The Media-Mediated Model of Information Seeking Behavior: A Proposed Framework in the Chinese Culture During the COVID Pandemic.

This study aims to unravel the key determinants of individuals' information seeking behavior during health crises. It challenges conventional perspectives that solely emphasize individual experiences. It also undermines frameworks that draw direct parallels between individual experiences and media factors, disregarding the mediating role of media. Models like the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) also have limitations as they prioritize media mediation over recognizing the direct impacts of individual experiences on information seeking behaviors. We hereby propose a framework, the Media-Mediated Model of Information Seeking Behavior, that sheds light on the interplay between individual and media experiences. Analysis of survey data involving 5,469 participants in three Chinese societies, including mainland China (n = 2,067), Hong Kong (n = 1,913), and Taiwan (n = 1,489), reveals that individual experiences have both direct and indirect effects on information seeking, mediated by media utility. Experience of symptoms and risk perception depend on people's perceptions of the utility of media, while efficacy and media trust directly influence information seeking behaviors. These findings contribute to theoretical understanding and offer practical guidelines. Public institutions and health promoters can leverage media platforms to shape people's perceptions of health issues and encourage active information behaviors. It is also crucial to prioritize cultivating public trust in media and efficacy during crises.

Application Value of Target Management Mode Based on Chronic Illness Trajectory Framework in Elderly Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Background: Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases represent significant global health challenges, leading to organ dysfunction and increased mortality rates. Managing these conditions is complex, especially in the elderly population. The study addresses this pressing issue by exploring the application of the Chronic Illness Trajectory Framework (CITF), aiming to improve self-care and quality of life in elderly patients with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Methods: A total of 127 patients with diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases admitted to the hospital were enrolled between January 2020 and January 2022. According to the implementation of CITF management mode, they were divided into a control group (62 cases, non-implementation) and an observation group (65 cases, implementation). The control group was given routine intervention, while the observation group was given CITF-based target management mode for 3 months. The changes in blood glucose, blood lipid, negative emotions, self-efficacy, self-management, compliance, and quality of life before and after intervention in both groups were observed. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhujiang Hospital. Results: After intervention, levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2h plasma glucose (2hPG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), scores of self-rating depression scale (SDS), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and Diabetes Specific Quality of Life Scale (DSQL) were decreased (P < .05), while scores of General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Scale of the Diabetes Self-Care Activities Chinese version (SDSCA), and compliance rate were increased in both groups (P < .05). The levels of FPG, 2hPG, HbA1c, TC, TG, and LDL-C, scores of SDS, SAS, and DSQL in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < .001), and scores of GSES and SDSCA, and compliance rate were higher than those in the control group (P < .001). These results highlight the positive role of comprehensive intervention in improving the physical and mental health of patients with diabetes and provide strong support for the application of comprehensive intervention strategies in diabetes management. Conclusion: CITF-based target management mode can alleviate negative emotions in patients with diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases, improve self-management, self-efficacy, and compliance, effectively control blood glucose and lipids, and improve quality of life. The study conclusions highlight the importance of CITF management models in improving the management of patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This comprehensive intervention helps reduce negative emotions, improve self-management and compliance, effectively control blood sugar and blood lipids, and improve quality of life. These results have important clinical implications and provide strong support for better care of patients with chronic diseases.

The Impact of Expert Opinions in COVID-19 News Coverage on Vaccination During the Fifth Outbreak in Hong Kong: A Time Series Analysis.

The role of experts in news coverage has become increasingly prominent, but the evidence regarding the effectiveness of expert opinions in affecting public behavior remains mixed. This study seeks to examine the influence of expert opinions covered in the news on the public's response to public health crises. By adopting a macro-level framing perspective, we investigated how framing consistency, a macro-level concept indicating the agreement between expert opinions in news coverage and government policies or among peer experts, evolves over time and its temporal causal relationship with public behavior. Specifically, this study collected all press news coverage in Hong Kong over four months during the fifth outbreak, including 1,416 articles with 650 expert opinions, as well as the vaccination data that paralleled with this period. We constructed time series of expert opinions and vaccination behavior, and then conducted Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models with Granger causality analysis to examine how framing consistency of expert opinions in news coverage influenced vaccination. The results indicate that the consistent framing between expert opinions and government policies increased COVID-19 vaccination during the fifth outbreak in Hong Kong, while conflicting opinions responding to government policies had no significant effect on vaccination. Opinions among medical experts on COVID-19 issues also did not significantly impact vaccination. The implications for designing communication strategies and enhancing public behavioral support during public health crises are discussed.

