Trimming Method Research Articles

High-precise trimming method for micro hemispherical resonator gyroscopes based on mass-stiffness decoupling

High-precise trimming method for micro hemispherical resonator gyroscopes based on mass-stiffness decoupling

Analysis of the trimming methods in olympics diving competitions

The Olympics is the most well-known sports event in the world. With the aim to ensure fairness, the Olympics has some of the strictest scoring methods in the world. However, unlike track and field where the timing and length can be precisely measured, diving has a more subjective judging procedure. Each judge gives their scores based on their own evaluation of the specific dive. Under such scoring methods, it is reasonable to suspect that the scores are influenced by the judges personal bias. For example, judges may favor their own countrymen or score the competitors lower. In order to reduce the negative effects of such bias, different scoring systems are used in diving in multiple Olympics. Using Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics' and Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics' data sets, we investigate the phenomenon of nationalistic judging bias and compare different scoring methods' abilities in handling bias. Using three different tests, we discovered that the Mean method is the worst in resisting judging bias. The other three trimming methods were found to withstand the effect of bias successfully in different circumstances, and none of them stands up against judging bias well at all times. Further research with more abundant data is needed before we could obtain a solid conclusion about the most effective scoring system to be used in diving competitions.

Effect of Urea Fertilizer Dosage and Under-Cob Leaf Removal on Growth and Production of Three Maize Varieties

The assimilation products produced by the leaves will be distributed to all parts of the plant that need it. The presence of leaves can help smooth assimilation, but can also be a user of assimilate products. The removal of leaves under the cob is done to streamline the process of photosynthesis that occurs in old leaves that cause moisture, it is also intended to suppress the occurrence of internal competition in assimilation, while the need to be given the right fertilizer or nutrition for the growth and production of corn which is needed, namely Nitrogen in Urea Fertilizer. This study aims to analyze the growth and production of three varieties of corn with the application of different doses of urea fertilizer and leaf shredding under the cob. The research was conducted in the form of a multifactor experiment arranged based on a Split Split Plots Design (SSP) in a Randomized Group Design (RAK) pattern consisting of the Main Plots Factor (MP), namely Maize Variety Type consisting of Agricon, BISI-10,and C7 Varieties. Sub Plots (SP) are doses of urea fertilizer of 250 kg.ha-1 and 350 kg.ha-1 respectively, and Sub Sub Plots (SSP) are the method of leaf trimming under the cob consisting of No trimming. Composting at anthesis, and Composting 1 week after anthesis. The results of the analysis showed that the Bisi-10 variety gave a better response to the dose of urea fertilization at the vegetative growth stage of corn plants and the Agricon variety gave a better response to urea fertilization and pumping time at the generative growth stage, the dose of urea fertilizer 350 kg ha-1 gave a better response to the growth and development of corn plants and corn plant production and the time of pumping the leaves under the cob at the time of pollination was more effective in increasing the quality and quantity of corn plant production.

Research on Reducing the Overall Reflectivity of the Electric Wave Anechoic Chamber

In this paper, a cylindrical trimming method is applied to fit the hemisphere, and the total reflectivity on a certain boundary is analyzed through a series of derivations and calculations. An equation that is used to calculate the reflectivity of the trimming cylindrical anechoic chamber is obtained, and obviously, it has no relationship with the spherical coordinate radius r and can be utilized to optimize the trimming size. The proposed scheme of the non-standard anechoic chamber is proved to be a simplified and effective way to optimize the anechoic chamber. An anechoic chamber is constructed to illustrate the correctness of the theory. The simulation results show that S 11 has achieved good results in most frequency bands.

Opening the black box: why do euploid blastocysts fail to implant? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

