Postpartum Care in the Time of COVID-19: The Use of Telemedicine for Postpartum Care.

Background: Telemedicine was implemented at our institution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data do not currently exist about the use of telemedicine in providing comprehensive postpartum care. Objective: This project aimed to evaluate the impact of telemedicine on postpartum care at an urban Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who delivered at an urban hospital in New York between September and November 2019 (pre-COVID), February through April 2020 (peak-COVID) and June through August 2020 (ongoing-COVID). The primary outcome was postpartum visit attendance. Secondary outcomes included contraception use, breastfeeding, depression screening, hospital readmission, and emergency department visit rates. Log-binomial regression models were used to estimate relative risk. Results: Telemedicine accounted for 1% of postpartum visits in the pre-COVID cohort, 60% in the peak-COVID cohort, and 48% in the ongoing-COVID cohort. Postpartum visit attendance rates were 52% in the pre-COVID cohort, 43% in the peak-COVID cohort, and 56% in the ongoing-COVID cohort (p > 0.05). There was a nonsignificant increase in postpartum visit show rate for telemedicine visits compared to in-person visits in the peak-COVID cohort (76% vs. 65%; relative risk [RR] 1.17 [0.87-1.57]) and ongoing-COVID cohort (85% vs. 74%; RR 1.16 [0.90-1.50]). Patients were significantly less likely to have a Patient Health Questionnaire-2 Depression screen in the peak-COVID and ongoing-COVID cohorts (22% and 33%) than in the pre-COVID cohort (74%) (p < 0.01). There were no significant differences in hospital readmissions, contraceptive use or breastfeeding rates across cohorts (p > 0.05). Conclusions: At our urban FQHC, telemedicine was comparable to in-person postpartum care in terms of attendance rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, without an increase in rates of hospital visits or readmissions. However, postpartum depression screening needs to be better integrated into the telemedicine visit type.

Phase Demodulation Method for Fringe Projection Measurement Based on Improved Variable-Frequency Coded Patterns.

The phase-to-height imaging model, as a three-dimensional (3D) measurement technology, has been commonly applied in fringe projection to assist surface profile measurement, where the efficient and accurate calculation of phase plays a critical role in precise imaging. To deal with multiple extra coded patterns and 2π jump error caused to the existing absolute phase demodulation methods, a novel method of phase demodulation is proposed based on dual variable-frequency (VF) coded patterns. In this paper, the frequency of coded fringe is defined as the number of coded fringes within a single sinusoidal fringe period. First, the effective wrapped phase (EWP) as calculated using the four-step phase shifting method was split into the wrapped phase region with complete period and the wrapped phase region without complete period. Second, the fringe orders in wrapped phase region with complete period were decoded according to the frequency of the VF coded fringes and the continuous characteristic of the fringe order. Notably, the sampling frequency of fast Fourier transform (FFT) was determined by the length of the decoding interval and can be adjusted automatically with the variation in height of the object. Third, the fringe orders in wrapped phase region without complete period were decoded depending on the consistency of fringe orders in the connected region of wrapped phase. Last, phase demodulation was performed. The experimental results were obtained to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method in the phase demodulation of both discontinuous objects and highly abrupt objects.

Improved unwrapped phase retrieval method of a fringe projection profilometry system based on fewer phase-coding patterns.

In this paper, based on two additional phase-coding patterns, an improved phase demodulation method is proposed. First, six equally spaced coding phases in the interval [$ - \pi $-π, $\pi $π] are embedded in different periods of the coded fringes following a certain sequence. Subsequently, since a group of phase orders can be uniquely determined by the four adjacent coding phases, the phase-order map of the object can be generated. To ensure the accuracy of decoding results, the interference coding numbers should be corrected in advance. In the meantime, the connected regions exhibiting the same orders are classified and then labeled for simplifying the decoding process. The simulation results verify the feasibility of the proposed method. By two groups of 3D imaging experiments, the applicability of this method to multiple objects and discontinuous objects is confirmed.

