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Effects of pericapsular nerve group block versus local anesthetic infiltration for postoperative analgesia in total hip arthroplasty: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction This protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide synthesized evidence to determine whether pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block is superior to local anesthetic infiltration in controlling postoperative pain in total hip arthroplasty. Methods and analysis PubMed, EMBASE, Web of science, and the Cochrane library will be systematically searched from their inception to December 30, 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the analgesic effects of PENG block with local anesthetic infiltration for total hip arthroplasty will be included. The time to first analgesics requirement (analgesia duration) will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes will include the postoperative analgesics consumption over 24 hours, visual analog scale (VAS) scores at rest and movement, and the incidence of adverse effects. Statistical analysis will be conducted by RevMan 5.4 software. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not applicable. The results of this study will be publicly published. PROSPERO registration number CRD42024590888

Persistence and clearance rates of human papillomaviruses in a cohort of women treated or not treated for cervical dysplasia in northwest Ethiopia

Abstract Persistence of high-risk Human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV) infection increases the risk of precancerous lesions development. The aim of this study was to assess the persistence and clearance rate of HPV infection. A prospective cohort study was conducted between January and December 2023 among patients attending gynecology unit of FHCSH in Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia. Out of 297 study participants, 95 women with HPV infected and cytological abnormalities were followed; of these 93.7% were HPV positive at the baseline study. Of which, 46.1% did not receive treatment, the rest 53.9% were treated. Among the women without treatment, HPV persistence and clearance rates were 65.9% and 34.1% respectively while persistence rate of 46.3% and clearance rate of 53.7% were observed in 12-month follow up period. Among women who received treatment, HPV persistence rate of 45.8% and clearance rate of 54.2% were recorded in six while persistence rate of 33.3% and clearance rate of 66.7% were observed in 12- month follow up period. The findings of our study indicated that the high persistence rate and low clearance rate of HPV infection. Detection of persistent HPV infection without treatment or after treatment should be considered as the main risk factor for the development or recurrence of cervical neoplasia.

Analysing how AI-powered chatbots influence destination decisions

This study aims to explore the role of destination chatbots as innovative tools in travel planning, focusing on their ability to enhance user experiences and influence decision-making processes. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model, Enterprise Content Management, and Information Systems Security models, the study examines the psychological, emotional, and technological factors that drive user satisfaction, continued use, and intention to visit a destination. Understanding these factors is crucial for improving chatbot design and optimizing their implementation in the tourism industry. A total of 312 responses were collected from university students who regularly engage in tourism-related activities. The survey employed a structured questionnaire with items measuring information quality, user satisfaction, perceived enjoyment, usefulness, and behavioral intentions using a 7-point Likert scale. Structural equation modelling [SEM] was used to analyze the relationships between constructs, allowing us to evaluate the validity and reliability of the model. The results reveal that information quality positively enhances user satisfaction, perceived enjoyment, and perceived usefulness. Moreover, perceived enjoyment and usefulness are critical psychological and emotional drivers influencing users’ decision to continue utilizing chatbots. Additionally, the analysis highlights the intention to continue using destination chatbots as a strong predictor of tourists’ intention to visit the destination. The findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of technology acceptance and user behavior in tourism, while providing practical insights for destination managers and developers to enhance chatbot features and improve traveler engagement.

Proposal of novel Predicted No Effect Concentrations (PNEC) for metals in freshwater using Species Sensitivity Distribution for different taxonomic groups

Estimation of the domestic water demand‒supply scenario and its key driving factors in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area, Pakistan

