Telling Time: Patient Experiences of Temporality in Brain Tumor Comics.

This article explores three different comics by creators with brain tumors: Rick, written and drawn by Gordon Shaw; Going Remote, written by Adam Bessie and drawn by Peter Glanting; and Parenthesis, written and drawn by Élodie Durand. It examines how the affordances of the comics medium enables the creators to present an experience of subjective time that is multiple, diffuse, and contradictory, in contrast to the regular apportioning of time via calendars, schedules, and pathways essential to institutional neuro-oncology. The question of time here is significant because the side effects of brain tumors can include blackouts, seizures, and periods of extreme fatigue, during which the experience of time can be significantly disrupted. The title of the article therefore evokes a temporal duality: on the one hand, it refers to the common phrase used to describe what clocks do, as well as our ability to read them; on the other hand, it speaks to one of the most important qualities of graphic medicine, which is that it allows patients dealing with medical or health issues to tell time differently. The article explores the representation of personal time in Rick, social time in Going Remote, and lost time in Parenthesis.

Association between lifestyle factors and mental health in apparently healthy young men.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to explore the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors (physical activity, sedentary time, body composition, muscle strength) and mental health, and predict future changes in mental health. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 133 men (age: 29.03 ± 6.605 years, BMI: 23.58 ± 2.688 kg/m²) to assess baseline body composition, muscle strength, sedentary time, and mental health, with follow-up at 3 months. F-tests were employed to compare the differences in mental health on sedentary time and body composition variables. Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine correlations between variables. RESULTS: Spearman's correlation analysis showed that sedentary time, muscle strength and mental health of the subjects were significantly correlated. BMI, BFM, BFMI, PBF were higher in subjects with ≥ 4 h of sedentary time than in the other two shorter sedentary time groups. Subjects with higher PBF (p = 0.047, η2 = 0.030) and BFM (p = 0.032, η2 = 0.035) had severer depression. Subjects who sat for ≥ 4 h at a time were more severely depressed than those who sat for 2-4 h (p = 0.020). Change in depression was significantly negatively correlated with BMI, BFM, BFMI and PBF. Subjects with higher PBF (p = 0.023, η2 = 0.050) and BFM (p = 0.005, η2 = 0.075) at the baseline had less change in depression. CONCLUSION: A Significant correlation was found between sedentary time, body composition and mental health, and baseline body composition predicted changes in mood three months later.

Time to adequate weight gain and predictors among low-birth-weight preterm neonates at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of hospitals in Bahir-Dar.

Weight gain in low birth-weight babies remains a challenge to the management of the neonatal period in low and middle-income countries like Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the time to adequate weight gain and its predictors among low-birth-weight preterm neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of public hospitals in Bahir Dar City. An institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted from March 4 to April 3, 2023, using three years of data. About 344 low-birth-weight preterm babies were recruited and followed up until 28 days of age. Model goodness-of-fit was checked by Cox Snell residuals test. The Cox-Proportional Hazards Model was used to assess predictors of weight gain with a statistically significant level of P-value < 0.05. The median weight gain time was 15 days with an overall incidence density rate of 6.3 per 100 person-day of observation (95% CI 0.055, 0.071). Absence of medical problems of mothers (AHR: 1.63, 95% CI 1.015, 4.614), spontaneous vaginal mode of delivery (AHR: 1.53, 95% CI 1.028, 2.593), and long duration of labor (AHR: 3.18, 95% CI 1.579, 6.413) were significant predictors. The time of adequate weight gain was long. Early detection and management of significant predictors is recommended.

Rethinking the concepts of the unconscious and analytic time.

The author proposes ways of rethinking the concepts of the unconscious and time in the analytic setting, including the very existence of the unconscious. Freud (1915) stated that the success psychoanalytic thinking has in making inferences about the patient's unconscious makes the existence of the unconscious "incontrovertible." The author submits that this success does not establish the existence of the unconscious; rather, the inferences we think we make about the unconscious are inferences about consciousness itself - the totality of our experiences of thinking, feeling, sensing, observing, and communicating with ourselves. The author then offers thoughts about a second analytic concept, the experience of time in the analytic setting. He conceives of there being two inseparable sorts of experiences of analytic time that stand in a dynamic relationship with one another: diachronic time (clock time) and synchronic time (dream time). In diachronic time, time is sequential; one thing leads to another. In synchronic time, all time is contained in the present. In analysis, childhood trauma is experienced for the first time (in synchronic time) in the co-created subjectivity of patient and analyst.

