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A simple approach combining pyrolysis and hydrogen reduction is formulated for making ferromagnetic-branched nanostructures called Co multipods. The CoO multipods (branched nanostructures) were produced through the pyrolysis of cobalt-oleate in octadecane at 280 [degrees]C with the presence of oleic acid under the protection of pure nitrogen. The angles between the nearest arms are 90[degrees]. After the reduction of the branched CoO nanostructures in flowing hydrogen gas in a tubular oven at 290 [degrees]C, the CoO is reduced to pure cobalt with hexagonal crystal structure and the branched shapes are retained. Anisotropic magnetic properties were found for cobalt multipods on silicon substrates. Index Terms--Co multipods, chemical synthesis, hydrogen reduction, magnetically anisotropic.

Vinyl ester resin (VEOCN) was prepared from o-cresol epoxy resin (EOCN) and methacrylic acid in the presence of triphenyl phosphine as catalyst and hydroquinone as inhibitor with acid value of ~ 7 mg of KOH per gram of solid. O-cresol based novolac resin (OCN), OCN based epoxy resin (EOCN) and VEOCN were characterized by Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FT-IR), 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. The thermal and mechanical behavior of the samples prepared at 30°C from VEOCN using styrene and methyl-methacrylate respectively as reactive diluents, in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (2 phr) as initiator was studied using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Universal Testing Machine (UTM). Chemical resistance of above VER samples was also evaluated as a function of % weight loss and with the help of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), upon immersing the VEOCN samples in different solutions for 90 days.

Methacrylated lignin model compounds (LMCs, i.e., eugenol and guaiacol) monomers are ideal candidates as styrene replacements because they have low volatilities and can free-radically polymerize with vinyl ester resins. This article reports the synthesis of methacrylated eugenol (ME), methacrylated guaiacol (MG) using LMCs and methacrylic anhydride in the presence of 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst. ME and MG were characterized using FT-IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. The thermal and mechanical properties of the samples prepared at 30°C from o-cresol epoxy based vinyl ester resin (VEOCN) using MG and ME, respectively, as reactive monomers, in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (2 phr) as initiator were further investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG/DTA) and universal testing machine (UTM). Chemical and corrosion resistance of cured VEOCN samples coated on steel panels were also evaluated as a function of percentage weight loss and with the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), upon immersing the VEOCN samples in 1 m HCl, 1 m NaOH and 1 m NaCl solutions for 90 days. Thermal, mechanical and chemical performance of VEOCN using ME and MG was also compared with VEOCN samples containing styrene and methyl methacrylate (MMA) as reactive monomers.

Background: Alterations in cellular metabolism affect cancer survival and can manifest in metrics of body composition. We investigated the effects of various body composition metrics on survival in patients with glioblastoma (GBM)., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who had an abdominal and pelvic computed tomography (CT) scan performed within 1 month of diagnosis of GBM (178 participants, 102 males, 76 females, median age: 62.1 years). Volumetric body composition metrics were derived using automated CT segmentation of adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and aortic calcification from L1 to L5. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were performed separately in males and females using known predictors of GBM overall survival (OS) as covariates. A sex-specific composite score of predisposing and protective factors was constructed using the relative importance of each metric in GBM OS., Results: Higher skeletal muscle volume and lower skeletal muscle fat fraction were associated with better OS in the entire dataset. A robust and independent effect on GBM OS was seen specifically for fraction of inter/intramuscular adipose tissue to total adipose tissue after correction for known survival predictors and comorbidities. Worse OS was observed with increased abdominal aortic calcification volume in both sexes. There was a significant difference in GBM OS among participants stratified into quartiles based on sex-specific composite predisposing and protective scores., Conclusion: The relationship between body composition and GBM OS provides an actionable advancement toward precision medicine in GBM management, as lifestyle and dietary regimens can alter body composition and metabolism and from there GBM survival., Competing Interests: V.T.Y.C., D.M., K.P., and M.F.B. developed the software through Voronoi Health Analytics, Inc. that was used for this study. This had no influence on the data analysis, data interpretation, or manuscript preparation and submission at any point., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press, the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the European Association of Neuro-Oncology.)