A normal chromosomal constitution defined through PGT-A assessing all chromosomes on trophectoderm (TE) biopsies represents the strongest predictor of embryo implantation. Yet, its positive predictive value is not higher than 50-60%. This gap of knowledge on the causes of euploid blastocysts' reproductive failure is known as 'the black box of implantation'. Several embryonic, maternal, paternal, clinical, and IVF laboratory features were scrutinized for their putative association with reproductive success or implantation failure of euploid blastocysts. A systematic bibliographical search was conducted without temporal limits up to August 2021. The keywords were '(blastocyst OR day5 embryo OR day6 embryo OR day7 embryo) AND (euploid OR chromosomally normal OR preimplantation genetic testing) AND (implantation OR implantation failure OR miscarriage OR abortion OR live birth OR biochemical pregnancy OR recurrent implantation failure)'. Overall, 1608 items were identified and screened. We included all prospective or retrospective clinical studies and randomized-controlled-trials (RCTs) that assessed any feature associated with live-birth rates (LBR) and/or miscarriage rates (MR) among non-mosaic euploid blastocyst transfer after TE biopsy and PGT-A. In total, 41 reviews and 372 papers were selected, clustered according to a common focus, and thoroughly reviewed. The PRISMA guideline was followed, the PICO model was adopted, and ROBINS-I and ROB 2.0 scoring were used to assess putative bias. Bias across studies regarding the LBR was also assessed using visual inspection of funnel plots and the trim and fill method. Categorical data were combined with a pooled-OR. The random-effect model was used to conduct the meta-analysis. Between-study heterogeneity was addressed using I2. Whenever not suitable for the meta-analysis, the included studies were simply described for their results. The study protocol was registered at http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ (registration number CRD42021275329). We included 372 original papers (335 retrospective studies, 30 prospective studies and 7 RCTs) and 41 reviews. However, most of the studies were retrospective, or characterized by small sample sizes, thus prone to bias, which reduces the quality of the evidence to low or very low. Reduced inner cell mass (7 studies, OR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.27-0.52, I2 = 53%), or TE quality (9 studies, OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.43-0.67, I2 = 70%), overall blastocyst quality worse than Gardner's BB-grade (8 studies, OR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.24-0.67, I2 = 83%), developmental delay (18 studies, OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.49-0.63, I2 = 47%), and (by qualitative analysis) some morphodynamic abnormalities pinpointed through time-lapse microscopy (abnormal cleavage patterns, spontaneous blastocyst collapse, longer time of morula formation I, time of blastulation (tB), and duration of blastulation) were all associated with poorer reproductive outcomes. Slightly lower LBR, even in the context of PGT-A, was reported among women ≥38 years (7 studies, OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.75-1.00, I2 = 31%), while obesity was associated with both lower LBR (2 studies, OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.55-0.79, I2 = 0%) and higher MR (2 studies, OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.08-2.99, I2 = 52%). The experience of previous repeated implantation failures (RIF) was also associated with lower LBR (3 studies, OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.55-0.93, I2 = 0%). By qualitative analysis, among hormonal assessments, only abnormal progesterone levels prior to transfer were associated with LBR and MR after PGT-A. Among the clinical protocols used, vitrified-warmed embryo transfer was more effective than fresh transfer (2 studies, OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.05-2.33, I2 = 23%) after PGT-A. Lastly, multiple vitrification-warming cycles (2 studies, OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.22-0.77, I2 = 50%) or (by qualitative analysis) a high number of cells biopsied may slightly reduce the LBR, while simultaneous zona-pellucida opening and TE biopsy allowed better results than the Day 3 hatching-based protocol (3 studies, OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.18-1.69, I2 = 0%). Embryo selection aims at shortening the time-to-pregnancy, while minimizing the reproductive risks. Knowing which features are associated with the reproductive competence of euploid blastocysts is therefore critical to define, implement, and validate safer and more efficient clinical workflows. Future research should be directed towards: (i) systematic investigations of the mechanisms involved in reproductive aging beyond de novo chromosomal abnormalities, and how lifestyle and nutrition may accelerate or exacerbate their consequences; (ii) improved evaluation of the uterine and blastocyst-endometrial dialogue, both of which represent black boxes themselves; (iii) standardization/automation of embryo assessment and IVF protocols; (iv) additional invasive or preferably non-invasive tools for embryo selection. Only by filling these gaps we may finally crack the riddle behind 'the black box of implantation'.

