Mapping out the bibliometric characteristics of classic articles published in a Taiwanese academic journal in dentistry: A scopus-based analysis.

Background/purpose: Since its inception, the Journal of Dental Sciences (JDS) has aimed to publish quality articles relevant to all fields in dentistry. The purpose of this study was to analyze the bibliometric characteristics and dissected associated factors correlated with citation counts of classic articles published in the JDS. Materials and method: Scopus® database was used to search the qualified articles published in JDS from 2009 to 2021. The bibliometric parameters, including journal impact factor (JIF), self-citation, study design, research field, geographic, country and institute of origin, inter-institute, inter-nation collaboration, keywords hotness and associated factors correlated with citation counts of classic articles were analyzed. Results: One hundred and eight articles from Scopus® database were eligible for analysis. The citation counts of classic articles ranged from 12 to 192, the average citation was 22.02. The most common study design was the in vitro/in vivo, followed by the cross-sectional study, and the major research field were Dental Materials. The most productive country and institute is Taiwan, and Chung Shan Medical University, respectively. The trend of inter-institute (71.03%) and inter-nation (11.22%) collaboration steadily increased since 2009. By using the multivariable linear regression model, Preventive and Community Dentistry in the research field significantly increased the citation counts. Conclusion: Despite its limitations, the escalating trends in JIFs, and JIFs without self-citations, and inter-nation and inter-institute collaboration of classic articles were noticed. Of all the dissected associated factors, Preventive and Community Dentistry in the research field significantly increased the citation counts of classic article.

Critical Test Result Recall Supporting System (CTR RSS) Improves Follow-Up among Patients in the Community.

Follow-up care of patients in the community is an important topic for improving patient outcomes, especially when medical personnel receives a notification of the critical test result (CTR) when the CTR becomes available after patients have been out of hospital; how to recall the patient back to the hospital and follow-up treatment is essential for preventing the healthcare risk of neglecting or delayed intervention with respect to the patient's CTR. We are concerned that the follow-up of CTR and timely recall of our patients in the community improves and facilitates patient safety. We built the CTR Recall Supporting System (RSS) to follow up and recall our patients in the community. Measures were introduced to evaluate the effectiveness of CTR RSS; the rate of return of patients within 7 days increased from 58.5% to 88.8%, an increase of 30.3%, the patients in the community's return follow-up interval days decreased from 10.9 days to 6.2 days, reduced by 4.7 days (p < 0.001), and the mortality rate of the patients in the community within 48 h decreased from 8.0% to 1.9%, a decrease of 6.1%, p < 0.001. The implementation of the CTR RSS significantly increases the discharged patient in he community's CTR return follow-up within 7 days rate, decreases CTR return follow-up interval days, and reduces the CTR mortality rate within 48 h. This effectively improves the effects of CTR on return follow-up visits and provides a prototype system for hospitals that intend to improve this issue.

A bibliometric analysis of top 100 most-cited articles in dentistry with author(s) affiliated with Taiwan institutes.

BACKGROUND: Citation analysis can provide a historical perspective in the advancement of research, evolution, and areas of research. Taiwan exhibits rigorous academic and scientific activities in dentistry; however, based on its empirical contribution in research, there is no report in the literature analyzing the top-cited articles published by authors affiliated with Taiwan institutes. The purpose of this study was to analyze the citation characteristics of the top 100 most-cited articles published in dentistry with author(s) affiliated with Taiwan institutes. METHODS: The Scopus database was used to search the qualified articles with authors from Taiwan published in journals. The bibliometric parameters, including year of publication, study design, research fields, citation half-life, self-citation, institute of origin, and international collaboration were analyzed. Multivariable linear regression in generalized linear model was used to find associate factors related to trends of citation counts. RESULTS: The top 100 most-cited articles were determined by analyzing 7667 articles from the Scopus database. The steadily increasing trends were observed in the number and percentage of articles of author(s) affiliated with Taiwan institutes to the world. The most common study design was the in vitro research (55 %). The majority citation half-life is 3-5 and 6-8 years, and self-citation counts were between one to five times (n = 26). The percentage of international collaboration of these most-cited articles was 32%, and the main collaboration country was the United States. By using multivariable linear regression in the generalized linear model, the associated factors, study design, and self-citation were significantly associated with the escalating trends of citation counts. CONCLUSION: This is the first study that provides valuable information in the dentistry regarding the academic activity, and empirical contribution of author(s) affiliated with Taiwan institutes in the world. The trends of citation characteristics were significantly correlated with study design and self-citation of these articles.

