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Abstract Background This study aimed to assess a potential organ protective effect of volatile sedation in a scenario of severe inflammation with an early cytokine storm (in particular IL-6 elevation) in patients suffering from COVID-19-related lung injury with invasive mechanical ventilation and sedation. Methods This is a small-scale pilot multicenter randomized controlled trial from four tertiary hospitals in Switzerland, conducted between April 2020 and May 2021. 60 patients requiring mechanical ventilation due to severe COVID-19-related lung injury were included and randomized to 48-hour sedation with sevoflurane vs. continuous intravenous sedation (= control) within 24 h after intubation. The primary composite outcome was determined as mortality or persistent organ dysfunction (POD), defined as the need for mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, or renal replacement therapy at day 28. Secondary outcomes were the length of ICU and hospital stay, adverse events, routine laboratory parameters (creatinine, urea), and plasma inflammatory mediators. Results 28 patients were randomized to sevoflurane, 32 to the control arm. The intention-to-treat analysis revealed no difference in the primary endpoint with 11 (39%) sevoflurane and 13 (41%) control patients (p = 0.916) reaching the primary outcome. Five patients died within 28 days in each group (16% vs. 18%, p = 0.817). Of the 28-day survivors, 6 (26%) and 8 (30%) presented with POD (p = 0.781). There was a significant difference regarding the need for vasopressors (1 (4%) patient in the sevoflurane arm, 7 (26%) in the control one (p = 0.028)). Length of ICU stay, hospital stay, and registered adverse events within 28 days were comparable, except for acute kidney injury (AKI), with 11 (39%) sevoflurane vs. 2 (6%) control patients (p = 0.001). The blood levels of IL-6 in the first few days after the onset of the lung injury were less distinctly elevated than expected. Conclusions No evident benefits were observed with short sevoflurane sedation on mortality and POD. Unexpectedly low blood levels of IL-6 might indicate a moderate injury with therefore limited improvement options of sevoflurane. Acute renal issues suggest caution in using sevoflurane for sedation in COVID-19. Trial registration The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04355962) on 2020/04/21.

The clinical performance of the BD Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen (Veritor), a chromatographic immunoassay used for SARS-CoV-2 point-of-care testing, was evaluated using nasal specimens from individuals with COVID-19 symptoms. Two studies were completed to determine clinical performance. In the first study, nasal specimens and either nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal specimens from 251 participants with COVID-19 symptoms (≤7 days from symptom onset [DSO], ≥18 years of age) were utilized to compare Veritor with the Lyra SARS-CoV-2 PCR assay (Lyra). In the second study, nasal specimens from 361 participants with COVID-19 symptoms (≤5 DSO, ≥18 years of age) were utilized to compare performance of Veritor to that of the Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA test (Sofia 2). The positive, negative, and overall percent agreement (PPA, NPA, and OPA, respectively) were the primary outcomes. In study 1, the PPA for Veritor, compared to Lyra, ranged from 81.8 to 87.5% across the 0 to 1 and 0 to 6 DSO ranges. In study 2, Veritor had PPA, NPA, and OPA values of 97.4, 98.1, and 98.1%, respectively, with Sofia 2. Discordant analysis showed one Lyra positive missed by Veritor and five Lyra positives missed by Sofia 2; one Veritor positive result was negative by Lyra. Veritor met FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) acceptance criteria for SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing for the 0 to 5 and 0 to 6 DSO ranges (PPA values of 83.9% and 82.4%, respectively). Veritor and Sofia 2 showed a high degree of agreement for SARS-CoV-2 detection. The Veritor test allows for more rapid COVID-19 testing utilizing easy-to-collect nasal swabs but demonstrated

Abstract Electrocochleography (ECochG) measures electrophysiological inner ear potentials in response to acoustic stimulation. These potentials reflect the state of the inner ear and provide important information about its residual function. For cochlear implant (CI) recipients, we can measure ECochG signals directly within the cochlea using the implant electrode. We are able to perform these recordings during and at any point after implantation. However, the analysis and interpretation of ECochG signals are not trivial. To assist the scientific community, we provide our intracochlear ECochG data set, which consists of 4,924 signals recorded from 46 ears with a cochlear implant. We collected data either immediately after electrode insertion or postoperatively in subjects with residual acoustic hearing. This data descriptor aims to provide the research community access to our comprehensive electrophysiological data set and algorithms. It includes all steps from raw data acquisition to signal processing and objective analysis using Deep Learning. In addition, we collected subject demographic data, hearing thresholds, subjective loudness levels, impedance telemetry, radiographic findings, and classification of ECochG signals.