Influencing factors of medication adherence in schizophrenic patients: a meta-analysis

Medication adherence of schizophrenic patients is a growing public health problem. We conducted a meta-analysis on the influencing factors of medication compliance in schizophrenic patients. We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web Of Science for relevant articles published up to December 22, 2022. Combined odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess influencing factors. Egger’s test, funnel plot, the trim and fill method, and meta-regression analysis were used to assess publication bias. A total of 20 articles were included in the analysis. Twenty influencing factors were divided into seven categories: drug factors (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.48–2.59), problem behavior (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.43–2.19), income and quality of life (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.08–1.39), personal characteristics (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.14–1.30), disease factors (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.98–1.21), support level (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.42–0.70), and positive attitude and behavior (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.45–0.62). This meta-analysis found that drug factors, disease factors, problem behavior, low income and quality of life, and factors related to personal characteristics appear to be risk factors for medication adherence in people with schizophrenia. And support level, positive attitude and behavior appear to be protective factors.

A novel density ratio‐based batch active learning fault diagnosis method integrated with adaptive Laplacian graph trimming

AbstractIn actual industrial processes, although a large number of original data are easy to obtain, only a few samples are effectively labelled, which is insufficient to construct a supervised fault diagnostic model. Facing the industrial demand of fault diagnosis, in this paper, a novel density ratio (DR)‐based batch active learning (BAL) fault diagnosis method integrated with adaptive Laplacian graph trimming (ALGT) method is proposed. First, under the active learning framework, a new index DR‐based on local reachability density (LRD) is proposed to search the low density and high uncertainty samples, in which the local outliers factor (LOF) is used to search the samples in low density region and the ratio of LRD and intra‐class LRD is calculated to search the samples with high uncertainty. Second, the samples are selected and manually labelled in batches according to the proposed index DR, and the labelled data set and the unlabelled data set are updated and reconstructed. Third, based on the reconstructed labelled dataset and remaining unlabelled dataset, a semi‐supervised classifier ALGT is constructed for fault diagnosis. In ALGT, the Laplacian weighted graph is initialized and iteratively optimized by ALGT. Finally, the proposed DR‐based BAL‐ALGT (DRBAL‐ALGT) fault diagnosis method is verified by the Tennessee Eastman process (TEP) and applied to grid‐connected photovoltaic systems (GPVS). The experimental results show that the proposed DRBAL‐ALGT method can achieve higher accuracy for fault diagnosis.

Automatic Pico Laser Trimming System for Silicon MEMS Resonant Devices Based on Image Recognition

Laser trimming promises an increasing yield in microfabrication for the high performance Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) resonant devices by overcoming manufacturing tolerances and tuning sensors or actuators for certain operating conditions. How to achieve a high precision and efficiency trimming at low cost is the critical issue that the technical communities are most concerned. In this paper, we proposed an automatic laser trimming system for silicon MEMS devices based on a picosecond laser source and image recognition technique (IRT). Through the design of laser focusing optical path and coaxial imaging optical path, the observation of laser machining process is realized. A set of picosecond laser trimming parameters is determined by experiments, which enables a 4um width trench on the silicon resonator. Compared with the femtosecond laser trimming systems, the cost of the pico-laser system is reduced by more than 60%. The shape matching algorithm based on OpenCV and the chord-to-point distance accumulation (CPDA) algorithm for MEMS resonators image measurement solve the problem of inefficiency of manual trimming for complex resonators. A dual-mass tuning fork resonator is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the trimming approach. It is shown that the system realizes a fine-tuning (< 0.3Hz) of the resonant frequencies. The trimming time of a single device using the automatic trimming method is reduced from more than 1 hour manual trimming to less than 1 minute. Finally, the structural stiffness imbalance of tuning fork resonator caused by the manufacturing error is eliminated, which verifies the feasibility of the system.

The Sacro-femoral-pubic Angle Is Unreliable to Estimate Pelvic Tilt: A Meta-analysis.

