The purpose of the study was to investigate university learners' visual attention during a PowerPoint (PPT) presentation on the topic of “Dinosaurs” in a real classroom. The presentation, which ...lasted for about 12–15 min, consisted of 12 slides with various text and graphic formats. An instructor gave the presentation to 21students whose eye movements were recorded by the eye tracking system. Participants came from various science departments in a national university in Taiwan, of which ten were earth-science majors (ES) and the other 11 were assigned to the non-earth-science group (NES). Eye movement indicators, such as total time spent on the interest zone, fixation count, total fixation duration, percent time spent in zone, etc., were abstracted to indicate their visual attention. One-way ANOVA as well as t-test analysis was applied to find the associations between the eye movement data and the students' background as well as different formats of PPT slides. The results showed that the students attended significantly more to the text zones on the PPT slides and the narrations delivered by the instruction. Nevertheless, the average fixation duration, indicating the average information processing time, was longer on the picture zones. In general, the ES students displayed higher visual attention than the NES students to the text zones, but few differences were found for the picture zones. When the students viewed those slides containing scientific hypotheses, the difference in attention distributions between the text and pictures reduced. Further analyses of fixation densities and saccade paths showed that the ES students were better at information decoding and integration.
► Students spent more time reading texts and attended more to the text–picture slides. ► Students' information processing behaviors differed for different pictures. ► The effect of prior knowledge was evident mostly in the text zones. ► Fixation densities supported that ES students knew better where to look and survey. ► Students distributed their attention to both PPT presentation and the instructor.
Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is an aggressive disease with high propensity of metastasis. Among patients with early-stage disease, more than 30% of them may relapse or develop metastasis. There is an ...unmet medical need to stratify patients with early-stage LUAD according to their risk of relapse/metastasis to guide preventive or therapeutic approaches. In this study, we identified 4 genes that can serve both therapeutic and diagnostic (theranostic) purposes.
Three independent datasets (GEO, TCGA, and KMPlotter) were used to evaluate gene expression profile of patients with LUAD by unbiased screening approach. Upon significant genes uncovered, functional enrichment analysis was carried out. The predictive power of their expression on patient prognosis were evaluated. Once confirmed their theranostic roles by integrated bioinformatics, we further conducted
and
validation.
We found that four genes (
,
,
and
were associated with poor patient outcomes with an increased hazard ratio in LUAD. Knockdown of them, both separately and simultaneously, suppressed lung cancer cell proliferation and migration ability
and prolonged survival time in metastatic tumor mouse models. Moreover, these four biomarkers were found to be overexpressed in tumor tissues from LUAD patients, and the total immunohistochemical staining scores correlated with poor prognosis.
These results suggest that these four identified genes could be theranostic biomarkers for stratifying high-risk patients who develop relapse/metastasis in early-stage LUAD. Developing therapeutic approaches for the four biomarkers may benefit early-stage LUAD patients after surgery.
Neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) is standard treatment for clinical stage II/III rectal cancers. However, whether patients with pathological complete response (pT0N0, pCR) should receive ...adjuvant chemotherapy and whether delayed surgery will influence the pCR rate remains controversial. A nationwide population study was conducted using the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database from January 2007 to December 2013. Kaplan‐Meier survival analysis was performed. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Of the 1,914 patients who received neoadjuvant CCRT, 259 (13.6%) achieved pCR and had better survival (adjusted HR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.24‐0.58; p < 0.001). The cumulative rate of pCR rose up to 83.4% in the 9th week and slowly reached a plateau after the 11th week. Among the patients with pCR, those who received adjuvant chemotherapy had no survival benefits compared to those without adjuvant chemotherapy (adjusted HR: 0.72, 95 CI: 0.27–1.93; p = 0.52). By subgroup analysis, those younger than 70‐year old and received adjuvant chemotherapy had better survival benefit than those without adjuvant chemotherapy (adjusted HR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.04–0.97; p = 0.046). Delayed surgery by 9–12 weeks after the end of neoadjuvant CCRT can maximize the pCR rate, which is correlated with better survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy may be considered in patients with pCR and aged <70‐year old, but further prospectively randomized controlled trials are warranted to validate these findings.
What's new?
Neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) followed by surgery is the standard treatment for stage II and III rectal cancer. However, the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with pathological complete response (pCR) and the timing of surgery after the end of neoadjuvant CCRT have been debated. Using a nationwide population dataset in Taiwan, this study confirms that pCR predicts better overall survival. The findings also suggest that delaying surgery by 9 to 12 weeks after the end of neoadjuvant CCRT can boost pCR rate and that adjuvant chemotherapy may potentially be considered in patients with pCR and aged <70‐year old.