Background: Defensins are key effector molecules of innate immunity that can contribute towards the diagnosis and monitoring of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present study was conducted to investigate the role of alpha-defensins in patients with COPD by quantifying serum and sputum samples., Methods: A total of 180 patients were enrolled and divided into four groups, and sputum and serum values of alpha-defensins were assessed. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of sputum alpha-defensin as a diagnostic biomarker were evaluated to assess its utility in diagnosing COPD., Results: The mean value of sputum alpha-defensins was found to be statistically significant amongst the four groups (P < 0.001). The highest levels were found in subjects with AECOPD (385.76 ± 116.62 ng/mL). Sputum alpha-defensins were found to be negatively correlated with FEV 1 values (rho = -0.31, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Sputum alpha-defensins can be used as a potential marker for predicting acute exacerbation of COPD. In addition, they could serve as an indicator of disease severity in COPD patients., (Copyright © 2024 Copyright: © 2024 Indian Chest Society.)

Rationale and Objectives: To identify if body composition, assessed with preoperative CT-based visceral fat ratio quantification as well as tumor metabolic gene expression, predicts sex-dependent overall survival (OS) in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)., Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of preoperative CT in 98 male and 107 female patients with PDAC. Relative visceral fat (rVFA; visceral fat normalized to total fat) was measured automatically using software and corrected manually. Median and optimized rVFA thresholds were determined according to published methods. Kaplan Meier and log-rank tests were used to estimate OS. Multivariate models were developed to identify interactions between sex, rVFA, and OS. Unsupervised gene expression analysis of PDAC tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was performed to identify metabolic pathways with similar survival patterns to rVFA., Results: Optimized preoperative rVFA threshold of 38.9% predicted significantly different OS in females with a median OS of 15 months (above threshold) vs 24 months (below threshold; p = 0.004). No significant threshold was identified in males. This female-specific significance was independent of age, stage, and presence of chronic pancreatitis (p = 0.02). Tumor gene expression analysis identified female-specific stratification from a five-gene signature of glutathione S-transferases. This was observed for PDAC as well as clear cell renal carcinoma and glioblastoma., Conclusion: CT-based assessments of visceral fat can predict pancreatic cancer OS in females. Glutathione S-transferase expression in tumors predicts female-specific OS in a similar fashion., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Joseph Ippolito reports the analysis software license was provided by Vital Images Inc., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Gender-based violence (GBV) poses a significant concern in the construction and natural resources industries, where women, due to lower social status and integration, are at heightened risk. This systematic review aimed to identify the prevalence and experience of GBV in the construction and natural resources industries. A systematic search across databases including PubMed, OVID, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL was conducted. The Risk of Bias Instrument for Cross-sectional Surveys of Attitudes and Practices by McMaster University and the Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Studies by the Center for Evidence Based Medicine at the University of Oxford were used to assess the studies included in the review. Six articles were included after full-text analysis. GBV was reported in the construction, mining, urban forestry, and arboriculture sectors. Workplace GBV was measured differently across the studies, and all studies examined more than one form of GBV. The main forms of GBV discussed in these studies were discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexism. The studies provided some insight for demographic factors that may or may not be associated with GBV, such as age, region of work, and number of years working in the industry. The review also suggests that workplace GBV has a negative impact on mental health and well-being outcomes, such as higher levels of stress and lower job satisfaction. The current research has not established the effectiveness of interventions, tools, or policies in these workplaces. Thus, additional research should include intervention studies that aim to minimize or prevent GBV in male-dominated workplaces. The current study can bring awareness and acknowledgement towards GBV in the workplace and highlight the importance of addressing it as this review outlines the negative consequences of GBV on mental health and well-being in these male-dominated industries., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia and Vijay Kumar Chattu are editorial board members for AIMS Public Health and were not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. All authors declare that there are no competing interests., (© 2024 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.)

Objective: PSMA expression is seen in many solid tumours in addition to prostate cancer and several studies and case reports have shown PSMA expression and 68 Ga-PSMA imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our prospective study evaluates the role of 68 Ga-PSMA in HCC patients and compares it to conventional imaging (CE-CT/MRI)., Methods: Patients with radiologically and/or histopathologically confirmed HCC were included and all had undergone serum alpha-fetoprotein (S.AFP) assessment as well as CE-CT/MRI prior to PSMA PET/CT. Acquired whole-body PET/CTs were analysed both visually and quantitatively by two experienced nuclear medicine physicians., Results: Forty-one (41) patients (36 male; 5 female) with known HCC and a mean age of 53.9 ± 10.9 years underwent 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT. All patients had lesions on conventional imaging but only 38/41 patients showed 68 Ga-PSMA uptake. Conventional imaging revealed 18 patients with single lesions, all of which were tracer avid. Twenty-three (23) of 41 patients had multifocal (> 2) hepatic lesions on CE-CT/MRI of which 3 patients showed no 68 Ga-PSMA uptake, 7 showed tracer uptake in a single lesion only and 13 patients had multifocal tracer avid lesions. There was no correlation observed between S. AFP level and tumour SUV max on 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT., Conclusion: 68 Ga-PSMA PET/CT imaging of HCC may complement conventional imaging and identify patients for potential theranostic intervention., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to The Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine.)

