This paper provides a selective review of the recent developments on econometric/statistical modeling in quantile treatment effects under both selection on observables and on unobservables.First,we discuss identificat...This paper provides a selective review of the recent developments on econometric/statistical modeling in quantile treatment effects under both selection on observables and on unobservables.First,we discuss identification,estimation and inference of quantile treatment effects under the framework of selection on observables.Then,we consider the case where the treatment variable is endogenous or self-selected,for which an instrumental variable method provides a powerful tool to tackle this problem.Finally,some extensions are discussed to the data-rich environments,to the regression discontinuity design,and some other approaches to identify quantile treatment effects are also discussed.In particular,some future research works in this area are addressed.展开更多
Estimating treatment effects has always been one of the hot issues in empirical research.It brings great challenges to estimating treatment effects because heterogeneity exists in the distribution of covariates betwee...Estimating treatment effects has always been one of the hot issues in empirical research.It brings great challenges to estimating treatment effects because heterogeneity exists in the distribution of covariates between treated and controlled groups.Propensity score methods have been widely used to adjust for heterogeneity in observational studies.However,the propensity score is usually unknown and needs to be estimated.In this article,we propose a generalized single-index model to estimate the propensity score and use the propensity score residuals to reduce the estimation bias.The finite-sample performance of the proposed method is evaluated through simulation stud-ies.We use the proposed method to evaluate the policy of"Sunshine Running"and find that the physical test scores of college students par-ticipating in the"Sunshine Running"can be improved by 3.72 points.展开更多
Interventions with multivalued treatments are common in medical and health research,leading to a growing interest in developing estimators for multivalued treatment effects using observational data.In practice,missing...Interventions with multivalued treatments are common in medical and health research,leading to a growing interest in developing estimators for multivalued treatment effects using observational data.In practice,missing outcome data is a common occurrence,which poses significant challenges to the estimation of treatment effects.In this paper,we propose two multiply robust estimators for estimating the general multivalued treatment effects with outcome missing at random,including the average treatment effect(ATE),quantile treatment effect(QTE),and expectile treatment effect(ETE).The resulting estimators are root-n consistent and asymptotically normal,provided that the candidate models for the propensity score contain the correct model,and so do the candidate models for either the probability of being observed or outcome regression.Extensive simulation studies are conducted to investigate the finite-sample performance of the proposed estimators.The proposed methods are also applied to a real-world dataset of the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)with about 21%outcome missing,estimating the ATE,QTE and ETE of three types of social activities on the cognitive function of middle-aged and elderly people in China.展开更多
Different covariate balance weighting methods have been proposed by researchers from different perspectives to estimate the treatment effects.This paper gives a brief review of the covariate balancing propensity score...Different covariate balance weighting methods have been proposed by researchers from different perspectives to estimate the treatment effects.This paper gives a brief review of the covariate balancing propensity score method by Imai and Ratkovic(2014),the stable balance weighting procedure by Zubizarreta(2015),the calibration balance weighting approach by Chan,et al.(2016),and the integrated propensity score technique by Sant’Anna,et al.(2020).Simulations are conducted to illustrate the finite sample performance of both the average treatment effect and quantile treatment effect estimators based on different weighting methods.Simulation results show that in general,the covariate balance weighting methods can outperform the conventional maximum likelihood estimation method while the performance of the four covariate balance weighting methods varies with the data generating processes.Finally,the four covariate balance weighting methods are applied to estimate the treatment effects of the college graduate on personal annual income.展开更多
Estimation of treatment effects is one of the crucial mainstays in economics and sociology studies.The problem will become more serious and complicated if the treatment variable is endogenous for the presence of unobs...Estimation of treatment effects is one of the crucial mainstays in economics and sociology studies.The problem will become more serious and complicated if the treatment variable is endogenous for the presence of unobserved confounding.The estimation and conclusion are likely to be biased and misleading if the endogeny of treatment variable is ignored.In this article,we propose the pseudo maximum likelihood method to estimate treatment effects in nonlinear models.The proposed method allows the unobserved confounding and random error terms to exist in an arbitrary relationship(such as,add or multiply),and the unobserved confounding have different influence directions on treatment variables and outcome variables.The proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normally distributed.Simulation studies show that the proposed estimator performs better than the special regression estimator,and the proposed method is stable for various distribution of error terms.Finally,the proposed method is applied to the real data that studies the influence of individuals have health insurance on an individual’s decision to visit a doctor.展开更多
