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1.
AEM Educ Train ; 8(Suppl 1): S5-S16, 2024 May.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38774830

RESUMEN

Background: Precision medicine, sometimes referred to as personalized medicine, is rapidly changing the possibilities for how people will engage health care in the near future. As technology to support precision medicine exponentially develops, there is an urgent need to proactively improve our understanding of precision medicine and pose important research questions (RQs) related to its inclusion in the education and training of future emergency physicians. Methods: A seven-step process was employed to develop a research agenda exploring the intersection of precision and emergency medicine education/training. A literature search of articles about precision medicine was conducted first, which informed the creation of future four scenarios in which trainees and practicing physicians regularly discuss and incorporate precision medicine tools into their discussions and work. Based on these futurist narratives, potential education RQs were generated by an expert panel. A total of 59 initial questions were subsequently categorized and refined to a priority list through a nominal group voting method. The top/priority questions were presented at the 2023 SAEM Consensus Conference on Precision Medicine, Austin, Texas, for further input. Results: Eight high-value education RQs were developed, reflecting a holistic view of the challenges and opportunities for precision medicine education in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes relevant to emergency medicine. These questions contend with topics such as most effective pedagogical methods; intended resulting outcomes and behaviors; the generational differences between practicing emergency physicians, educators, and future trainees; and the desires and expectations of patients. Conclusions: Emergency medicine and emergency physicians must be prepared to understand precision medicine and incorporate this information into their "toolbox" of thinking, problem solving, and communication with patients and colleagues. This research agenda on how best to educate future emergency physicians in the use of personalized data to provide optimal health care is the focus of this article.

2.
CHEST Crit Care ; 2(1)2024 Mar.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38742219

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: For every critically ill adult receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, clinicians must select a mode of ventilation. The mode of ventilation determines whether the ventilator directly controls the tidal volume or the inspiratory pressure. Newer hybrid modes allow clinicians to set a target tidal volume; the ventilator controls and adjusts the inspiratory pressure. A strategy of low tidal volumes and low plateau pressure improves outcomes, but the optimal mode to achieve these targets is not known. RESEARCH QUESTION: Can a cluster-randomized trial design be used to assess whether the mode of mandatory ventilation affects the number of days alive and free of invasive mechanical ventilation among critically ill adults? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The Mode of Ventilation During Critical Illness (MODE) trial is a cluster-randomized, multiple-crossover pilot trial being conducted in the medical ICU at an academic center. The MODE trial compares the use of volume control, pressure control, and adaptive pressure control. The study ICU is assigned to a single-ventilator mode (volume control vs pressure control vs adaptive pressure control) for continuous mandatory ventilation during each 1-month study block. The assigned mode switches every month in a randomly generated sequence. The primary outcome is ventilator-free days to study day 28, defined as the number of days alive and free of invasive mechanical ventilation from the final receipt of mechanical ventilation to 28 days after enrollment. Enrollment began November 1, 2022, and will end on July 31, 2023. RESULTS: This manuscript describes the protocol and statistical analysis plan for the MODE trial of ventilator modes comparing volume control, pressure control, and adaptive pressure control. INTERPRETATION: Prespecifying the full statistical analysis plan prior to completion of enrollment increases rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the trial results. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered with clinicaltrials.gov on October 3, 2022, before initiation of patient enrollment on November 1, 2022 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05563779).

3.
Health Aff Sch ; 2(1): qxad081, 2024 Jan.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38756394

RESUMEN

State policymakers have long sought to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) treatment through insurance market reforms. Examining decisions made by innovative policymakers ("policy entrepreneurs") can inform the potential scope and limits of legislative reform. Beginning in 2022, New Mexico became the first state to eliminate cost-sharing for MH/SUD treatment in private insurance plans subject to state regulation. Based on key informant interviews (n = 30), this study recounts the law's passage and intended impact. Key facilitators to the law's passage included receptive leadership, legislative champions with medical and insurance backgrounds, the use of local research evidence, advocate testimony, support from health industry figures, the severity of MH/SUD, and increased attention to MH/SUD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings have important implications for states considering similar laws to improve access to MH/SUD treatment.

