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Multipronged interventions to reduce surgical site infections: A multicenter implementation research protocol

Background Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a major yet preventable cause of poor post-operative clinical outcomes, prolonged ICU/hospital stay, increased antibiotic consumption and added cost of therapy. Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs) have disproportionately higher rates of SSIs as compared to high-income countries despite various national and international guidelines in place as multipronged, combined interventions are seldom used. The IMPRESS project aims to respond to this urgent need to identify and evaluate the quality improvement measures contextualized to the logistic constraints of LMIC settings such as India. Methods and analysis We adopt a multi-center longitudinal mixed-methods study to be conducted over a period of 2 years in various phases. Phase 1 will be formative research with the objective of identifying knowledge gaps and baseline data collection. Phase II will involve co-development of multipronged interventions addressing identified barriers. Phase III will focus on the deployment of the selected multipronged interventions. Phase IV will be the post-intervention phase to evaluate the impact of the interventions. The study has been prospectively registered with CTRI and is supported by a funding grant from the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi. The Institutional Ethics Committee approval has been obtained from all the sites involved in the study.

Randomized-field microwave-assisted pharmaceutical lyophilization with closed-loop control

Conducting qualitative research on acute mental health inpatient wards: Lessons from the field

Qualitative process evaluations incorporating ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews are increasingly being used to supplement randomised control trials when designing and testing complex health interventions, including in mental health inpatient settings. Yet how these components are conducted is less discussed. In this paper we describe our approach to conducting ethnographic participant observations on acute mental health inpatient wards. We discuss how we mitigated, negotiated, and adapted our research to effectively and sensitively complete these elements. We demonstrate the significance of personal and team reflective practice in guiding the research and provide reflections from the researchers on our direct experience of completing observations. Throughout the paper we discuss how we familiarised ourselves to individual research sites, reflected on our roles on the ward, adapted qualitative research techniques for acute mental health settings and the significance of peer debriefing.

Exploring an n-type conducting polymer (BBL) as a potential gas sensing material for NH3 and H2S detection

Abstract Conducting polymers (CPs) have garnered significant interest in being used as an active material in gas sensors mainly because of their structural flexibility, ease of synthesis, and enhanced performance at room temperature. The p-type CPs and their composites are mostly studied in gas sensing, which, unfortunately, exhibit limitations in terms of selectivity, stability, and sensitivity toward reducing gases. This study focuses on one of the widely studied n-type polymers, BBL(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline), as an active material for the detection of two reducing gases, namely, hydrogen sulfide (H $$_{2}$$ S) and ammonia (NH $$_{3}$$ ), theoretically. Through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and density functional theory (DFT) approach, we understand the adsorption behavior and selectivity of H $$_{2}$$ S and NH $$_{3}$$ in the BBL film. The DFT calculated adsorption energy of the preferential site at the top of a $$\pi -\pi$$ stack for H $$_{2}$$ S and NH $$_{3}$$ are – 0.22 eV and – 0.33 eV, respectively, and at the sides of a $$\pi -\pi$$ stack for H $$_{2}$$ S and NH $$_{3}$$ are – 0.42 eV and – 0.47 eV, respectively. MD simulations show that adsorption takes place in the free voids within the thin films, and the overall structure of the polymer film remained almost unaltered upon gas adsorption without any apparent swelling or significant morphological changes in the film. Our results show that BBL displays remarkable adsorption along with a higher magnitude of charge transfer for ammonia over hydrogen sulfide gas and other common gases present in the air. Moreover, both H $$_{2}$$ S and NH $$_{3}$$ gas adsorption happen without compromising the size of the $$\pi -\pi$$ stacked crystallites within the polymer film, which indicates, upon detection of reducing gases, the generated free electrons via the redox reactions between the gas molecules and polymer, will be able to be smoothly transported through the $$\pi -\pi$$ stack network present in the film. The detailed theoretical insights obtained from this study indicate the suitability of the n-type conducting polymer, BBL, for detecting reducing gases, NH $$_{3}$$ and H $$_{2}$$ S.

Correction: Reference rate for post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage in Australia—A 2000–2020 national hospital morbidity database analysis

Impact of slip distance between fingertips and ball on baseball pitching performance under different friction conditions

Correction: Consistent movement of viewers’ facial keypoints while watching emotionally evocative videos

Harnessing geothermal and piezoelectric properties of stone for sustainable electricity generation

Down-converted photon pairs in a high-Q silicon nitride microresonator

Abstract Entangled photon pairs from spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC)1 are central to many quantum applications2–6. SPDC is typically performed in non-centrosymmetric systems7 with an inherent second-order nonlinearity (χ (2))8–10. We demonstrate strong narrowband SPDC with an on-chip rate of 0.8 million pairs per second in Si3N4. Si3N4 is the pre-eminent material for photonic integration and also exhibits the lowest waveguide loss (which is essential for integrated quantum circuits). However, being amorphous, silicon nitride lacks an intrinsic χ (2), which limits its role in photonic quantum devices. We enabled SPDC in Si3N4 by combining strong light-field enhancement inside a high optical Q-factor microcavity with an optically induced space-charge field. We present narrowband photon pairs with a high spectral brightness. The quantum nature of the down-converted photon pairs is verified through coincidence measurements. This light source, based on Si3N4 integrated photonics technology, unlocks new avenues for quantum systems on a chip.