Involvement of the TNF-α/SATB2 axis in the induced apoptosis and inhibited autophagy of osteoblasts by the antipsychotic Risperidone.

BACKGROUND: Risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic, impedes serotonin and dopamine receptor systems. Meanwhile, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is known to participate in regulating osteoblast functions. Consequently, the current study aimed to investigate whether the influences of Risperidone on osteoblast functions are associated with TNF-α and special AT-rich sequence-binding protein (SATB2). METHODS: Firstly, we searched the DGIdb, MEM and GeneCards databases to identify the critical factors involved in the effects of Risperidone on osteoblasts, as well as their interactions. Afterwards, osteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1 was transduced with lentivirus carrying si-TNF-α, si-SATB2 or both and subsequently treated with Risperidone. Various abilities including differentiation, autophagy and apoptosis of osteoblasts were examined after different treatments. Finally, animal experiments were performed with Risperidone alone or together with lentivirus to verify the function of Risperidone in vivo and the mechanism. RESULTS: It was found that Risperidone might promote TNF-α expression, thereby inhibiting the expression of SATB2 to affect the autophagy and apoptosis in osteoblasts. Furthermore, as shown by our experimental findings, Risperidone treatment inhibited the differentiation and autophagy, and promoted the apoptosis of osteoblasts, as evidenced by elevated levels of OPG, p62, cleaved PARP1, cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-8, and cleaved caspase-9, and reduced levels of LC3 II/I, Beclin1, collagen I, and RANKL. In addition, Risperidone was also found to elevate the expression of TNF-α to down-regulate SATB2, thereby inhibiting the differentiation and autophagy and enhancing the apoptosis of osteoblasts in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our findings indicated that Risperidone affects the differentiation of osteoblasts by inhibiting autophagy and enhancing apoptosis via TNF-α-mediated down-regulation of SATB2.

Research on Coverage Optimization in a WSN Based on an Improved COOT Bird Algorithm.

To address the problems of uneven distribution and low coverage of wireless sensor network (WSN) nodes in random deployment, a node coverage optimization strategy with an improved COOT bird algorithm (COOTCLCO) is proposed. Firstly, the chaotic tent map is used to initialize the population, increase the diversity of the population, and lay the foundation for the global search for the optimal solutions. Secondly, the Lévy flight strategy is used to perturb the individual positions to improve the search range of the population. Thirdly, Cauchy mutation and an opposition-based learning strategy are fused to perturb the optimal solutions to generate new solutions and enhance the ability of the algorithm to jump out of the local optimum. Finally, the COOTCLCO algorithm is applied to WSN coverage optimization problems. Simulation results show that COOTCLCO has a faster convergence speed and better search accuracy than several other typical algorithms on 23 benchmark test functions; meanwhile, the coverage rate of the COOTCLCO algorithm is increased by 9.654%, 13.888%, 6.188%, 5.39%, 1.31%, and 2.012% compared to particle swarm optimization (PSO), butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA), seagull optimization algorithm (SOA), whale optimization algorithm (WOA), Harris hawks optimization (HHO), and bald eagle search (BES), respectively. This means that in terms of coverage optimization effect, COOTCLCO can obtain a higher coverage rate compared to these algorithms. The experimental results demonstrate that COOTCLCO can effectively improve the coverage rate of sensor nodes and improve the distribution of nodes in WSN coverage optimization problems.

Exploring the mediating role of government-public relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: A model comparison approach.

This study proposed, tested, and compared three models to examine an antecedent and outcome of government-public relationships. It conducted three surveys of 9675 people in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong from August 2020 to January 2021. The results of the model comparison supported the proposed reciprocal model: not only were relational satisfaction and relational trust found to mediate the effect of perceived responsiveness on people's word-of-mouth intention to vaccinate, but they also had a reciprocal influence on each other. This study further affirmed that the relative effects between satisfaction and trust. We also found that emotion-dominant model is more powerful than cognition-dominant model, i.e., people's feeling of satisfaction happens before sense of trust, which results from their perceived organizational responsiveness and then contribute to their word-of-mouth behavioral intention. The theoretical and practical implications of this study were also discussed.