Malpractice claims place heavy economic and emotional burdens on both dentists and patients. Recently, medical malpractice lawsuits are decreasing in prevalence but increasing in severity. The ...percentage of dental malpractice payments is also growing among the health profession. The present study aimed to explore criminal convictions in dental malpractice litigation and to analyze the factors affecting the judgment in dental disputes in Taiwan.
The keywords “dentist,” “professional negligence,” “medical malpractice,” and “professional liability” were used to search Taiwan's Law and Regulations Retrieving System for criminal dental malpractice cases in all district courts from January 1, 2000 to June 30, 2021. The eligible judgments were summarized and analyzed.
Overall, 425 cases were identified, with 28 dental disputes included in the final analysis. The dentists lost in 10 cases (35.7%). The average claim time was 36.75 ± 16.34 months. Taipei and Taichung dealt with more lawsuit cases (n = 8). Local clinics were the most common institution of the defendants (75%) and had the highest number of convictions (n = 9). Implant dentistry was the most common specialty involved. Expert testimony of the Medical Review Committee (MRC) had a high K coefficient of agreement with court judgments regarding professional negligence (p < 0.001).
The overall criminal conviction rate was 35.7%. Implant therapy and local clinics had the highest rate of lawsuits and a considerably higher conviction rate. All guilty dentists were fined or given probation. The court judgments were highly consistent with the expert testimony of the MRC.
Self-assembled systems have recently attracted extensive attention because they can display a wide range of phase morphologies in nanocomposites, providing a new arena to explore novel phenomena. ...Among these morphologies, a bicontinuous structure is highly desirable based on its high interface-to-volume ratio and 3D interconnectivity. A bicontinuous nickel oxide (NiO) and tin dioxide (SnO
) heteroepitaxial nanocomposite is revealed here. By controlling their concentration, we fabricated tuneable self-assembled nanostructures from pillars to bicontinuous structures, as evidenced by TEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy with a tortuous compositional distribution. The experimentally observed growth modes are consistent with predictions by first-principles calculations. Phase-field simulations are performed to understand 3D microstructure formation and extract key thermodynamic parameters for predicting microstructure morphologies in SnO
:NiO nanocomposites of other concentrations. Furthermore, we demonstrate significantly enhanced photovoltaic properties in a bicontinuous SnO
:NiO nanocomposite macroscopically and microscopically. This research shows a pathway to developing innovative solar cell and photodetector devices based on self-assembled oxides.
The purpose of this study was to predict the 10-year risk of fracture among people living with HIV (PLWH) using FRAX™, and to determine the risk factors related to a high probability of fractures.
...This study consisted of 288 subjects aged 40 years and above. The ten-year probability of major osteoporotic fractures (MOF) and hip fractures was assessed using the FRAX™ algorithm with bone mineral density (BMD) data. A logistic regression was used to determine risk factors related to a high probability of major osteoporotic fracture and hip fracture.
The median 10-year probability of fracture was 3.7% (IQR 2.2–6.2) for MOF and 0.8% (IQR 0.3–2.5) for hip fractures. In addition to old age, previous fracture history, and low T-scores, HCV co-infection was associated with a higher risk of hip fractures in PLWH (AOR: 4.3, 95% CI: 1.29–14.33). Old age and low T-scores were also associated with a high probability of MOF.
HCV co-infection among PLWH is associated with a higher risk of hip fracture. Sustained efforts in terms of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions in PLWH are necessary to prevent osteoporotic fractures, especially in those with HCV co-infections.
This study focused on the effect of acute Judo training on countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and perceived fatigue among a group of highly trained collegiate judo athletes. Twenty male judo ...athletes participated in this study (age: 20.65 ± 1.22 years, weight: 84.17 ± 28.45 kg). Participants were assessed for CMJperformance changes before, immediately after (0 h), 12 h after, and 24 h after judo training (JT) using unloaded CMJ(CMJ
) and loaded CMJ(CMJ
). All the jumps were performed on a force plate, and the force-time curves were collected for further analysis. Respondents' perceptions were evaluated using the modified rating of perceived exertion (mRPE) before, after (0 h), 12 h, and 24 h after JT. CMJparameters were analyzed at four measured points using a one-way repeated analysis of variance. Effect sizes (ES) and percentage changes before versus 24 h after JT were calculated for comparison. Associations between the CMJparameters and mRPE were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation. The ratio of flight time to contact time significantly decreased, whereas the eccentric duration, concentric duration, and total duration significantly increased (
< 0.05) in both CMJs 24 h after JT. Compared with CMJ
, CMJ
had a significantly lower (
< 0.05) flight time, jump height, peak velocity, and peak power. The mRPE and CMJ
peak velocity showed moderate- to high-level negative correlation results both 0 and 24 h after training (
= -0.543,
< 0.05;
= -0.479,
< 0.05). In this study, we only observed the effect of fatigue on the neuromuscular (NM) system 24 h after JT. CMJ
height may help to better determine fatigue state compared with CMJ
. According to the results, the neuromuscular effects of fatigue were not observed until 24 h after a single high-intensity training. Therefore, when arranging high-intensity special training or strength and conditioning training, one should reduce the volume of training appropriately to avoid fatigue accumulation and reduce the risk of sports injuries.
