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Psychometric properties of the Arabic emotional and behavioral reaction to intrusions questionnaire among sample of Arabic speaking adults
Continuous tunability of refractive index contrast in LiNbO3 optical waveguides fabricated by high-vacuum vapor-phase proton exchange
Advanced glycation end products and risk of mortality in patients with cirrhosis: a prospective cohort study
The impact of obstetric violence on postpartum quality of life through psychological pathways
Theoretical and experimental studies on the interior ballistic of large UAV ejection based on trifluoromethane phase transition
Novel cisplatin-magnetoliposome complex shows enhanced antitumor activity via Hyperthermia
Corticosteroid-sparing topical treatment with cyclosporin for juvenile keratoconjunctivitis
Abstract Ocular surface inflammation due to allergy and blepharitis can lead to corneal complications and visual impairment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a cyclosporin 0.1% topical treatment achieving steroid-sparing. Eighty pediatric patients with moderate and severe vernal and blepharitis-related keratoconjunctivitis were included. Symptoms (photosensitivity, itching, discharge, tearing), signs (corneal fluorescein staining, papillary hypertrophy) and patients’ subjective assessment were evaluated during a 6-month follow-up. At the follow-up, all patients treated with topical cyclosporin showed a significant improvement in all subjective symptoms and objective signs (p < 0.001). The total number of courses of rescue steroids courses decreased from 3.71 ± 1.72 to 0.25 ± 0.49 at month 3 and to 0.13 ± 0.38 dropping bottle at month 6 (p < 0.001 at both time points). The 96.1% of the allergic cohort and 96.4% of the blepharitis cohort experienced a satisfactory good or rapid and good effect during the 6-month follow-up. The probability of needing rescue corticosteroids increased with an odds ratio of 1.98, (95% CI: 1.19–3.28, p = 0.008) for each unit increase in Oxford score when analysing the whole cohort. Topical cyclosporin seems to be very effective reducing the number of recurrences of corneal involvement and the need for steroid treatment.
Investigating vertical charge plasma tunnel field effect transistors beyond semiclassical assumptions
Recurrent Fourier-Kolmogorov Arnold Networks for photovoltaic power forecasting
Distinct patterns of prion strain deposition and toxicity in a novel whole brain organotypic slice culture system
Targeting TRPM3 as a potential therapeutic approach for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
Abstract Cystic diseases, especially autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD; incidence approx. 1/1000), are a leading cause of renal failure, caused by appearance and growth of renal cysts that can lead to renal failure in middle age. Most ADPKD cases are caused by mutations in PKD1 or PKD2, encoding polycystin-1 (PC1) and polycystin-2 (PC2). PC1 is a mechanosensor that controls PC2, a Ca2+-permeable cation channel that, by regulating cytoplasmic Ca2+, prevents adenylyl cyclase producing cyst-promoting concentrations of cAMP. In other systems, there is evidence that PC2 interacts with TRPM3. We therefore examined the effect of pharmacological activators and inhibitors of TRPM3 on cyst formation in cultured mouse kidney rudiments exposed to a range of concentrations of forskolin, a cAMP-elevating drug commonly used experimentally to induce cysts in cultured kidneys. We found that TRPM3 inhibitors (isosakuranetin, primidone, diclofenac) increased cyst formation, while TRPM3 activators (CIM0216 and nifedipine) greatly reduced cyst formation and reduced the sensitivity of kidneys to forskolin. These preclinical, in-vitro data suggest that TRPM3 may be a promising target in ADPKD management.
The role of the AVAPS ventilation mode combined with TCM monitoring in weaning patients with AECOPD
Data analysis for performance index of plate heat exchanger filled by ionanofluid-oil: parallel versus counterflow
Applying genetic algorithm to extreme learning machine in prediction of tumbler index with principal component analysis for iron ore sintering
Smart building energy management with renewables and storage systems using a modified weighted mean of vectors algorithm
Abstract With the advancement of automation technologies in household appliances, the flexibility of smart home energy management (EM) systems has increased. However, this progress has brought about a new challenge for smart homes: the EM has become more complex with the integration of multiple conventional, renewable, and energy storage systems. To address this challenge, a novel modified Weighted Mean of Vectors algorithm (MINFO) is proposed. This algorithm aims to enhance the performance of smart building EM by overcoming the limitations of conventional approaches, such as low solution accuracy and inadequacy in handling complex problems. MINFO operates on two key principles. Firstly, it employs the Elite Centroid Quasi-Oppositional Base Learning (ECQOBL) approach to improve the exploitation capabilities of conventional algorithms. Secondly, it utilizes an Adaptive Levy Flight Motion (ALFM) technique to enhance exploration. The EM problem tackled involves optimizing the scheduling of multiple energy sources, including diesel generators, PV units, and batteries, within a smart building context. Additionally, it incorporates time-of-use-based demand-side response (DSR) to manage shiftable loads, thereby reducing electricity costs and peak-to-average ratio (PAR) simultaneously and independently. The effectiveness of MINFO is demonstrated through comprehensive evaluations, comparing its performance with other optimization methods across 33 benchmark functions from basic and CEC-2019 test suites. Results indicate that MINFO significantly improves smart building EM, achieving a reduction of 53.20% in electricity costs (cost only), 53.19% in PAR (PAR only), and 50.84% in combined cost and PAR compared to the base case. These findings underscore the robustness of MINFO as an optimizer for smart building energy management.
GTAT: empowering graph neural networks with cross attention
A study on rolling bearing fault diagnosis using RIME-VMD
Perceived coercion amongst healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract Direct and prolonged exposure to stress and uncertainty among healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic likely had a significant negative impact on their mental health and general wellbeing. Although the contributors to such distress remain to be fully understood, the construct of perceived coercion appears to be relevant. Among HCWs, perceived coercion is conceptualised as appraisals about lack of control/‘freedom to choose’ and pressure to perform patient-care duties in the context of unprecedented threat of contagion from patients. To improve our understanding of perceived coercion amongst HCWs, we developed a 10-item scale—the Pandemic-specific Perceived Coercion Scale for Healthcare Workers (PPCS-HCW) scale—designed to be adaptable and applicable for use in future mass-contagion emergencies. A preliminary (exploratory) factor analysis (N = 546) showed that relevant items coalesced around three factors—‘internal pressure’, ‘external pressure’ and ‘perceived coercion’, that partly overlap with previous conceptualisations of perceived coercion. The exploratory conceptual and psychometric structure was confirmed in a separate sample of HCWs from the UK and Norway (N = 483). On average, across the three PPCS-HCW scale factors, HCWs showed low levels of perceived coercion (M = 0.22 (95% CI [0.11, 0.33] on a − 3 to + 3 scale). However, cluster analysis identified three groups: low (− 1.09 (95% CI [− 1.20, − 0.99]), moderate (0.17 (95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and high scoring (1.57 (95% CI [1.47, 1.67]) PPCS-HCW clusters. High scoring participants showed higher levels of psychological distress, avoidance coping and compassion fatigue. In summary, our findings suggest that perceived coercion is a relevant construct in understanding the adverse psychological impact of large-scale contagion emergencies on HCWs.