Development and testing of the hemodialysis symptom distress scale (HSD-22) to identify the symptom cluster by using exploratory factor analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) often experience multiple symptoms concurrently and these symptoms may impact their quality of life. A valid and reliable tool is needed to assess the symptom distress of patients receiving HD in terms of the perspective of symptom clusters. Although many studies have explored symptom clusters related to patients receiving HD, the clusters formed had problems with overlapping, vagueness, lack of cluster-specificity, and difficulty in discerning their common mechanism under the cluster. AIMS: To develop reliable measurement tool to identify the symptom clusters of patients undergoing HD. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study. METHODS: To examine the physiological properties of the HD symptom distress (HSD) scale, 216 participants were recruited from a HD center of a medical university hospital in southern Taiwan from February 2019 to April 2019. Construct validity was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the internal consistency and test-retest reliability were estimated by Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The CVI value of the HSD was 0.89. The HSD scale was composed of five factors with 22 items, including insufficient energy/vitality, cardiac-pulmonary distress, sleep disturbance, musculoskeletal distress, and gastrointestinal distress, with factor loading ranging from 0.62 to 0.87, explaining 65.5% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the HSD total scale was 0.93, and five subscales ranged from 0.73 to 0.89. The test-retest reliability was 0.92 (p < 0.001) by using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the HSD-22 scale. CONCLUSION / IMPLICATION: Theoretical testing from our study indicated that the HSD-22 scale had satisfactory validity and reliability. Therefore, this assessment tool can be employed to identify the symptom clusters of patients receiving HD in the clinical setting. Such identification enables healthcare professionals to provide interventions to release patients' symptom distress efficiently.

The effects of immediate programmed cryotherapy and continuous passive motion in patients after computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty: a prospective, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The postoperative nursing intervention with immediate cryotherapy and continuous passive motion (CPM) remains elusive regarding the postoperative pain and range of motion (ROM) for patients undergoing computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty (CAS-TKA). METHODS: A prospective, randomized controlled trial with a purposive sampling method was utilized. Sixty patients scheduled for a unilateral CAS-TKA at a medical center were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 30) and control group (n = 30). The intervention group applied programed cryotherapy and CPM within 1 h while returning to the ward on the day of surgery, while the control group did not. Data were analyzed using mixed models to compare the numeric rating scale (NRS) for pain, ROM, and swelling at postoperative day (POD) 4. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the NRS score between the groups (p = 0.168). The intervention group had significantly higher ROM than the control group (98° vs. 91°, p = 0.004) at POD 4. Although no significant difference in joint swelling was found between groups (p = 0.157), the intervention group had lower mean joint swelling (32.2 cm) than the control group (33.9 cm). CONCLUSIONS: Immediate programmed cryotherapy and continuous passive motion could help to improve ROM quickly after CAS-TKA. It should be incorporated into the daily nursing plan for patients undergoing CAS-TKA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04136431 . Registered 23 October 2019-retrospectively registered.

Smartphone Application with Virtual Reality Goggles for the Reliable and Valid Measurement of Active Craniocervical Range of Motion.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and validity of a hybrid device, combining virtual reality goggles, a magnetometer and an inclinometer application for smartphones, to measure craniocervical range. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Accurate evaluation of craniocervical range of motion is important for early detection of certain diseased conditions and monitoring the progress of interventions. The universal goniometer is widely used for the measurement but it requires experienced practitioners. Whether a combination of virtual reality goggles and smartphone applications can provide the same or better performance compared with the goniometer is still unknown. METHODS: Forty-one healthy adults from the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation were recruited for craniocervical range examination (flexion, extension, side-bending to the right or left and rotating to the right or left) by using the hybrid device and universal goniometer. Using the hybrid device, repeated measurements were performed twice by a primary rater and once by a second rater. The primary rater also conducted a measurement using the universal goniometer in the same cohort. The intra-rater and inter-rater reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC)) were calculated using the two-way random effect model, whereas the validity was examined by the Pearson correlation coefficient and Bland-and-Altman plot. The interval between the first and second sessions of the measurement for intra-rater reliability was set at 30 min. RESULTS: Excellent intra-rater (ICC ≥ 0.925) and inter-rater (ICC ≥ 0.880) reliability was noted for the hybrid device. The minimal detectable changes from intra-observer and inter-observer comparisons ranged between 4.12° and 7.42° in all six directions. The Bland-and-Altman plot revealed small mean differences (≤1.68°) between the hybrid device and universal goniometer. Both instruments had highly correlated measurements of craniocervical motion (r values ≥ 0.918). CONCLUSION: For healthy participants, excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability was noted for the hybrid device, and the measurements were consistent with the universal goniometer measurements. Future studies are needed to examine whether the device can perform similarly for patients with neck disorders.