Domestic water availability is intricately linked with a growing population, urbanization, and associated land use/land cover change (LULCC). Precise and periodic assessments of water supply and demand are imperative for the sustainability of urban ecosystems. The present study provides a situational analysis of the domestic water supply and demand and LULC to quantify their impacts on water resources in the rapidly growing water scarce metropolitan area of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. Data regarding demography, water demand and supply were collected from concerned government departments, and the water demand-supply balance was projected for the years 2021–2050 through simple equations. Two remotely sensed satellite imageries (Landsat 8 OLI and Landsat 5 TM) were retrieved and supervised classification was performed for land use land cover (LULC) analysis during last two decades 1999 and 2019.The results revealed that the current domestic water supply is 65 million gallons per day (MGD) and 54.074 MGD in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, respectively. The per capita water availability is estimated as 60 GPCD (gallons per capita per day) in Islamabad, whereas it is 76.40 GPCD in Rawalpindi. Water demand has outstripped conventional supplies, leading to deficits of 52 MGD and 18.50 MGD in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, respectively. The groundwater depth has decreased from 22.8 m to 56 m in Islamabad and from 37.8 m to 59 m in Rawalpindi. This decline is positively correlated with the density of installed tube wells, borehole wells, demographic factors and LULCC. LULC analysis depicts rapid decline in open land which has been replaced by settlements. Moreover, the area of open land decreased significantly from 68.46% to 18.92%whereas the area under the built environment increased significantly from 7.77% to 36.51% from 1999—2019. However, increase in the forest cover and water was insignificant. This land transformation contributed to a reduction in the water table depth and recharge to aquifers and escalating water demand. The study concluded that the groundwater resources of twin cities are under stress. In addition, forecasted water demand will also increase in the future with increasing population, economic growth and lifestyle changes while increasing groundwater abstraction, and diminished water infiltration rates due to urban expansion will compromise water availability for future generations. The findings provide valuable information to concerned agencies, policy makers and stakeholders to take appropriate long-term measures to address repercussions of unplanned urbanization and LULC to ensure a sustainable water supply to the urban populace.

GelMA as scaffold material for epithelial cells to emulate the small intestinal microenvironment

LC-MS analysis and antioxidant, antibacterial, and antidiabetic activity of Jumli Marshi rice from Nepal: An in vitro and in silico investigation to validate their potential as a functional food

Jumli Marshi (J. Marshi), a native rice cultivar in Nepal, is gaining popularity owing to its health benefits for obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. However, scientific evidence verifying its therapeutic potential is lacking until November 2024. Therefore, we aimed to characterize the phytoconstituents and evaluate the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antidiabetic properties of J. Marshi, along with its ADME toxicity profile, using both in vitro and in silico approaches. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of a 70% methanol extract from J. Marshi identified ten plant-based compounds, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and γ-oryzanol. The extract exhibited significant antioxidant properties, neutralizing DPPH free radicals with a fifty-percentage inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 42.65 ± 3.9 µg/mL, compared to ascorbic acid’s IC50 of 4.12 ± 0.7 µg/mL. It also showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, with a zone of inhibition (ZOI) ranging from 7 to 11 mm and a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.56 mg/mL, compared to standard antibiotics meropenem (ZOI: 24 ± 1.6 mm; MIC: 1.56 mg/mL). The enzymatic assay demonstrated that the J. Marshi extract inhibits fifty percent of enzyme activity at a concentration (EC50) of > 1000 µg/mL for α-amylase and 250 ± 2.5 µg/mL for α-glucosidase, in contrast to the standard acarbose, exhibiting an EC50 of 35.5 ± 1.5 µg/mL for α-amylase and 189.5 ± 1.9 µg/mL for α-glucosidase. In silico docking studies revealed strong interactions of rice phytoconstituents with target protein catalytic residues, particularly gamma-oryzanol for α-amylase (−10.0 kcal/mol) and chlorogenic acid for α-glucosidase (−7.7 kcal/mol), compared to acarbose (−6.9 to −7.1 kcal/mol). ADME toxicity analysis suggested that tricin and gamma-oryzanol had the best drug-likeness and safety profiles. To our knowledge, this is the first study to reveal the presence of bioactive phenolic acids and flavonoids. Furthermore, it offers scientific evidence supporting significant antioxidant and α-glucosidase-inhibitory properties, confirming the potential applications of J. Marshi rice as a functional food used for the management of diabetes.