In this paper,the estimation of average treatment effects is considered when we have the model information of the conditional mean and conditional variance for the responses given the covariates.The quasi-likelihood m...In this paper,the estimation of average treatment effects is considered when we have the model information of the conditional mean and conditional variance for the responses given the covariates.The quasi-likelihood method adapted to treatment effects data is developed to estimate the parameters in the conditional mean and conditional variance models.Based on the model information,we define three estimators by imputation,regression and inverse probability weighted methods.All the estimators are shown asymptotically normal.Our simulation results show that by using the model information,the substantial efficiency gains are obtained which are comparable with the existing estimators.展开更多
Nowadays, intensive breeding of poultry and livestock of large scale has made the treatment of its waste and wastewater an urgent environmental issue, which motivated this study. A wetland of 688 mz was constructed on...Nowadays, intensive breeding of poultry and livestock of large scale has made the treatment of its waste and wastewater an urgent environmental issue, which motivated this study. A wetland of 688 mz was constructed on an egg duck farm, and water hyacinth （Eichhornia crassipes） was chosen as an aquatic plant for the wetland and used as food for duck production. The objectives of this study were to test the role of water hyacinth in purifying nutrient-rich wastewater and its effects on the ducks＇ feed intake, egg laying performance and egg quality. This paper shows that the constructed wetland removed as much as 64.44% of chemical oxygen demand （COD）, 21.78% of total nitrogen （TN） and 23.02% of total phosphorus （TP）. Both dissolved oxygen （DO） and the transparency of the wastewater were remarkably improved, with its transparency 2.5 times higher than that of the untreated wastewater. After the ducks were fed with water hyacinth, the average daily feed intake and the egg-laying ratio in the test group were 5.86% and 9.79% higher, respectively, than in the control group; the differences were both significant at the 0.01 probability level. The egg weight in the test group was 2.36% higher than in the control group （P 〈 0.05）, but the feed conversion ratios were almost the same. The eggshell thickness and strength were among the egg qualities significantly increased in ducks fed with water hyacinth. We concluded that a water hyacinth system was effective for purifying wastewater from an intensive duck farm during the water hyacinth growing season, as harvested water hyacinth had an excellent performance as duck feed. We also discussed the limitations of the experiment.展开更多
BACKGROUND Craniocerebral injuries encompass brain injuries,skull fractures,cranial soft tissue injuries,and similar injuries.Recently,the incidence of craniocerebral injuries has increased dramatically due to the inc...BACKGROUND Craniocerebral injuries encompass brain injuries,skull fractures,cranial soft tissue injuries,and similar injuries.Recently,the incidence of craniocerebral injuries has increased dramatically due to the increased numbers of traffic accidents and aerial work injuries,threatening the physical and mental health of patients.AIM To investigate the impact of failure modes and effects analysis(FMEA)-based emergency management on craniocerebral injury treatment effectiveness.METHODS Eighty-four patients with craniocerebral injuries,treated at our hospital from November 2019 to March 2021,were selected and assigned,using the random number table method,to study(n=42)and control(n=42)groups.Patients in the control group received conventional management while those in the study group received FMEA theory-based emergency management,based on the control group.Pre-and post-interventions,details regarding the emergency situation;levels of inflammatory stress indicators[Interleukin-6(IL-6),C-reactive protein(CRP),and procalcitonin(PCT)];incidence of complications;prognoses;and satisfaction regarding patient care were evaluated for both groups.RESULTS For the study group,the assessed parameters[pre-hospital emergency response time(9.13±2.37 min),time to receive a consultation(2.39±0.44 min),time needed to report imaging findings(1.15±4.44 min),and test reporting time(32.19±6.23 min)]were shorter than those for the control group(12.78±4.06 min,3.58±0.71 min,33.49±5.51 min,50.41±11.45 min,respectively;P<0.05).Pre-intervention serum levels of IL-6(78.71±27.59 pg/mL),CRP(19.80±6.77 mg/L),and PCT(3.66±1.82 ng/mL)in the study group patients were not significantly different from those in the control group patients(81.31±32.11 pg/mL,21.29±8.02 mg/L,and 3.95±2.11 ng/mL respectively;P>0.05);post-intervention serum indicator levels were lower in both groups than pre-intervention levels.Further,serum levels of IL-6(17.35±5.33 pg/mL),CRP(2.27±0.56 mg/L),and PCT(0.22±0.07 ng/mL)were lower in the study group than in the control group(30.15±12.38 pg/mL,3.13±0.77 mg/L,0.38±0.12 ng/mL,respectively;P<0.05).The complication rate observed in the study group(9.52%)was lower than that in the control group(26.19%,P<0.05).The prognoses for the study group patients were better than those for the control patients(P<0.05).Patient care satisfaction was higher in the study group(95.24%)than in the control group(78.57%,P<0.05).CONCLUSION FMEA-based craniocerebral injury management effectively shortens the time spent on emergency care,reduces inflammatory stress and complication risk levels,and helps improve patient prognoses,while achieving high patient care satisfaction levels.展开更多