This article analyzes the connection between gamification and business success, focusing on customer retention, new customer acquisition, and transforming user perceptions. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of 40 high-profile gamification projects, it shows that a combination of three key features—virtualization, social comparison, and tangible rewards—explain the various pathways to success. Each pathway requires the presence—and sometimes absence—of different design features, and firms do best when they focus on one or two objectives rather than all three at once. The article presents a framework for designing and implementing gamification more strategically and effectively, noting the ethical questions that arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the role of the valence of female teachers' perceptions in predicting various student outcomes. Using a prospective design, at the beginning of Grade 5 (T1), we assessed evaluations by 43 female teachers of either mathematics or German, belonging to 22 secondary schools in Germany. We combined a qualitative measurement by using an open-ended question, with a quantitative data analysis. At T1 and T2 (4 months later), the assigned students (N=635) reported their subject-specific achievement, learning and performance goals, and quality of relationship to their teacher. Multilevel analyses revealed that positive teacher perceptions increased future student achievement, while negative teacher perceptions reduced immediate and future learning and performance goals. Further, positive teacher perceptions explained differences in student outcomes between classes, whereas negative teacher perceptions explained differences in student outcomes between schools.

In a cross-sectional questionnaire study with N = 1045 German students between 13 and 18 years old (M = 14.1, SD = 0.6), we investigated the relation between students' cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization and their personal belief in a just world (BJW). We considered students' individual experience of teacher and classmate justice as possible mediators of these relations, and statistically controlled for student sex, internet use, empathy, and social desirability. Bootstrap mediation analyses showed that the more students endorsed personal BJW, the more they evaluated their teachers' and classmates' behavior toward them personally as just, and the less likely they were to report that they cyber-bullied others or were victims of cyber-bullying. The students' individual experiences of teacher justice mediated the association between personal BJW and cyber-bullying perpetration, whereas their experience of classmate justice mediated the relation between personal BJW and cyber-bullying victimization. The pattern of results persisted when we controlled for student sex, average internet use per day, empathy, and social desirability. We discuss the adaptive functions of BJW and implications for future school research and practice.

The treatment with low temperatures, for a certain period, stimulates the accumulation of phytohormones in garlic seed cloves, which influence the growth and development of the plants. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effects of garlic seed cloves under negative temperatures for different periods on the development and productivity of noble garlic cultivated in the Brazilian semi-arid region. Two experiments were carried out and analyzed separately in the municipalities of Mossoró and São Miguel, RN, Brazil, in which three temperature ranges (−5 to −3 °C, −2 to 0 °C and 1 to 3 °C) and three periods (50, 55, and 60 days) were tested. Low-temperature conditioning of the garlic seed cloves was carried out in a temperature-controlled freezer. Relative humidity during treatment ranged from 60 to 70%. Seed cloves submitted to temperatures below zero provided the differentiation of cloves, even in unfavorable edaphoclimatic conditions for cultivating noble garlic. Seed cloves conditioned with negative temperatures increased the productivity of garlic grown in Mossoró, but with a lower average yield than garlic produced in São Miguel. Garlic seed cloves treated at negative temperatures in São Miguel provided garlic productivity equivalent to the yield of garlic grown in the states of the southern region. In addition, it produced class 6 and 7 bulbs, which have greater commercial value and acceptance by consumers. The results demonstrated the potential of garlic seed cloves treated with temperatures below zero to increase the production of noble garlic in the semi-arid region of the country.

IntroductionElectrocochleography (ECochG) measures inner ear potentials in response to acoustic stimulation. In patients with cochlear implant (CI), the technique is increasingly used to monitor residual inner ear function. So far, when analyzing ECochG potentials, the visual assessment has been the gold standard. However, visual assessment requires a high level of experience to interpret the signals. Furthermore, expert-dependent assessment leads to inconsistency and a lack of reproducibility. The aim of this study was to automate and objectify the analysis of cochlear microphonic (CM) signals in ECochG recordings.MethodsProspective cohort study including 41 implanted ears with residual hearing. We measured ECochG potentials at four different electrodes and only at stable electrode positions (after full insertion or postoperatively). When stimulating acoustically, depending on the individual residual hearing, we used three different intensity levels of pure tones (i.e., supra-, near-, and sub-threshold stimulation; 250–2,000 Hz). Our aim was to obtain ECochG potentials with differing SNRs. To objectify the detection of CM signals, we compared three different methods: correlation analysis, Hotelling's T2 test, and deep learning. We benchmarked these methods against the visual analysis of three ECochG experts.ResultsFor the visual analysis of ECochG recordings, the Fleiss' kappa value demonstrated a substantial to almost perfect agreement among the three examiners. We used the labels as ground truth to train our objectification methods. Thereby, the deep learning algorithm performed best (area under curve = 0.97, accuracy = 0.92), closely followed by Hotelling's T2 test. The correlation method slightly underperformed due to its susceptibility to noise interference.ConclusionsObjectification of ECochG signals is possible with the presented methods. Deep learning and Hotelling's T2 methods achieved excellent discrimination performance. Objective automatic analysis of CM signals enables standardized, fast, accurate, and examiner-independent evaluation of ECochG measurements.