4.
Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther ; 47: 104209, 2024 May 09.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38734196

RESUMEN

The inability of visible light to penetrate far through biological tissue limits its use for phototherapy and photodiagnosis of deep-tissue sites of disease. This is unfortunate because many visible dyes are excellent photosensitizers and photocatalysts that can induce a wide range of photochemical processes, including photogeneration of reactive oxygen species. One potential solution is to bring the light source closer to the site of disease by using a miniature implantable LED. With this goal in mind, we fabricated a wireless LED-based device (volume of 23 mm3) that is powered by RF energy and emits light with a wavelength of 573 nm. It has the capacity to excite the green absorbing dye Rose Bengal, which is an efficient type II photosensitizer. The wireless transfer of RF power is effective even when the device is buried in chicken breast and located 6 cm from the transmitting antenna. The combination of a wireless device as light source and Rose Bengal as photosensitizer was found to induce cell death of cultured HT-29 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Time-dependent generation of protruding bubbles was observed in the photoactivated cells suggesting cell death by light-induced pyroptosis and supporting evidence was gained by cell staining with the fluorescence probes Annexin-V FITC and Propidium Iodide. The results reveal a future path towards a wireless implanted LED-based device that can trigger photodynamic immunogenic cell death in deep-seated cancerous tissue.

5.
Transplant Cell Ther ; 2024 May 18.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38768906

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Multiplexed gastrointestinal PCR panels (MGPP) are frequently employed as an aid in the diagnosis and management of diarrhea in HCT recipients. Many issues related to the optimal use of MGPP in HCT patients remain to be clarified. OBJECTIVE: To better define MGPP diagnostic and therapeutic stewardship in HCT recipients including indications and benefits of testing, optimal timing, and interpretation of results. STUDY DESIGN: We retrieved 463 consecutive MGPP ordered on 651 consecutive first HCT (312 allogeneic, 339 autologous) performed at our institution between June 2015 and June 2023. RESULTS: One hundred and sixteen (25%) of the 463 MGPP identified at least one and 12 (3%) more than one diarrheagenic pathogen. A positive result was more likely if the test was ordered within 48 hours of a hospital admission [32/78(41%)] or as an outpatient [46/111(41%)] as compared with evaluation of hospital onset diarrhea [38/274(14%)]. Among the positive results, the most frequent pathogens identified included C. difficile (64%), diarrheagenic E. coli (20%), norovirus (9%), and adenovirus 40/41 (5%). Thirty-eight percent of the positive C. difficile MGPP determinations were associated with a positive test for toxin. Among our allogeneic HCT cohort, 3% of MGPP for hospital onset diarrhea yielded an organism other than C. difficile. Fifty-six percent of positive and 14% of all submitted tests resulted in a change in treatment. For organisms other than C. difficile, only 1% of all tests and 5% of positive tests resulted in initiation of therapy. For patients at risk for acute graft vs. host disease (aGVHD), a positive or negative MGPP result was not predictive for a new diagnosis of aGVHD in proximity to diarrhea onset. CONCLUSIONS: MGPP testing is most useful when administered at hospital admission or as an outpatient. Since MGPP is sensitive and does not distinguish between colonization and causes of diarrhea, caution is needed in interpretation of results, especially for toxin negative C. difficile and diarrheagenic gram-negative organisms.

6.
Nat Commun ; 15(1): 3967, 2024 May 10.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38730255

RESUMEN

Estuaries play an important role in connecting the global carbon cycle across the land-to-ocean continuum, but little is known about Australia's contribution to global CO2 emissions. Here we present an Australia-wide assessment, based on CO2 concentrations for 47 estuaries upscaled to 971 assessed Australian estuaries. We estimate total mean (±SE) estuary CO2 emissions of 8.67 ± 0.54 Tg CO2-C yr-1, with tidal systems, lagoons, and small deltas contributing 94.4%, 3.1%, and 2.5%, respectively. Although higher disturbance increased water-air CO2 fluxes, its effect on total Australian estuarine CO2 emissions was small due to the large surface areas of low and moderately disturbed tidal systems. Mean water-air CO2 fluxes from Australian small deltas and tidal systems were higher than from global estuaries because of the dominance of macrotidal subtropical and tropical systems in Australia, which have higher emissions due to lateral inputs. We suggest that global estuarine CO2 emissions should be upscaled based on geomorphology, but should also consider land-use disturbance, and climate.

