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“The impact of the Little Orange Book on how parents/carers manage symptoms of illness in children: A mixed methods study”

Background Previous literature has highlighted the complexity of supporting an acutely unwell child and the unnecessary use of services by parents/carers. The Little Orange Book (LOB) was developed as an information resource for parents/carers of young children to assist in managing symptoms of childhood illness and to encourage the appropriate use of healthcare services. Objectives This study aimed to understand parent/carer views and experiences using the Little Orange Book. Specifically, this study focused on barriers and facilitators to use, the impact on parents’ behaviour and the views on improving the LOB. Methods An explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, including qualitative and quantitative components, was used to collect data regarding parent’s experiences using the LOB. Parents and carers in the North-East of England were invited to participate in an online survey and a subset of these respondents took part in qualitative interviews. One-hundred-and-twenty-eight parents completed the online survey and 16 took part in interviews. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and quantitative data analysed using descriptive statistical analytical methods. Results Three themes were identified within the data: Increasing parental empowerment in managing their child’s health , Equality of Access to Health-based Literature and Barriers and Facilitators to using the Little Orange Book . Conclusions The Little Orange Book was seen as a valuable form of information to support parents and carers in healthcare decisions. Further development should ensure inclusivity, widen access and view provision of the information as an opportunity for healthcare professionals to engage with parents.

Effects of dam fear and stress on metrics of puppy welfare in commercial breeding kennels

Experimental study on the effect of CO2 injection on the permeability characteristics of reservoir sandstone

Using the Ordos Basin dry sandstone and sandstone saturated with different saline concentrations as research subjects, a self-developed constant temperature and pressure CO2 injection simulation device was employed to conduct permeability tests on sandstone under varying effective stresses and CO2 injection pressures. The test results indicated that during the CO2 injection process, the permeability of dry sandstone was two orders of magnitude higher than that of sandstones saturated with different saline concentrations. When the effective stress increases from 10 MPa to 28 MPa, the fissure compressibility of reservoir sandstone is influenced by the saturation of different saline concentrations, with the compressibility coefficients for 0%, 15%, and 30% saline-saturated sandstone being 0.00495 MPa⁻1, 0.00614 MPa⁻1, and 0.01879 MPa⁻1, respectively. The primary reasons for the reduced permeability of sandstone are as follows: supercritical CO2 lowers the mechanical properties of sandstone; high-concentration saline induces crystallization within the sandstone, resulting in a blockage effect. High-concentration saline increases the fissure compressibility of sandstone, decreases the permeability of the sandstone reservoir, and ultimately affects the injectability of the CO2 in the reservoir.

Mechanism of engineered macrophage membrane bionic gene-carrying nanospheres for targeted drug delivery to promote wound repair in deep second-degree burns

Risk factors of gallbladder cancer in Nepal: A case control study

Background Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare, highly fatal disease with diagnosis in advanced stage and low survival rate. Nepal ranked 4th position with highest rates of GBC for 10 countries in 2020. Objective To find the association between socio-demographic, behavioral and environmental factors associated with the development of GBC. Method A case-control study was conducted in 2021/22 with newly diagnosed gallbladder cancer cases from three cancer-specialized hospitals and one tertiary (superspeciality) hospital. Controls were selected from the same tertiary hospital and one additional hospital providing services to gallbladder pathologies for a huge population, making a total of five hospitals involved in the study. The ratio of cases to control was 1:1. The data collection was done through telephonic interviews using structured questionnaires. The risk factors for GBC were assessed by using unconditional logistic regression to find odds ratios and 95% confidence level for bivariate and multivariate analysis. The statistical analysis was carried out in STATA 18. Result A total of 240 respondents were enrolled in the study, among them half were GBC patients (cases) and half were gallbladder patients (controls). The average age of the respondents was 54.82±12.3 years, with female preponderance among both groups. On multivariate analysis, the risk factors studied were; parity ≥3 (AOR = 2.80, 95% CI: 1.17–6.66, P value 0.020), being ethnic group of Terai/Madhesi (AOR = 7.88, 95% CI: 3.16–19.66, P value <0.001), being Janajati (AOR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.17–6.61, P value <0.001), having gallbladder related disease (AOR = 2.00, 95% CI:1.00–4.02, P value 0.049), consuming alcohol ≥100ml/day (AOR = 3.44, 95% CI:1.11–10.63, P value 0.032), exposed with pesticides ≥2 times in a year (AOR = 4.04, 95% CI: 1.27–12.89, P value 0.018) and consuming less vegetables and fruits (<1 times per day in a week) (AOR = 2.69, 95% CI:1.34–5.40, P value 0.005). Conclusion The study reveals key GBC risk factors, offering vital insights for targeted screening, resource allocation, and public health measures to mitigate risks in Nepal.

