A comparison between intraosseous and intravenous access in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: The optimal vascular access for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains controversial. Increasing evidence supports intraosseous (IO) access due to faster medication administration and higher first-attempt success rates compared to intravenous (IV) access. However, the impact on patient outcomes has been inconclusive. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022, included patients aged ≥18 years with non-traumatic OHCA resuscitated by emergency medical technician paramedics (EMT-Ps) with either IVs or IOs for final vascular access. The exclusion criteria were cardiac arrest en route to the hospital and resuscitation during the coronavirus pandemic (from May 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022). The primary and secondary outcomes were sustained ROSC (≥2 h) and cerebral performance category (CPC) 1-2, respectively. Univariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the primary analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was employed, with variables selected based on a p-value of <0.05 in the univariate analysis. The survival benefits of different insertion sites and subgroups like general ambulance teams (with a composition that includes fewer EMT-Ps and limited experience in using IO access) were also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 2003 patients were enrolled; 1602 received IV access and 401 IO access. The median patient age was 70 years, and most were male (66.6%). Compared to patients receiving IV access, the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for primary and secondary outcomes in patients with IOs were 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-1.11; p = 0.20) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.39-2.40; p = 0.93), respectively. Different insertion sites showed no outcome differences. In the subgroups of females and patients resuscitated by general ambulance teams, the aORs for sustained ROSC were 0.55 (95% CI, 0.33-0.92; p = 0.02) and 0.62 (95% CI, 0.41-0.94; p = 0.02), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with OHCA resuscitated by EMT-Ps, IO access was comparable to IV access regarding patient outcomes. However, in females and patients resuscitated by general ambulance teams, IV access might be favorable.

Effects of Production Training With Ultrasound Biofeedback on Production and Perception of Second-Language English Tense-Lax Vowel Contrasts.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the efficacy of ultrasound biofeedback compared to a traditional acoustic input-only method in the second-language (L2) production training of English tense-lax vowel contrasts (/i-ɪ/ and /e-ɛ/). The relationship between the degrees of production and perception learning was also examined to explore a potential L2 production-perception link. METHOD: Using a pretest/training/posttest paradigm, two groups of native Mandarin speakers received three sessions of training, one with ultrasound and one with audio only. Perception performance was measured by accuracy in AX discrimination. Production performance was measured in terms of accuracy in repetition production and Euclidean distance between contrasting vowels. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant improvements in posttest production and perception tasks. Additionally, the training benefits were retained 6 weeks after training. The two groups, however, did not differ significantly in training gains; nor was there a significant correlation between training-induced changes in perception and production performance. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that ultrasound feedback is similarly effective as the audio-only training in improving the L2 production of English tense-lax contrasts and the benefits transferred to perception. The lack of correlation between production and perception gains suggests that the two modalities need to be separately trained to achieve desired L2 learning outcomes.

Epinephrine administration in adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A comparison between intraosseous and intravenous route.

INTRODUCTION: The benefits and risks of the intraosseous (IO) route for vascular access in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remain controversial. This study compares the success rates of establishing the access route, epinephrine administration rates, and time-to-epinephrine between adult patients with OHCA with IO access and those with intravenous (IV) access established by paramedics in the prehospital setting. METHODS: This was a retrospective study conducted by the San-Min station of Taoyuan Fire Department. Data for IV access were collected between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. Data for IO access were collected between January 1, 2021, and March 10, 2021. Inclusion criteria were adult patients with OHCA who received on-scene resuscitation attempts and in whom either IV or IO route access was established by paramedics. Exclusion criteria were missing data, return of spontaneous circulation before establishing vascular access, cardiac arrest en route to hospital, patients not resuscitated, and OHCA unidentified by the dispatcher. Exposure was defined as IV route vs. IO route (EZ-IO®). The outcome measurements were per-patient based success rates of route establishment (successes/attempts), administration rates of epinephrine (epinephrine administered per case/enrolled OHCAs), and odds ratios of IV versus IO on epinephrine administration. We used nonparametric Mann-Whitney rank sum tests for the analysis in continuous variables and Fisher's exact tests for the analysis of categorical variables and the outcomes. Firth logistic regression method was used for sparse data. Factors associated with epinephrine administration other than vascular access were also analyzed. Time-to-epinephrine (defined as time from paramedic arrival to epinephrine injection) was reviewed and calculated by two independent observers and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the two access routes. RESULTS: A total of 112 adult patients were enrolled in the analysis, including 71 men and 41 women, with an average age of 67 years. There were 90 IV access cases and 22 IO access cases. The groups were compared for median success rates of route establishment (33% vs. 100%, P < 0.001) and administration rates of epinephrine (52% vs. 100%, P < 0.001). The adjusted odds ratio of IO versus IV was 32.445, 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.844-570.861. Time-to-epinephrine was significantly shorter in the cumulative time-event analysis by the Kaplan-Meier method (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The IO route was significantly associated with higher success rates of route establishment, epinephrine administration, and shorter time-to-epinephrine in the prehospital resuscitation of adult patients with OHCA.