Continuous archwire technique for the correction of completely transposed maxillary incisors.

Tooth transposition is an uncommon disorder related to ectopic eruption; it can be classified as complete or incomplete on the basis of the position of the crowns and roots of transposed teeth. Aligning the transposed teeth to a normal sequence is always complex and challenging, especially in patients with complete transposition. The segmented archwire technique with cantilever or loops has been used in many transposition patients; however, it requires considerable laboratory work and is sometimes uncomfortable for the patient. In this case report, we present a novel orthodontic treatment for an 8-year-old boy with unilateral complete transposition of the maxillary central incisor and lateral incisor (Mx.I2.I1). During the alignment stage, the lateral incisor was moved palatally to bypass the central incisor, using a 0.012-in nickel-titanium wire continuously. Active orthodontic treatment was conducted for 44 months, and the final outcome was esthetically and functionally effective. Stable and satisfactory results were achieved within 4 years of follow-up.

Association of procalcitonin levels with the progression and prognosis of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Rationale: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first announced in Wuhan, and has rapidly evolved into a pandemic. However, the risk factors associated with the severity and mortality of COVID-19 are yet to be described in detail. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the information of 1525 cases from the Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were generated to explore the relationship between procalcitonin (PCT) level and the progression and prognosis of COVID-19. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship between disease severity in hospitalized patients and their PCT levels. Survival curves and the cumulative hazard function for COVID-19 progression were conducted in the two groups. To further detect the relationship between the computed tomography score and survival days, curve-fitting analyses were performed. Results: Patients in the elevated PCT group had a higher incidence of severe and critical severity conditions (P < 0.001), death, and higher computed tomography (CT) scores. There was an association between elevated PCT levels and mortality in the univariate ((hazard ratio [1], 3.377; 95% confidence interval [2], 1.012-10.344; P = 0.033) and multivariate Cox regression analysis (HR, 4.933; 95% CI, 1.170-20.788; P = 0.030). Similarly, patients with elevated PCT were more likely to have critically severe disease conditions in the univariate (odds ratio [2], 7.247; 95% CI, 3.559-14.757; P < 0.001) and multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR, 10.679; 95% CI, 4.562-25.000; P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier curves showed poorer prognosis for patients with elevated PCT (P = 0.024). The CT score 1 for patients with elevated PCT peaked at day 40 following the onset of symptoms then decreased gradually, while their total CT score was relatively stable. Conclusion: PCT level was shown as an independent risk factor of in-hospital mortality among COVID-19 patients. Compared with inpatients with normal PCT levels, inpatients with elevated PCT levels had a higher risk for overall mortality and critically severe disease. These findings may provide guidance for improving the prognosis of patients with critically severe COVID-19.

Preliminary application of 3.0 T magnetic resonance chemical exchange saturation transfer imaging in brain metastasis of lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer brain metastases are very common and one of the common causes of treatment failure. We aimed to examine the clinical use of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) technology in the evaluation of brain metastases for lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis. METHODS: We included26 cases of lung cancer brain metastases, 15 cases of gliomas, and 20 cases with normal tests. The magnetization transfer ratio (MTR;3.5 ppm) image from the GRE-EPI-CEST sequence was analyzed using the ASSET technique and APT technology. The MTR values were measured in the lesion-parenchymal, edema, and non-focus regions, and the MTR image was compared with the conventional MRI. ANOVA and t-test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The lesion-parenchymal, edema, and non-focus areas in the metastatic-tumor-group were red-yellow, yellow-green, and green-blue, and the MTR values were 3.29 ± 1.14%,1.28 ± 0.36%,and 1.26 ± 0.31%, respectively. However, in the glioma-group, the corresponding areas were red, red-yellow, and green-blue, and the MTR values were 6.29 ± 1.58%, 2.87 ± 0.65%, and 1.03 ± 0.30%, respectively. The MTR values of the corresponding areas in the normal-group were 1.07 ± 0.22%,1.04 ± 0.23%, and 1.06 ± 0.24%, respectively. Traditional MR images are in black-white contrast and no metabolic information is displayed. The MTRvalues of the three regions were significantly different among the three groups. The values were also significantly different between the parenchymal and edema areas in the metastatic-tumor-group. There were significant differences in the MTR values between the non-lesion and edema regions, but there was no significant difference between the edema and non-focus areas. In the glioma-group, there were significant differences in the MTR values between the parenchymal and edema areas, between the parenchymal and non-focus areas, and between the edema and non-focus areas. CONCLUSIONS: CEST reflects the protein metabolism; therefore, early diagnosis of brain metastases and assessment of the prognosis can be achieved using molecular imaging.