Correction: “Timely help” or “one disaster after another”: The impact of potential and transition interim CEO succession on corporate performance

Comparative and phylogenetic analysis of the complete chloroplast genome sequences of Melanoseris cyanea group

Synergistic activity of dispersin B and benzoyl peroxide against Cutibacterium acnes/Staphylococcus epidermidis dual-species biofilms

Cutibacterium acnes plays a key role in the development of acne vulgaris, with biofilm formation contributing to its persistence and resistance to antimicrobial treatments. A critical component of C. acnes biofilms is poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG), an exopolysaccharide that facilitates both biofilm stability and biocide resistance. This study evaluated the efficacy of the PNAG-degrading enzyme dispersin B in enhancing the susceptibility of C. acnes biofilms to benzoyl peroxide (BP), a common anti-acne agent. Dual-species biofilms of C. acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, which has been shown to promote C. acnes biofilm growth under aerobic conditions, were cultivated in glass tubes and treated with dispersin B (5–80 µg/mL), BP (0.1–2.5%), or a combination of both. Dispersin B or BP alone reduced C. acnes colony-forming units (CFUs) by 1–2 log units. However, sequential treatment with dispersin B followed by BP achieved a synergistic effect, yielding a >6-log reduction in CFUs. Remarkably, concentrations as low as 5 µg/mL dispersin B combined with 0.5% BP efficiently eradicated C. acnes from the dual-species biofilms. These findings highlight the protective role of PNAG against BP and demonstrate the potential of dispersin B as an adjunctive therapy to enhance the efficacy of BP in acne treatment.

Dimensional study of flexible protection device based on methane explosion protection mechanism

Is dark energy getting weaker? Fresh data bolster shock finding

Correction: Evaluation of anxiety level and the factors Affecting Anxiety in health care workers in Shahid Dr. Gholipour Hospital, Bukan, Iran during COVID-19 pandemic

Numerical investigation of the mechanical behaviours of a pair of rock bridges at diverse scales in direct shear

RETRACTED: Mechanisms of adipocyte regulation: Insights from HADHB gene modulation

The HADHB gene encodes the beta-subunit of 3-hydroxy acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, closely related to energy metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and catabolism. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the HADHB gene on the proliferation and differentiation of bovine preadipocytes and to gain new insights into the mechanisms of adipocyte regulation. RNA was extracted from adipose tissue of yellow cattle and the HADHB gene CDS region was cloned. Meanwhile, isolation and cultivation of preadipocytes were used for siRNA and adenovirus overexpression, quantitative real-time PCR, transcriptome sequencing, and cell proliferation and cell cycle were measured by oil red staining, CCK8 assay, and flow cytometry. Subsequently, the transcriptome data were analyzed using bioinformatics. The results showed that the HADHB gene modulates significantly the expression of critical genes involved in proliferation ( CDK2 and PCNA ) and differentiation ( PPAR γ and CEBPα ), influencing preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation and altering cell cycle progression. The results of transcriptome sequencing demonstrated that the overexpression of the HADHB gene markedly altered the transcriptional profile of preadipocytes, with 170 genes exhibiting a significant increase in expression and 113 genes displaying a decrease. The HADHB gene exerts a regulatory influence on the differentiation process of precursor adipocytes by modulating the expression of key genes involved in proliferation and differentiation.These findings highlight the central role of the HADHB gene in adipocyte regulation and provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms governing adipocyte biology.

Data-driven total organic carbon prediction using feature selection methods incorporated in an automated machine learning framework

Hyperbolic phonon-polariton electroluminescence in 2D heterostructures

Empirical calibration of a simulation model of opioid use disorder

Background Simulation models of opioid use disorder (OUD) aim at evaluating the impact of different treatment strategies on population-level outcomes. Researching Effective Strategies to Prevent Opioid Death (RESPOND) is a dynamic population, state-transition model that simulates the Massachusetts OUD population synthesizing data from multiple sources. Structural complexity and scarcity of available data for opioid modeling pose a special challenge to model calibration. We propose an empirical calibration approach applicable to complex simulation models in general. Methods We implement an empirical approach to calibrate RESPOND to multiple targets: annual fatal opioid-related overdoses, detox admissions, and OUD population sizes. The empirical calibration involves Latin hypercube sampling for searching a multidimensional parameter space comprising arrivals, overdose rates, treatment transition rates, and substance use state transition probabilities. The algorithm accepts proposed parameters when the respective model outputs lie within pre-determined target uncertainty ranges. This is an iterative process resulting in a set of parameter values for which the model closely fits all the calibration targets. We validated the model assessing its accuracy to projections important for shared decision-making of OUD outside the training data. Results The empirical calibration resulted in a model that fits well both calibration and validation targets. The flexibility of the algorithm allowed us to explore structural and parameter uncertainty, reveal underlying relationships between model parameters and identify areas of model improvement for a more accurate representation of the OUD dynamics. Discussion The proposed empirical calibration approach is an efficient tool for approximating parameter distributions of complex models, especially under complete uncertainty. Empirically calibrated parameters can be used as a starting point for a more comprehensive calibration exercise, e.g., to inform priors of a Bayesian calibration. The calibrated RESPOND model can be used to improve shared decision-making for OUD.