Multiple sclerosis（MS）is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system（CNS）characterized by coexisting processes of inflammation,demyelination,axonal neurodegeneration,and gliosis.It is the most commo...Multiple sclerosis（MS）is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system（CNS）characterized by coexisting processes of inflammation,demyelination,axonal neurodegeneration,and gliosis.It is the most common disabling neurological disease in young adulthood.展开更多
The application of segmental semi-solid thixoforming of magnesium alloys is confined due to the dimensional distinction existing in solid particles of the alloy billet from edge to center zones. In the present study, ...The application of segmental semi-solid thixoforming of magnesium alloys is confined due to the dimensional distinction existing in solid particles of the alloy billet from edge to center zones. In the present study, the effects of Sm addition on the microstructural evolution of Mg-6Zn-0.4Zr and Mg-6Zn-4Sm-0.4Zr alloys by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment were investigated, to obtain optimum semi-solid microstructures for the subsequently thixoforming. The results indicate that the grains of the Sm-bearing alloy are evidently refined and gradually evolve from dendritic to globular and elliptic particles. In addition, the distinctly dimensional effect of the Mg-6Zn-0.4Zr alloy is eliminated with 4% Sm addition; the particle sizes in all zones from center to the edge of the billet are almost identical. With the increment of isothermal heat treatment temperature, the dendritic microstructures completely disappear, and meanwhile, the irregular and globular particles gradually form. The size, morphology and the distribution of solid particles mainly depend on the formation and permeation of the liquid phase in the process of isothermal heat treatment. As the isothermal temperature increases from 570 °C to 610 °C, the average size and shape factor of solid particles of both the alloys with and without Sm addition gradually decrease while the liquid fraction gradually increases.展开更多
In the practice of healthcare,patient-reported outcomes(PROs)and PRO measures(PROMs)are used as an attempt to observe the changes in complex clinical situations.They guide us in making decisions based on the evidence ...In the practice of healthcare,patient-reported outcomes(PROs)and PRO measures(PROMs)are used as an attempt to observe the changes in complex clinical situations.They guide us in making decisions based on the evidence regarding patient care by recording the change in outcomes for a particular treatment to a given condition and finally to understand whether a patient will benefit from a particular treatment and to quantify the treatment effect.For any PROM to be usable in health care,we need it to be reliable,encapsulating the points of interest with the potential to detect any real change.Using structured outcome measures routinely in clinical practice helps the physician to understand the functional limitation of a patient that would otherwise not be clear in an office interview,and this allows the physician and patient to have a meaningful conver-sation as well as a customized plan for each patient.Having mentioned the rationale and the benefits of PROMs,understanding the quantification process is crucial before embarking on management decisions.A better interpretation of change needs to identify the treatment effect based on clinical relevance for a given condition.There are a multiple set of measurement indices to serve this effect and most of them are used interchangeably without clear demarcation on their differences.This article details the various quantification metrics used to evaluate the treatment effect using PROMs,their limitations and the scope of usage and implementation in clinical practice.展开更多
Dear Editor,The prevalence of drug abuse has diverted from traditional drugs such as opioid and cannabis to modern,synthetic and psychoactive drugs such as amphetamine groups,the amphetamine(AT)and methamphetamine[1]....Dear Editor,The prevalence of drug abuse has diverted from traditional drugs such as opioid and cannabis to modern,synthetic and psychoactive drugs such as amphetamine groups,the amphetamine(AT)and methamphetamine[1].Amphetamine is used medically to treat several disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,narcolepsy,depression and minor obesity[2].However,AT has also gained展开更多
With the progress of ULSI technology, materials with low dielectric constant are required to replace SiO2 film as the interlayer to scale down the interconnection delay. Fluorinated Si oxide thin films (SiOF) are a pr...With the progress of ULSI technology, materials with low dielectric constant are required to replace SiO2 film as the interlayer to scale down the interconnection delay. Fluorinated Si oxide thin films (SiOF) are a promising material for the low dielectric constant and the process compatibility in existing technology. However, SiOF films are liable to absorb moisture when exposed to air. By treating the SiOF films with O-2 plasma, it was found that the moisture resistibility of SiOF films was remarkably improved. The mechanism of the improvement in stability of dielectric constant was investigated. The results show that: 1) F atoms dissociated from the films and the bond angle of Si-O-Si decreased. 2) The plasma treatment enhanced the strength of Si-F bonds by removing unstable =SiF2 structures in the films. Resistibility of SiOF films in moisture was improved.展开更多