Experimental and modeled analysis of contaminant mobility in coal fly ash landfills under continuous rainfall regimes

Influences of pulsed electric field parameters on cell electroporation and electrofusion events: Comprehensive understanding by experiments and molecular dynamics simulations

Electroporation and electrofusion are efficient methods, which have been widely used in different areas of biotechnology and medicine. Pulse strength and width, as an external condition, play an important role in the process of these methods. However, comparatively little work has been done to explore the effects of pulsed electric field parameters on electroporation and electrofusion. Herein, influences of pulse strength and width on the electroporation and electrofusion of phospholipid bilayers were systematically investigated by using experiments combined with molecular dynamics simulations. Experimental results and machine learning-based regression analysis showed that the number of pores is mainly determined by pulse strength, while the sizes of pores were enlarged by increasing the pulse widths. In addition, the formation of large-size pores is the most crucial factor that affects the fusion rate of myeloma cells. The same trend has taken place on coarse-grained and all-atom MD simulations. The result suggested that electroporation events occur only in an electric field exceeding the strength of threshold, and the unbalanced degree of electric potential between two membranes leads to pores formation during the process of electroporation. Generally, this work provides a comprehensive understanding of how pulse strength and width govern the poration event of bilayer lipid membranes, as well as guidance on the experimental design of electrofusion.

Corrosion behavior of Fe amorphous/Al-12Si piston composites with core-shell structure

How telepresence and perceived enjoyment mediate the relationship between interaction quality and continuance intention: Evidence from China Zisha-ware Digital Museum

The rapid development of digital technologies and the diversification of user needs have made digital museums significant platforms for cultural dissemination and education, attracting unprecedented attention. This study aims to investigate how interaction quality influences users’ psychological responses and their continuance intention to use digital museums. By integrating the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model and telepresence theory, this study proposes a novel model to examine users’ continuance intention. A questionnaire survey of visitors to the China Zisha-ware Digital Museum (CZDM) yielded 414 valid responses, which were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that: 1) The interaction quality of digital museums (i.e., interactivity, vividness, and authenticity) and users’ psychological responses (i.e., telepresence, perceived enjoyment) significantly affect users’ continuance intention to varying degrees. 2) Telepresence significantly mediates the relationship between interaction quality and continuance intention. 3) Perceived enjoyment serves as an important mediator between interactivity, vividness, and continuance intention, while its mediating role between authenticity and continuance intention is not significant. This study offers theoretical and practical insights for optimizing digital museum user experience design to enhance continuance intention, while also promoting the dissemination of digital culture and supporting educational efforts.