The accurate measurement of pelvic tilt is critical in hip and spine surgery. A sagittal pelvic radiograph is most often used to measure pelvic tilt, but this radiograph is not always routinely obtained and does not always allow the measurement of pelvic tilt because of problems with image quality or patient characteristics (such as high BMI or the presence of a spinal deformity). Although a number of recent studies have explored the correlation between pelvic tilt and the sacro-femoral-pubic angle using AP radiographs (SFP method), which aimed to estimate pelvic tilt without a sagittal radiograph, disagreement remains about whether the SFP method is sufficiently valid and reproducible for clinical use. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the correlation between SFP and pelvic tilt in the following groups: (1) overall cohort, (2) male and female cohort, and (3) skeletally mature and immature cohorts (young and adult groups, defined as patients older or younger than 20 years). Additionally, we assessed (4) the errors of SFP-estimated pelvic tilt angles and determined (5) measurement reproducibility using the intraclass correlation coefficient. This meta-analysis was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (record ID: CRD42022315673). PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science were screened in July 2022. The following keywords were used: sacral femoral pubic, sacro femoral pubic, or SFP. The exclusion criteria were nonresearch articles such as commentaries or letters and studies that only investigated relative pelvic tilt rather than absolute pelvic tilt. Although the included studies had different patient recruitment strategies, study quality-wise, they all used an adequate amount of radiographs for landmark annotation and applied a correlation analysis for the relationship between the SFP angle and pelvic tilt. Thus, no risk of bias was found. Participant differences were mitigated via subgroup and sensitivity analyses to remove outliers. Publication bias was assessed using the p value of a two-tailed Egger regression test for the asymmetry of funnel plots, as well as the Duval and Tweedie trim and fill method for potential missing publications to impute true correlations. The extracted correlation coefficients r were pooled using the Fisher Z transformation with a significance level of 0.05. Nine studies were included in the meta-analysis, totaling 1247 patients. Four studies were used in the sex-controlled subgroup analysis (312 male and 460 female patients), and all nine studies were included in the age-controlled subgroup analysis (627 adults and 620 young patients). Moreover, a sex-controlled subgroup analysis was conducted in two studies with only young cohorts (190 young male patients and 220 young female patients). The overall pooled correlation coefficient between SFP and pelvic tilt was 0.61, with high interstudy heterogeneity (I 2 = 76%); a correlation coefficient of 0.61 is too low for most clinical applications. The subgroup analysis showed that the female group had a higher correlation coefficient than the male group did (0.72 versus 0.65; p = 0.03), and the adult group had a higher correlation coefficient than the young group (0.70 versus 0.56; p < 0.01). Three studies reported erroneous information about the measured pelvic tilt and calculated pelvic tilt from the SFP angle. The mean absolute error was 4.6° ± 4.5°; in one study, 78% of patients (39 of 50) were within 5° of error, and in another study, the median absolute error was 5.8º, with the highest error at 28.8° (50 female Asian patients). The intrarater intraclass correlation coefficients ranged between 0.87 and 0.97 for the SFP angle and between 0.89 and 0.92 for the pelvic tilt angle, and the interrater intraclass correlation coefficients ranged between 0.84 and 1.00 for the SFP angle and 0.76 and 0.98 for the pelvic tilt angle. However, large confidence intervals were identified, suggesting considerable uncertainty in measurement at the individual radiograph level. This meta-analysis of the best-available evidence on this topic found the SFP method to be unreliable to extrapolate sagittal pelvic tilt in any patient group, and it was especially unreliable in the young male group (defined as patients younger than age 20 years). Correlation coefficients generally were too low for clinical use, but we remind readers that even a high correlation coefficient does not alone justify clinical application of a metric such as this, unless further subgroup analyses find low error and low heterogeneity, which was not the case here. Further ethnicity-segregated subgroup analyses with age, sex, and diagnosis controls could be useful in the future to determine whether there are some subgroups in which the SFP method is useful. Level III, diagnostic study.

Relationship Between Knowledge and Affection for the Environment: A Meta-Analysis

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;Environmental damage must be taken seriously. Strengthening human attitudes to preserve the environment is the keyword, and strengthening the aspects of knowledge about the environment must be pursued. However, a scientific basis is needed that shows that it is true that strengthening the aspects of knowledge about the environment can improve a person’s attitude toward preserving the environment. The purpose of this research is to find the relationship between a person’s knowledge and their behavior in preserving the environment. By defining the general picture of the relationship between knowledge and attitudes, future accurate educational policies can be taken in the context of environmental protection. This research is a meta-analysis of correlation types. The inclusion criteria for selecting the data are as follows: studies published from 1999 to 2022 in English, analyzed by correlation analysis, have descriptions of many samples and correlation indices, and published in Google Scholar-indexed journals. Based on this inclusion criteria, 23 studies were selected containing 36 relevant sets of research data. The results showed that there was a correlation between knowledge and a person’s attitude toward the environment (.37). Assuming a 95% confidence level, the real score ranges from 0.26 to 0.48. The publication bias test using the trim and fill method showed that none of the data contained biased publications, so the meta-analysis results could be declared valid. Now, there is an urgency to expand environmental education to encourage the development of good attitudes by the community toward the environment.&lt;/p&gt;