Objective: to explore the clinical treatment measures and therapeutic effects of functional uterine bleeding. Methods: from January 2020 to January 2022, 20 patients with functional uterine bleeding were selected and ...Objective: to explore the clinical treatment measures and therapeutic effects of functional uterine bleeding. Methods: from January 2020 to January 2022, 20 patients with functional uterine bleeding were selected and randomly divided into the control group and the observation group according to the coin toss method. The number of patients in each group was n 25. Twenty-five patients in the control group were treated with medroxyprogesterone and 25 patients in the observation group were treated with mifepristone. After two different drug treatments, the two groups were compared. Results: twenty-five patients in the control group were treated with progesterone and 25 patients in the observation group were treated with mifepristone. The total effective rate of 25 patients in the observation group was 96.00%, while that of 25 patients in the control group was 72.00%. Conclusion: mifepristone can inhibit endometrial growth, promote menopause and correct anemia in patients with functional uterine bleeding, and it has less side effects on patients. It is an ideal drug for the treatment of menopausal dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and it is worthy of being widely used clinically.展开更多
Objective To evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on Glasgow Coma Scale (GCC) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in patients. Methods One hundred and thirty-eight patients with traumatic brain inju...Objective To evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on Glasgow Coma Scale (GCC) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in patients. Methods One hundred and thirty-eight patients with traumatic brain injury were treated by routine therapy combined with HBOT and 29 patients by routine therapy.展开更多
Objective:To explore the application method and clinical effect of inulin in the treatment of constipation for patients in the ICU.Methods:Sixty ICU patients with constipation were randomly divided into an experimenta...Objective:To explore the application method and clinical effect of inulin in the treatment of constipation for patients in the ICU.Methods:Sixty ICU patients with constipation were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group,with 30 patients in each group.The control group received nasal feeding with a regular diet.The experimental group received nasal feeding with a regular diet plus inulin.The defecation status of the patients was observed and compared on the 3rd,5th,and 7th days.Results:Among the 30 patients in the experimental group and 30 patients in the control group,there was a statistically significant difference in treatment effect between the two groups(P<0.05).The treatment duration was(3.91±1.09)days in the experimental group and(5.78±1.52)days in the control group.Conclusion:Inulin has a significant effect in the treatment of constipation for critically ill patients in the ICU and is worthy of clinical promotion and application.展开更多
Objective:To evaluate and analyze the actual efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty in the treatment of old unstable osteoporotic spinal fractures.Methods:From March 2023 to March 2024,46 patients with old unstable o...Objective:To evaluate and analyze the actual efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty in the treatment of old unstable osteoporotic spinal fractures.Methods:From March 2023 to March 2024,46 patients with old unstable osteoporotic spinal fractures in our hospital were included in this study.They were divided into the conventional group and the observation group based on treatment differences,with 23 patients in each group.The conventional group received conservative drug therapy,while the observation group underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty.The following indicators were compared and analyzed between the two groups:clinical treatment effect and improvement in physical function indicators.Results:The treatment efficiency of the observation group was 95.65%(22/23),while that of the conventional group was 69.57%(16/23).There was a significant difference between the groups,and the treatment effect of the observation group was significantly better(P<0.05).After treatment,the scores of physical status,daily living ability,functional independence,and life obstacles in the observation group were(89.33±4.08),(88.72±4.08),(90.41±2.89),(72.35±3.22),respectively,while those in the conventional group were(68.54±4.21),(67.42±4.11),(73.48±2.75),(72.35±3.22).There was a significant difference between the groups,and the improvement in physical function indicators in the observation group was more pronounced(P<0.05).Conclusion:For patients with old unstable osteoporotic spinal fractures,the basic value of percutaneous vertebroplasty is significant.It can not only improve clinical efficacy and safety but also promote the gradual recovery of patients'physical function indicators.It is recommended for clinical reference and practical application.展开更多
Objective： To investigate treatment efficacy for persistent chlamydial infection in the urogenital tract. Methods： 207 patients with persistent chlamydial urogenital infection were treated with tetracycline,azithrom...Objective： To investigate treatment efficacy for persistent chlamydial infection in the urogenital tract. Methods： 207 patients with persistent chlamydial urogenital infection were treated with tetracycline,azithromycin, ofloxacin or a combination of these.Result： 47.92%-68.60% of patients with persistent chlamydial urogenital infection were cured depending on the drug used. Ofloxacin had better results than tetracycline and azithromycin.Conclusion： Many patients were resistant to treatment with tetracycline and azithromycin. Ofloxacin proved effective.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China#71631004(Key Project)the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars#71625001the scholarship from China Scholarship Council(CSC)under the Grant CSC N201806310088.