Model of advanced recording system for application in heat-assisted magnetic recording

Skeletal age assessed by Greulich-Pyle: Intra-observer and inter-observer agreement among male pubertal tennis players

The assessment of biological maturation is a central topic in pediatric exercise sciences. Skeletal age (SA) reflects changes in each bone of the hand and wrist from initial ossification to the adult state. This study examined intra-observer and inter-examiner agreement is Greulich-Pyle (GP) assessments of SA in 97 male tennis players 8.6–16.8 years of age. Two observers independently examined all films on two occasions using the GP method. The SA of each bone was evaluated. The mean and median of SAs assigned for each bone was the individual SA for each participant. The calculation was exclusively based on the bones that were not skeletally mature. Intra-observer mean differences were significant for several bones with better results by the experienced examiner (observer B). Comparisons between SA values of the two independent observers indicated significant differences for the ulna, metacarpals II and III, and distal phalanx V. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the bone-specific differences was small, perhaps trivial. Differences in individual SA values of the tennis players based on the non-mature bones of the hand-wrist were negligible based on the mean (0.04±0.39, t = 0.321, p = 0.749) or the median (0.05±0.58, t = 0.007, p = 0.994). Nevertheless, the current study confirmed examiners as a source of error in the estimation of SA using the Greulich-Pyle method and highlighted the importance of calculating SAs based on non-mature bones among adolescent players.

Investigation of sensory attenuation in the somatosensory domain using EEG in a novel virtual reality paradigm

Abstract We are not only passively immersed in a sensorial world, but we are active agents that directly produce stimulations. Understanding what is unique about sensory consequences can give valuable insight into the action-perception-cycle. Sensory attenuation is the phenomenon that self-produced stimulations are perceived as less intense compared to externally-generated ones. Studying this phenomenon, however, requires considering a plethora of factors that could otherwise interfere with its interpretation, such as differences in stimulus properties, attentional resources, or temporal predictability. We therefore developed a novel Virtual Reality (VR) setup which allows control over several of these confounding factors. Furthermore, we modulated the expectation of receiving a somatosensory stimulation across self-production and passive perception through a simple probabilistic learning task, allowing us to test to what extent the electrophysiological correlates of sensory attenuation are impacted by stimulus expectation. Therefore, the aim of the present study was twofold: first we aimed validating a novel VR paradigm during electroencephalography (EEG) recoding to investigate sensory attenuation in a highly controlled setup; second, we tested whether electrophysiological differences between self- and externally-generated sensations could be better explained by stimulus predictability factors, corroborating the validity of sensory attenuation. Results of 26 participants indicate that early (P100), mid-latency (P200) and later negative contralateral potentials were significantly attenuated by self-generated sensations, independent of the stimulus expectation. Moreover, a component around 200 ms post-stimulus at frontal sites was found to be enhanced for self-produced stimuli. The P300 was influenced by stimulus expectation, regardless of whether the stimulation was actively produced or passively attended. Together, our results demonstrate that VR opens up new possibilities to study sensory attenuation in more ecological valid yet well-controlled paradigms, and that sensory attenuation is not significantly modulated by stimulus predictability, suggesting that sensory attenuation relies on motor-specific predictions about their sensory outcomes. This not only supports the phenomenon of sensory attenuation, but is also consistent with previous research and the concept that action actually plays a crucial role in perception.

Modeling of lifetime scenarios with non-monotonic failure rates

The Weibull distribution is an important continuous distribution that is cardinal in reliability analysis and lifetime modeling. On the other hand, it has several limitations for practical applications, such as modeling lifetime scenarios with non-monotonic failure rates. However, accurate modeling of non-monotonic failure rates is essential for achieving more accurate predictions, better risk management, and informed decision-making in various domains where reliability and longevity are critical factors. For this reason, we introduce a new three parameter lifetime distribution—the Modified Kies Weibull distribution (MKWD)—that is able to model lifetime scenarios with non-monotonic failure rates. We analyze the statistical features of the MKWD, such as the quantile function, median, moments, mean, variance, skewness, kurtosis, coefficient of variation, index of dispersion, moment generating function, incomplete moments, conditional moments, Bonferroni, Lorenz, and Zenga curves, and order statistics. Various measures of uncertainty for the MKWD such as Rényi entropy, exponential entropy, Havrda and Charvat entropy, Arimoto entropy, Tsallis entropy, extropy, weighted extropy and residual extropy are computed. We discuss eight different parameter estimation methods and conduct a Monte Carlo simulation study to evaluate the performance of these different estimators. The simulation results show that the maximum likelihood method leads to the best results. The effectiveness of the newly suggested model is demonstrated through the examination of two different sets of real data. Regression analysis utilizing survival times data demonstrates that the MKWD model offers a superior match compared to other current distributions and regression models.

