Nevin Manimala

Oral Oncol. 2022 Jul 13;132:106019. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2022.106019. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fibular (FFF) and scapular free flaps (SFF) are versatile tissue transfers for head and neck reconstruction. However, their relative morbidity has been sparsely studied. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the morbidity and patient-reported outcome measures of these two reconstructive options.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Case series of patients from 2017 to 2020 who underwent a FFF or SFF for head and neck ablation. Demographic and surgical outcome measures, such as Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), anesthetic time, donor site morbidity, and perioperative morbidity score (POMs) were extracted. Patients were contacted to complete the Decision Regret Scale (DRS), University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QoL), Oral Health Impact-14, and limb specific functional outcome measures. Statistical analyses included a linear regression.

RESULTS: In total, 97 FFF (mean age 58.5, 62.9% male) and 55 SFF (mean age 64.8, 63.6% male) were included. Total surgical time was higher in the SFF group (p < 0.05) and they had more comorbidities (p < 0.01). SFF patients had lower POM scores on post-operative day three (p < 0.05) while FFF patients scored better on the UW-QoL Physical Domain (p < 0.01). The DRS for both groups (FFF mean DRS 22.7, SFF mean DRS 19.2) was similar. When adjusted for patient morbidity, however, the SFF group had less decisional regret (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: This is the largest comprehensive evaluation of patient-reported outcome measures for FFF and SFFs. SFFs required longer surgical times but had less early morbidity than FFFs. Patients who underwent either reconstructions reported mild decisional regret, proving these are generally well tolerated procedures.

PMID:35841704 | DOI:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2022.106019

Talanta. 2022 Jul 6;250:123721. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2022.123721. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Geopolymers, synthesized starting from aluminosilicate precursors activated with alkaline solutions, constitute a class of materials of high interest as potential substitutes of traditional, cementitious, binders. Infrared spectroscopy is one of the routine analytical techniques employed to study these materials and to verify the occurrence of geopolymerization; on the other hand, its portable version working in diffuse reflection is not enough exploited for their characterization. The aim of this work is therefore to assess the potentiality of Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) in the study of geopolymers. The combination of this technique with Principal Components Analysis (PCA) statistical treatment was used to search for criteria able to discriminate the successful products from those which require a correction in their formulation. Mainly, two groups of geopolymers were studied, based respectively on clay sediments and ceramic waste precursors, in the latter case with the possible addition of metakaolin. These samples were studied both after maturation, comprising several variables in their mix-design and curing, and during the first hours of solidification of the slurry. The results allowed to identify the best formulations within the analyzed groups. Besides, the extension of this study to a wider selection of geopolymers, such as the pumice-, volcanic paleo-soil- and/or metakaolin-based ones, already studied with other techniques, further confirmed the efficacy of DRIFT spectroscopy in the identification of the geopolymerization reaction.

PMID:35841660 | DOI:10.1016/j.talanta.2022.123721

Poult Sci. 2022 Jun 10;101(9):101997. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2022.101997. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

To seek viable alternatives to antibiotics, we determined the combinatorial effects of Lactobacillus and a quorum quenching enzyme (QQE) on broiler growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immune responses, and cecal microbial populations. In total, 360 one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments, with 12 replicate pens/treatment and 10 birds/replicate pen. Dietary treatments lasted 42 d and comprised: corn-soybean meal basal diet (control group, CON); control plus antibiotic growth promoter supplement group (AGP); and control plus Lactobacillus and QQE supplement group (LQ). Dietary LQ supplementation significantly increased final body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) when compared with CON and AGP groups between 22 and 42 d and 1 to 42 d (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed for serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels between treatments (P > 0.05). A higher concentration of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) was observed on d 42 in the LQ group (P = 0.06). Feeding LQ significantly increased serum immunoglobulins (IgA and IgG) levels when compared with other treatments (P < 0.05). A statistical trend was also observed for increased cecal butyrate levels (P = 0.06) in the LQ group. Bacterial α-diversity was unaffected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). However, from principal component analysis (PCoA), the microbial community structure was different between the LQ and AGP groups. Diet supplemented with LQ significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the relative abundance of Synergistota and Proteobacteria and significantly (P < 0.05) increased the proportion of Ruminococcaceae and Faecalibacterium. Thus, supplemental LQ improved growth performance, immune status, and modulated intestinal microbial communities in broilers. We provide a new perceptive on antibiotic substitutes in the poultry industry.

PMID:35841646 | DOI:10.1016/j.psj.2022.101997

Vet Rec. 2022 Jul 16:e1971. doi: 10.1002/vetr.1971. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Liver lobe torsion (LLT) in rabbits can be under-recognised and potentially fatal. The clinical features of cases presented to an exotic animal veterinary service in Australia were retrospectively reviewed.

METHOD: Medical records of confirmed rabbit LLT cases between 2016 and 2021 were reviewed for signalment, clinical signs and findings, diagnostic imaging results, management strategies and outcomes. Variables of interest were analysed for statistical association with outcome.

