Obtaining written informed consent from participants before enrolment in a study is essential. A previous study showed that only 50% of the participants in clinical trials understood the components ...of informed consent, and the methods of participants' understanding of informed consent were controversial. This updated meta-analysis aimed to estimate the proportion of participants in clinical trials who understand the different informed consent components. PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Scopus were searched till April 2023. Therapeutic misconception, ability to name one risk, knowing that treatments were being compared, and understanding the nature of the study, the purpose of the study, the risks and side-effects, the direct benefits, placebo, randomization, voluntariness, freedom to withdraw, the availability of alternative treatment if withdrawn from the trial, confidentiality, compensation, or comprehension were evaluated. This meta-analysis included 117 studies (155 datasets; 22,118 participants). The understanding of the risks and side-effects was investigated in the largest number of studies (n = 100), whereas comparehension was investigated in the smallest number (n = 11). The highest proportions were 97.5%(95% confidence interval (CI): 97.1-97.9) for confidentiality, 95.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 95.4-96.4) for compensation, 91.4% (95% CI: 90.7-92.1) for the nature of study, 68.1% (95% CI: 51.6-84.6) for knowing that treatments were being compared, and 67.3% (95% CI: 56.6-78) for voluntary nature of participants. The smallest proportions were the concept of placebo (4.8%, 95%CI: 4.4-5.2) and randomization(39.4%, 95%CI: 38.3-40.4). Our findings suggested that most participants understood the fundamental components of informed consent (study confidentiality, nature, compensation, voluntariness, and freedom to withdraw). The understanding of other components, such as placebo and randomization was less satisfactory.
Fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) are a new type of photoluminescent nanomaterial. Solid-state CDs usually undergo fluorescence quenching due to direct π-π* interactions and superabundant energy ...resonance transfer. Therefore, the preparation of solid-state fluorescent CDs is a challenge, especially the preparation of long wavelength solid-state CDs. In this research, long wavelength emission CDs were successfully synthesized by solvothermal methods, and the prepared CDs showed good hydrophobicity. The composite solid-state CDs/PVP (Polyvinyl pyrrolidone) can emit strong red fluorescence, and the quantum yield (QY) of the CDs/PVP powder reaches 18.9%. The prepared CDs/PVP solid-state powder was successfully applied to latent fingerprint detection. The results indicate that the latent fingerprints developed by CDs/PVP powder have a fine definition and high contrast visualization effect, which proves that the prepared CDs/PVP has great application potential in latent fingerprint detection. This study may provide inspiration and ideas for the design of new hydrophobic CDs.
Background. As a chronic inflammatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) usually leads to cartilage and bone damage, even disability. Earlier detection and diagnosis are crucial to improve the ...therapeutic efficacy, and the aim of our study is to identify a potential diagnostic signature for RA. Methods. We downloaded the GSE124373 dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. And differential expression analysis of miRNAs was conducted using the limma package of R language. The potential targeted mRNAs of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using the MiRTarBase database. The clusterProfiler package in R language was used to conduct functional enrichment analysis (GO term and KEGG pathway). Then, based on the key miRNAs screened by stepwise regression analysis, the logistic regression model was built and it was evaluated using a 5-fold cross-validation method. Results. A total of 19 differentially expressed miRNAs in the blood sample of RA patients compared with that of healthy subjects were identified. Nine optimal miRNAs were screened by using stepwise regression analysis, and four key miRNAs hsa-miR-142-5p, hsa-miR-1184, hsa-miR-1246, and hsa-miR-99b-5p were further optimized. Finally, a logistic regression model was built based on the four key miRNAs, which could reliably separate RA patients from healthy subjects. Conclusion. Our study established a logistic regression diagnostic model based on four crucial miRNAs, which could separate the sample type reliably.
Aim
To investigate the linkage of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) gene polymorphisms with the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Methods
This meta‐analysis study systematically retrieved ...relevant studies from PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central, Wanfang Data, CNKI, and SinoMed up to November 2020. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the association between MMP gene polymorphisms and OA.
Results
A total of nine case–control studies comprising 1719 knee OA patients and 1904 controls were included in this meta‐analysis. The results revealed that MMP‐1‐1607 (rs1799750) 1G/2G polymorphism was not significantly associated with knee OA risk in four genetic models (OR (95% CI): allele model: 0.89 (0.57, 1.40), p = .615); dominant mode: 0.82 (0.47, 1.44), p = .486; recessive model: 0.88 (0.49, 1.57), p = .659; homozygote model: 0.79 (0.34, 1.82), p = .576. The association was significant for dominant model of MMP‐3 C/T: 1.54 (1.10–2.15), p = .013, especially in Asian ethnicity (1.63 (1.11, 2.39), p = .013). Variants of MMP‐13 C/T polymorphism were associated with increased risk of knee OA development based on dominant model: 1.56 (1.19, 2.06), p = .001 and homozygote model: 2.12 (1.44, 3.13), p < .001, and there were significant associations between MMP‐13 C/T polymorphism and knee OA risk in Asian ethnicity under different genetic models (all p > .05).
Conclusions
Present evidence suggested that the gene polymorphisms of MMP‐1‐1607 1G/2G may not be associated with the risk of OA. But, the dominant model of MMP‐3 and MMP‐13 polymorphisms in Asian ethnicity was significantly correlated with knee OA.
