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BACKGROUND: Globally, there are about 800 maternal deaths every day, with low-to-middle-income countries accounting for most of these deaths. A lack of access to maternal healthcare services is one of the main causes of these deaths. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), one of the barriers to accessing maternal healthcare services by women is a lack of their male partners' involvement. This scoping review aimed to assess the enablers and barriers to men's involvement in maternal healthcare services...

OBJECTIVES: Many oncology health professionals (HPs) report communicating with carers as complex; and receive limited carer-relevant training. We developed an online HP education program for supporting and managing carer involvement (eTRIO). We aimed to assess whether HPs' self-efficacy in carer communication, knowledge, and decision-making preferences improve following eTRIO. Satisfaction and implementation potential were assessed. METHODS: This type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study used a pre-post single arm intervention design...

Recycling aluminium in a rotary furnace with salt-fluxes allows recovering valuable alloys from hard-to-recycle waste/side-streams such as packaging, dross and incinerator bottom ash. However, this recycling route generates large amounts of salt-slag/salt-cake hazardous wastes which can pose critical environmental risks if landfilled. To tackle this issue, the metallurgical industry has developed processes to valorise the salt-slag residues into recyclable salts and aluminium concentrates, while producing by-products such as ammonium sulphate and non-metallic compounds (NMCs), with applications in the construction or chemical industries...

The relationship of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ) exposure and insulin resistance remains inclusive. Our study aimed to investigate this association in the project of Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR). Specifically, we examined the associations between long-term PM2.5 exposure and three surrogate indicators of insulin resistance: the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), TyG with waist circumference (TyG-WC) and metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR). Additionally, we explored potential effect modification of dietary intake and components...

The increasing number of passengers and services using railways and the corresponding increase in rail use has caused the acceleration of rail wear and surface defects which makes rail defect identification an important issue for rail maintenance and monitoring to ensure safe and efficient operation. Traditional visual inspection methods for identifying rail defects are time-consuming, less accurate, and associated with human errors. Deep learning has been used to improve railway maintenance and monitoring tasks...

Ageing is associated with widespread physiological changes prominent within all tissues, including skeletal muscle and the brain, which lead to a decline in physical function. To tackle the growing health and economic burdens associated with an ageing population, the concept of healthy ageing has become a major research priority. Changes in skeletal muscle mitochondrial characteristics have been suggested to make an important contribution to the reductions in skeletal muscle function with age, and age-related changes in mitochondrial content, respiratory function, morphology, and mitochondrial DNA have previously been reported...

Platinum group metals (PGMs) are strategic metals. Auto-exhaust catalysts are their main application fields. The recovery of PGMs from spent auto-exhaust catalysts has remarkable economic value and strategic significance. Aiming at the problems of ferrosilicon generation for Fe capturing and subsequent oxygen blowing to remove iron with high energy consumption and heat release, a technology of Fe-Sn synergistic capturing PGMs was proposed. Taking full the advantage of the lower melting point of Fe-Sn alloy (<1200 °C) and its unique affinity for PGMs, the PGMs were captured at approximate 1400 °C with Fe-Sn as the collector...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether a flipped classroom curriculum coupled with case-based learning would improve residents' perceptions of the learning environment, improve education outcomes, and increase faculty engagement. Research suggests that active learning yields better educational results compared with passive learning. However, faculty are more comfortable providing lectures that require only passive participation from learners. METHODS: A council was created to identify issues with the current format of the resident didactic curriculum and to redesign the neurosurgical curriculum and conference per Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify predictive factors of postoperative cerebral infarction (PostCI) following combined bypass (CB) surgery in adult patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) using quantitative parameters from the rapid processing of perfusion and diffusion (RAPID) perfusion CT (PCT) software. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed 276 total hemispheres in patients with MMD who underwent CB. Preoperative volumes of time-to-maximum (Tmax) > 4 sec and > 6 sec were obtained from the RAPID analysis of PCT...

OBJECTIVE: Physical stress associated with the static posture of neurosurgeons over prolonged periods can result in fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders. Objective assessment of surgical ergonomics may contribute to postural awareness and prevent further complications. This pilot study examined the feasibility of using wearable technology as a biofeedback tool to address this gap. METHODS: Ten neurosurgeons, including 5 attendings (all faculty) and 5 trainees (1 fellow, 4 residents), were recruited and equipped with two wearable sensors attached to the back of their head and their upper back...