Relationship Between Breast Cancer Risk and Polymorphisms in CLOCK Gene: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Previous studies found that the circadian clock gene participated in the genesis and development of breast cancer. However, research findings on the relationship between polymorphisms in the CLOCK gene and breast cancer risk were inconsistent. This study performed a meta-analysis of the association between CLOCK gene polymorphisms and breast cancer risk. PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were electronically searched to collect studies on the association between CLOCK gene polymorphisms and breast cancer risk from inception to February 14, 2022. The quality of the included literature was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. For statistical analysis, odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using STATA 14.0. In addition, publication bias was performed by the funnel diagram and the Harbord’s regression test. And sensitivity analysis was assessed by the trim and fill method. A total of 6 eligible studies, including 10,164 subjects (5488 breast cancer cases and 4676 controls), were screened in this meta-analysis. Though we did not find a significant association between the polymorphisms in the overall CLOCK gene with breast cancer risk [OR (95%CI) = 0.98 (0.96, 1.01), P = 0.148], we found that compared with T/T types of rs3749474 in CLOCK, T/C and C/C types of rs3749474 were associated with lower risk of breast cancer [OR (95%CI) = 0.93 (0.88, 0.98), P = 0.003]. The sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the results. The funnel plot showed no significant publication bias. Polymorphisms in the CLOCK gene might be associated with breast cancer risk. More studies are needed to confirm the conclusion.

Paclitaxel combined with platinum (PTX) versus fluorouracil combined with cisplatin (PF) in the treatment of unresectable esophageal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy and toxicity of two different regimens.

Chemotherapy plays an important role in definitive chemoradiotherapy strategies. However, the most optimal concurrent chemotherapy scheme is still controversial. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of paclitaxel/docetaxel combined with platinum (PTX) and fluorouracil combined with cisplatin (PF) in the concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) of unresectable esophageal cancer. The PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Google Scholar and Embase databases were searched by combining subject words and free words through December 31, 2021. The inclusion criteria were pathologically confirmed esophageal cancer studies using CCRT, where the chemotherapy regimen only compared PTX and PF. Quality evaluation and data extraction of studies that met the inclusion criteria were carried out independently. Stata 11.1 software was used to perform the meta-analysis. The begger analysis and egger analysis were used to assess publication bias, and the robustness of the pooled results further assessed by the Trim and Fill analysis. After screening, 13 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. A total of 962 cases were enrolled, including 480 (49.9%) in the PTX group and 482 (50.1%) in the PF group. The gastrointestinal reaction to the PF regimen was the most serious [relative risk (RR) =0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.36-0.80, P=0.003]. The complete remission (CR) rate, objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR) of the PTX group were higher than those of the PF group (RR =1.35, 95% CI: 1.03-1.76, P=0.030; RR =1.12, 95% CI: 1.03-1.22, P=0.006; RR =1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.09, P=0.022). In terms of the overall survival (OS) rate, the 2-year survival rates of the PTX group were higher than those of the PF group (P=0.005). There was no significant difference in the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates between the two regimens (P=0.064, 0.144, and 0.341, respectively). There may be publication bias for ORR and DCR, and the results are reversed after applying the Trim and Fill method, so the combined results are not robust. PTX may be the preferred regimen for CCRT of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, with better short-term therapeutic effect and 2-year OS rate and lower gastrointestinal toxicity.

Post-Processing Trimming of Silicon Photonic Devices Using Femtosecond Laser.

Fabrication errors inevitably occur in device manufacturing owing to the limited processing accuracy of commercial silicon photonic processes. For silicon photonic devices, which are mostly processing-sensitive, their performances usually deteriorate significantly. This remains an unsolved issue for mass production, particularly for passive devices, because they cannot be adjusted once fixed in processes. This study presents a post-processing trimming method to compensate for fabrication errors by changing the cladding equivalent refractive indices of devices with femtosecond lasers. The experimental results show that the resonant wavelengths of micro-ring resonators can be regularly shifted within their free spectral range via tuning the illuminating area, focusing position, emitting power, and scanning speed of the trimming femtosecond laser with an acceptable loss increase. These experiments, as well as the trimming experiments in improving the phase balance of Mach-Zehnder interferometer switches, indicate that the femtosecond laser trimming method is an effective and fast method for silicon photonic devices.