The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the research portfolio and approval turnaround time at the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

BACKGROUND: The Covid-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented impact on many sectors globally including research. We assessed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the research portfolio, and on the approval turnaround time for research protocols submitted to the Scientific and Ethics Review Unit (SERU), at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). METHODS: We compared research protocols submitted between October 01, 2019 and March 31, 2020 (Period 1), to those submitted between April 1 and September 30, 2020 (Period 2). A document review tool was used to extract data from the 198 research protocols reviewed and approved over the two periods. RESULTS: In the two periods under review, the single largest percentage of protocols (89/198, 45.4%) involved infectious and parasitic diseases, and the single largest percentage of study designs was cross-sectional (75/198, 38%). Before the pandemic, the median time taken to review KEMRI-linked protocols was 87 days and for non-KEMRI linked protocols it was 121 days. During the pandemic, approval turnaround time dropped for both KEMRI and non-KEMRI protocols to 66 days and 92 days, respectively, due to the streamlined processes at the KEMRI SERU. CONCLUSION: The research portfolio was minimally affected by the pandemic. The adoption of email submission, and faster-than-usual processing and review protocols during the pandemic reduced the approval turnaround time.

Some Brief Reflections on "Time" from a Psychoanalytical Perspective.

An attempt is made to encircle time and the times psychoanalytically. They are understood as the result of the interplay of different psychic systems: Timelessness of the Ucs system (psychic reality), actual time in the Pcpt-Cs (perceptual reality), and vectorial-linear time in the Cs/Pcs systems (reality principle). Time shows itself in the moment of presence, but it can only show itself if there is a temporal antecedent. At the same time, time and space are intertwined, so that the past is initially the place where something happened. However, the interplay of the mental systems with time and space can only develop in the object relationship. A short clinical example of an autistoid perversion illustrates this dynamic.

Patient-Reported Dry Eye Treatment and Burden of Care.

OBJECTIVES: Dry eye is a common condition that can decrease the quality of life. This survey-based study of persons with dry eye investigated self-reported treatments (initial, current), out-of-pocket expenses, time spent on self-management, sources of care, and sources of information about their condition. METHODS: Online dry eye newsletters and support groups were emailed a link to an electronic survey asking members to participate. Survey respondents were not required to answer every question. RESULTS: In total, 639 persons with self-reported dry eye responded (86% women, 14% men [n=623]; mean ± SD age, 55 ± 14 years [n=595]). Artificial tears were the most reported intervention (76% initially, 71% currently). The median (interquartile range) out-of-pocket treatment cost annually was $500 ($200-$1,320 [n=506]). In addition, 55% (n=544) estimated 5 to 20 min daily on self-management; 22% spent an hour or more. Ophthalmologists provided most dry eye care (67%, n=520). Only 48% (n=524) reported that their primary source of dry eye information came from their eye care clinician. CONCLUSIONS: Artificial tears are the primary treatment for dry eye. Ophthalmologists provide most dry eye care, but half of patients report that their eye care provider is not their primary source of information. Almost one fourth of patients spend an hour or more daily on treatments.

Can soil health in degraded woodlands of a semi-arid environment improve after thirty years?