OBJECTIVE: Bilateral spheno-orbital meningiomas (bSOMs) are a rare entity among meningiomas. These tumors are benign and predominantly affect women. They represent 4% of spheno-orbital meningiomas (SOMs) and are poorly described in the literature. This study aimed to describe the characteristics, risk factors, evolution, and management of bSOMs. METHODS: Twenty patients with bSOMs were enrolled in a multicentric descriptive study including 15 neurosurgical departments...

Cranberries are rich in polyphenols, have a high antioxidant capacity, and may protect against exercise-induced free radical production. Mitochondria are known producers of free radical in skeletal muscle, and preventing overproduction of radicals may be a viable approach to improve muscle health. This stud aimed to investigate the effect of a polyphenol-rich cranberry extract on muscle oxidative capacity and oxygenation metrics in healthy active adults. 17 participants (9 males, 8 females) were tested at: i) baseline, ii) 2 hours following an acute CE dose (0...

OBJECTIVES: Limited data are available on patients with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) who require ostomy during primary cytoreductive surgery. This study aimed to investigate the application of postoperative and long-term oncological results from transitory protective stoma (TPS) formation during primary debulking surgery (PDS) for OC. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study with a single center. We identified patients with stage III-IV OC who underwent colon resection and anastomosis...

INTRODUCTION: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a dangerous complication after total hip arthroplasty (THA), despite advances in chemoprophylactic measures. This study aimed to identify risk factors of developing pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after THA using a modern cohort of patients reflecting contemporary practices. METHODS: The Premier Healthcare Database was queried for primary, elective THAs from January 1st, 2015, to December 31st, 2021...

INTRODUCTION: Despite recent efforts to increase the participation of women in orthopaedic surgery, there remains a gender gap, particularly when compared with other medical specialties. Acting as a principal investigator (PI) in a clinical trial can give physicians notable exposure and national recognition, which can improve their chances of promotion and tenure. This study aims to assess the proportion of women serving as PIs in pediatric orthopaedic clinical trials, examine associated trial characteristics, and explore geographic distribution...

OBJECTIVES: Some drugs that augment cell-intrinsic defenses or modulate cell death/survival pathways have been reported to selectively kill cells infected with HIV or SIV, but comparative studies are lacking. We hypothesized that these drugs may differ in their ability to kill cells infected with intact and defective proviruses. DESIGN: To investigate this hypothesis, drugs were tested ex vivo on Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) from nine ART-suppressed individuals...

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is known to be affected by elevated bilirubin levels in patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC). The clinical significance of changes in the ratio of CA19-9 levels to total bilirubin (TB) levels in patients with GBC after curative-intent resection remains unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of changes in preoperative and postoperative CA19-9/TB ratio in these patients. METHODS: Prospectively colleced data on consecutive patients who underwent curative-intent resection for GBC between January 2015 and December 2020 stored in a multicenter database from 10 hospitals were analysed in this retrospective cohort study...

PURPOSE: Depression is a notable contributor to suboptimal outcomes after total joint arthroplasty (TJA). We conducted a systematic review of comparative studies to review the available evidence of interventions that affected depression scores and/or outcomes for patients undergoing TJA. METHODS: EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and Scopus were reviewed systematically from inception until November 15, 2022. Studies that were relevant for this review included comparative studies between patients who received an intervention within 3 months before or after their primary total hip or knee arthroplasty procedure...

BACKGROUND: The high incidence of early recurrence after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main obstacle in achieving good long-term survival outcomes. The aim of the present study is to develop a prognostic model in predicting the risk of very early (1-year) recurrence. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent liver resection for HCC with curative intent at multi-centers in China were enrolled in this study. The VERM-pre (the Preoperative Very Early Recurrence Model of HCC) with good performance was derived and validated by internal and external cohorts retrospectively and by another two-center cohort prospectively...

BACKGROUND: Engaging families in postsurgical care is potentially beneficial for improving cancer patient outcomes and quality of care. We developed a family involvement program (FIP) and in this study, we aim to evaluate the impact of the FIP on family caregiver burden and well-being. Moreover, we aim to assess the fidelity of the program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a preplanned subgroup analysis of a patient-preferred prospective cohort study that included family caregivers of patients who underwent major oncological surgery for gastrointestinal tumors...