Determining whether ethnic minorities with severe obesity face a disproportionate risk of serious disease and death from COVID-19: outcomes from a Southern California-based retrosp... by Qiaowu Li, Hemesh Mahesh Patel, Shefali Khandwala, Poonam Somani, Stephanie Tovar, Alejandra Montano

“…Ethnic minorities with COVID-19 have been independently found to fare poorly. We aim to determine if ethnic minorities with severe obesity—defined as a body mass index (BMI) above 40 kg/m²—experience higher rates of hospitalisation, invasive ventilation and death.Design and setting Retrospective cohort study from 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021 within an integrated healthcare organisation in Southern California.Participants We identified 373 831 patients by COVID-19 diagnosis code or positive laboratory test.Methods Multivariable Poisson regression with robust error variance estimated adjusted risks of hospitalisation, invasive ventilator use and death within 30 days. …”
Get full text

Strategies to Improve Health Care Provider Prescription of and Patient Adherence to Guideline-Recommended Cardiovascular Medications for Atherosclerotic Occlusive Disease: Protocol... by Aidan M Kirkham, Dean A Fergusson, Justin Presseau, Daniel I McIsaac, Risa Shorr, Derek J Roberts

“…Two investigators will independently review identified titles/abstracts and full-text studies, extract data, assess the risk of bias (using the Cochrane tool), and classify implementation or adherence-supporting strategies using the refined Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care (EPOC) taxonomy (for strategies aimed at improving prescription) and Behavior Change Wheel (BCW; for adherence-supporting strategies). …”
Get full text

The Effects of Exercise on Inhibitory Function Interventions for Patients With Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis by Zhihui Xu, Cong Liu, Peng Wang, Xing Wang, Yuzhang Li

“…Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and China Science and Technology Journal Database (CQVIP) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the impact of exercise on inhibitory function in MDD patients, from database inception to July 2024. Two researchers independently evaluated the quality of the included studies using the Risk of Bias (ROB 2.0) tool. …”
Get full text

Relevant Elements of Standardisation of Federation’s Advisory Programs for Voluntary Sports Clubs by Marisa Moser, Matthias Buser, Siegfried Nagel

“…However, the effectiveness of external guidance can be limited due to the level of autonomy and independence that VSCs typically show (Nagel & Schlesinger, 2012; Schlesinger et al., 2021). …”
Get full text

Rehabilitation success and related costs following stroke in a regional hospital: a retrospective analysis based on the Australian National Subacute and Non-Acute Patient (AN-SNAP)... by Fan He, George Mnatzaganian, Michael Njovu, David Rutherford, Tara Alexander, Irene Blackberry

“…Rehabilitation success was defined as relative functional gain (RFG) ≥ 0.5 and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) efficiency ≥ 1. Multivariate mixed effects logistical regressions modelled the sociodemographic and medical (i.e., comorbidities and stroke type) predictors of rehabilitation success, while logarithms of average daily and total rehabilitation payments were modelled using robust regressions. …”
Get full text

Engagement féminin en Kabylie et intersection des revendications (1980-2001). Dominations, expériences et négociations identitaires by Margherita Rasulo

“…By going beyond the historical invisibility of the Kabyle women’s movement, this approach allows us to detect a process, non-linear in its evolution and still under construction, of change and evolution of gender relations that is reflected in the renegotiation of gender identities and the intersection of the claims of those studied.What these movements have in common is that, since the country’s independence, they have been confined by the state to the status of minority groups. …”
Get full text

The model of intermediate assessment of future teachers’ professional competencies by I. V. Golovina, Kh.-Akh. S. Khaladov, T. Yu. Medvedeva, G. A. Paputkova, A. V. Milekhin

“…The key characteristics of the model are: independence, continuity and consistency, openness, focus on the personal and professional development of the student, focus on the key professional competencies of the teacher, the use of assessment procedures and tools similar to those used in other assessment procedures (Unified State Exam, All-Russian Testing Papers, certification of teaching staff, international comparative studies); the possibility to use the results during the final certification of students. …”
Get full text