Background: Supplementation of spinal anaesthesia with sedatives or anxiolytics has emerged as a standard protocol to alleviate patients' anxiety and to produce amnesia during the surgical procedure. Thus, judicious use of sedation can make surgeries under spinal anaesthesia more comfortable and acceptable for the elderly patient, the surgeon, and the anaesthesiologist. However, over-sedation may jeopardise the safety of the patient. Appropriate sedation helps reduce physiological stress, which leads to a better result. Therefore, monitoring the depth of sedation becomes essential. The Ramsay sedation scale (RSS) and bispectral index (BIS) both are used widely to assess the depth of sedation., Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to assess and correlate the depth of sedation between the BIS and RSS in elderly patients using midazolam and propofol under spinal anaesthesia. The secondary objectives were to observe any difference in the commencement of sedation between the two groups and to observe haemodynamic changes between the two groups., Methods: A total of 60 elderly patients undergoing urological procedures under spinal anaesthesia were randomly assigned to receive either midazolam (Group A, n=30) or propofol (Group B, n=30) for sedation. In Group A, patients were given an initial bolus of midazolam 0.03 mg/kg and a maintenance incremental bolus of 0.01 mg/kg up to a maximum of 2.5 mg in 10-minute intervals. Group B used propofol with an initial bolus dose of 0.5 mg/kg over two minutes and a maintenance bolus of 10-20 mg as required for the maintenance of sedation depth. Sedation was titrated to achieve a BIS score of 70-80 and an RSS score of 3-4. Heart rate, non-invasive systolic, diastolic, mean arterial blood pressure, oxygen saturation (SPO2), and the correlation coefficient between the BIS and RSS were measured at 0 (baseline), 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 minutes of interval., Results: The correlation coefficient between the BIS and RSS scores in Group A at various time intervals indicate a strong correlation coefficient of -0.76 at five minutes, -0.64 at 20 minutes, -0.78 at 30 minutes, -0.56 at 40 minutes, and -0.39 at 50 minutes. In Group B, the correlation coefficient between the BIS and RSS scores at various time intervals indicate a strong correlation coefficient of -0.75 at five minutes, -0.76 at 20 minutes,-0.64 at 30 minutes, -0.89 at 40 minutes, and -0.46 at 50 minutes of interval. We also observed that the BIS drops to a lower level in patients receiving propofol (Group B) with a significant difference depicting early onset of sedation with propofol. In Group B, HR and MAP were significantly less than those of Group A. There was no significant difference in terms of mean age, sex, and body weight in the patients of both groups., Conclusion: The BIS and RSS scores indicate a strong correlation with a magnitude of 70%-80%, but more in Group B (propofol) than Group A (midazolam). Therefore, the characteristics of each sedative drug can influence the level of sedation during spinal anaesthesia. Clinicians should use a combination of BIS values and other objective sedative methods to determine the degree of sedation, rather than relying exclusively on BIS values., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Sachdeva et al.)

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. According to the findings of various studies conducted around the world, the serological response varies greatly among different populations, with the determinants of variable response still unknown, including the role of disease severity, which is thought to have a definite correlation. The purpose of this study was to assess serial SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody response in COVID-19 patients and correlate it with disease severity. It was a longitudinal observational study in which 45 patients (age >18 yrs), were enrolled who had recovered from COVID-19 and were reporting to the post-COVID Care OPD Clinic. Patients who had been on long-term immunosuppressive therapy prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection were not eligible. All patients had not been immunized against SARS-CoV-2 and had no history of contact with recent COVID-19 cases. The patients underwent serial blood tests to determine serum IgG titers specific for SARS-CoV-2 at 30, 60, and 90 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Chemiluminescence was used to perform a semi-quantitative evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody. At 30 days after confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, 98.78% had detectable serum IgG levels, and sero-reversion (loss of previously detectable antibodies) occurred in 2.5% at 60 days and 90 days. Serum IgG was found to peak at 30 days out of the three time points of measurement (30, 60, and 90 days from diagnosis). Serum IgG levels at 90 days were significantly lower than those at 30 days (p<0.0001) and 60 days (p=0.002). The current study's findings shed light on the presence and persistence of serum SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies following a natural infection. The findings point to a long-lasting immune response with increasing severity of initial COVID-19 disease.