Optimizing office building performance in the HSWW region of China using simulation with Hyperopt CatBoost and SPEA2

Exploring development pathways for mining rural areas in the context of urban–rural integration: A case study in Shanxi Province, China

In the process of urban–rural integration, rural depression poses a severe challenge to urban-rural coordination and regional sustainable development. Exploring development pathways for resource-dependent rural areas is an important measure to implement rural revitalization. Mining industry, shows beneficial in boosting the economies whiles brings ecological, physical/psychological and social problems to local community members. Therefore, efforts should be made to rural sustainable development in mining resource- dependent regions. Taking the traditional mining-industry Shanxi Province in North China as research case, this paper seeks to investigate the crucial factors influencing rural transformation development (RTD) of mining regions and explore development pathways for resource-dependent rural areas. First, rural economic-labor coupling mode and rural development type of 30 mining industries-based counties were determined based on the proposed rural economic-labor elasticity coefficient, followed by the hot spot analysis for understanding the spatial correlation of different coupling modes. Then, non-parametric test was applied for feature difference test. Finally, mining rural areas transformation pathways were given by using land use transfer matrix and chord diagram. Results indicated that the mean value and rank mean value of each indicator of different rural development types were basically consistent in the distribution form, while coupling modes showed a distinct difference. This research can provide important references for rural transformation promotion, rural revitalization and sustainable rural development of resource-dependent regions, especially for developing countries.

Neural correlates of reading aloud on the autism spectrum

Exploring the experiences of cancer patients: What drives them to seek treatment outside their residential area and what are the experiences resulting from that decision? A qualitative study

Background The centralizing cancer care has been a persistent trend, often justified by the volume-outcome relationship. However, this trend raises concerns about potential negative impacts, such as increased patient travel burden, treatment delays, and worsened regional disparities in cancer care. Consequently, there is a growing need for the establishment of a regional comprehensive cancer care system to minimize these disparities. In this study, we explored the treatment experiences of cancer patients who received care at medical institutions outside their residential areas to understand their overall experiences with cancer care and identify areas for improvement in the healthcare system. Methods The participants in this study were 7 residents of Ulsan Metropolitan City who had experienced hospitalization for cancer treatment at a medical institution in another region. In-depth interviews were conducted with each participant for about an hour, exploring the participants’ experiences in the process of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up management. A semi-structured guide was used for in-depth interviews. Results The participants experienced fear after receiving an unexpected possibility of cancer diagnosis as a biopsy result. They wanted a definitive diagnosis as soon as possible, which was not realistic, as a tertiary general hospital in Ulsan featured waiting times of at least 6 months. Participants were overwhelmed with anxiety, and continued searching for information on the disease by themselves. Most of the processes of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up management at medical institutions in other regions were a series of hardships. Participants had partially recovered, but were still concerned about becoming unwell. Participants stated that reliable medical institutions in the region and sufficient information related to cancer are needed to improve the quality of life of cancer patients. Conclusion The results of this study reveal that cancer patients face various challenges throughout their long journey of treatment. To establish a comprehensive regional cancer care system, it is necessary to expand the availability of quality cancer care across all regions, strengthen the coordination function of primary care institutions, and develop post-discharge cancer management systems using patient-reported outcomes.

Associations between life’s essential 8 and preserved ratio impaired spirometry

Efficacy of home-based and inpatient treatment for children and adolescents in psychiatric crisis: A systematic review protocol

