SLS Fabrication of Highly Porous Model Including Fine Flow Channel Network Aiming at Regeneration of Highly Metabolic Organs

Fabrication of very porous scaffold for regeneration of highly metabolic organs is reported. Polycaprolactone (PCL) powder was mixed with fine salt grains as filler and SLS processed to develop a model including fine flow channel network. The fabricated model was rinsed with water to dissolve the salt, and high porosity of 90% was successfully obtained. Additionally, residual powder in the channels was effectively removed by solution of the filler. Through micro-CT observation, it was confirmed that channels of which diameter was smaller than 1mm were successfully fabricated and repeating branching and merging. Result of culture test is also reported.Mechanical Engineerin

Personalized Estimate of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Development and External Validation of a Nomogram in Cancer Patients Receiving Highly/Moderately Emetogenic Chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is presented in over 30% of cancer patients receiving highly/moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC/MEC). The currently recommended antiemetic therapy is merely based on the emetogenic level of chemotherapy, regardless of patient's individual risk factors. It is, therefore, critical to develop an approach for personalized management of CINV in the era of precision medicine.A number of variables were involved in the development of CINV. In the present study, we pooled the data from 2 multi-institutional investigations of CINV due to HEC/MEC treatment in Asian countries. Demographic and clinical variables of 881 patients were prospectively collected as defined previously, and 862 of them had full documentation of variables of interest. The data of 548 patients from Chinese institutions were used to identify variables associated with CINV using multivariate logistic regression model, and then construct a personalized prediction model of nomogram; while the remaining 314 patients out of China (Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) entered the external validation set. C-index was used to measure the discrimination ability of the model.The predictors in the final model included sex, age, alcohol consumption, history of vomiting pregnancy, history of motion sickness, body surface area, emetogenicity of chemotherapy, and antiemetic regimens. The C-index was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.62-0.72) for the training set and 0.65 (95% CI, 0.58-0.72) for the validation set. The C-index was higher than that of any single predictor, including the emetogenic level of chemotherapy according to current antiemetic guidelines. Calibration curves showed good agreement between prediction and actual occurrence of CINV.This easy-to-use prediction model was based on chemotherapeutic regimens as well as patient's individual risk factors. The prediction accuracy of CINV occurrence in this nomogram was well validated by an independent data set. It could facilitate the assessment of individual risk, and thus improve the personalized management of CINV

Pressured HIV testing "in the name of love": a mixed methods analysis of pressured HIV testing among men who have sex with men in China.

INTRODUCTION: HIV testing has rapidly expanded into diverse, decentralized settings. While increasing accessibility to HIV testing is beneficial, it may lead to unintended consequences such as being pressured to test. We examined the frequency, correlates and contexts of pressured HIV testing among Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) using mixed methods. METHODS: We conducted an online survey of MSM (N = 1044) in May 2017. Pressured HIV testing was defined as being forced to test for HIV. We conducted logistic regression analysis to determine the associations between pressured HIV testing and socio-demographic and sexual behavioural factors. Follow-up interviews (n = 17) were conducted with men who reported pressured testing and we analysed qualitative data using a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: Ninety-six men (9.2%) reported experiencing pressure to test for HIV. Regular male sex partners were the most common source of pressure (61%, 59/96), and the most common form of pressure was a threat to end a relationship with the one who was being pressured (39%, 37/96). We found a higher risk of pressured testing in men who had only used HIV self-testing compared to men who had never self-tested (AOR 2.39 (95%CI: 1.38 to 4.14)). However, this relationship was only significant among men with low education (AOR 5.88 (95% CI: 1.92 to 17.99)) and not among men with high education (AOR 1.62 (95% CI: 0.85 to 3.10)). After pressured testing, about half of men subsequently tested for HIV (55%, 53/96) without pressure - none reported being diagnosed with HIV. Consistent with this finding, qualitative data suggest that perceptions of pressure existed on a continuum and depended on the relationship status of the one who pressured them. Although being pressured to test was accompanied by negative feelings, men who were pressured into testing often changed their attitude towards HIV testing, testing behaviours, sexual behaviours and relationship with the one who pressured them to test. CONCLUSION: Pressured HIV testing was reported among Chinese MSM, especially from men with low education levels and men who received HIV self-testing. However, in some circumstances, pressure to test helped MSM in several ways, challenging our understanding of the role of agency in the setting of HIV testing

