper constructs an efficient English discursive literacy teaching based on corpus micro-text analysis. Utilizing the unique advantages of online corpus to assist English teaching, it proposes the targeted teaching of English metaphorical vocabulary and combines the Word2Vec word embedding model and the cosine similarity algorithm to propose a model for analyzing the quality of English text coherence. Based on the characteristics of writing vocabulary in microtexts of the corpus, the analysis integrates the dimensional features of English writing vocabulary teaching. The effectiveness of the corpus-based efficient teaching model for English literacy teaching is verified through teaching practice, specifically utilizing the average values of pre- and post-tested vocabulary, sentences, and chapters of the two classes as comparison data. The results proved that the average value of the pre-test scores of all students in the experimental class is 7.78, and the average value of the post-test is 10.72, which is 2.94 higher than the pre-test. The English teaching model in colleges and universities based on corpus micro-text analysis can significantly improve the English writing level of students and achieve efficient English teaching.

Selection process real-life application for new type complex neutrosophic sets using various aggregation operators

A new approach to multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) is presented in this article, which is based on (ȷ1, ȷ2, ȷ3) complex neutrosophic sets (CNS). We are extending the CNS in this way. Complex neutrosophic weighted averaging (CNWA), complex neutrosophic weighted geometric (CNWG), complex generalized neutrosophic weighted averaging (CGNWA), and complex generalized neutrosophic weighted geometric (CGNWG). An algorithm utilizing these operators was presented during our discussion. Extensive score and accuracy values are illustrated numerically. We will also discuss idempotency, boundedness, commutativity, and monotonicity of complex neutrosophic sets as part of this communication. You can find the best option faster, easier, and more conveniently with them. Therefore, complex (ȷ1, ȷ2, ȷ3) is more closely associated with more precise conclusions. A fascinating and intriguing finding was also revealed by the study.

Machine learning-based biomarkers for breast cancer molecular subtypes HER2+ and TNBC

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of death in women in Türkiye and worldwide. Since breast cancer tumor cells have different genetic characteristics, diagnosis and treatment options vary according to molecular subtypes. The primary objective of this study is to classify human epidermal receptor 2 positive (n=71) and triple-negative breast cancer (n=25) molecular subtypes using two different machine learning algorithms based on tissue proteomics data of 96 breast cancer patients. The secondary aim was to identify possible protein biomarkers that could be used to determine the diagnosis and treatment of these molecular subtypes. The upper sampling method was used to overcome the class imbalance in the study data. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) was used as the variable selection method. In the modeling phase, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Bootstrap Aggregating Classification and Regression Trees (Bagged CART) machine learning methods were used. The best classification performance is XGBoost, whose accuracy, balanced accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, F1 score, MCC and G-mean values are 96.4%, 96.4%, 100%, 92.9%, 93.3%, 100%, 96.6%, 93.1%, 96.6%, respectively. The three protein access codes found to be most important for the classification of the two molecular subtypes in the optimal model XGBoost result are P02042, P00441 and P20231. These three proteins are thought to be clinically useful markers for early diagnosis and individualized treatment.