Application of Perclose ProGlide closure device in transbrachial endovascular intervention

Parental divorce’s long shadow: Elevated stroke risk among older Americans

Although studies have investigated the association between adverse childhood experiences and chronic health outcomes including stroke, few studies have investigated the association between parental divorce and stroke among adults with no history of childhood abuse. The objectives of this study were to investigate the association between parental divorce in childhood and stroke in older adulthood among those who did not experience child abuse and to examine whether this association differs between men and women. This study utilized population-based data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. An analytic sample of 13,205 adults aged 65 and above (56.6% female) who have never experienced childhood physical nor sexual abuse were analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variable investigated was self-report of a physician-diagnosis of stroke, and the main exposure of interest was parental divorce. In this sample of older adults, 7.3% reported having stroke, while 13.9% reported that their parents had divorced before the respondent was 18 years old. Controlling for the effects of other factors, respondents who experienced parental divorce had 1.61 times higher odds of having a stroke when compared to their counterparts who did not experience parental divorce (AOR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.15–2.24). The association between parental divorce and stroke was not dependent on sex; however, compared to females, males had 1.47 times higher odds of having a stroke (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.11–1.93). The findings of this study suggest that individuals in this cohort whose parents divorced as children were at greater risk for stroke later in life. Potentially moderating variables were hypothesized, including childhood poverty, sleep hygiene, and hypertension.

A genome-wide association study identifies genetic variants associated with hip pain in the UK Biobank cohort (N = 221,127)

Advancing bat monitoring: Assessing the impact of unmanned aerial systems on bat activity

With the increasing height and rotor diameter of wind turbines, bat activity monitoring within the risk area becomes more challenging. This study investigates the impact of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) on bat activity and explores acoustic bat detection via UAS as a new data collection method in the vicinity of wind turbines. We tested two types of UAS, a multicopter and a Lighter Than Air (LTA) UAS, to understand how they may affect acoustically recorded and analyzed bat activity level for three echolocation groups: Pipistrelloid, Myotini, and Nyctaloid. We hypothesized (i) that the LTA UAS will not affect bat activity levels while a multicopter, due to higher noise emission, might have a negative impact. Our results support this hypothesis, because multicopter flights have a highly significant negative impact on bat activity levels with a medium effect size, particularly for the Myotini (P < 0.001, dm = 0.54) and Nyctaloid group (P < 0.001, dn = 0.55) and a small effect size for the Pipistrelloid group (P < 0.001, dp = 0.36). In contrast, the LTA UAS had no significant effect on bat activity for each echolocation group (P > 0.05 for each group), suggesting its suitability for non-intrusive acoustic monitoring. Furthermore, we hypothesized (ii) that larger UAS propellers prevent the deterrent effect on bats. However, despite the use of larger propellers for the multicopter UAS compared to previous studies, we observed a deterrence effect for all echolocation groups. Additionally, we hypothesized that (iii) any initial deterrence or attraction effect might decrease over time. Our results did not support this hypothesis because we did not observe any habituation of bats to UAS within the 15-minute flight period. Our study highlights the potential of UAS for bat monitoring but underscores the critical importance of selecting appropriate UAS types and operating noise levels for successful surveillance efforts.