8.
Gastrointest Endosc ; 2024 Apr 29.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38692518

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) promote weight loss by suppressing appetite, enhancing satiety, regulating glucose metabolism and delaying gastric motility. We sought to determine whether GLP-1 RA use could impact sedated medical procedures like esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study on 35,183 patients who underwent EGD between 2019 and 2023, 922 of which were using a GLP-1-RA. Data were collected regarding demographics, diabetes status, retained gastric contents during EGD (RGC), incidence of aborted EGD, and necessity for repeat EGD. RESULTS: GLP-1 RA use was associated with a fourfold increase in the retention of gastric contents (p<0.0001), fourfold higher rates of aborted EGD (p<0.0001), and twice the likelihood of requiring repeat EGD (p=0.0001), even after stratifying for presence of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: GLP-1 RA use can lead to delayed gastric emptying, affecting EGD adequacy regardless of the presence of diabetes, and may warrant dose adjustment to improve safety and efficacy of these procedures.

9.
J Subst Use Addict Treat ; 163: 209363, 2024 Apr 18.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38641055

RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION: Despite Medicaid's outsized role in delivering and financing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), little is known about the extent to which buprenorphine prescriber networks vary across Medicaid health plans, and whether network characteristics affect quality of treatment received. In this observational cross-sectional study, we used 2018-2019 Medicaid claims in Oregon to assess network variation in the numbers and types of buprenorphine prescribers, as well as the association of prescriber and network characteristics with quality of care. METHODS: We describe prescribers (MD/DOs and advanced practice providers) of OUD-approved buprenorphine formulations to patients with an OUD diagnosis, across networks. For each patient who initiated buprenorphine treatment during 2018, we assigned a "usual prescriber" and assessed four measures of quality in the 180d following initiation: 1) continuous receipt of buprenorphine; 2) receipt of any behavioral health counseling services; 3) receipt of any urine drug screen; and 4) receipt of any prescription for a benzodiazepine. We used multivariable linear regressions to examine the association of prescriber and network characteristics with quality of buprenorphine care following initiation. RESULTS: We identified 645 providers who prescribed buprenorphine to 20,739 eligible Medicaid enrollees with an OUD diagnosis. The composition of buprenorphine prescriber networks varied in terms of licensing type, specialty, and panel size, with the majority of prescribers providing buprenorphine to small panels of patients. In the 180 days following initiation, a third of patients were maintained on buprenorphine; 69.9 % received behavioral health counseling; 88.4 % had a urine drug screen; and 11.3 % received a benzodiazepine prescription. In regression analyses, while no single network characteristic was associated with higher quality across all examined measures, each one unit increase in prescriber-to-enrollee ratio was associated with a 1.18 p.p. increase in the probability of continuous buprenorphine maintenance during the 180 days following initiation (95 % confidence interval = [0.21, 2.15], p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Medicaid plans may be able to leverage their networks to provide higher quality care. Our findings, which should be interpreted as descriptive only, suggest that higher prescriber-to-enrollee ratio is associated with increased buprenorphine maintenance. Future research should focus on isolating the causal relationships between MOUD prescribing network design and patient outcomes.

10.
Drug Alcohol Depend ; 259: 111290, 2024 Jun 01.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38678682

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: We examined the number and characteristics of high-volume buprenorphine prescribers and the nature of their buprenorphine prescribing from 2009 to 2018. METHODS: In this observational cohort study, IQVIA Real World retail pharmacy claims data were used to characterize trends in high-volume buprenorphine prescribers (clinicians with a mean of 30 or more active patients in every month that they were an active prescriber) during 2009-2018. Very high-volume prescribing (mean of 100+ patients per month) was also examined. RESULTS: Overall, 94,491 clinicians prescribed buprenorphine dispensed during 2009-2018. The proportion of active prescribers meeting high-volume criteria increased from 7.4 % in 2009 to 16.7 % in 2018. High-volume prescribers accounted for 80 % of dispensed buprenorphine prescriptions during 2009-2018; very high-volume prescribers accounted for 26 %. Adult primary care physicians consistently comprised the majority of high-volume prescribers. Addiction specialists were much more likely to be high-volume prescribers compared to other specialties, including psychiatrists and pain specialists. By 2018, the proportion of prescriptions from high-volume prescribers paid by Medicaid had doubled to 40 %, accompanied by a decline in both self-pay and commercial insurance. High-volume prescribers were overwhelmingly concentrated in urban counties with the highest fatal overdose rates. In 2018, the highest density of high-volume prescribers was in New England and the mid-Atlantic region. CONCLUSIONS: Growth in high-volume prescribers outpaced the overall growth in buprenorphine prescribers across 2009-2018. High-volume prescribers play an increasingly central role in providing medication for OUD in the U.S., yet results indicate key regional variation in the availability of high-volume buprenorphine prescribers.