Socioemotional wellbeing of mixed race/ethnicity children in the UK and US: Patterns and mechanisms.

Existing literature suggests that mixed race/ethnicity children are more likely to experience poor socioemotional wellbeing in both the US and the UK, although the evidence is stronger in the US. It is suggested that this inequality may be a consequence of struggles with identity formation, more limited connections with racial/ethnic/cultural heritage, and increased risk of exposure to racism. Using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n = 13,734) and the US Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n ~ 6250), we examine differences in the socioemotional wellbeing of mixed and non-mixed 5/6 year old children in the UK and US and explore heterogeneity in outcomes across different mixed groups in both locations. We estimate a series of linear regressions to examine the contribution of factors that may explain any observed differences, including socio-economic and cultural factors, and examine the extent to which these processes vary across the two nations. We find no evidence of greater risk for poor socioemotional wellbeing for mixed race/ethnicity children in both national contexts. We find that mixed race/ethnicity children experience socio-economic advantage compared to their non-mixed minority counterparts and that socio-economic advantage is protective for socioemotional wellbeing. Cultural factors do not contribute to differences in socioemotional wellbeing across mixed and non-mixed groups. Our evidence suggests then that at age 5/6 there is no evidence of poorer socioemotional wellbeing for mixed race/ethnicity children in either the UK or the US. The contrast between our findings and some previous literature, which reports that mixed race/ethnicity children have poorer socioemotional wellbeing, may reflect changes in the meaning of mixed identities across periods and/or the developmental stage of the children we studied.

Mapping the Growth of Heterogeneous Forms of Externalizing Problem Behavior Between Early Childhood and Adolescence:A Comparison of Parent and Teacher Ratings.

We compared long-term growth patterns in teachers' and mothers' ratings of Overt Aggression, Covert Aggression, Oppositional Defiance, Impulsivity/inattention, and Emotion Dysregulation across developmental periods spanning kindergarten through grade 8 (ages 5 to 13 years). We also determined whether salient background characteristics and measures of child temperament and parenting risk differentially predicted growth in discrete categories of child externalizing symptoms across development. Participants were 549 kindergarten-age children (51% male; 83% European American; 17% African American) whose problem behaviors were rated by teachers and parents each successive year of development through 8th grade. Latent growth curve analyses were performed for each component scale, contrasting with an overall index of externalizing, in a piecewise fashion encompassing two periods of development: K-1and grades 1-8. Our findings showed that there were meaningful differences and similarities between informants in their levels of concern about specific forms of externalizing problems, patterns of change in problem behavior reports across development, and in the extent to which their ratings of specific problems were associated with distal and proximal covariates. Thus, these data provided novel information about issues that have received scant empirical attention and have important implications for understanding the development and prevention of children's long-term externalizing problems.

Self-Concept Predicts Academic Achievement Across Levels of the Achievement Distribution: Domain Specificity for Math and Reading.

This study examines whether self-concept of ability in math and reading predicts later math and reading attainment across different levels of achievement. Data from three large-scale longitudinal data sets, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, and Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement, were used to answer this question by employing quantile regression analyses. After controlling for demographic variables, child characteristics, and early ability, the findings indicate that self-concept of ability in math and reading predicts later achievement in each respective domain across all quantile levels of achievement. These results were replicated across the three data sets representing different populations and provide robust evidence for the role of self-concept of ability in understanding achievement from early childhood to adolescence across the spectrum of performance (low to high).

The Role of Mediators in the Development of Longitudinal Mathematics Achievement Associations.

Despite research demonstrating a strong association between early and later mathematics achievement, few studies have investigated mediators of this association. Using longitudinal data (n = 1,362), this study tested the extent to which mathematics self-concepts, school placement, executive functioning, and proficiency in fractions and division account for the association between mathematics achievement in first grade and at age 15. As hypothesized, a strong longitudinal association between first-grade and adolescent mathematics achievement was present (ß = .36) even after controlling for a host of background characteristics, including cognitive skills and reading ability. The mediators accounted for 39% of this association, with mathematics self-concept, gifted and talented placement, and knowledge of fractions and division serving as significant mediators.

Syncope Due to Impending Cardiac Tamponade in Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

UNLABELLED: Pericardial effusion develops in 25 to 35% of patients with severe hypothyroidism. These effusions can be large, but rarely if ever cause tamponade. We report here a 36-year-old woman who presented with recurrent syncopal attack, which turned out to be a case of Hashimoto's thyroiditis complicated by massive pericardial effusion with impending tamponade. KEY WORDS: Cardiac tamponade; Hashimoto's thyroiditis; Syncope.

New insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of peritoneal fibrosis: a potential role of Wnt/ß-catenin induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition and stem cells for therapy.