Social media is a popular communication and marketing tool in modern society, with the power to reach and engage large audiences. Many members of the medical and radiology communities have embraced social media platforms, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter), as an efficient and economic means for performing patient outreach, disseminating research and educational materials, building networks, and promoting diversity. Editors of medical journals with a clear vision and relevant expertise can leverage social media and other digital tools to advance the journal's mission, further their interests, and directly benefit journal authors and readers. For editors, social media offers a means to increase article visibility and downloads, expand awareness of volunteer opportunities, and use metrics and other feedback to inform future initiatives. Authors benefit from broader dissemination of their work, which aids establishment of a national or international reputation. Readers can receive high-quality high-yield content in a digestible format directly on their devices while actively engaging with journal editors and authors in the online community. The authors highlight the multifaceted benefits of social media engagement and digital tool implementation in the context of medical journalism and summarize the activities of the RadioGraphics Social Media and Digital Innovation Team. By enumerating the social media activities of RadioGraphics and describing the underlying rationale for each activity, the authors present a blueprint for other medical journals considering similar initiatives. © RSNA, 2023.

Objectives: Unrelieved pain significantly affects the quality of life of cancer patients. In rural settings, cancer patients do not have information or knowledge about how to control their pain because of a lack of resources or awareness. We conducted an interventional, questionnaire-based prospective study in a rural tertiary care oncological centre to look for the impact of establishing a pain clinic based on the knowledge and experience of cancer patients regarding their cancer pain., Material and Methods: The patient pain questionnaire was filled by 380 random non-surgical patients complaining of pain who visited our centre for the treatment of cancer. The information generated was used for setting up a pain clinic covering all aspects of cancer pain. After 3 months of starting the pain clinic services, all these patients who visited the pain clinic at least once were again surveyed similarly. Out of 380 patients, we could only follow up with 348 patients and other patients were lost to follow-up., Results: After visiting the pain clinic the mean value of the response for most of the questions decreased suggesting that the responses became more favourable as the knowledge improved and the experience of the pain became less distressing for the patients. The mean value of the responses to all the questions related to the overall knowledge of cancer pain before visiting a pain clinic was 4.22 ± 1.58 and after visiting a pain clinic was 3.83 ± 0.95 which was statistically significant ( P = 0.000). The mean value of the responses to the questions related to the overall experience of the pain before visiting the pain clinic was 3.81 ± 1.42 and after visiting the pain clinic was 2.14 ± 1.05 which was highly significant ( P = 0.000). We found out that the patients who had a higher mean value of the responses (8-10) suggesting the most unfavourable responses benefitted the most and the number of patients having the most unfavourable responses decreased after visiting the pain clinic., Conclusion: In a rural tertiary healthcare cancer centre, the establishment of a pain clinic increased the general understanding and experience of cancer patients regarding their pain and pain management., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 Published by Scientific Scholar on behalf of Indian Journal of Palliative Care.)

Although complex congenital heart disease (CHD) patients usually present in childhood, it is not rare to see adults well past middle age. These patients undergo continuous pathophysiological changes in their heart and blood vessels, making anesthetic management more challenging if surgery is required. Herein, we report a case in which understanding the anatomy and pathophysiology helped optimally manage a patient with a double outlet right ventricle (DORV) who underwent plating and fixation for a hangman's fracture in the prone position.

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None.

This detailed article presents a comprehensive overview of the initial two-year experience in establishing a new cardiothoracic vascular surgery (CTVS) facility in a tier-2 city in India. The article discusses various aspects of setting up and operating a specialized healthcare facility. The first two years of developing the CTVS facility were included in the study period. The manpower included one cardiothoracic vascular surgeon, one cardiac anesthesiologist, two perfusionists, and two physician assistants, along with four other ancillary staff to assist in the smooth functioning of the operation theater. The CTVS recovery staff included 15 nursing officers. There was only one modular operation theater reserved for cardiothoracic vascular surgeries, along with a five-bed recovery room (CTVS intensive care unit). One-hundred-seventy-two procedures were done, including 122 open heart surgeries, 36 vascular procedures, and 14 thoracic procedures. The majority of patients were discharged by the seventh day postoperatively. Overall complication and mortality rates were 8% and 4.6%, respectively. This article also discusses relevant hospital policy, challenges faced, and future recommendations for similar endeavors. The findings highlight the successful implementation of the facility and its impact on providing specialized cardiac care to the local population., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Tiwari et al.)

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.