文摘This paper provides a selective review of the recent developments on econometric/statistical modeling in quantile treatment effects under both selection on observables and on unobservables.First,we discuss identification,estimation and inference of quantile treatment effects under the framework of selection on observables.Then,we consider the case where the treatment variable is endogenous or self-selected,for which an instrumental variable method provides a powerful tool to tackle this problem.Finally,some extensions are discussed to the data-rich environments,to the regression discontinuity design,and some other approaches to identify quantile treatment effects are also discussed.In particular,some future research works in this area are addressed.
基金Supported by 2020 Guilin University of Aerospace Technology Teaching Group Construction Project(2020JXTD19)2021 Guangxi Philosophy and Social Science Research Project(21FTY012)2022 Guangxi Higher Education Undergraduate Teaching Reform Project(2022JGA358)。
文摘Estimating treatment effects has always been one of the hot issues in empirical research.It brings great challenges to estimating treatment effects because heterogeneity exists in the distribution of covariates between treated and controlled groups.Propensity score methods have been widely used to adjust for heterogeneity in observational studies.However,the propensity score is usually unknown and needs to be estimated.In this article,we propose a generalized single-index model to estimate the propensity score and use the propensity score residuals to reduce the estimation bias.The finite-sample performance of the proposed method is evaluated through simulation stud-ies.We use the proposed method to evaluate the policy of"Sunshine Running"and find that the physical test scores of college students par-ticipating in the"Sunshine Running"can be improved by 3.72 points.
基金supported by National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2023YFA1011400)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.12371265 and 12271239)+3 种基金Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai(Grant No.21ZR1420700)Shenzhen Fundamental Research Program JCYJ20220818100602005(Grant No.20220111)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.2022QKT001)Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grant No.GZB20240292)。
文摘Interventions with multivalued treatments are common in medical and health research,leading to a growing interest in developing estimators for multivalued treatment effects using observational data.In practice,missing outcome data is a common occurrence,which poses significant challenges to the estimation of treatment effects.In this paper,we propose two multiply robust estimators for estimating the general multivalued treatment effects with outcome missing at random,including the average treatment effect(ATE),quantile treatment effect(QTE),and expectile treatment effect(ETE).The resulting estimators are root-n consistent and asymptotically normal,provided that the candidate models for the propensity score contain the correct model,and so do the candidate models for either the probability of being observed or outcome regression.Extensive simulation studies are conducted to investigate the finite-sample performance of the proposed estimators.The proposed methods are also applied to a real-world dataset of the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)with about 21%outcome missing,estimating the ATE,QTE and ETE of three types of social activities on the cognitive function of middle-aged and elderly people in China.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos.71631004 and 72033008the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars under Grant No.71625001the Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China under Grant No.19YJA910003。
文摘Different covariate balance weighting methods have been proposed by researchers from different perspectives to estimate the treatment effects.This paper gives a brief review of the covariate balancing propensity score method by Imai and Ratkovic(2014),the stable balance weighting procedure by Zubizarreta(2015),the calibration balance weighting approach by Chan,et al.(2016),and the integrated propensity score technique by Sant’Anna,et al.(2020).Simulations are conducted to illustrate the finite sample performance of both the average treatment effect and quantile treatment effect estimators based on different weighting methods.Simulation results show that in general,the covariate balance weighting methods can outperform the conventional maximum likelihood estimation method while the performance of the four covariate balance weighting methods varies with the data generating processes.Finally,the four covariate balance weighting methods are applied to estimate the treatment effects of the college graduate on personal annual income.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.12101545)by the natural science foundation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (2022MS01007)。
文摘Estimation of treatment effects is one of the crucial mainstays in economics and sociology studies.The problem will become more serious and complicated if the treatment variable is endogenous for the presence of unobserved confounding.The estimation and conclusion are likely to be biased and misleading if the endogeny of treatment variable is ignored.In this article,we propose the pseudo maximum likelihood method to estimate treatment effects in nonlinear models.The proposed method allows the unobserved confounding and random error terms to exist in an arbitrary relationship(such as,add or multiply),and the unobserved confounding have different influence directions on treatment variables and outcome variables.The proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normally distributed.Simulation studies show that the proposed estimator performs better than the special regression estimator,and the proposed method is stable for various distribution of error terms.Finally,the proposed method is applied to the real data that studies the influence of individuals have health insurance on an individual’s decision to visit a doctor.