Although high-nickel cathodes (Ni ≥ 90%) have immense potential for use in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of their high energy densities and low material costs. However, structural instability ...and poor cycling performance have hampered their applications. In this study, we synthesized LiNi0.9Co0.05Mn0.05O2 (denoted “NCM9055″) cathode materials and coated them with Li3PO4 by using a wet-chemical method. We employed X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate the effects of Li3PO4 surface modification. The (NH4)2HPO4 precursors reacted with the surface residual lithium compounds of NCM9055 to form amorphous Li3PO4 and this active coating layer improved the chemical stability at the electrode-electrolyte interface by suppressing deleterious surface side reactions. Accordingly, the Li+ ion conductivity, rate capability, and long-term cycling performance of the material improved significantly. Measurements of the electrochemical performance revealed that after 200 cycles at a rate of 1 C and a cut-off voltage of 2.7–4.3 V, the 1 mol% Li3PO4–coated NCM9055 (denoted “1P@NCM9055”) cathode retained 90.2% of its initial discharge capacity (ca. 192.9 mA h g–1), whereas the pristine (NCM9055) retained 74.2% of its initial discharge capacity (ca. 196.8 mA h g–1) at room temperature. Our findings should encourage the development and applications of our as-prepared Ni-rich cathode materials in commercial LIBs.
Display omitted
•Nickel-rich layered NCM9055 cathode material was chosen as a base material.•Li3PO4 surface coating was applied to suppress undesirable surface side reactions with electrolyte in Li-ion batteries.•One-mole percent of phosphate was the optimum amount to increase the content of Ni3+ in the TM slab.•Li+ ion transport is accelerated by reducing the interface passive layer and cation mixing (Li+/Ni2+ disorder).•After 200 cycles at a 1 C charge-discharging rate, the 1 mol% Li3PO4 coating improved the capacity retention of the cathode by a factor of 21.61%.
Cervical lymph node metastasis represents the major prognosticator for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Here, we used an iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic approach to identify proteins ...that are differentially expressed between microdissected primary and metastatic OSCC tumors. The selected candidates were examined in tissue sections via immunohistochemistry, and their roles in OSCC cell function investigated using RNA interference. Seventy-four differentially expressed proteins in nodal metastases, including PRDX4 and P4HA2, were identified. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed significantly higher levels of PRDX4 and P4HA2 in tumor cells than adjacent non-tumor epithelia (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively), and even higher expression in the 31 metastatic tumors of lymph nodes, compared to the corresponding primary tumors (P = 0.060 and P = 0.002, respectively). Overexpression of PRDX4 and P4HA2 was significantly associated with positive pN status (P = 0.048 and P = 0.021, respectively). PRDX4 overexpression was a significant prognostic factor for disease-specific survival in both univariate and multivariate analyses (P = 0.034 and P = 0.032, respectively). Additionally, cell migration and invasiveness were attenuated in OEC-M1 cells upon in vitro knockdown of PRDX4 and P4HA2 with specific interfering RNA. Novel metastasis-related prognostic markers for OSCC could be identified by our approach.
Peripheral intravenous catheterization (PIVC) is pivotal to pediatric medical care; however, it is a challenging technique for pediatricians, and the parameters affecting successful pediatric PIVC ...establishment have not been fully investigated.
This prospective observational study collected data from pediatric patients aged less than 18 years who required PIVC. The participants were categorized into five groups for subgroup analysis: newborn, infant, toddler, pre-school, and student (children and adolescent). Data on demography, biochemistry, and PIVC executors were examined to elucidate the most powerful factors affecting the success of PIVC.
A total of 935 peripheral venous cannulations conducted within 1 year were studied. Age-subgroup analysis showed the highest failure rate (FR) of PIVC in the infant group (18.4%). No significant difference in BMI standard deviation score was noted among the groups (p-value = 0.430). Compared with those for the success group, more attempts, longer completion time, and more medical staff were needed for the failure group (all p-values < 0.05). A high serum procalcitonin level was correlated with an increased FR (p-value = 0.016). In addition, the success rate was positively associated with the seniority of the operators, except for the 3-year experienced R3 group (93.5%) showing a higher success rate than the 4-year experienced CR group (84.2%).
Difficulty in setting up PIVC was the greatest in infants and even greater than that in newborns. Even though seniority was a cardinal factor in successful PIVC, a high FR was still noted despite the lack of continuous and steady practice.
PDF