Accelerated Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy with Deep Learning.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy serves as an indispensable tool in chemistry and biology but often suffers from long experimental times. We present a proof-of-concept of the application of deep learning and neural networks for high-quality, reliable, and very fast NMR spectra reconstruction from limited experimental data. We show that the neural network training can be achieved using solely synthetic NMR signals, which lifts the prohibiting demand for a large volume of realistic training data usually required for a deep learning approach.

Growth of perovskite nanocrystals in poly-tetra fluoroethylene based microsystem: on-line and off-line measurements.

Cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals are photoelectric nanomaterials that have potential applications in a variety of areas due to their excellent photoelectric and tunable photo luminescent properties. In this work, we investigate the synergetic effects of reaction temperature, reaction-capillary length and flow rate on the growth kinetics of perovskite nanocrystals in a PTFE-based microsystem and the photoluminescence characteristics of the perovskite nanocrystals both on-line and off-line. The on-line measurement finds that increasing the reaction temperature leads to the increase of the wavelength of the PL emission peak of the synthesized nanocrystals and reduces the average size of the perovskite nanocrystals synthesized in long reaction-capillaries. The intensity of the PL emission peak of the nanocrystals synthesized at different reaction temperatures decreases with the increase of the flow rate. The off-line measurement reveals that increasing the flow rate generally leads to the blueshift of the PL emission peaks and the decrease of the average size of the perovskite nanocrystals synthesized at the reaction temperature of 160 °C in the capillary length of 60 cm. Increasing temperature leads to the increase of the emission wavelength of the perovskite nanocrystals from 560 to 608 nm. The temperature dependence of the average size of the synthesized nanocrystals with the same synthesis conditions at different temperatures can be described by the Arrhenius relationship with an activation energy of 8.54 kJ mol-1. Five different cross-sections of the synthesized perovskite nanocrystals are observed, including rhombus, hexagon, rectangle, square and quadrangle with three of them being observed for the first time.

Development of a dual-wavelength fluorescent nanoprobe for in vivo and in vitro cell tracking consecutively.

Many imaging probes have been developed for a wide variety of imaging modalities. However, no optical imaging probe could be utilized for both microscopic and whole animal imaging. To fill the gap, the dual-wavelength fluorescent imaging nanoprobe was developed to simultaneously carry both visible-range fluorescent dye and near-infrared (NIR) dye. Emission scan confirms that the nanoprobe exhibits two separate peaks with strong fluorescent intensity in both visible and NIR ranges. Furthermore, the dual-wavelength fluorescent nanoprobe has high photostability and colloidal stability, as well as long shelf-life. In vitro cell culture experiments show that the nanoprobe has the ability to label different types of cells (namely, esophageal, prostate, fibroblast and macrophage cell) for fluorescent microscope imaging. More importantly, cell tracking experiments confirm that cell migration and distribution in various organs can be tracked in real time using in vivo whole-body NIR imaging and in vitro microscopic imaging, respectively.

Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of gelsenicine in mice by UPLC-MS/MS.