文摘In this paper,the estimation of average treatment effects is considered when we have the model information of the conditional mean and conditional variance for the responses given the covariates.The quasi-likelihood method adapted to treatment effects data is developed to estimate the parameters in the conditional mean and conditional variance models.Based on the model information,we define three estimators by imputation,regression and inverse probability weighted methods.All the estimators are shown asymptotically normal.Our simulation results show that by using the model information,the substantial efficiency gains are obtained which are comparable with the existing estimators.
文摘Nowadays, intensive breeding of poultry and livestock of large scale has made the treatment of its waste and wastewater an urgent environmental issue, which motivated this study. A wetland of 688 mz was constructed on an egg duck farm, and water hyacinth （Eichhornia crassipes） was chosen as an aquatic plant for the wetland and used as food for duck production. The objectives of this study were to test the role of water hyacinth in purifying nutrient-rich wastewater and its effects on the ducks＇ feed intake, egg laying performance and egg quality. This paper shows that the constructed wetland removed as much as 64.44% of chemical oxygen demand （COD）, 21.78% of total nitrogen （TN） and 23.02% of total phosphorus （TP）. Both dissolved oxygen （DO） and the transparency of the wastewater were remarkably improved, with its transparency 2.5 times higher than that of the untreated wastewater. After the ducks were fed with water hyacinth, the average daily feed intake and the egg-laying ratio in the test group were 5.86% and 9.79% higher, respectively, than in the control group; the differences were both significant at the 0.01 probability level. The egg weight in the test group was 2.36% higher than in the control group （P 〈 0.05）, but the feed conversion ratios were almost the same. The eggshell thickness and strength were among the egg qualities significantly increased in ducks fed with water hyacinth. We concluded that a water hyacinth system was effective for purifying wastewater from an intensive duck farm during the water hyacinth growing season, as harvested water hyacinth had an excellent performance as duck feed. We also discussed the limitations of the experiment.
基金Supported by Basic Research on Medical and Health Application of the People's Livelihood Science and Technology Project of Suzhou Science and Technology Bureau,No.SYS2020102.
文摘BACKGROUND Craniocerebral injuries encompass brain injuries,skull fractures,cranial soft tissue injuries,and similar injuries.Recently,the incidence of craniocerebral injuries has increased dramatically due to the increased numbers of traffic accidents and aerial work injuries,threatening the physical and mental health of patients.AIM To investigate the impact of failure modes and effects analysis(FMEA)-based emergency management on craniocerebral injury treatment effectiveness.METHODS Eighty-four patients with craniocerebral injuries,treated at our hospital from November 2019 to March 2021,were selected and assigned,using the random number table method,to study(n=42)and control(n=42)groups.Patients in the control group received conventional management while those in the study group received FMEA theory-based emergency management,based on the control group.Pre-and post-interventions,details regarding the emergency situation;levels of inflammatory stress indicators[Interleukin-6(IL-6),C-reactive protein(CRP),and procalcitonin(PCT)];incidence of complications;prognoses;and satisfaction regarding patient care were evaluated for both groups.RESULTS For the study group,the assessed parameters[pre-hospital emergency response time(9.13±2.37 min),time to receive a consultation(2.39±0.44 min),time needed to report imaging findings(1.15±4.44 min),and test reporting time(32.19±6.23 min)]were shorter than those for the control group(12.78±4.06 min,3.58±0.71 min,33.49±5.51 min,50.41±11.45 min,respectively;P<0.05).Pre-intervention serum levels of IL-6(78.71±27.59 pg/mL),CRP(19.80±6.77 mg/L),and PCT(3.66±1.82 ng/mL)in the study group patients were not significantly different from those in the control group patients(81.31±32.11 pg/mL,21.29±8.02 mg/L,and 3.95±2.11 ng/mL respectively;P>0.05);post-intervention serum indicator levels were lower in both groups than pre-intervention levels.Further,serum levels of IL-6(17.35±5.33 pg/mL),CRP(2.27±0.56 mg/L),and PCT(0.22±0.07 ng/mL)were lower in the study group than in the control group(30.15±12.38 pg/mL,3.13±0.77 mg/L,0.38±0.12 ng/mL,respectively;P<0.05).The complication rate observed in the study group(9.52%)was lower than that in the control group(26.19%,P<0.05).The prognoses for the study group patients were better than those for the control patients(P<0.05).Patient care satisfaction was higher in the study group(95.24%)than in the control group(78.57%,P<0.05).CONCLUSION FMEA-based craniocerebral injury management effectively shortens the time spent on emergency care,reduces inflammatory stress and complication risk levels,and helps improve patient prognoses,while achieving high patient care satisfaction levels.