AI-Assisted Compressed Sensing Enables Faster Brain MRI for the Elderly: Image Quality and Diagnostic Equivalence with Conventional Imaging by Gu W, Yang C, Wang Y, Hu W, Wu D, Cai S, Hong G, Hu P, Zhang Q, Dai Y

“…This study aims to assess the feasibility of using artificial intelligence-assisted compressed sensing (ACS) to reduce brain MRI scan time while maintaining image quality and diagnostic accuracy compared to a conventional imaging protocol.Patients and Methods: Seventy patients from the department of neurology underwent brain MRI scans using both conventional and ACS protocols, including axial and sagittal T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences and T2-fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequence. Two radiologists independently evaluated image quality based on avoidance of artifacts, boundary sharpness, visibility of lesions, and overall image quality using a 5-point Likert scale. …”
Get full text

Prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events following ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction using cardiac obesity marker—epicardial adipose tissue mass index: a prospect... by Zeyan Liu, Jinbo Wang, Yanfang Yang, Jinglin Cheng, Min Yang, Ye Zhang

“…Cox multivariate regression analysis indicated that EAMI was independently associated with MACE (HR = 2.349, 95% CI 1.770–3.177, P < 0.001). …”
Get full text

Problems And Challenges Of Attendance In Medical Students by Muhammad Khurram

“…Failure to complete essential teaching and training in Medicine, Surgery, Gynecology, and Pediatrics can leave significant gaps in a doctor to be student's education and preparation for medical practice.1 Without this training, such person will lack necessary clinical skills, experience, and competence to diagnose and treat patients independently. Moreover, they cannot meet standards expected from a qualified doctor which jeopardizes patient safety and well-being. …”
Get full text

Productivity and ecological functions of naturally regrown pine forests of the Ukrainian Polissia by Petro Lakyda, Volodymyr Blyshchyk

“…In the Ukrainian Polissia, the category of self-seeded areas received perhaps the largest representation in the country due to the fairly high forest cover of the region, where forest tracts border on agricultural lands which lost the profitability of cultivation by their owners during the period of Ukraine's independence. The main forest-forming tree species found in these naturally regrown forests on agricultural lands is Scots pine, which became the object of the study. …”
Get full text

Significance of Heparin-Binding Protein and D-dimers in the Early Diagnosis of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis by Tomasz Mikuła, Mariusz Sapuła, Joanna Jabłońska, Joanna Kozłowska, Wojciech Stańczak, Dagny Krankowska, Alicja Wiercińska-Drapało

“…A very weak, but statistically significant, correlation of HBP, WBC, and D-dimer levels with the peritoneal fluid polymorphonuclear (PMN) count was observed in the simple regression model, but multivariable analysis using the multiple regression model showed that only D-dimers correlated with peritoneal fluid PMNs independently from other inflammation biomarkers. A D-dimer cutoff value of 1500 ng/mL was determined optimal for ruling out SBP due to high sensitivity (96.8%) and a high negative predictive value (92.9%), although predictably, this marker was not useful for confirming SBP due to low specificity (40.6%) and a low positive predictive value (61.2%). …”
Get full text

The Effect of the Concurrent Use of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors or Receptor Blockers on Toxicity and Outcomes in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy: A Systematic Revie... by Wan-Chuen Liao, Hala Shokr, Corinne Faivre-Finn, Clare Dempsey, Kaye Janine Williams, Li-Chia Chen

“…ACEI/ARB users showed reduced symptomatic radiation necrosis in brain metastases and better 6-month functional independence in supratentorial glioblastoma. Among six studies reporting survival, ACEI/ARB users had longer median survival in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer and glioblastoma but shorter survival in small cell lung cancer and brain metastases. …”
Get full text

Challenges and Opportunities for Data Sharing Related to Artificial Intelligence Tools in Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review and Case Study From Tha... by Aprajita Kaushik, Capucine Barcellona, Nikita Kanumoory Mandyam, Si Ying Tan, Jasper Tromp