Flexible calibration method of an FPP system based on a geometrical model and NLSM with fewer parameters.

Fringe projection profilometry (FPP) technology is an important method for 3D reconstruction. In this paper, we proposed a flexible calibration method of an FPP system based on the imaging principle and geometrical structure of the system. The target coordinates are only related to its pixel coordinates and phase. First, the fringe images are projected onto the calibration plate, and the phase can be calculated through the four-step phase-shifting method. Then, the pixel coordinates of the feature points can be located with the binarized fringe images and the centroid method. Finally, the calibration parameters are calculated by the nonlinear least-squares method (NLSM). The reconstructed experiment of 162 testing points was carried out, and the result shows that the maximum relative errors on coordinates X, Y, and h are 0.27%, 0.42%, and 0.59%, respectively. The other two surface reconstruction experiments also verify the feasibility of the calibration method.

Flexible calibration method of an FPP system based on a geometrical model and NLSM with fewer parameters: publisher's note.

This publisher's note amends the Funding section of Appl. Opt.58, A7 (2019)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.58.0000A7.

Novel adaptive loss weighted transfer network for partial domain fault diagnosis.

Mechanical fault transfer diagnosis has been confirmed as a feasible approach for tackling intelligent diagnosis with incomplete fault information and scarce labeled data on the basis of big data through the transfer of diagnostic knowledge from one or more conditions to any other condition. However, existing research has developed a hypothesis, i.e., the target domain shares an identical label space with the source domain, making it unfeasible to address the practical issue that the target domain label space is a subset of the source domain label space, resulting in low transfer diagnosis accuracy. To address this issue, a novel unsupervised intelligent diagnosis approach named double classifiers-dependent transfer diagnosis network is developed. In this approach, the label distribution weights are generated through the probability output of the classifier of source domain label space to target domain samples, by which small weights are assigned to irrelevant source samples to avoid negative transfer in the global-local maximum mean discrepancies (GL-MMD). In addition, classifiers of the source domain label space and the shared label space are built separately to improve the reliability of label distribution weights and GL-MMD. By training the network in the shared label space, diagnostic knowledge in partial domain issues is effectively transferred. Two cases are implemented to verify the effectiveness of the developed approach. Compared with other transfer diagnosis approaches, the developed approach achieved better diagnostic performance.

Association Between Social Determinants of Health and Cancer Treatment Delay in an Urban Population.

PURPOSE: Delays in oncologic time to treatment initiation (TTI) independently and adversely affect disease-specific mortality. Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are increasingly recognized as significant contributors to patients' disease management and health outcomes. Our academic center has validated a 10-item SDoH screener, and we elucidated which specific needs may be predictive of delayed TTI. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study at an urban academic center of patients with a SDoH screening and diagnosis of breast, colorectal, endocrine/neuroendocrine, GI, genitourinary, gynecologic, head and neck, hematologic, hepatobiliary, lung, or pancreatic cancer from 2018 to 2022. Variables of interest included household income, tumor stage, and emergency department (ED) or inpatient admission 30 days before diagnosis. Factors associated with delayed TTI ≥45 days were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 2,328 patients (mean [standard deviation] age, 64.0 (12.8) years; 66.6% female), having >1 unmet social need was associated with delayed TTI (odds ratio [OR], 1.68; 95% CI, 1.54 to 1.82). The disparities most associated with delay were legal help, transportation, housing stability, and needing to provide care for others. Those with ED (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.54) or inpatient (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.58) admission 30 days before diagnosis were less likely to experience delay. CONCLUSION: Delays in oncologic TTI ≥45 days are independently associated with unmet social needs. ED or inpatient admissions before diagnosis increase care coordination, leading to improved TTI. Although limitations included the retrospective nature of the study and self-reporting bias, these findings more precisely identify targets for intervention that may more effectively decrease delay. Patients with SDoH barriers are at higher risk of treatment delay and could especially benefit from legal, transportation, caregiver, and housing assistance.