Asunto(s)
Buprenorfina , Tratamiento de Sustitución de Opiáceos , Trastornos Relacionados con Opioides , Pautas de la Práctica en Medicina , Buprenorfina/uso terapéutico , Humanos , Trastornos Relacionados con Opioides/tratamiento farmacológico , Trastornos Relacionados con Opioides/epidemiología , Tratamiento de Sustitución de Opiáceos/tendencias , Pautas de la Práctica en Medicina/tendencias , Adulto , Masculino , Femenino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Estados Unidos , Estudios de Cohortes , Prescripciones de Medicamentos/estadística & datos numéricos , Antagonistas de Narcóticos/uso terapéutico , Analgésicos Opioides/uso terapéutico
11.
Law Hum Behav ; 48(1): 13-32, 2024 Feb.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38573702

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVE: We examined attorneys' experiences, perceptions, and decisions regarding plea recommendations in child sexual cases. HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized that characteristics of the child (age, relationship to alleged perpetrator) and the report (timing of disclosure, consistency across reports) would affect attorneys' perceptions of evidence strength, likelihood of conviction, and plea recommendations. METHOD: We collected data from a national sample of actively practicing prosecutors (n = 217) and defense attorneys (n = 251) who had experience with child abuse cases. They averaged 18 years of experience practicing law, were slightly more likely to be men (53%) than women, and primarily identified as White, non-Hispanic (86%). In Part 1, attorneys answered general questions about their experiences in child sexual abuse cases. In Part 2, they reviewed materials from a hypothetical case that varied the child's age (5 years, 11 years), the child's relationship to the alleged perpetrator (familial, nonfamilial), the timing of the child's initial disclosure (1 week, 6 months), and the consistency of the child's report (inconsistent, consistent). They rated the evidence strength, estimated the likelihood of conviction, and assessed whether they would recommend that the defendant accept a plea offer or proceed to trial. RESULTS: In Part 1, attorneys reported that they often have access to police reports, information about the alleged perpetrator, and evidence from the child when making plea recommendations. They said that it was important to know about prior allegations against the alleged perpetrator or by the child when assessing their credibility. They reported that the length of the sentence, sex offender registration requirement, and possibility of time served guided their plea recommendations. In Part 2, the consistency of the child's report influenced their decisions the most; they rated the evidence against the defendant as stronger when the child was consistent across reports than when the child was inconsistent. Additionally, their perceptions of evidence strength drove their recommendations. When the evidence against the defendant was stronger, attorneys thought that the defendant was more likely to be convicted at trial; thus, prosecutors were less willing and defense attorneys were more willing to recommend a plea. CONCLUSION: Similar to other cases, evidence strength and the perceived likelihood of conviction drive attorneys' decisions to offer or recommend a plea to a defendant in a child sexual abuse case. The consistency of the child's report plays a major role in predicting perceptions of evidence strength. Future research is needed to determine which other factors in child sexual abuse cases may also predict attorneys' perceptions and plea recommendations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).


Asunto(s)
Abuso Sexual Infantil , Maltrato a los Niños , Niño , Masculino , Femenino , Humanos , Preescolar , Abogados , Conducta Sexual , Bases de Datos Factuales
12.
Nat Commun ; 15(1): 2975, 2024 Apr 06.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38582938

RESUMEN

Indirect Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have achieved a burning plasma state with neutron yields exceeding 170 kJ, roughly 3 times the prior record and a necessary stage for igniting plasmas. The results are achieved despite multiple sources of degradations that lead to high variability in performance. Results shown here, for the first time, include an empirical correction factor for mode-2 asymmetry in the burning plasma regime in addition to previously determined corrections for radiative mix and mode-1. Analysis shows that including these three corrections alone accounts for the measured fusion performance variability in the two highest performing experimental campaigns on the NIF to within error. Here we quantify the performance sensitivity to mode-2 symmetry in the burning plasma regime and apply the results, in the form of an empirical correction to a 1D performance model. Furthermore, we find the sensitivity to mode-2 determined through a series of integrated 2D radiation hydrodynamic simulations to be consistent with the experimentally determined sensitivity only when including alpha-heating.