“…Studies that lacked a clear connection to health information exchange systems or were not reported in English were excluded from the review. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts of the included articles and critically appraised each study. …”
Get full text

Explaining the effective variables in measuring intellectual capital and providing the optimal model by hatef mollazadeh jebdreghi, mahdi zeinali, ali akbar nonahal, ahmad mohamadi

“…Therefore, it is suggested to improve the intellectual capital by choosing optimal approaches from each of the above factors, for example, by increasing the amount of the board of directors' bonus, the motivation of the managers can be increased, or by increasing the independence of the board of directors, or by increasing the institutional ownership etc. improved intellectual capital. …”
Get full text

Business targeting in Iran: a hybrid simulation-optimization approach by amir mansour tehranchian, Sogand Hoseinnia Chafjiri

“…Based on this, the targeting of macroeconomic indicators in the available (possible) territory, complete monetary and financial discipline, independence of the central bank, and the use of stochastic optimal control theory in the targeting of development programs are among the policy recommendations of this article. …”
Get full text

Designing a model for re-employment of employees during retirement (Study case: Ministry of Education) by Fatemeh Fatemeh Bina Baji, Hamid Rezaei Far, Mohammad Mohammadi, Monireh Salehnia

“…The central category, which is the re-employment of retired education staff, includes skill diversity, task identity, and the importance of task and independence. Research findings in the category of strategies include livelihood-oriented strategies and entrepreneurship. …”
Get full text

Risk factors for thromboembolic and bleeding events in anticoagulated patients with atrial fibrillation: the prospective, multicentre observational PREvention oF thromboembolic eve... by Raffaele De Caterina, Kurt Huber, Richard Schilling, Miklos Rohla, Thomas W Weiss, Ladislav Pecen, Giuseppe Patti, Jolanta M Siller-Matula, Renate B Schnabel, Dipak Kotecha, Markus Lucerna, Paulus Kirchhof

“…The incidence of thromboembolic and major bleeding events was 2.34% (95% CI 1.93% to 2.74%) and 2.84% (95% CI 2.41% to 3.33%) after 1-year of follow-up, respectively.Abnormal liver function, prior stroke or transient ischaemic attack, labile international normalised ratio (INR), concomitant therapy with antiplatelet or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, heart failure and older age (≥75 years) were independently associated with both thromboembolic and major bleeding events.With the exception of unstable INR values, these risk factors were validated in patients treated with NOACs (PREFER in AF Prolongation Study, 72±9 years, 40% female, CHA2DS2-VASc 3.3±1.6). …”
Get full text

Interventions for the management of post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID): protocol for a living systematic review and network meta-analysis by Paul Garner, Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Jason W Busse, Dena Zeraatkar, Thomas Agoritsas, Ariel Izcovich, Tari Turner, Lyn Turkstra, Roger S McIntyre, Rachel J Couban, Tyler Pitre, Sarah Kirsh, Tanvir Jassal, Michael Ling, Samantha Chakraborty, Signe A Flottorp

“…We will identify eligible studies by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, AMED and CENTRAL from inception, without language restrictions.Reviewers will work independently and in duplicate to screen search records, collect data from eligible trials, including trial and patient characteristics and outcomes of interest and assess risk of bias. …”
Get full text

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices among physicians and pharmacists toward antibiotic use in sepsis by Jingmin Zhang, Jingmin Zhang, Haipeng Shi, Haipeng Shi, Yanmei Xia, Yanmei Xia, Zhenghua Zhu, Yaojun Zhang

“…Multivariate logistic regression showed that attitudes (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.34–1.87, p < 0.001), work experience of 15 years and above (OR = 7.17, 95%CI: 2.33–22.0, p = 0.001) were independently associated with proactive practices. For physicians, the structural equation model (SEM) demonstrated that attitudes directly affects practices, as indicated by a path coefficient of 0.91 (p < 0.001). …”
Get full text