In natural habitats, especially in arid and semi-arid areas that are fragile ecosystems, vegetation degradation is one of the most important factors affecting the variability of soil health. Studying physicochemical and biological parameters that serve as indicators of soil health offers important information on the potential risk of land degradation and the progression of changes in soil performance and health during recovery periods. This study specifically examines the impact of vegetation degradation on soil health indicators and the duration needed to improve the physical, chemical, and biological parameters in a semi-arid mountainous area site types with the dominance of Quercus macranthera Fisch & C.A. Mey and Carpinus orientalis Miller in northern Iran. In different years (2003, 2013, and 2023), litter and soil samples (at depths of 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm) were collected in different types of degraded sites. Additionally, in 2023, a non-degraded site was chosen as a control and similar samples were collected. A total of 48 litter (12 samples for each of the study site types) and 144 soil (4 study site types × 3 depths × 12 samples) samples were collected. In order to investigate the spatial changes of soil basal respiration (or CO2 emission), which is involved in global warming, from each site type, 50 soil samples were taken along two 250-meter transects. The findings showed that litter P and Mg contents in the non-degraded site were 1.6 times higher than in degraded site types (2003). Following vegetation degradation, soil fertility indicators decreased by 2-4 times. The biota population was lower by about 80 % under the degraded site types (2003) than in the non-degraded site, and the density of fungi and bacteria in the degraded site types was almost half that of the non-degraded site types. Geostatistics showed the high variance (linear model) of CO2 emissions in areas without degradation. In addition, vegetation degradation significantly reduced soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization. Although soil health indicators under the degraded vegetation have improved over time (30 years), results showed that even thirty years is not enough for the full recovery of a degraded ecosystem, and more time is needed for the degraded area to reach the same conditions as the non-degraded site. Considering the time required for natural restoration in degraded site types, it is necessary to prioritize the conservation of vegetation and improve the ecosystem restoration process with adequate interventions.

The effect of roast profiles on the dynamics of titratable acidity during coffee roasting.

Coffee professionals have long known that the "roast profile," i.e., the temperature versus time inside the roaster, strongly affects the flavor and quality of the coffee. A particularly important attribute of brewed coffee is the perceived sourness, which is known to be strongly correlated to the total titratable acidity (TA). Most prior work has focused on laboratory-scale roasters with little control over the roast profile, so the relationship between roast profile in a commercial-scale roaster and the corresponding development of TA to date remains unclear. Here we investigate roast profiles of the same total duration but very different dynamics inside a 5-kg commercial drum roaster, and we show that the TA invariably peaks during first crack and then decays to its original value by second crack. Although the dynamics of the TA development varied with roast profile, the peak TA surprisingly exhibited almost no statistically significant differences among roast profiles. Our results provide insight on how to manipulate and achieve desired sourness during roasting.

Use of improved memory type control charts for monitoring cancer patients recovery time censored data.

Control charts are a statistical approach for monitoring cancer data that can assist discover patterns, trends, and unusual deviations in cancer-related data across time. To detect deviations from predicted patterns, control charts are extensively used in quality control and process management. Control charts may be used to track numerous parameters in cancer data, such as incidence rates, death rates, survival time, recovery time, and other related indicators. In this study, CDEC chart is proposed to monitor the cancer patients recovery time censored data. This paper presents a composite dual exponentially weighted moving average Cumulative sum (CDEC) control chart for monitoring cancer patients recovery time censored data. This approach seeks to detect changes in the mean recovery time of cancer patients which usually follows Weibull lifetimes. The results are calculated using type I censored data under known and estimated parameter conditions. We combine the conditional expected value (CEV) and conditional median (CM) approaches, which are extensively used in statistical analysis to determine the central tendency of a dataset, to create an efficient control chart. The suggested chart's performance is assessed using the average run length (ARL), which evaluates how efficiently the chart can detect a change in the process mean. The CDEC chart is compared to existing control charts. A simulation study and a real-world data set related to cancer patients recovery time censored data is used for results illustration. The proposed CDEC control chart is developed for the data monitoring when complete information about the patients are not available. So, instead of doping the patients information we can used the proposed chart to monitor the patients information even if it is censored. The authors conclude that the suggested CDEC chart is more efficient than competitor control charts for monitoring cancer patients recovery time censored data. Overall, this study introduces an efficient new approach for cancer patients recovery time censored data, which might have significant effect on quality control and process improvement across a wide range of healthcare and medical studies.

The effects of mnemonic variability and spacing on memory over multiple timescales.

The memory benefit that arises from distributing learning over time rather than in consecutive sessions is one of the most robust effects in cognitive psychology. While prior work has mainly focused on repeated exposures to the same information, in the real world, mnemonic content is dynamic, with some pieces of information staying stable while others vary. Thus, open questions remain about the efficacy of the spacing effect in the face of variability in the mnemonic content. Here, in two experiments, we investigated the contributions of mnemonic variability and the timescale of spacing intervals, ranging from seconds to days, to long-term memory. For item memory, both mnemonic variability and spacing intervals were beneficial for memory; however, mnemonic variability was greater at shorter spacing intervals. In contrast, for associative memory, repetition rather than mnemonic variability was beneficial for memory, and spacing benefits only emerged in the absence of mnemonic variability. These results highlight a critical role for mnemonic variability and the timescale of spacing intervals in the spacing effect, bringing this classic memory paradigm into more ecologically valid contexts.