Unraveling the distinctive gut microbiome of khulans (Equus hemionus hemionus) in comparison to their drinking water and closely related equids

Abstract The microbial composition of host-associated microbiomes is influenced by co-evolutionary interactions, host genetics, domestication, and the environment. This study investigates the contribution of environmental microbiota from freshwater bodies to the gastrointestinal microbiomes of wild khulans (Equus hemionus hemionus, n = 21) and compares them with those of captive khulans (n = 12) and other equids—Przewalski’s horse (n = 82) and domestic horse (n = 26). Using PacBio technology and the LotuS pipeline for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we analyze microbial diversity and conduct differential abundance, alpha, and beta diversity analyses. Results indicate limited microbial sharing between wild khulans and their waterhole environments, suggesting minimal environmental influence on their gut microbiomes and low levels of water contamination by khulans. Wild khulans exhibit greater microbial diversity and richness compared to captive ones, likely due to adaptations to the harsh nutritional conditions of the Gobi desert. Conversely, captive khulans show reduced microbial diversity, potentially affected by dietary changes during captivity. These findings highlight the significant impact of environment and lifestyle on the gut microbiomes of equids.

Proper 5’-3’ cotranslational mRNA decay in yeast requires import of Xrn1 to the nucleus

The budding yeast Xrn1 protein shuttles between the nucleus, where it stimulates transcription, and the cytoplasm, where it executes the major cytoplasmic mRNA decay. In the cytoplasm, apart from catalyzing 5’→3’ decay onto non translated mRNAs, Xrn1 can follow the last translating ribosome to degrade the decapped mRNA template, a process known as “cotranslational mRNA decay”. We have previously observed that the import of Xrn1 to the nucleus is required for efficient cytoplasmic mRNA decay. Here by using an Xrn1 mutant that cannot enter the nucleus, but is otherwise functional in ribonuclease activity, we show that nuclear import is necessary for proper global cotranslational decay of mRNAs along coding regions and also affects degradation in the of 5’ region of a large group of mRNAs, which comprise about 20% of the transcriptome. Furthermore, a principal component analysis of the genomic datasets of this mutant and other Xrn1 mutants also shows that lack of a cytoplasmic 5’→3’ exoribonuclease is the primary cause of the physiological defects seen in a xrn1Δ mutant, but also suggests that Xrn1 import into the nucleus is necessary for its full in vivo functions.

A comparative machine learning study of schizophrenia biomarkers derived from functional connectivity

Abstract Functional connectivity holds promise as a biomarker of schizophrenia. Yet, the high dimensionality of predictive models trained on functional connectomes, combined with small sample sizes in clinical research, increases the risk of overfitting. Recently, low-dimensional representations of the connectome such as macroscale cortical gradients and gradient dispersion have been proposed, with studies noting consistent gradient and dispersion differences in psychiatric conditions. However, it is unknown which of these derived measures has the highest predictive capacity and how they compare to raw functional connectivity specifically in the case of schizophrenia. Our study evaluates which connectome features derived from resting state functional MRI — functional connectivity, gradients, or gradient dispersion — best identify schizophrenia. To this end, we leveraged data of 936 individuals from three large open-access datasets: COBRE, LA5c, and SRPBS-1600. We developed a pipeline which allows us to aggregate over a million different features and assess their predictive potential in a single, computationally efficient experiment. We selected top 1% of features with the largest permutation feature importance and trained 13 classifiers on them using 10-fold cross-validation. Our findings indicate that functional connectivity outperforms its low-dimensional derivatives such as cortical gradients and gradient dispersion in identifying schizophrenia (Mann–Whitney test conducted on test accuracy: connectivity vs. 1st gradient: U = 142, p < 0.003; connectivity vs. neighborhood dispersion: U = 141, p = 0.004). Additionally, we demonstrated that the edges which contribute the most to classification performance are the ones connecting primary sensory regions. Functional connectivity within the primary sensory regions showed the highest discrimination capabilities between subjects with schizophrenia and neurotypical controls. These findings along with the feature selection pipeline proposed here will facilitate future inquiries into the prediction of schizophrenia subtypes and transdiagnostic phenomena.