13.
Nano Lett ; 2024 Apr 08.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38588010

RESUMEN

Hampered by their susceptibility to nucleophilic attack and chemical bleaching, electron-deficient squaraine dyes have long been considered unsuitable for biological imaging. This study unveils a surprising twist: in aqueous environments, bleaching is not irreversible but rather a reversible spontaneous quenching process. Leveraging this new discovery, we introduce a novel deep-red squaraine probe tailored for live-cell super-resolution imaging. This probe enables single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) under physiological conditions without harmful additives or intense lasers and exhibits spontaneous blinking orchestrated by biological nucleophiles, such as glutathione or hydroxide anion. With a low duty cycle (∼0.1%) and high-emission rate (∼6 × 104 photons/s under 400 W/cm2), the squaraine probe surpasses the benchmark Cy5 dye by 4-fold and Si-rhodamine by a factor of 1.7 times. Live-cell SMLM with the probe reveals intricate structural details of cell membranes, which demonstrates the high potential of squaraine dyes for next-generation super-resolution imaging.

14.
Radiology ; 311(1): e240588, 2024 Apr.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38652029

RESUMEN

Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the article by Lenkinski and Rofsky in this issue. See also the article by McKee et al in this issue.


Asunto(s)
Gases de Efecto Invernadero , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética/métodos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética/economía
15.
J Subst Use Addict Treat ; 161: 209356, 2024 Jun.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38548061

RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION: The crisis of drug-related harm in the United States continues to worsen. While prescription-related overdoses have fallen dramatically, they are still far above pre-2010 levels. Physicians can reduce the risk of overdose and other drug-related harms by improving opioid prescribing practices and ensuring that patients are able to easily access medications for substance use disorder treatment. Most physicians received little or no training in those subjects in medical school. It is possible that continuing medical education can improve physician knowledge of appropriate prescribing and substance use disorder treatment and patient outcomes. METHODS: Descriptive legal review. Laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia were searched for provisions that require all or most physicians to receive either one-time or continuing medical education regarding controlled substance prescribing, pain management, or substance use disorder treatment. RESULTS: There has been a rapid increase in the number of states with relevant requirements, from three states at the end of 2010 to 42 at the end of 2020. The frequency and duration of required education varied substantially across states. In all states, the number of hours required in relevant topics is a small fraction of overall required continuing education, an average of 1 h per year. Despite recent shifts in the substances driving overdose, most requirements remain focused on opioids. CONCLUSION: While most states have now adopted continuing education requirements regarding controlled substance prescribing, pain management, or substance use disorder treatment, these requirements comprise a small component of the required post-training education requirements. Research is needed to determine whether this training translates into reductions in drug-related harm.


Asunto(s)
Educación Médica Continua , Humanos , Estados Unidos , Pautas de la Práctica en Medicina/normas , Analgésicos Opioides/efectos adversos , Analgésicos Opioides/uso terapéutico , Médicos , Manejo del Dolor/métodos , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/epidemiología , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/prevención & control , Trastornos Relacionados con Sustancias/terapia
16.
BMJ ; 384: e078538, 2024 03 20.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38508682

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguards to prevent large language models (LLMs) from being misused to generate health disinformation, and to evaluate the transparency of artificial intelligence (AI) developers regarding their risk mitigation processes against observed vulnerabilities. DESIGN: Repeated cross sectional analysis. SETTING: Publicly accessible LLMs. METHODS: In a repeated cross sectional analysis, four LLMs (via chatbots/assistant interfaces) were evaluated: OpenAI's GPT-4 (via ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot), Google's PaLM 2 and newly released Gemini Pro (via Bard), Anthropic's Claude 2 (via Poe), and Meta's Llama 2 (via HuggingChat). In September 2023, these LLMs were prompted to generate health disinformation on two topics: sunscreen as a cause of skin cancer and the alkaline diet as a cancer cure. Jailbreaking techniques (ie, attempts to bypass safeguards) were evaluated if required. For LLMs with observed safeguarding vulnerabilities, the processes for reporting outputs of concern were audited. 12 weeks after initial investigations, the disinformation generation capabilities of the LLMs were re-evaluated to assess any subsequent improvements in safeguards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were whether safeguards prevented the generation of health disinformation, and the transparency of risk mitigation processes against health disinformation. RESULTS: Claude 2 (via Poe) declined 130 prompts submitted across the two study timepoints requesting the generation of content claiming that sunscreen causes skin cancer or that the alkaline diet is a cure for cancer, even with jailbreaking attempts. GPT-4 (via Copilot) initially refused to generate health disinformation, even with jailbreaking attempts-although this was not the case at 12 weeks. In contrast, GPT-4 (via ChatGPT), PaLM 2/Gemini Pro (via Bard), and Llama 2 (via HuggingChat) consistently generated health disinformation blogs. In September 2023 evaluations, these LLMs facilitated the generation of 113 unique cancer disinformation blogs, totalling more than 40 000 words, without requiring jailbreaking attempts. The refusal rate across the evaluation timepoints for these LLMs was only 5% (7 of 150), and as prompted the LLM generated blogs incorporated attention grabbing titles, authentic looking (fake or fictional) references, fabricated testimonials from patients and clinicians, and they targeted diverse demographic groups. Although each LLM evaluated had mechanisms to report observed outputs of concern, the developers did not respond when observations of vulnerabilities were reported. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that although effective safeguards are feasible to prevent LLMs from being misused to generate health disinformation, they were inconsistently implemented. Furthermore, effective processes for reporting safeguard problems were lacking. Enhanced regulation, transparency, and routine auditing are required to help prevent LLMs from contributing to the mass generation of health disinformation.