Purpose Children and adolescents experiencing psychiatric crises often undergo inpatient treatment, which may limit family involvement, stigmatize young individuals, and impede the application of therapeutic outcomes in their daily lives. This situation can result in increased rates of rehospitalization, the development of chronic conditions, and prolonged hospital stays. Home-based treatment represents a potential alternative to traditional inpatient care. The objective of the planned systematic review is to provide a comprehensive comparison of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of inpatient and home-based treatment modalities, with a particular focus on primary outcome parameters such as psychopathology, family functioning, and social functioning. Furthermore, secondary outcomes, including rates of relapses and rehospitalizations, will be evaluated. Methods The systematic search will be conducted using Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and Cochrane databases, following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The included studies will undergo a rigorous quality assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB2) tool for randomized trials and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies - of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool for non-randomized studies. Where appropriate, data will be synthesized by meta-analysis using R-Studio and supplemented by sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the results. The overall quality of the evidence is assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. Discussion The planned systematic literature review will provide a synthesis of the current state of research on the comparative effectiveness of both treatment modalities. The objective is to furnish information for the delivery of effective patient care that also represents a cost-efficient solution for the healthcare system. Systematic review registration This review protocol has been registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under the registration number CRD42023458888.

Exploring the influence of polysaccharide on gastrointestinal stability, drug release and formation mechanism of nanoparticles in Zhimu and Huangbai herb pair decoction

IMRMB-Net: A lightweight student behavior recognition model for complex classroom scenarios

With the continuous advancement of education informatization, classroom behavior analysis has become an important tool to improve teaching quality and student learning outcomes. However, student classroom behavior recognition methods still face challenges such as occlusion, small objects, and environmental interference, resulting in low recognition accuracy and lightweight performance. To address the above problems, this study proposes a lightweight student behavior recognition model based on Inverted Residual Mobile Block (IMRMB-Net). Specifically, this study designs a lightweight feature extraction module, IMRMB, from the images of the backbone network to be able to better capture contextual information and improve the recognition of occluded objects while saving computational resources. Using DySample, the neck network reconsiders the initial sampling position and the moving range of the offset from the point sampling perspective to accurately recognize small object behaviors in course scenes. Meanwhile, a new loss function, Focaler-ShapeIoU, is designed in this study, aiming to improve the learning ability and robustness of the model to different samples thus further solving the occlusion problem. Experiments in UK_Dataset show that IMRMB-Net has high accuracy (mAP@50 = 93.3%, mAP@50:95 = 78.7%) and lightweight performance (FPS = 60.37, Params = 7.32MB, GFLOPs = 23.8G). Meanwhile, this study verifies that IMRMB-Net can effectively solve the occlusion problem in classroom scenarios through experiments on the UK_Dataset and SCB_Dataset occlusion subsets. In addition, this study verifies the generalization ability and the ability to recognize small targets of IMRMB-Net on the VisDrone2021 dataset.

Depressed nestling growth during exposure to smoke from distant wildfires

Influence of different host blood meal sources on the reproductive outcomes in Anopheles gambiae: Enhancing fecundity in a mass rearing environment

Identification of blood sources for maximum production of Anopheles mosquitoes is an important consideration for colony maintenance which involves mass rearing. High feeding rates, eggs production, hatching rates, larval, pupal, and adult survivorship are essential parameters to consider when selecting a blood host for mass production of An. gambiae. Here, we investigated the feeding success, reproduction performance and survivorship of An. gambiae when fed on blood from five different hosts: cow, goat, sheep, pig, and chicken compared to human blood. There was significant variations in feeding success (F5, 18 =  35.34, p < .001), egg laying (F 5,18 = 12.57, p < .001), number of eggs laid (F5, 18 = 34.23 p < .001), egg hatchability (F 5, 114 =  37.63, p < .001), pupation time (F 5,18 =  5.532763, p = 0.0029) and pupation rates (F 5,18 =  8.26, p < .001). Feeding success was highest in human blood meal (Mean = 125.25 ±  3.86), followed by pig blood meal (Mean = 123 ±  7.93), with no statistically significant difference between the two. The highest proportion of females that laid eggs were those fed on human blood (Mean =  36.50 ±  2.08) followed by those fed on chicken blood meals (Mean =  27.50 ±  5.44) and then pig blood meal (Mean =  26.25 ±  2.87). The mean number of eggs laid per mosquito was highest among those fed on human blood meal (111.65 ±  5.74) followed by those fed on pig blood meal (100.46 ±  6.36). The most favorable outcomes were observed with human blood for hatchability (88.35 ±  5.61%), pig blood for pupation percentage (Mean =  83.50 ±  4.79), and goat blood for pupation time (9.79 ±  0.41 days). Larval survival rates did not significantly differ among blood meal sources (F 5,92 =  0.13, p = 0.985). Nonetheless, the highest survival rate was observed with pig blood meal (Mean =  0.57 ±  0.11). Survival rates of adult F1 varied significantly across blood meals (F 6,346 = 133.19, p < .001), with human blood meal showing the highest survival rate (Mean =  0.73 ±  0.04). However, pig blood meal (56 days) demonstrated the longest survival period, close to human blood meal (57 days). This study revealed pig blood as an excellent alternative to human blood meal for the mass production of An. gambiae.