Complications related to thyroidectomy among patients with hyperthyroidism: Exploring the potential for ambulatory surgery.

BACKGROUND: Total thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism is typically followed by overnight admission to monitor for complications including thyrotoxicosis. Outpatient thyroid surgery is increasingly common, but its safety in patients with hyperthyroidism has not been well studied. METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed 183 patients with hyperthyroidism who underwent total thyroidectomy from 2015 to 2022 at one urban, academic center. The main outcomes were rates of thyroid storm, surgical complications, and 30-day ED visits and readmissions. RESULTS: Among 183 patients with hyperthyroidism (mean age, 45 ± 14.5 years; 82.5% female), there were no cases of thyroid storm and complications included recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy (7.0%), symptomatic hypocalcemia (4.4%), and hematoma (1.6%). ED visits were present in 1.1% and no patients were readmitted. CONCLUSION: Total thyroidectomy was not associated with thyroid storm and <6% of patients required inpatient management. Ambulatory total thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism warrants further consideration through identification of predictive factors for postoperative complications.

Association of tumor growth rate with overall survival and recurrence among patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Delay in time to treatment initiation (TTI) is associated with worsened survival outcomes in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). It is unclear whether this is due to tumor growth or an increased risk of metastatic disease. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study at one academic center included patients with LSCC who underwent radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy between 2005 and 2017. We examined the association between tumor growth rate (TGR) and survival outcomes. RESULTS: Among 105 patients (mean age, 63.8 ± 11.1 years; 72% male), the threshold between "slow-growing" and "fast-growing" tumors was >0.036 mL/day (survival) and >0.082 mL/day (recurrence). Faster growth was associated with worse overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio, 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94-4.13) and increased recurrence (odds ratio, 9.10; 95% CI, 2.40-34.4). CONCLUSIONS: TGR >0.036 mL/day during TTI was associated with decreased OS, and >0.082 mL/day was associated with increased recurrence. Tumor measurement in patients experiencing delay may identify those who could benefit from escalated therapy.

TiO2 nanoparticle thin film-coated optical fiber Fabry-Perot sensor.

In this paper, a novel TiO(2) nanoparticle thin film coated optical fiber Fabry-Perot (F-P) sensor had been developed for refractive index (RI) sensing by monitoring the shifts of the fringe contrast in the reflectance spectra. Using in situ liquid phase deposition approach, the TiO(2) nanoparticle thin film could be formed on the fiber surface in a controlled fashion. The optical properties of as-prepared F-P sensors were investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The results indicated that the RI sensitivity of F-P sensors could be effectively improved after the deposition of nanoparticle thin-films. It was about 69.38 dB/RIU, which was 2.6 times higher than that of uncoated one. The linear RI measurement range was also extended from 1.333~1.457 to 1.333~1.8423. More importantly, its optical properties exhibited the unique temperature-independent performance. Therefore, owing to these special optical properties, the TiO(2) nanoparticle thin film coated F-P sensors have great potentials in medical diagnostics, food quality testing, environmental monitoring, biohazard detection and homeland security, even at elevated temperature.

Damage Localization of Composites Based on Difference Signal and Lamb Wave Tomography.

In order to deal with the problem of composite damage location, an imaging technique based on differential signal and Lamb wave tomography was proposed. Firstly, the feasibility of the technique put forward was verified by simulation. In this process, the composite model was regularly set down by the circular sensor array, with each sensor acting as an actuator in sequence to generate Lamb waves. Apart from that, other sensors were used to collect response signals. With regard to the damage factor, it was mainly determined by the difference between the damage signal and the non-damage signal. The probabilistic imaging algorithm was employed to carry out damage location imaging. Then, experiments were carried out so as to study the selected composite plate. Finally, the tentative outcomes have illustrated that the maximum error of damage imaging position was 7.07 mm. The relative error was 1.6%. In addition, the method has the characteristics of simple calculation and high imaging efficiency. Therefore, it has large technical potential and wide applications in the damage location and damage recognition for composite material.