RESULTS: A total of 40 rabbits were included. The mean presenting age was 56.2 months (SD 30.5). Neutered males (23/40, 57.5%) were over-represented. Common clinical signs and findings included reduced appetite (40/40, 100%), lethargy (32/40, 80.0%), reduced faecal production (16/40, 40.0%), a doughy distended stomach (20/40, 50.0%), pale mucous membranes (19/40, 47.5%) and hypothermia (17/40, 42.5%). Anaemia and elevated plasma alanine aminotransferase and blood urea nitrogen were common clinicopathologic findings. Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 34 of 40 rabbits, confirming the presence and position of LLT (34/34, 100%), stenosis of the caudal vena cava or portal system (28/34, 82.4%) and increased free peritoneal fluid (29/34, 85.3%). Fifteen (15/40, 37.5%) rabbits were medically managed, and surgical intervention was performed in 23 of 40 (57.5%) rabbits. Overall, 30 of 40 (75.0%) rabbits survived. Surgical intervention did not confer a significant difference in outcome compared to medical management (odds ratio 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.15-4.10, p = 0.761).

CONCLUSION: CT can be an invaluable diagnostic modality for rabbit LLT. Favourable outcomes can be achieved in selected cases with medical management alone.

PMID:35841624 | DOI:10.1002/vetr.1971

Indian J Gastroenterol. 2022 Jul 16. doi: 10.1007/s12664-021-01228-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Successful completion of colonoscopy depends largely on the quality of bowel preparation. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a commonly used preparation for colonoscopy. The timing of bowel preparation has evolved from previous day evening to the currently recommended split-dose regimen. It was observed that consumption of entire or a portion of PEG on the previous day can interfere with work and sleep. Hence, we designed this single-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, and acceptability of the same-day PEG as compared with lowvolume split-dose PEG in patients undergoing late morning colonoscopy.

METHODS: A total of 384 patients were randomized to same-day (SD group; n = 192) and split-dose (SPL group; n = 192) bowel preparation. The patients in both the groups received bisacodyl 10 mg at bedtime on the day prior to colonoscopy. The patients in the SD group took 2 L of PEG between 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM on the day of colonoscopy. The SPL group took 1 L of PEG between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM on the preceding day and another liter between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM on the day of colonoscopy. The adequacy of bowel preparation was assessed using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). Tolerability was scored by recording symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, and abdominal pain. Acceptability was based on the overall satisfaction, willingness to repeat the same preparation, and interference with sleep on the preceding night.

RESULTS: The median (interquartile range, [IQR]) BBPS in the SD group was 8 (6-9) while that in the SPL group was 6 (5-8) and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Similarly, a significantly higher proportion of patients in the SD group (86%) achieved adequate bowel preparation (BBPS score ≥ 6) when compared to those in the SPL group (73.4%) (p = 0.002). Tolerability as assessed by nausea, vomiting, bloating, and abdominal pain was similar in both the groups. There was also no significant difference with respect to overall satisfaction of taking bowel preparation (p = 0.33) or willingness to repeat the same regimen (p = 0.37) between the two groups. Patients in the SPL group had more interference with sleep on the preceding night (54% vs. 14.5%, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Same-day morning PEG regimen can be considered an effective, well-tolerated, and acceptable bowel preparation for colonoscopy.

PMID:35841521 | DOI:10.1007/s12664-021-01228-x

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Jul 16. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-21921-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Cumulative Ordinary Kriging (COK) interpolation method has been proposed for the spatial prediction of atmospheric radioactive fallout in any given region. COK is built on the Ordinary Kriging and Cumulative Semivariogram methods and combines all their advantages to achieve statistically significant results. It is verified in this paper the reliability of the results from COK with other well-known Modified Shepard’s Method (MSM), Inverse Distance Square (INDSQ), Polynomial Regression (PR), Natural Neighbour (NN), Radial Basis (RB), and Kriging Method interpolation methods. The model is tested in detail and in every possible way in two and three dimensions and applied to real-time Cs-134 and Cs-137 radioactive fallout data from the Chernobyl and Fukushima reactor accidents by combining both experimental and theoretical results. The results obtained from the applications for all interpolation methods are included in the supplementary materials section at the end of the article for the benefit of the readers. COK can also be used for spatial modelling of any particle at micro or macro scale. It can contribute significantly to environmental quality, ecological, and human health.