Study on the dynamic prediction and optimum regulation scheme of water resource carrying capacity in the yellow river basin

Abstract The dynamic change in regional water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) is an important factor in formulating an optimal water resource allocation scheme. To accurately predict the dynamic change in WRCC and formulate the optimal regulation scheme in a river basin, this paper proposes a diagnostic index system of WRCC based on the mutual feeding mechanism of economic-society, water resources and eco-environment. The multi-methods including support vector machine (SV) and system dynamics (SD), back propagation neural network (BP), etc., were used to construct a quantitative dynamic prediction model for the WRCC. The orthogonal test (OT) method is used to optimize the WRCC regulation scheme. Through simulation, the WRCC in the sub-regions of the Yellow River Basin in 2030, 2035 and 2050 under different scenarios are obtained. The study results show that the WRCC in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin are overloaded or seriously overloaded before the operation of the Western Line of South-to-North Water Transfer Project (WLSNWTP). Six key driving indexes (unconventional water utilization, water flow into the sea, irrigation water use, irrigation area, industrial added value and water consumption of 10 thousand Yuan (CNY) industrial added value) are selected to carry out orthogonal tests, and the optimal WRCC regulation scheme is obtained in different level years. The present study results have an important reference value for efficient water resource utilization and eco-society development in the Yellow River Basin.

Tuberculosis incidence, deaths and disability-adjusted life years in children and adolescence, 1990–2021: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background For a long time, eliminating tuberculosis (TB) has been an enormous challenge in global health. We aim to use the 2021 Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD 2021) to systematically analyze the TB burden in children and adolescents. Methods We used the 2021 GBD to retrieve TB incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) data among people aged 0 to19 years in 204 countries and regions between 1990 to 2021. The data are reported as counts and ratios per 100,000 people and are analyzed by age, sex, location and socio-demographic index (SDI). To quantify the uncertainty of the estimations, we include 95% confidence interval (CI) for each indicator. Results Globally, the TB burden among people under the age of 20 has decreased significantly between 2019 and 2021. The overall incidence of TB among children and adolescents fell by 37.4%, from 2.21(95% UI:1.71–2.76) million in 1990 to 1.38(95% UI:1.06–1.76) million in 2021. Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest increase in TB incidence (302.88, 95% UI: 227.85-385.33). The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age-standardized DALYs rate (ASDR) of TB in females decreased faster than males. The incidence was higher in children under 5 years old and adolescents aged 15 to 19, showing a bimodal pattern. In addition, mortality caused by multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) have increased dramatically in several areas. The mortality rates for MDR-TB and XDR-TB in Eastern Europe are 0.04(95% UI:0.02-0.05) and 0.02(95% UI:0.01-0.03) respectively. Conclusion Although the burden of TB in children and adolescents has decreased globally, the disease remains a major public health concern, especially in countries with low SDI. To accomplish the ultimate aim of TB elimination, we should continue to invest in TB prevention and control, expand health-care infrastructure construction, and advance TB diagnostic, preventive, and treatment technologies.

Single cell transcriptomic analysis of SGLT2 expression supports an indirect or off-target role for the cardioprotective benefits of empagliflozin in heart failure