The rapid development of Large Language Models (LLMs) has facilitated a variety of applications from different domains. In this technical report, we explore the integration of LLMs and the popular ...academic writing tool, Overleaf, to enhance the efficiency and quality of academic writing. To achieve the above goal, there are three challenges: i) including seamless interaction between Overleaf and LLMs, ii) establishing reliable communication with the LLM provider, and iii) ensuring user privacy. To address these challenges, we present OverleafCopilot, the first-ever tool (i.e., a browser extension) that seamlessly integrates LLMs and Overleaf, enabling researchers to leverage the power of LLMs while writing papers. Specifically, we first propose an effective framework to bridge LLMs and Overleaf. Then, we developed PromptGenius, a website for researchers to easily find and share high-quality up-to-date prompts. Thirdly, we propose an agent command system to help researchers quickly build their customizable agents. OverleafCopilot (https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/overleaf-copilot/eoadabdpninlhkkbhngoddfjianhlghb ) has been on the Chrome Extension Store, which now serves thousands of researchers. Additionally, the code of PromptGenius is released at https://github.com/wenhaomin/ChatGPT-PromptGenius. We believe our work has the potential to revolutionize academic writing practices, empowering researchers to produce higher-quality papers in less time.
Military regulations are of great significance to modern military operations. However, consulting the texts is inefficient and error-prone. A military legal question answering system is constructed ...by integrating retrieval and knowledge graph technologies. The optimized TF-IDF model is used to establish a data structure for the hierarchical retrieval of laws and regulations to improve the efficiency. Knowledge graph technologies are used to generate a large amount of knowledge for the clauses of laws and regulations, ensuring the ability of question understanding. According to the characteristics of military laws and regulations, the algorithms of question processing and clause retrieval are designed, and the complete answer is composed of a short answer, clause content and an answer source. Analysis and testing show that the underlying data constructed is highly hierarchical and semantically rich. The prototype system can accurately answer questions from multiple perspectives, and it combines the advantages
In the present investigation, both static and dynamic precipitations of an Al–Mg–Si–Cu aluminum alloy after solid-solution treatment(SST)were comparatively analyzed using differential scanning ...calorimetry(DSC). Dynamic aging was performed in the SST alloy through equal channel angular pressing(ECAP) at different temperatures of room temperature, 110, 170, 191 and 300 1C. For comparison, static artificial aging was conducted in the SST alloy at 191 1C with two aging times of 4 and 10 h. The DSC analyses reveal that the dynamic precipitation has occurred in the ECAPed samples, while the activation energies associated with the strengthening precipitates in the dynamic samples are considerably higher than the energies in the SST and static aged samples. The higher activation energies are probably attributed to the smaller grains and higher dislocation density developed after ECAP. The results in the present investigation allow the prediction of the type of the dynamic precipitates to influence the strength of the ultrafine grained alloy during ECAP at various temperatures.
Background： Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery （LESS） may serve as a potential alternative to conventional laparoscopy and is developing quickly, but still in its infancy. The study is to present ...our two-year experience in transumbilical LESS simple nephrectomy （LESS-SN） for non-functioning kidney, in an effort to evaluate its feasibility, clinical outcomes and potential advantages. Methods： From December 2008 to December 2010, a total of 11 patients with body mass index （BMI）≤30 underwent transumbilical TriPortTM LESS-SN by a single experienced urologist at our institution. The indications for nephrectomy included nonfunctioning kidney associated with ureteropelvic junction stricture （n=l）, ureteral calculi （n=6）, tuberculosis （n=3）, and ureteral stricture （n=l）. Patient demographics perioperative and follow-up data were prospectively collected and analyzed. Results： Ten procedures were successfully completed with one patient converted to open surgery due to uncontrollable bleeding. The mean operative time was 189.2 （ranging 100-320 min） with an estimated blood loss of 204.5 （ranging 50-1 000 ml）. There were two complications of bleeding （1- intra-, 1- post-）. The mean hospitalization after surgery was 7.9 d （ranging 4-17 d） With a regular follow-up of 1, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery, all patients remained symptom-free with an intra-umbilical scar. Conclusion： Transumbilical LESS simple nephrectomy for nonfunctioning kidney can be accomplished with favorable surgical outcomes and a superiority of cosmesis. However, cases with chronic inflammation are not suitable for initial up-take and should only be attempted by the very experienced laparoscopist.
Objective： To describe two cases of bilateral transumbilical laparoendoscopic single-site（LESS） surgeries in a single operative session and assess the safety, feasibility and efficacy. Methods： One ...patient underwent right ureterolithotomy and left varicocelectomy, and the patient was performed with right simple nephrectomy for nonfunctioning kidney due to ureteral calculus and left ureterolithotomy using a novel multichannel TriPortTM via a single 2-3 cm transumbilical incision Results： The right-side ureterolithotomy and left-side varicocelectomy were finished in 229 minutes, with a total estimated blood loss of 50 hal. The right-side simple nephrectomy and left-side ureterolithotomy in the other patient were finished in 340 minutes, with a total estimated blood loss of 100 ml. There were no major complications. At the latest follow-up, both patients remained symptom-free and there were no evidences of recurrence. Both of them were delighted for the single scarConclusion： Synchronous LESS urologic procedure via a single umbilical incision is technically feasible, safe and efficacious with a promising potential
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