Peritoneal fibrosis is a chronic, progressive progress, which is associated with ultrafiltration failure. In the development of peritoneal fibrosis, Epithelial to mesenchymal transition is an important cellular process whereby epithelial cells transform into mesenchymal cells under physiology and pathology conditions, along with change of cell morphology and expression of related genes. It plays an important role in embryogenesis and development of tissues and organs, as well as organ fibrosis and tumorigenesis. Several intracellular signal transduction pathways induce the process of Epithelial to mesenchymal transition. In recent researches, Wnt/ß-catenin induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition was suggested to be an important reason for tissues and organs fibrosis. The following paper reviews the potential role of Wnt/ß-catenin induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition in peritoneal fibrosis. New potential therapeutic interventions of peritoneal fibrosis are discussed.

Early predictors of high school mathematics achievement.

Identifying the types of mathematics content knowledge that are most predictive of students' long-term learning is essential for improving both theories of mathematical development and mathematics education. To identify these types of knowledge, we examined long-term predictors of high school students' knowledge of algebra and overall mathematics achievement. Analyses of large, nationally representative, longitudinal data sets from the United States and the United Kingdom revealed that elementary school students' knowledge of fractions and of division uniquely predicts those students' knowledge of algebra and overall mathematics achievement in high school, 5 or 6 years later, even after statistically controlling for other types of mathematical knowledge, general intellectual ability, working memory, and family income and education. Implications of these findings for understanding and improving mathematics learning are discussed.

Influences of shift work on fatigue among nurses.

AIM: To compare the symptoms of fatigue and physiological indices in nurses who work during the day with nurses who work in shifts. METHOD: One-hundred and seven nurses were recruited and asked to assess their symptoms of fatigue before their work commenced and after it finished. RESULTS: Using logistic regression analysis adjusted for covariates, it was found that nurses who work in shifts were more fatigued than nurses who work during the day (odds ratio = 2.44, P < 0.10). There was a significant difference regarding critical flicker fusion in the two groups of nurses (P = 0.032), and nurses who work in shifts had poorer physiological indices than nurses who work during the day. CONCLUSION: It is clear that differing work schedules result in differing levels of fatigue, with shift work attributing to higher levels than day work. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers need to take into account the fatiguing effects of different work schedules when designing rostering patterns.

[Effects of high glucose on the cell proliferation, damage and cytokine in human peritoneal mesothelial cells].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the mechanism of peritoneal fibrosis of peritoneal mesothelial cells by high glucose. METHODS: The third passage human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) from primary culture were divided into a control group (F(12)) and high glucose groups (F(12)+4% glucose) in different times (24, 48 h). The cell proliferation was assayed by the method of MTT (methylthiazoletetrazolium). The cell damage was measured by LDH (lactate dehydrogenase). The protein expression of fibronectin (FN), transforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-beta(1)) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) were detected by ELISA. The mRNA expression of FN, TGF-beta(1) and PAI-1 were detected by RT-PCR. RESULTS: High glucose suppressed the cell proliferation. The result of MTT showed that compared with the control group, the value of OD of high glucose groups at 24 or 48 h decreased significantly (P<0.01 or 0.01); The cell damage was enhanced in high glucose groups, at 24 or 48 h compared with the control group at the same time (all P<0.01). The protein expressions of TGF-beta(1), CTGF and FN in supernate fluid of cell culture were significantly enhanced when high glucose stimulated the HPMCs in the high glucose groups at 24 or 48 h compared with the control group at the same time (P<0.05 or 0.001). The expressions of FN, TGF-beta(1) and PAI-1 mRNA were upregulated in 24 h high glucose group compared with that of 24 h control group. CONCLUSION: High glucose can suppress the HPMC proliferation and damage HPMCs. Increase of TGF-beta(1), CTGF, FN and PAI-1 of HPMCs stimulated by high glucose can promote the synthesis and decreased degradation of extracellular matrix, which might be related with the mechanism of peritoneal fibrosis of peritoneal mesothelial cells by high glucose.

As Good as it Gets? A Life Course Perspective on Marital Quality.

Marital relationships, like individuals, follow a developmental trajectory over time with ups and downs and gains and losses. We work from a life course perspective and use growth curve analysis to look at trajectories of change in marital quality over time. Although the tendency is for marital quality to decline over time, some groups begin with much higher levels of marital quality than others. Moreover, a number of life course and contextual factors can accelerate or slow this path of change. Our findings point to the importance of considering the multi-dimensionality of time (e.g., age, marital duration, the passage of years) as well as family transitions (e.g., having children, emptying or refilling the nest) in creating the meanings and experiences of marriage over time.