Gelsenicine is an indole alkaloid isolated from Gelsemium elegans Benth. In recent years, the role of G. elegans Benth preparations in anti-tumor, analgesic, dilatation and dermatological treatment has attracted attention, and it has been applied clinically, but it is easy to cause poisoning with its use. An UPLC-MS/MS method was established to determine the gelsenicine in mouse blood, and the pharmacokinetics of gelsenicine after intravenous (0.1 mg/kg) and intragastric (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) administration was studied. Deltalin was used as internal standard; a UPLC BEH C18 column was used for chromatographic separation. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate (0.1% formic acid) with a gradient elution flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for quantitative analysis of gelsenicine in electrospray ionization positive interface. Proteins from mouse blood were removed by acetonitrile precipitation. A validation of this method was performed in accordance with the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. In the concentration range of 0.05-100 ng/mL, the gelsenicine in the mouse blood was linear (r > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantification was 0.05 ng/mL. In the mouse blood, the intra-day precision RSD was <12%, the inter-day precision RSD was <15%, the accuracy ranged from 89.8 to 112.3%, the average recovery was >76.8%, and the matrix effect was between 103.7 and 108.4%, which meet the pharmacokinetic research requirements of gelsenicine. The UPLC-MS/MS method is sensitive, rapid and selective, and has been successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of gelsenicine in mice. The absolute bioavailability of gelsenicine is 1.13%.

Structural and molecular myelination deficits occur prior to neuronal loss in the YAC128 and BACHD models of Huntington disease.

White matter (WM) atrophy is a significant feature of Huntington disease (HD), although its aetiology and early pathological manifestations remain poorly defined. In this study, we aimed to characterize WM-related features in the transgenic YAC128 and BACHD models of HD. Using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI), we demonstrate that microstructural WM abnormalities occur from an early age in YAC128 mice. Similarly, electron microscopy analysis of myelinated fibres of the corpus callosum indicated that myelin sheaths are thinner in YAC128 mice as early as 1.5 months of age, well before any neuronal loss can be detected. Transcript levels of myelin-related genes in striatal and cortical tissues were significantly lower in YAC128 mice from 2 weeks of age, and these findings were replicated in differentiated primary oligodendrocytes from YAC128 mice, suggesting a possible mechanistic explanation for the observed structural deficits. Concordant with these observations, we demonstrate reduced expression of myelin-related genes at 3 months of age and WM microstructural abnormalities using DT-MRI at 12 months of age in the BACHD rats. These findings indicate that WM deficits in HD are an early phenotype associated with cell-intrinsic effects of mutant huntingtin on myelin-related transcripts in oligodendrocytes, and raise the possibility that WM abnormalities may be an early contributing factor to the pathogenesis of HD.

A Selective Bottleneck Shapes the Evolutionary Mutant Spectra of Enterovirus A71 during Viral Dissemination in Humans.

RNA viruses accumulate mutations to rapidly adapt to environmental changes. Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) causes various clinical manifestations with occasional severe neurological complications. However, the mechanism by which EV-A71 evolves within the human body is unclear. Utilizing deep sequencing and haplotype analyses of viruses from various tissues of an autopsy patient, we sought to define the evolutionary pathway by which enterovirus A71 evolves fitness for invading the central nervous system in humans. Broad mutant spectra with divergent mutations were observed at the initial infection sites in the respiratory and digestive systems. After viral invasion, we identified a haplotype switch and dominant haplotype, with glycine at VP1 residue 31 (VP1-31G) in viral particles disseminated into the integumentary and central nervous systems. In vitro viral growth and fitness analyses indicated that VP1-31G conferred growth and a fitness advantage in human neuronal cells, whereas VP1-31D conferred enhanced replication in human colorectal cells. A higher proportion of VP1-31G was also found among fatal cases, suggesting that it may facilitate central nervous system infection in humans. Our data provide the first glimpse of EV-A71 quasispecies from oral tissues to the central nervous system within humans, showing broad implications for the surveillance and pathogenesis of this reemerging viral pathogen.IMPORTANCE EV-A71 continues to be a worldwide burden to public health. Although EV-A71 is the major etiological agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease, it can also cause neurological pulmonary edema, encephalitis, and even death, especially in children. Understanding selection processes enabling dissemination and accurately estimating EV-A71 diversity during invasion in humans are critical for applications in viral pathogenesis and vaccine studies. Here, we define a selection bottleneck appearing in respiratory and digestive tissues. Glycine substitution at VP1 residue 31 helps viruses break through the bottleneck and invade the central nervous system. This substitution is also advantageous for replication in neuronal cells in vitro Considering that fatal cases contain enhanced glycine substitution at VP1-31, we suggest that the increased prevalence of VP1-31G may alter viral tropism and aid central nervous system invasion. Our findings provide new insights into a dynamic mutant spectral switch active during acute viral infection with emerging viral pathogens.