Sodium-Alginate-Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles for Colorimetric Detection of Dimethoate.

Sodium alginate (SA) was used to functionalize the surfaces of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to form SA-AgNPs for sensing dimethoate with a rapid and sensitive visual readout. UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and zeta potential measurements were used to characterize SA-AgNPs that were synthesized under the ideal conditions. SA-AgNPs were spherical with an average size of 14.6 nm. The stability of SA-AgNPs was investigated with changes in pH, salinity, and storage time. This colorimetric assay of dimethoate relied on the change in the absorption ratio (A475/A400) of SA-AgNPs, resulting in their aggregation caused by dimethoate, leading to a visual change for SA-AgNPs from yellow to pale yellow. As a result, the absorption ratio (A475/A400) of SA-AgNPs showed good linearity in the range of 0.05 to 2.0 ppm (R2 = 0.9986) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 30 ppb. Adding other pesticides did not significantly change the absorption ratio of SA-AgNPs, indicating its high selectivity as a colorimetric assay. The sensor was successfully used to detect dimethoate in actual water samples.

The Investigation of Novel Dynamic Packing Technology for Injection Molded Part Quality Control and Its Production Stability by Using Real-Time PVT Control Method.

Injection molding is an effective mass production process for plastic, partly due to a number of advantages such as complex shape moldability, material selectivity, and a rapid process cycle. However, highly labor-based conventional production restrains the development of the industry. Experience-driven molding setups are used to trial the mold process, and also for quality checking the molded part for mass production. There is no effective solution for maintaining the production stability and defect-free adjustment. This study aimed to establish scientific packing pressure setup technology to optimize the molded part quality and the stability of consecutive production. The dynamic packing pressure setup technology for molded part quality and the process stability were investigated. This not only achieves the optimization of the packing pressure setup, but the stabilization of quality in mass production. Four major qualities were discussed in this study including tensile strength, regional deviation on shrinkage, total shrinkage, and warpage. The qualities improved by up to 3.9%, 92.9%, 41.9%, and 9.2%, respectively. A series of pilot runs of 300 cycles for two packing pressure control methods were tested to investigate the stability of the qualities. Dynamic packing pressure control improved the weight replication by 54%, reduced total shrinkage by 23%, and improved the warpage by 12%.

Effect of scan delay on measurements of an occlusal pressure sensitive film: An in-vitro study.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: While scan delay may affect the measurements of an occlusal pressure-sensitive film, Dental Prescale II (DPS2), the duration of scan delay was rarely reported in previous studies. This study aimed to clarify the effect of scan delay on DPS2 measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two experiments were performed to clarify the effect of 0- to 10-min scan delay after DPS2 force registration. In both experiments, 11 loads were applied separately on a DPS2 film at 1-min interval between loads. Scanning was performed immediately after the 11th load in the 1-scan experiment and immediately after each load in the 11-scan experiment. A 300-N load was applied with a universal testing machine on 10 DPS2 films in each experiment and the DPS2 film was scanned with Bite Force Analyzer. Load measured, contact area, mean pressure, and maximum pressure were reported. ANOVA and Scheffé test were performed to compare the effect of number of scans and delay scan duration on these measurements with the critical value set at P ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: Number of scans had no significant effect on the four measurements studied. However, all measurements, except contact area, were significantly affected by scan delay; the longer the scan delay, the greater the increase in measurements. The load measured showed a rapid increase (13%) in the first 2 min, followed by a gradual increase from 2 min to 10 min (10%). CONCLUSION: Scan delay does affect DPS2 measurements, and it is important to standardize and report scan delay duration in clinical studies.

Oral Cancer Theranostic Application of FeAu Bimetallic Nanoparticles Conjugated with MMP-1 Antibody.

Metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) displays a poor disease prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of 39%. Chemotherapy has emerged as the mainstream treatment against small clusters of cancer cells but poses more risks than benefits for metastatic cells due to the non-specificity and cytotoxicity. To overcome these obstacles, we conjugated antibodies specific for matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), a prognostic biomarker of SCC, to iron-gold bimetallic nanoparticles (FeAu NPs) and explored the capability of this complex to target and limit SSC cell growth via magnetic field-induced hyperthermia. Our results showed that 4.32 ± 0.79 nm sized FeAu NPs were superparamagnetic in nature with a saturation magnetization (Ms) of 5.8 emu/g and elevated the media temperature to 45 °C, confirming the prospect to deliver hyperthermia. Furthermore, conjugation with MMP-1 antibodies resulted in a 3.07-fold higher uptake in HSC-3 (human tongue squamous cell carcinoma) cells as compared to L929 (fibroblast) cells, which translated to a 5-fold decrease in cell viability, confirming SCC targeting. Finally, upon magnetic stimulation, MMP-1-FeAu NPs conjugate triggered 89% HSC-3 cellular death, confirming the efficacy of antibody-conjugated nanoparticles in limiting SCC growth. The synergistic effect of biomarker-specific antibodies and magnetic nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia may open new doors towards SCC targeting for improved disease prognosis.

Precision saturated absorption spectroscopy of H3.

In our previous work on the Lamb-dips of the ν2 fundamental band transitions of H3+, the saturated absorption spectrum was obtained by third-derivative spectroscopy using frequency modulation with an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). However, frequency modulation also caused errors in the absolute frequency determination. To solve this problem, we built a tunable offset locking system to lock the pump frequency of the OPO to an iodine-stabilized Nd:YAG laser. With this improvement, we were able to scan the OPO idler frequency precisely and obtain the saturated absorption profile using intensity modulation. Furthermore, ion concentration modulation was employed to subtract the background noise and increase the signal-to-noise ratio. To determine the absolute frequency of the idler wave, the OPO signal frequency was locked to an optical frequency comb. The absolute frequency accuracy of our spectrometer was better than 7 kHz, demonstrated by measuring the wavelength standard transition of methane at 3.39 µm. Finally, we measured 16 transitions of H3+ and our results agree very well with other precision measurements. This work successfully resolved the discrepancies between our previous measurements and other precision measurements.

Effects of linguistic experience on the perception of high-variability non-native tones.

Whether tone language experience facilitates non-native tone perception is an area of research that previously yielded conflicting results, potentially because of the lack of systematical control of speaker normalization effects across studies. Under a high-variability testing condition with controlled speaker normalization cues, Cantonese (native controls), Mandarin (Cantonese-naive tone listeners), and English (non-tone listeners) listeners identified three Cantonese level tones. The results indicate a facilitatory effect of tone experience on non-native tone perception when normalization for inter-speaker variation is required.

Alterative effects of an oral alginate extract on experimental rabbit osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that causes disabilities in elderly. However, few agents with high efficacy and low side effects have been developed to treat OA. In this study, we evaluated the effects of the alginate extract named CTX in OA cell and rabbit models. RESULTS: CTX was formulated by hydrolyzing sodium alginate polymers with alginate lyase and then mixing with pectin. HPLC was used to analyze the CTX content. Human chondrosarcoma SW1353 cells treated with interleukin-1ß were used as OA model cells to investigate the effects of CTX on chondrocyte inflammation and anabolism. CTX at concentrations up to 1000 µg/ml exerted low cytotoxicity. It inhibited the gene expression of proinflammatory matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) including MMP1, MMP3 and MMP13 in a dose-dependent manner and increased the mRNA level of aggrecan, the major proteoglycan in articular cartilage, at 1000 µg/ml. Thirteen-week-old New Zealand White rabbits underwent a surgical anterior cruciate ligament transection and were orally treated with normal saline, glucosamine or CTX for up to 7 weeks. Examinations of the rabbit femur and tibia samples demonstrated that the rabbits taking oral CTX at a dosage of 30 mg/kg/day suffered lesser degrees of articular stiffness and histological cartilage damage than the control rabbits. CONCLUSIONS: The gene expression profiles in the cell and the examinations done on the rabbit cartilage suggest that the alginate extract CTX is a pharmaco-therapeutic agent applicable for OA therapy.