Assessing the Relevancy of National Culture in Predicting the Efficacy of Constraints in the Information Systems Consulting Domain

Opportunism is present in professional services and, as a result, organizations adopt mechanisms to constrain it. Despite the work on constraining opportunistic consultants, researchers have generally ignored the potential impact of national culture on the efficacy of constraint mechanisms. Using the theory of relationship constraints (TRC), this study examines the effectiveness of different constraint mechanisms for information systems (IS) consultants in the United States and China based on different levels of information asymmetry, tacit and explicit knowledge. While we found support in both cultures for the salience of these dimensions, we also found important distinctions for the effectiveness of different constraints between the cultures. Legal constraints are more effective in China while social constraints are more effective in the United States. While TRC is relevant in both cultures, national culture moderates the effectiveness of various constraint mechanisms and highlights the need for additional study

THE VALUE OF CHIEF DATA OFFICER PRESENCE ON FIRM PERFORMANCE

In the era of big data, there are more and more organizations trying to establish a new breed of executive, Chief Data Officer (CDO), to identify new business opportunity from data assets and optimize corporate revenue. However, the relationship between CDO presence and firm’s financial performance has not been rigorously studied and validated in literature. Based on upper echelon theory and strategic change perspectives, we examined the impact of pre-performance on the CDO appointment, as well as the CDO presence on post-performance. We collected a multi-industry dataset of 68 firms with a CDO position. The results show that the return on assets (ROA) is positively related to CDO appointment, while, market to book ratio (M/B) is negatively related to CDO appointment. In addition, we found that firms with CDO have superior financial performance than their peers who do not. This study provides an initial step towards understanding the empirical linkages between CDO presence and firm performance

A Systematic Review of the Effects of Antipsychotics on Anhedonia by Using Knowledge Graph Approach

Objective: The purpose of the current study is to provides a systematic analysis of the impact of antipsychotic drugs on anhedonia. Methods: We employed the SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms) and the knowledge graph of brain science, to find relevant concepts associated with anhedonia and antipsychotics usage. Results: Altogether there are 23 relevant publication were included in this comprehensive analysis study. The outcomes suggest that D2 receptor partial agonists, such as caliprazine and aripiprazole, are most effective in alleviating anhedonia. At the same time, the efficacy of antipsychotic drugs in relieving anhedonia is related to childhood abuse, early changes in reward sensitivity and hormones. Conclusions: We can fully understand the impact of antipsychotic drugs on anhedonia by using the Knowledge graph technology. It demonstrated that the Knowledge graph achieves how to structure the disease information and data to be processed, so it can meet the requirements of large-scale computing.</p

Bibliometric analysis of nutrition in gastric cancer from 2013 to 2023

BackgroundIncreasing evidence suggests that nutrition plays an important role in the treatment of gastric cancer. However, no bibliometrics analysis has been conducted in this field. Our study aimed to conduct a bibliometric study to explore the latest publishing trends and areas of intense activity within the sphere of nutrition in gastric cancer.MethodPublications were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace (Version 6.2.4) and VOSviewer (Version 1.6.18) were used for visual analysis.ResultsIn total, there were 441 publications authored by 2,941 authors from 809 organizations and 47 countries, published in 182 journals from 2013 to 2023. The most prolific country was China, and the most productive institution was the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The leading core journal was Nutrients. P Daisuke Kobayashi and Yasuhiro Kodera were the most influential authors. The first highly cited document was published in Gastric Cancer by Kamarajah et al. The hotspots in this field were nutrition treatment and nutritional status. Moreover, research on nutritional status and nutrition-related prognosis in gastric cancer might be a potential trend.ConclusionNutrition in gastric cancer is a burgeoning research field garnering increasing attention. Further investigation is necessary to better understand the impact of nutritional status on the prognosis of gastric cancer