Abstract Background The capture of ornamental fish is one of the main economic activities of riverine families in the Amazon. However, studies regarding the local ecological knowledge of workers in this activity are still incipient. In view of this, we have studied and explored the local ecological knowledge of artisanal fishers who specialize in the capture of fish for the aquarium trade in the middle part of the Negro River basin and investigated issues related to the ecological aspects of the fish species that are targeted by this trade in the region. Methods Therefore, we conducted semi-structured interviews and applied questionnaires to artisanal fishers of ornamental fish (N = 89), from the municipality of Barcelos, from January to April 2016. Results In total, 41 popular names were cited, which correspond to four ethnocategories and 10 families. The main species were Paracheirodon axelrodi (12.5%), Hemigrammus bleheri (8.3%), Ancistrus dolichopterus (6.4%), Symphysodon discus (5.3%), and Potamotrygon motoro (3.8%). According to the fishers, the species of fish known in the region as “piabas” have a preference for living in clusters (28.9%) and carry out migratory movements (26.1%). The diet of local fish species reported by fisheries is diverse, though mainly based on periphyton (42.2%), and the reproductive cycle directly influenced by the period of flooding of rivers in the region (37.6%) Conclusion Our study revealed that the fishers possess information on the ecological aspects of local ornamental fish species, many of which are consistent with scientific literature. The information presented may assist in the decision-making process for the management of local fishery resources and contribute to the resumption of growth and sustainability in the capture of ornamental fish.

Agronomic biofortification is a technique that helps reduce hidden hunger worldwide. Zinc (Zn) is important for human health and essential for plant development and growth. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the effects of fertilization with Zn on agronomic performance and the agronomic biofortification of beet. Two experiments were conducted at the Rafael Fernandes Experimental Farm, belonging to the Federal Rural University of the Semi-arid, in Mossoró-RN. Each experiment was designed in complete randomized blocks, with five treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of Zn doses (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 kg ha−1). Zn fertilization did not affect the total and non-commercial yield of beet; however, the dose of 6.0 kg ha−1 of Zn promoted maximum commercial yield (20.34 t ha−1). At the maximum dose, higher Zn content was also observed in the nutritional status diagnosis leaf and higher Zn accumulation was found in the leaf, tuberous root, and throughout the plant. There was also an effect on postharvest variables. There was only tuberous root biofortification in 2021. The recommended dose in beet cultivation is 6.0 kg ha−1 of Zn.

Background: Cochlear implant (CI) electrode insertion can change the mechanical state of the ear whereby wideband tympanometry absorbance (WBTA) may serve as a sensitive tool to monitor these mechanical changes of the peripheral auditory pathway after CI surgery. In WBTA, the amount of acoustic energy reflected by the tympanic membrane is assessed over a wide frequency range from 226 Hz to 8000 Hz. The objective of this study was to monitor changes in WBTA in CI recipients before and after surgery. Methods: Following otoscopy, WBTA measurements were conducted twice in both ears of 38 standard CI recipients before and in the range of 4 to 15 weeks after CI implantation. Changes from pre- to postoperative absorbance patterns were compared for the implanted as well as the contralateral control ear for six different frequencies (500 Hz, 750 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz). Furthermore, the influence of the time point of the measurement, surgical access, electrode type, sex and side of the implantation were assessed for the implanted and the control ear in a linear mixed model. Results: A significant decrease in WBTA could be observed in the implanted ear when compared with the contralateral control ear for 750 Hz (p < 0.01) and 1000 Hz (p < 0.05). The typical two-peak pattern of WBTA measurements was seen in both ears preoperatively but changed to a one-peak pattern in the newly implanted ear. The linear mixed model showed that not only the cochlear implantation in general but also the insertion through the round window compared to the cochleostomy leads to a decreased absorbance at 750 and 1000 Hz. Conclusions: With WBTA, we were able to detect mechanical changes of the acoustical pathway after CI surgery. The implantation of a CI led to decreased absorbance in the lower frequencies and the two-peak pattern was shifted to a one-peak pattern. The result of the linear mixed model indicates that WBTA can detect mechanical changes due to cochlear implantation not only in the middle ear but also in the inner ear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information professionals' Knowledge, Abilities/Skills, Competencies and Aptitudes are concepts widely discussed in the literature, both in academic and professional references, and the term ‘information professional’ is not rarely used in the literature, in different ways. Despite the published works, there are differences between the concepts and their application, especially when analyzing works by authors from different countries and different approaches. The purpose of the ongoing research work is to find out if there are differences regarding the main Knowledge, Abilities/Skills, Competences and Aptitudes of information professionals, perceived either by Portuguese or Brazilian professionals, from the perspective of Information Science. This article presents a discussion of the main concepts related to information professionals, as well as a brief description of the research work that is intended to be carried out.