Investigation of multiple laser shock peening on the mechanical property and corrosion resistance of shipbuilding 5083Al alloy under a simulated seawater environment: publisher's note.

This publisher's note corrects the labeling of Figs. 10-13 in Appl. Opt.57, 6300 (2018)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.57.006300.

Investigation of multiple laser shock peening on the mechanical property and corrosion resistance of shipbuilding 5083Al alloy under a simulated seawater environment.

To investigate the effect of laser shock peening (LSP) with different LSP impacts on the mechanical properties in artificial seawater and corrosion resistance of shipbuilding 5083Al alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution, wear property and electrochemical corrosion resistance tests were performed by a ball-on-disk sliding wear tester and electrochemical workstation. The wear mass losses of the samples treated by 1 and 3 LSP impacts are much lower, by 55.22% and 65.94%, respectively, than those of untreated specimens in artificial seawater. Compared with the untreated sample, the electrochemical corrosion rate of the treated samples decreased by 74.91% and 95.03% after being treated by 1 and 3 LSP impacts, respectively. The reasons for the enhancement of the wear properties and electrochemical corrosion behavior were caused by the increased residual stress and microhardness after the LSP treatment.

Crisis communication in context: Cultural and political influences underpinning Chinese public relations practice.

This study analyzes academic journal articles in order to depict the features of Chinese crisis communication in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The findings revealed the following features of crisis communication in Chinese societies: collectivistic culture, nationalism, rationalism, face-giving/saving, striving for the "golden mean," the preference for passive communicative strategies, and the avoidance of extreme strategies. Nevertheless, the differences in political systems-the ubiquitous intervention by authoritarian government on the Mainland, the mistrust of government in post-handover Hong Kong, and the relatively mature democratic polity in Taiwan all lead to unique crisis communication practices.

Three-dimensional model of normal human dermal tissue using serial tissue sections.

Background: This study aims to construct a three-dimensional model of skin dermis utilizing continuous tissue sections, with the primary objective of obtaining anatomical structure data for normal human dermal tissues. Methods: Normal skin tissue specimens were acquired, paraffin-embedded, and subjected to HE staining. Panoramic images of skin sections were captured using a microscope. Tissue section images were aligned using the SIFT and StackReg image alignment methods, with analysis conducted using the OpenCV module. Mimics17 software facilitated the reconstruction of the skin dermal 3D model, enabling the calculation of dermal porosity and the void diameter. Results: Panoramic skin slices exhibited high-resolution differentiation of dermal fibers and cellular structures. Both SIFT and StackReg image alignment methods yielded similar results, although the SIFT method demonstrated greater robustness. Successful reconstruction of the three-dimensional dermal structure was achieved. Quantitative analysis revealed a dermal porosity of 18.96 ± 4.41% and an average pore diameter of 219.29 ± 34.27 µm. Interestingly, the porosity of the dermis exhibited a gradual increase from the papillary layer to the fourth layer, followed by a transient decrease and then a gradual increase. The distribution of the mean pore diameter mirrored the pattern observed in porosity distribution. Conclusion: Utilizing the continuous skin tissue slice reconstruction technique, this study successfully reconstructed a high-precision three-dimensional tissue structure of the skin. The quantitative analysis of dermal tissue porosity and average pore diameter provides a standardized dataset for the development of biomimetic tissue-engineered skin.

Comparison between XGboost model and logistic regression model for predicting sepsis after extremely severe burns.

OBJECTIVE: To compare an Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGboost) model with a multivariable logistic regression (LR) model for their ability to predict sepsis after extremely severe burns. METHODS: For this observational study, patient demographic and clinical information were collected from medical records. The two models were evaluated using area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Of the 103 eligible patients with extremely severe burns, 20 (19%) were in the sepsis group, and 83 (81%) in the non-sepsis group. The LR model showed that age, admission time, body index (BI), fibrinogen, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were risk factors for sepsis. Comparing AUC of the ROC curves, the XGboost model had a higher predictive performance (0.91) than the LR model (0.88). The SHAP visualization tool indicated fibrinogen, NLR, BI, and age were important features of sepsis in patients with extremely severe burns. CONCLUSIONS: The XGboost model was superior to the LR model in predictive efficacy. Results suggest that, fibrinogen, NLR, BI, and age were correlated with sepsis after extremely severe burns.