Temporal Gestures in Different Temporal Perspectives.

Temporal perspectives allow us to place ourselves and temporal events on a timeline, making it easier to conceptualize time. This study investigates how we take different temporal perspectives in our temporal gestures. We asked participants (n = 36) to retell temporal scenarios written in the Moving-Ego, Moving-Time, and Time-Reference-Point perspectives in spontaneous and encouraged gesture conditions. Participants took temporal perspectives mostly in similar ways regardless of the gesture condition. Perspective comparisons showed that temporal gestures of our participants resonated better with the Ego- (i.e., Moving-Ego and Moving-Time) versus Time-Reference-Point distinction instead of the classical Moving-Ego versus Moving-Time contrast. Specifically, participants mostly produced more Moving-Ego and Time-Reference-Point gestures for the corresponding scenarios and speech; however, the Moving-Time perspective was not adopted more than the others in any condition. Similarly, the Moving-Time gestures did not favor an axis over the others, whereas Moving-Ego gestures were mostly sagittal and Time-Reference-Point gestures were mostly lateral. These findings suggest that we incorporate temporal perspectives into our temporal gestures to a considerable extent; however, the classical Moving-Ego and Moving-Time classification may not hold for temporal gestures.

Enzymatic extraction of anthocyanins from the pomace of aronia (Aronia melanocarpa).

Efficient extraction of natural pigments is a key focus in enhancing the utilization of by-products for applications in the food industry. In this study, an enzymatic extraction method using Pectinex Ultra SP-L, Pectinex XXL, Novoshape, and Celluclast was used to investigate natural pigment production from the pomace of aronia, a commercially important plant. The method's performance was monitored using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection by measuring total and individual anthocyanin levels. Pectinex XXL (0.5%) yielded the highest total anthocyanin extraction (2082.41 ± 85.69 mg/100 g) in the single enzyme treatment, followed by Pectinex Ultra SP-L (0.05%), Celluclast (0.01%), and Novoshape (0.1%). Combining Pectinex XXL (0.25%) with Celluclast (0.01%) increased the extraction ratio of total anthocyanins (2 323.04 ± 61.32 mg/100 g) by ∼50.7% compared with that obtained using the solvent extraction method. This study demonstrated an effective enzymatic extraction method for application in the food industry.

Short and long term effect of anti-reflux mucosectomy with cap-assisted endoscopic mucosal resection for refractory gastroesophageal disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Anti-reflux mucosectomy with cap-assisted endoscopic mucosal resection (ARMS-C) is a safe and effective treatment for managing refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This study aimed to investigate the short and long-term outcomes of ARMS-C. METHODS: This study was conducted from 2018 to 2022, during which 115 eligible patients underwent ARMS-C. The primary endpoints of this study were to evaluate the GERD-Q questionnaire score and determine the number of patients who reduced their proton pump inhibitor (PPI) dosage or discontinued PPI usage. The secondary endpoints included the evaluation of the DeMeester score, acid exposure time (AET), gastroesophageal flap valve grade (GEFV), lower esophageal sphincter pressure, the rate of successful esophageal peristalsis, and GERD-Q questionnaires. Additionally, we analyzed the long-term efficacy of ARMS-C. RESULTS: Out of the 120 patients, 115 underwent ARMS-C, 96 were followed up for at least six months after the procedure, and 22 were followed up for at least two years. The primary outcome showed a significant improvement in GERD-Q scores, decreasing from 10.67 to 7.55 (p < 0.001). Out of the 96 patients, 36 were able to reduce or completely stop using PPIs. The DeMeester score, GEFV, AET, and the proportion of intact peristalsis also demonstrated improvement. As for the long-term efficacy of ARMS-C, 86% of patients showed improvement in symptoms, and no serious adverse effects were reported after the procedure. CONCLUSION: ARMS-C is a safe and effective endoscopic technique to treat refractory GERD patients.

Association of Medicaid Reimbursement Policies with Provision of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception in the Postpartum Period, 2012-2018.