A thermally optimizing method of thin film resistor trimming with machine learning

This paper proposes a novel trimming method of thin-film resistors dedicated to the power modules. Thin-film resistors are utilized for applications including snubber circuits which avoids unwanted ringing appearing in the output voltage of power transistors. Our previous works have revealed that the applicable voltage of a NiCr thin-film resistor is thermally limited, and then the indispensable trimming process affects the degree of temperature rise in use. In this paper, we first formulate the relationship between the target resistance value and the trim dimensions using machine learning. With the obtained equation, we propose a new trimming method, which enables the trimmed pattern to reduce the variability of the maximum temperature rise. The experimental results show that the proposed trimming method can suppress the estimated range of the maximum temperature from 619K to 179K.

Service Process Problem-Solving Based on Flow Trimming

Since entering the era of the experience economy, consumers’ attention gradually turns toward gaining a pleasant service process experience. This study addresses the service process problem, aiming to discover the root cause of the service process problem and solve it by analyzing the service touchpoints flow delivery process. A method for solving problems in the service process based on flow trimming is proposed. The trimming method and the stochastic dominance rule are applied to the field of service design, which provides new concepts for service process problem solving. The flow is taken as the entry point of the proposed method. First, a flow model of problematic service touchpoints is constructed based on the service blueprint method to visualize the flow delivery process. Then, service process trimming rules are proposed and used as guidance to trim flow disadvantages, and resource analysis is employed to obtain specific programs. Finally, the stochastic dominance rule is used to rank the programs and select the optimal program. Problem solving in the medical treatment service process was taken as an example to trim the fundamental flow disadvantages of problematic service touchpoints. A series of programs were obtained and the optimal program was selected for presentation based on the stochastic dominance rule, which verified the feasibility of the proposed method.

Study of Electrode Ablation for Femtosecond Laser Trimming of Micro Hemispherical Resonator Gyroscope

Micro hemispherical resonator gyroscope (mHRG) use a femtosecond laser to remove mass to achieve frequency trimming, which has the advantages of high efficiency and high accuracy. However, the current laser trimming method has the drawback of ablating the capacitance area of the electrode. A novel method for reducing the ablation area of the laser is proposed and demonstrated useful after comparative experiments. First, trimming parameters and propagation process of light is analyzed to reveal the main factor causing the electrode ablation. Then, a novel method using side laser drilling is proposed for reducing the effect of propagation of laser. A trimming process is optimized after researching the effect of ablation shape and angle of the etching triangle. Experiments show that the ablation area fraction of electrode area with gold film can be reduced to 0.2% using the optimized process, whereas the ablation area fraction before optimization is more than 10%. Meanwhile, the optimized trimming method can reach a higher trimming accuracy, which can help to improve the gyroscope’s performance.

Addressing substantial covariate imbalance with propensity score stratification and balancing weights: connections and recommendations.

Propensity score (PS) weighting methods are commonly used to adjust for confounding in observational treatment comparisons. However, in the setting of substantial covariate imbalance, PS values may approach 0 and 1, yielding extreme weights and inflated variance of the estimated treatment effect. Adaptations of the standard inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTW) can reduce the influence of extremes, including trimming methods that exclude people with PS values near 0 or 1. Alternatively, overlap weighting (OW) optimizes criteria related to bias and variance, and performs well compared to other PS weighting and matching methods. However, it has not been compared to propensity score stratification (PSS). PSS has some of the same potential advantages; being insensitive extreme values. We sought to compare these methods in the setting of substantial covariate imbalance to generate practical recommendations. Analytical derivations were used to establish connections between methods, and simulation studies were conducted to assess bias and variance of alternative methods. We find that OW is generally superior, particularly as covariate imbalance increases. In addition, a common method for implementing PSS based on Mantel-Haenszel weights (PSS-MH) is equivalent to a coarsened version of OW and can perform nearly as well. Finally, trimming methods increase bias across methods (IPTW, PSS and PSS-MH) unless the PS model is re-fit to the trimmed sample and weights or strata are re-derived. After trimming with re-fitting, all methods perform similarly to OW. These results may guide the selection, implementation and reporting of PS methods for observational studies with substantial covariate imbalance.