PMID:35841508 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-21921-4

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Jul 16. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-21944-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Aurelia aurita (AA), a legally registered harmful marine organism in South Korea, is damaging marine human leisure activities, local residents’ tourism income, fisheries, and cooling water intake at power plants. The government is therefore seeking to eradicate AA by removing AA-attached larvae (polyps). This article looks into the public willingness to pay (WTP) for the eradication, utilizing a contingent valuation. For the sake of eliciting the WTP response, the one-and-one-half-bounded (OB) model was adopted. For comparison, the single-bounded (SB) model, which uses only the response to the first question in the OB model, was also applied. A spike model with a considerable plausibility that could explicitly deal with zero WTP responses was employed. Consequently, the estimation results of the SB model were used for further policy analysis. The household average WTP was estimated as KRW 3,911 (USD 3.49) per year, securing statistical significance. The national value was KRW 80.46 billion (USD 71.71 million) per annum. This figure can be interpreted as public value of the AA eradication project and used as essential basic data to evaluate the economic feasibility of implementing the project. Some factors such as income and education level significantly positively affected the intention of paying a suggested bid.

PMID:35841502 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-21944-x

Prev Sci. 2022 Jul 16. doi: 10.1007/s11121-022-01405-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Beginning in 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sponsored numerous studies testing the effectiveness of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention programs on youths’ risky sexual behaviors. This article presents results from a meta-analysis of such studies completed between 2015 and 2019 and provided to us by HHS. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they used an experimental/quasi-experimental design, included a comparison condition, assigned at least 10 study participants to each condition, and measured and reported at least one outcome related to sexual behavior or consequences. Data were extracted using a standardized coding protocol and outcomes were coded as, or transformed to, log odds ratio effect sizes for analysis and then transformed to odds ratio effect sizes for presentation in the text. All outcomes were coded such that log odds ratios greater than zero (odds ratios greater than 1) indicate beneficial effects (e.g., reductions in risky sexual behavior). A total of 52 studies met the inclusion criteria. Across 7 outcome types, pooled effects were generally small, the direction of effects was mixed, and none achieved statistical significance: recent pregnancy (OR = 1.30, 95% CI [1.00, 1.68]), ever had sex (OR = 1.07, 95% CI [0.99, 1.15]), recent sexual activity (OR = 0.95, 95% CI [0.84, 1.09]), recent unprotected sexual activity (OR = 1.05, 95% CI [0.96, 1.16]), ever pregnant (OR = 1.21, 95% CI [0.51, 2.89]), number of sexual partners (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = [0.28, 4.22]), and proportion of recent sexual experiences that were unprotected (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = [0.43, 1.31]). Moderator analyses pooling across all 7 outcome types indicated minor differences in program effectiveness between program settings, with those delivered in classroom settings being the least effective (b = – 0.17, 95% CI [- 0.33, – 0.01]). These findings do not lend meaningful support for the overall effectiveness of this group of pregnancy prevention programs. However, because the meta-analysis sample only included programs recently funded by HHS, these findings may have limited generalizability to programs funded by other entities or implemented in other countries.

PMID:35841494 | DOI:10.1007/s11121-022-01405-0

Prev Sci. 2022 Jul 16. doi: 10.1007/s11121-022-01408-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Health equity research has identified fundamental social causes of health, many of which disproportionately affect Black Americans, such as early life socioeconomic conditions, neighborhood disadvantage, and racial discrimination. However, the role of life course factors in premature mortality among Black Americans has not been tested extensively in prospective samples into later adulthood. To better understand how social factors at various life stages impact mortality, this study examines the effect of life course poverty, neighborhood disadvantage, and discrimination on mortality and factors that may buffer their effect (i.e., education, social integration) among the Woodlawn cohort (N = 1242), a community cohort of urban Black Americans followed since 1966. Taking a life course perspective, we analyze mortality data for deaths through age 58 years old, as well as data collected at ages 6, 16, 32, and 42. At age 58, 204 (16.4%) of the original cohort have died, with ages of death ranging from 9 to 58.98 (mean = 42.9). Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for confounders show statistically significant differences in mortality risk based on timing and persistence of poverty; those who were never poor or poor only in early life had lower mortality risk at ages 43-58 than those who were persistently poor from childhood to adulthood. Education beyond high school and high social integration were shown to reduce the risk of mortality more for those who did not experience poverty early in their life course. Findings have implications for the timing and content of mortality prevention efforts that span the full life course.

PMID:35841492 | DOI:10.1007/s11121-022-01408-x

Cogn Res Princ Implic. 2022 Jul 16;7(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s41235-022-00413-6.

ABSTRACT

Forensic science practitioners compare visual evidence samples (e.g. fingerprints) and decide if they originate from the same person or different people (i.e. fingerprint ‘matching’). These tasks are perceptually and cognitively complex-even practising professionals can make errors-and what limited research exists suggests that existing professional training is ineffective. This paper presents three experiments that demonstrate the benefit of perceptual training derived from mathematical theories that suggest statistically rare features have diagnostic utility in visual comparison tasks. Across three studies (N = 551), we demonstrate that a brief module training participants to focus on statistically rare fingerprint features improves fingerprint-matching performance in both novices and experienced fingerprint examiners. These results have applied importance for improving the professional performance of practising fingerprint examiners, and even other domains where this technique may also be helpful (e.g. radiology or banknote security).

PMID:35841470 | DOI:10.1186/s41235-022-00413-6