Background and aim: Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) and single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) are new techniques capable of providing deep enteroscopy. Results of individual studies comparing these ...techniques have not been able to identify a superior strategy. Our aim was to systematically pool all available studies to compare the efficacy and safety of DBE with SBE for evaluation of the small bowel.
Methods: Databases were searched, including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The main outcome measures were complete small-bowel visualization, diagnostic yield, therapeutic yield, and complication rate. Statistical analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan version 5.2). Meta-analysis was performed using fixed-effect or random-effect methods, depending on the absence or presence of significant heterogeneity. We used the χ2 and I2 test to assess heterogeneity between trials. Results were expressed as risk ratios (RR) or mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results: Four prospective, randomized, controlled trials with a total of 375 patients were identified. DBE was superior to SBE for visualization of the entire small bowel pooled RR = 0.37 (95% CI: 0.19–0.73; P = 0.004). DBE and SBE were similar in ability to provide diagnosis pooled RR = 0.95 (95% CI: 0.77–1.17; P = 0.62). There was no significant difference between DBE and SBE in therapeutic yield pooled RR = 0.78 (95% CI: 0.59–1.04; P = 0.09) and complication rate pooled RR = 1.08 (95% CI: 0.28–4.22); P = 0.91.
Conclusions: DBE was superior to SBE with regard to complete small bowel visualization. DBE was similar to SBE with regard to diagnostic yield, ability to provide treatment and complication rate, but these results should be interpreted with caution as they is based on very few studies and the overall quality of the evidence was rated as low to moderate, due to the small sample size.
Experiments that pursue detection of signals from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) are relying on spectral smoothness of source spectra at low frequencies. This article empirically explores the effect ...of foreground spectra on EoR experiments by measuring high-resolution full-polarization spectra for the 586 brightest unresolved sources in one of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) EoR fields using 45 h of observation. A novel peeling scheme is used to subtract 2500 sources from the visibilities with ionospheric and beam corrections, resulting in the deepest, confusion-limited MWA image so far. The resulting spectra are found to be affected by instrumental effects, which limit the constraints that can be set on source-intrinsic spectral structure. The sensitivity and power-spectrum of the spectra are analysed, and it is found that the spectra of residuals are dominated by point spread function sidelobes from nearby undeconvolved sources. We release a catalogue describing the spectral parameters for each measured source.
Groundwater plays an important role in our environment. In recent decades, groundwater-related issues within the river basin are significantly increasing in most part of the world. It is essential to ...estimate the magnitude of groundwater storage changes as well as runoff generated within the river basin. The principal objectives of the study are to quantify the water budget parameters for Baitarani River Basin of India and to analyze the season-wise trend analysis of groundwater storage by using Innovative Trend Analysis (ITA). Climatic data from eight Indian meteorological stations were used to estimate direct runoff from enhanced SCS-CN (Soil Conservation Service Curve Number) method, Potential Evapo-Transpiration (PET) was estimated by using Hargreaves method in R studio platform. The analysis showed that precipitation and surface runoff followed a non-monotonic negative (− ve) trend in winter season and monotonic positive (+ ve) trend in all other season for all stations. It was also observed that the groundwater storage is increasing in winter and post-monsoon season. In the lower catchment areas, groundwater storage was more due to flat topography and good aquifer type, where groundwater use can be enhanced. But in upper catchment areas, groundwater storage capacity is comparatively less hence rain water conservation structures could be suggested to check the surface runoff and provide options for increasing groundwater recharge. This study will be helpful to focus on regional scale planning to address the water management issues within the basin, which will be ultimately helpful for agriculture, watershed development and environmental planning.
The tissue source of exosomes in EBC remains to be characterized. Because exosomes are known to mediate miRNA targeting of distant cells, we speculated whether miRNA content of exhaled breath, being ...contained in exosomes, might target epithelial cells of the airway. ...we obtained scrapes of the posterior nasal respiratory epithelial cells in a separate group of subjects, examined gene expression profiles, and compared these with the targets of the miRNAs associated with asthma (see Fig E2 and Table E2 in this article's Online Repository at www.jacionline.org).
ABSTRACT The detection of redshifted 21 cm emission from the epoch of reionization (EoR) is a challenging task owing to strong foregrounds that dominate the signal. In this paper, we propose a ...general method, based on the delay spectrum approach, to extract H i power spectra that are applicable to tracking observations using an imaging radio interferometer ("Delay Spectrum with Imaging Arrays"). Our method is based on modeling the H i signal taking into account the impact of wide field effects such as the w-term, which are then used as appropriate weights in cross-correlating the measured visibilities. Our method is applicable to any radio interferometer that tracks a phase center and could be utilized for arrays such as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Donald C. Backer Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization (PAPER), and HERA. In the literature the delay spectrum approach has been implemented for near-redundant baselines using drift scan observations. In this paper we explore the scheme for non-redundant tracking arrays. This is the first application of delay spectrum methodology to such data to extract the H i signal. We analyze 3 hr of MWA tracking data on the EoR1 field. We present both two-dimensional ( ) and one-dimensional (k) power spectra from the analysis. Our results are in agreement with the findings of other pipelines developed to analyze the MWA EoR data.
In recent times, the sustainability of rice-rice cropping systems has been threatened by a yield plateau, high input cost, declining water and labor availability, and increasing food demand. Hence, ...the rice-based cropping systems seek more attention in relation to nutrient management. This study evaluated the impact of 16-year long-term fertilizer application on crop and water productivity, yield trend, nutrient use-efficiency, and profitability of a rice-rice system (eight treatments and four replications; randomized block design). The study showed that the integrated application NPK and FYM (BInOF) significantly increased grain yield up to (∼3949 kg ha
−1
) and benefit cost ratio (2.01 and 1.62) in monsoon and winter rice. Furthermore, organic manure along with inorganic fertilizers significantly increased the nutrient uptake up to (80-89 kg ha
−1
N; ∼16-19 kg ha
−1
P; ∼85-106 kg ha
−1
K; 0.22-0.25 kg ha
−1
Zn) in monsoon and winter rice. The largest N recovery was observed under BInOF plots (54.9 to 59.8%). The highest carbon sequestration (2.06 t ha
−1
after 16 years of cultivation) and water productivity (3.5-4.5 kg grain ha-mm
−1
) was observed under BInOF system (NPK + FYM). The sustainable yield index (SYI, 0.7), an indicator of rice sustainability was highest in BInOF. This study offers valuable insights into the impacts of chemical fertilizers and organic manures on the sustainability of the rice-rice cropping system. Such findings can guide policymakers in formulating strategies for crop diversification and underscore the importance of incorporating organic matter for optimal crop performance.
Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) remains a difficult management problem despite advances in vitreoretinal surgery. There is still a significant incidence of PVR in rhegmatogenous retinal ...detachment and other forms of retinal disease. Surgery for PVR now has a high anatomical success rate although visual results are often disappointing. The use of adjunctive treatments to prevent cellular proliferation holds promise for the prevention of PVR or recurrences after surgery. Control of proliferation and strategies aimed at improving visual outcome are important areas of future research in PVR and other forms of retinal disease. Studies of the intraretinal and peri-retinal pathology of PVR have demonstrated characteristic changes which may have a significant influence on visual outcome and surgical management.
PDF