Induced abortion among female students in higher education institutions in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Female students in institutions of higher education are at higher risk of abortion and its consequences. There is no nationally representative data on induced abortion among students in higher education institutions in Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of induced abortion among female students in institutions of higher education in Ethiopia. This study used a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies conducted from January 1, 2010, to June 30, 2022, in Ethiopia. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Hinari, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and Global Health electronic databases were searched. The analysis was performed using STATA 14 software. Heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed using I2 statistics and Egger's test, respectively. Duval and Tweedie's 'trim and fill' method was also performed to adjust the pooled estimate. Forest plots were used to present the pooled prevalence with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of meta-analysis using the random effect model. This systematic review and meta-analysis included a total of 10 studies and 4656 study participants. The pooled prevalence of induced abortion among female students in institutions of higher education in Ethiopia was 5.06% (95%CI: 2.16, 7.96). The rate of induced abortion was 51 per 1000 women. The pooled prevalence of induced abortion among female students in institutions of higher education in Ethiopia was high. Thus, concerned bodies should design and implement an effective strategy to realize friendly and non-judgmental family planning and comprehensive abortion care service to curb the problem.

Epidemiology of animal bite in Iran: A Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Despite a lot of efforts made in the rabies health-care system, Iran is still in an endemic region and millions are spent annually to prevent rabies. Searching in national and international databases has been performed. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocol were followed. To assess heterogeneity, the I-index was calculated. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed by the remove-one method. The publication bias was also investigated by Egger's regression test, and the trim and fill method. To perform a meta-analysis, CMA version 2 software was used. Totally, 33 studies with 250,980 animal-bite cases were meta-analyzed. A summary estimate of the incidence of 1200 per 100,000 population (95% CI 1000, 1500) with a mean age of 29.97±15.13years (95%CI: 29.33, 30.61) was estimated. The rate in men was higher 76.7% (95%CI 74.7%, 78.8%) than in women and in the rural 49.7% (95%CI: 42.8%, 58.6%) was equal in the urban. Most bites occurred in the spring and summer 20.5% (95%CI: 16.1%, 25.9%). The highest of job-related bites was in students 20.1% (95%CI: 19%, 23%). The highest rate of bite location and the animal type were estimated in the order of lower limbs and by dogs respectively. The rate of complete vaccination 61% (95%CI: 43%, 76%) and immunoglobulin injection 39% (95%CI: 22%, 59%), were estimated respectively. Estimates reveal that there has been little change in the animal bites over the years. It is necessary to take special actions to control the disease at the national and international levels.

Effects of probiotic supplementation on broiler growth performance: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Context The effects of probiotics on broilers’ growth and productivity performance have been reported in many scientific studies, and different results have been found. Aim This study aimed to assess the effects of probiotics on broiler growth performance via meta-analysis. Methods In this study, the PubMed database was searched with the keywords ‘broiler’ and ‘probiotic’ and it was determined that 60 of 605 studies were suitable. Average daily gain and feed conversion ratio were used as performance parameters. Publication bias was evaluated with Egger’s and Begg’s tests. The trim and fill method was applied when even one of these tests was significant. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the Cochran Q test. The random-effect model was used to estimate effect sizes if heterogeneity was statistically significant; otherwise, the fixed-effect model was used. In addition to evaluating all studies, subgroup analyses were performed depending on study duration, probiotic strain, and the probiotic content. Key results According to the meta-analysis results, there was a significant difference between the probiotic and control groups in studies lasting 35 days in terms of average daily gain (P = 0.005) and feed conversion ratio (P = 0.002). But only the average daily gain (P &lt; 0.001) value was different between the groups in studies lasting 42 days. According to the probiotic strain, significant differences were found between the probiotic and control groups in terms of both growth parameters examined in studies using mono-strain and multi-strain probiotics. A significant difference was found between the probiotic and control groups in average daily gain values in studies where probiotics containing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and clostridia were used. Conclusion In conclusion, this study is a current research that examined the effects of probiotic use in broilers in detail according to more than one factor. Implication In this study, articles in the PubMed database were examined. The sample size of the study can be increased by scanning other databases with the same keywords.