Background: To address reimbursement challenges associated with long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) in the postpartum period, state Medicaid programs have provided additional payments ("carve-outs"). Implementation has been heterogeneous, with states providing separate payments for the device only, procedure only, or both the device and procedure. Methods: Claims data were drawn from 210,994 deliveries in the United States between 2012 and 2018. Using generalized estimating equations, we assess the relationship between Medicaid carve-out policies and the likelihood of LARC placement at (1) 3 days postpartum, (2) 60 days postpartum, and (3) 1 year postpartum, in Medicaid and commercially insured populations. Results: Among Medicaid beneficiaries, the likelihood of receiving LARC was higher in states with any carve-out, compared with states without carve-outs, at 3 days (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.49 [95% confidence interval: 1.33-1.67], p < 0.001), 60 days (aOR: 1.40 [95% CI: 1.35-1.46], p < 0.001), and 1 year postpartum (aOR: 1.15 [95% CI: 1.11-1.20], p < 0.001). Adjustments were made for geographic region, seasonality, and patient age. Heterogeneity was observed by carve-out type; device carve-outs were consistently associated with greater likelihood of postpartum LARC placement, compared with states with no carve-outs. Similar trends were observed among commercially insured patients. Conclusion: Findings support the effectiveness of Medicaid carve-outs on postpartum LARC provision, particularly for device carve-outs, which were associated with increased postpartum LARC placement at 3 days, 60 days, and 1 year postpartum. This outcome suggests that policies to address cost-related barriers associated with LARC devices may prove most useful in overcoming barriers to immediate postpartum LARC placement, with the overarching aim of promoting reproductive autonomy.

Clinical Evaluation of a 2-Minute Ultrafast Brain MR Protocol for Evaluation of Acute Pathology in the Emergency and Inpatient Settings.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The use of MR imaging in emergency settings has been limited by availability, long scan times, and sensitivity to motion. This study assessed the diagnostic performance of an ultrafast brain MR imaging protocol for evaluation of acute intracranial pathology in the emergency department and inpatient settings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six adult patients who underwent brain MR imaging in the emergency department and inpatient settings were included in the study. All patients underwent both the reference and the ultrafast brain MR protocols. Both brain MR imaging protocols consisted of T1-weighted, T2/T2*-weighted, FLAIR, and DWI sequences. The ultrafast MR images were reconstructed by using a machine-learning assisted framework. All images were reviewed by 2 blinded neuroradiologists. RESULTS: The average acquisition time was 2.1 minutes for the ultrafast brain MR protocol and 10 minutes for the reference brain MR protocol. There was 98.5% agreement on the main clinical diagnosis between the 2 protocols. In head-to-head comparison, the reference protocol was preferred in terms of image noise and geometric distortion (P < .05 for both). The ultrafast ms-EPI protocol was preferred over the reference protocol in terms of reduced motion artifacts (P < .01). Overall diagnostic quality was not significantly different between the 2 protocols (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The ultrafast brain MR imaging protocol provides high accuracy for evaluating acute pathology while only requiring a fraction of the scan time. Although there was greater image noise and geometric distortion on the ultrafast brain MR protocol images, there was significant reduction in motion artifacts with similar overall diagnostic quality between the 2 protocols.

Enhancing compound confidence in suspect and non-target screening through machine learning-based retention time prediction.

The retention time (RT) of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is crucial for database matching in non-targeted screening (NTS) analysis. In this study, we developed a machine learning (ML) model to predict RTs of CECs in NTS analysis. Using 1051 CEC standards, we evaluated Random Forest (RF), XGBoost, Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with molecular fingerprints and chemical descriptors to establish an optimal model. The SVR model utilizing chemical descriptors resulted in good predictive capacity with R2ext = 0.850 and r2 = 0.925. The model was further validated through laboratory NTS compound characterization. When applied to examine CEC occurrence in a large wastewater treatment plant, we identified 40 level S1 CECs (confirmed structure by reference standard) and 234 level S2 compounds (probable structure by library spectrum match). The model predicted RTs for level S2 compounds, leading to the classification of 153 level S2 compounds with high confidence (ΔRT <2 min). The model served as a robust filtering mechanism within the analytical framework. This study emphasizes the importance of predicted RTs in NTS analysis and highlights the potential of prediction models. Our research introduces a workflow that enhances NTS analysis by utilizing RT prediction models to determine compound confidence levels.