基金Dr.Mao-Draayer has served as a consultant and/or received grant support from:Acorda,Bayer Pharmaceutical,Biogen Idec,EMD Serono,Genzyme,Novartis,Questor,Teva Neuroscience and Chugai PharmaDr.Mao-Draayeris currently supported by grants from NIH NIAID Autoimmune Center of Excellence:UM1-AI110557+1 种基金NIH NINDS R01-NS080821the University of Michigan Neurology Department
文摘Multiple sclerosis（MS）is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system（CNS）characterized by coexisting processes of inflammation,demyelination,axonal neurodegeneration,and gliosis.It is the most common disabling neurological disease in young adulthood.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China(51464032)the National Basic Research Program of China(grant No.2010CB635106)
文摘The application of segmental semi-solid thixoforming of magnesium alloys is confined due to the dimensional distinction existing in solid particles of the alloy billet from edge to center zones. In the present study, the effects of Sm addition on the microstructural evolution of Mg-6Zn-0.4Zr and Mg-6Zn-4Sm-0.4Zr alloys by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment were investigated, to obtain optimum semi-solid microstructures for the subsequently thixoforming. The results indicate that the grains of the Sm-bearing alloy are evidently refined and gradually evolve from dendritic to globular and elliptic particles. In addition, the distinctly dimensional effect of the Mg-6Zn-0.4Zr alloy is eliminated with 4% Sm addition; the particle sizes in all zones from center to the edge of the billet are almost identical. With the increment of isothermal heat treatment temperature, the dendritic microstructures completely disappear, and meanwhile, the irregular and globular particles gradually form. The size, morphology and the distribution of solid particles mainly depend on the formation and permeation of the liquid phase in the process of isothermal heat treatment. As the isothermal temperature increases from 570 °C to 610 °C, the average size and shape factor of solid particles of both the alloys with and without Sm addition gradually decrease while the liquid fraction gradually increases.
文摘In the practice of healthcare,patient-reported outcomes(PROs)and PRO measures(PROMs)are used as an attempt to observe the changes in complex clinical situations.They guide us in making decisions based on the evidence regarding patient care by recording the change in outcomes for a particular treatment to a given condition and finally to understand whether a patient will benefit from a particular treatment and to quantify the treatment effect.For any PROM to be usable in health care,we need it to be reliable,encapsulating the points of interest with the potential to detect any real change.Using structured outcome measures routinely in clinical practice helps the physician to understand the functional limitation of a patient that would otherwise not be clear in an office interview,and this allows the physician and patient to have a meaningful conver-sation as well as a customized plan for each patient.Having mentioned the rationale and the benefits of PROMs,understanding the quantification process is crucial before embarking on management decisions.A better interpretation of change needs to identify the treatment effect based on clinical relevance for a given condition.There are a multiple set of measurement indices to serve this effect and most of them are used interchangeably without clear demarcation on their differences.This article details the various quantification metrics used to evaluate the treatment effect using PROMs,their limitations and the scope of usage and implementation in clinical practice.
基金supported by Uni SZA/NRGS/2013(RR057-1)grant from Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education
文摘Dear Editor,The prevalence of drug abuse has diverted from traditional drugs such as opioid and cannabis to modern,synthetic and psychoactive drugs such as amphetamine groups,the amphetamine(AT)and methamphetamine[1].Amphetamine is used medically to treat several disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,narcolepsy,depression and minor obesity[2].However,AT has also gained
基金The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.69776026)the Foundation for University Key Teacher by the Ministry of Education.