Abstract We describe the use of calcium sulfate beads as antibiotic carrier in a patient, who suffered from chronic mastoiditis with consecutive otogenic meningitis due to Burkholderia cenocepacia. Our findings suggest a possible role of calcium sulfate matrix as a local antibiotic carrier in the mastoid in complicated mastoiditis cases.

Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic started, the world continues to adapt to the profound effects that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has had on our lives. As the global crisis took hold, many looked to the medical technology/device industry for guidance and solutions. All while the industry itself, was disrupting its own processes and activities. In order to evolve and deliver accelerated innovation the industry had to be agile, resilient and collaborative with the broader healthcare community and technology partners. Now comes a time when we will start to see what changes were temporary and which ones will become part of the new process, but one thing is certain, we will not be going back to where we were pre-pandemic.

In a cross-sectional questionnaire study with N = 1658 German students, aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.1, SD = 0.5), we investigated the relation of students' personal belief in a just world (BJW) to their school absenteeism and functions of school refusal behavior. In accordance with recent studies which identified negative relations between students' BJW and different forms of rule-breaking behavior (e.g., bullying, cheating), we expected that students with a strong BJW would be less likely to refuse school than those with a weak BJW. Furthermore, we considered students' personal experience of teacher justice and their feelings of exclusion from school as possible mediators in this relation. We also controlled for confounding effects of gender, age, social desirability, school reluctance, and test anxiety. To test our hypotheses, we used bootstrap mediation analyses. As expected, these analyses showed that the more students endorsed personal BJW, the less likely they were to report that they refused school. The students' personal experience of teachers justice and especially their feelings of exclusion from school at least partly mediated personal BJW's relation to school refusal behavior and its functions. The observed relations mainly persisted when we controlled for gender, age, social desirability, school reluctance, and test anxiety. We discussed the adaptive functions of BJW and implications for future school research and practice.

Background: Various representations exist in the literature to visualize electrocochleography (ECochG) recordings along the basilar membrane (BM). This lack of generalization complicates comparisons within and between cochlear implant (CI) users, as well as between publications. This study synthesized the visual representations available in the literature via a systematic review and provides a novel approach to visualize ECochG data in CI users. Methods: A systematic review was conducted within PubMed and EMBASE to evaluate studies investigating ECochG and CI. Figures that visualized ECochG responses were selected and analyzed. A novel visualization of individual ECochG data, the ZH-ECochG Bode plot (ZH = Zurich), was devised, and the recordings from three CI recipients were used to demonstrate and assess the new framework. Results: Within the database search, 74 articles with a total of 115 figures met the inclusion criteria. Analysis revealed various types of representations using different axes; their advantages were incorporated into the novel visualization framework. The ZH-ECochG Bode plot visualizes the amplitude and phase of the ECochG recordings along the different tonotopic regions and angular insertion depths of the recording sites. The graph includes the pre- and postoperative audiograms to enable a comparison of ECochG responses with the audiometric profile, and allows different measurements to be shown in the same graph. Conclusions: The ZH-ECochG Bode plot provides a generalized visual representation of ECochG data, using well-defined axes. This will facilitate the investigation of the complex ECochG potentials generated along the BM and allows for better comparisons of ECochG recordings within and among CI users and publications. The scripts used to construct the ZH-ECochG Bode plot are provided by the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]