High Precision Detection Method for Delamination Defects in Carbon Fiber Composite Laminates Based on Ultrasonic Technique and Signal Correlation Algorithm.

This paper presents a method based on signal correlation to detect delamination defects of widely used carbon fiber reinforced plastic with high precision and a convenient process. The objective of it consists in distinguishing defect and non-defect signals and presenting the depth and size of defects by image. A necessary reference signal is generated from the non-defect area by using autocorrelation theory firstly. Through the correlation calculation results, the defect signal and non-defect signal are distinguished by using Euclidean distance. In order to get more accurate time-of-flight, cubic spline interpolation is introduced. In practical automatic ultrasonic A-scan signal processing, signal correlation provide a new way to avoid problems such as signal peak tracking and complex gate setting. Finally, the detection results of a carbon fiber laminate with artificial delamination through ultrasonic phased array C-scan acquired from Olympus OmniScan MX2 and this proposed algorithm are compared, which showing that this proposed algorithm performs well in defect shape presentation and location calculation. The experiment shows that the defect size error is less than 4%, the depth error less than 3%. Compared with ultrasonic C-scan method, this proposed method needs less inspector's prior-knowledge, which can lead to advantages in automatic ultrasonic testing.

An In Situ Reflectance Spectroscopic Investigation to Monitor Two-Dimensional MoS2 Flakes on a Sapphire Substrate.

In this work, we demonstrate the application of differential reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) to monitor the growth of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The growth process, optical properties, and structure evolution of MoS2 were recorded by in-situ DRS. Indeed, blue shifts of the characteristic peak B were discussed with the decrease of temperature. We also obtained the imaginary part of the MoS2 dielectric constant according to reflectance spectra. This method provides an approach for studying the change of two-dimensional (2D) materials' dielectric constant with temperature. More importantly, our work emphasizes that the DRS technique is a non-destructive and effective method for in-situ monitoring the growth of 2D materials, which is helpful in guiding the preparation of 2D materials.

Direct Observation of Monolayer MoS2 Prepared by CVD Using In-Situ Differential Reflectance Spectroscopy.

The in-situ observation is of great significance to the study of the growth mechanism and controllability of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). Here, the differential reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) was performed to monitor the growth of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on a SiO2/Si substrate prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A home-built in-situ DRS setup was applied to monitor the growth of MoS2 in-situ. The formation and evolution of monolayer MoS2 are revealed by differential reflectance (DR) spectra. The morphology, vibration mode, absorption characteristics and thickness of monolayer MoS2 have been confirmed by optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ex-situ DR spectra, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) respectively. The results demonstrated that DRS was a powerful tool for in-situ observations and has great potential for growth mechanism and controllability of TMDCs prepared by CVD. To the best of the authors' knowledge, it was the first report in which the CVD growth of two-dimensional TMDCs has been investigated in-situ by reflectance spectroscopy.

Fast determination of oxides content in cement raw meal using NIR-spectroscopy and backward interval PLS with genetic algorithm.

Determining oxides content in cement raw meal with near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, associated with partial least square (PLS) regression, is fast and potential for cement industry to realize cement raw material proportioning control. However, it has hardly been studied. Backward interval PLS (biPLS) with genetic algorithm (GA-biPLS) were applied to select characteristic variables closely related to the concentration of oxide of interest to establish calibration model. The optimal GA-biPLS models showed that the determination coefficient (Rp2) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were 0.8857 and 0.0994 for CaO, 0.8718 and 0.1044 for SiO2, 0.7417 and 0.0693 for Al2O3, 0.5404 and 0.0387 for Fe2O3, correspondingly. These results indicate that GA-biPLS can select less variables with better prediction performance by comparison with PLS and biPLS, the NIR spectroscopy combined with GA-biPLS algorithm is a fast, accurate and reliable alternative method for determination of oxides content in cement raw meal.