文摘With the progress of ULSI technology, materials with low dielectric constant are required to replace SiO2 film as the interlayer to scale down the interconnection delay. Fluorinated Si oxide thin films (SiOF) are a promising material for the low dielectric constant and the process compatibility in existing technology. However, SiOF films are liable to absorb moisture when exposed to air. By treating the SiOF films with O-2 plasma, it was found that the moisture resistibility of SiOF films was remarkably improved. The mechanism of the improvement in stability of dielectric constant was investigated. The results show that: 1) F atoms dissociated from the films and the bond angle of Si-O-Si decreased. 2) The plasma treatment enhanced the strength of Si-F bonds by removing unstable =SiF2 structures in the films. Resistibility of SiOF films in moisture was improved.
文摘Objective: to explore the clinical treatment measures and therapeutic effects of functional uterine bleeding. Methods: from January 2020 to January 2022, 20 patients with functional uterine bleeding were selected and randomly divided into the control group and the observation group according to the coin toss method. The number of patients in each group was n 25. Twenty-five patients in the control group were treated with medroxyprogesterone and 25 patients in the observation group were treated with mifepristone. After two different drug treatments, the two groups were compared. Results: twenty-five patients in the control group were treated with progesterone and 25 patients in the observation group were treated with mifepristone. The total effective rate of 25 patients in the observation group was 96.00%, while that of 25 patients in the control group was 72.00%. Conclusion: mifepristone can inhibit endometrial growth, promote menopause and correct anemia in patients with functional uterine bleeding, and it has less side effects on patients. It is an ideal drug for the treatment of menopausal dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and it is worthy of being widely used clinically.
文摘Objective To evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on Glasgow Coma Scale (GCC) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in patients. Methods One hundred and thirty-eight patients with traumatic brain injury were treated by routine therapy combined with HBOT and 29 patients by routine therapy.
文摘Objective:To explore the application method and clinical effect of inulin in the treatment of constipation for patients in the ICU.Methods:Sixty ICU patients with constipation were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group,with 30 patients in each group.The control group received nasal feeding with a regular diet.The experimental group received nasal feeding with a regular diet plus inulin.The defecation status of the patients was observed and compared on the 3rd,5th,and 7th days.Results:Among the 30 patients in the experimental group and 30 patients in the control group,there was a statistically significant difference in treatment effect between the two groups(P<0.05).The treatment duration was(3.91±1.09)days in the experimental group and(5.78±1.52)days in the control group.Conclusion:Inulin has a significant effect in the treatment of constipation for critically ill patients in the ICU and is worthy of clinical promotion and application.
文摘Objective:To evaluate and analyze the actual efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty in the treatment of old unstable osteoporotic spinal fractures.Methods:From March 2023 to March 2024,46 patients with old unstable osteoporotic spinal fractures in our hospital were included in this study.They were divided into the conventional group and the observation group based on treatment differences,with 23 patients in each group.The conventional group received conservative drug therapy,while the observation group underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty.The following indicators were compared and analyzed between the two groups:clinical treatment effect and improvement in physical function indicators.Results:The treatment efficiency of the observation group was 95.65%(22/23),while that of the conventional group was 69.57%(16/23).There was a significant difference between the groups,and the treatment effect of the observation group was significantly better(P<0.05).After treatment,the scores of physical status,daily living ability,functional independence,and life obstacles in the observation group were(89.33±4.08),(88.72±4.08),(90.41±2.89),(72.35±3.22),respectively,while those in the conventional group were(68.54±4.21),(67.42±4.11),(73.48±2.75),(72.35±3.22).There was a significant difference between the groups,and the improvement in physical function indicators in the observation group was more pronounced(P<0.05).Conclusion:For patients with old unstable osteoporotic spinal fractures,the basic value of percutaneous vertebroplasty is significant.It can not only improve clinical efficacy and safety but also promote the gradual recovery of patients'physical function indicators.It is recommended for clinical reference and practical application.
文摘Objective： To investigate treatment efficacy for persistent chlamydial infection in the urogenital tract. Methods： 207 patients with persistent chlamydial urogenital infection were treated with tetracycline,azithromycin, ofloxacin or a combination of these.Result： 47.92%-68.60% of patients with persistent chlamydial urogenital infection were cured depending on the drug used. Ofloxacin had better results than tetracycline and azithromycin.Conclusion： Many patients were resistant to treatment with tetracycline and azithromycin. Ofloxacin proved effective.