Asunto(s)
Camélidos del Nuevo Mundo , Neoplasias Cutáneas , Humanos , Animales , Desinformación , Inteligencia Artificial , Estudios Transversales , Protectores Solares , Lenguaje
19.
Environ Res ; 251(Pt 1): 118622, 2024 Mar 03.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38442816

RESUMEN

Bioplastics have been used as alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics to lessen the burdens on marine and terrestrial environments due to their non-biodegradability and toxicity. However, recent studies have shown that not all bioplastics may be environmentally friendly. Microalgae, such as Spirulina that do not require arable land, have been identified as a potential bioplastic source. In this study, cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out in openLCA program using the Agribalyse database, to evaluate the environmental impacts of Spirulina bioplastic, formed from plasticization of Spirulina powder with glycerol. Two processes were created for the inventories of (i) Spirulina powder and (ii) Spirulina bioplastic, where the output of the former served as an input for the latter. The extruded bioplastic sheets were food-grade and could be used as edible packaging materials. The bioplastic was also compared to conventional plastics and it was found that the energy consumption was 3.83 ± 0.26 MJ/kg-bioplastic, which was 12% and 22% higher than that of LDPE and PVC plastic films, respectively. The impacts on the environment showed that the chemical growth medium (Zarrouk medium) and electricity were the main contributors in most of the categories. Compared to the PVC and LDPE films, the Spirulina bioplastic's impacts on the aquatic ecosystems were 2-3 times higher. The global warming potential of the Spirulina bioplastic was 1.99 ± 0.014 kg CO2 eq, which was 23% and 47% lower than that of LDPE and PVC films, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was carried out by changing the electricity source and using alternative growth media. Except for the case of switching to solar energy, the results for other cases did not differ significantly from the base case scenario. Future studies were suggested to identify different greener alternatives to the growth medium as well as different energy mixes for more environmentally benign solutions.

20.
J Magn Reson Imaging ; 2024 Mar 01.
Artículo en Inglés | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38426608

RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: In patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), 4D flow MRI can quantify regions exposed to abnormal aortic hemodynamics, including high wall shear stress (WSS), a known stimulus for arterial wall dysfunction. However, the long-term multiscan reproducibility of 4D flow MRI-derived hemodynamic parameters is unknown. PURPOSE: To investigate the long-term stability of 4D flow MRI-derived peak velocity, WSS, and WSS-derived heatmaps in patients with BAV undergoing multiyear surveillance imaging. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: 20 BAV patients (mean age 48.4 ± 13.9 years; 14 males) with five 4D flow MRI scans, with intervals of at least 6 months between scans, and 125 controls (mean age: 50.7 ± 15.8 years; 67 males). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 1.5 and 3.0T, prospectively ECG and respiratory navigator-gated aortic 4D flow MRI. ASSESSMENT: Automated AI-based 4D flow analysis pipelines were used for data preprocessing, aorta 3D segmentation, and quantification of ascending aorta (AAo) peak velocity, peak systolic WSS, and heatmap-derived relative area of elevated WSS compared to WSS ranges in age and sex-matched normative control populations. Growth rate was derived from the maximum AAo diameters measured on the first and fifth MRI scans. STATISTICAL TESTS: One-way repeated measures analysis of variance. P < 0.05 indicated significance. RESULTS: One hundred 4D flow MRI exams (five per patient) were analyzed. The mean total follow-up duration was 5.5 ± 1.1 years, and the average growth rate was 0.3 ± 0.2 mm/year. Peak velocity, peak systolic WSS, and relative area of elevated WSS did not change significantly over the follow-up period (P = 0.64, P = 0.69, and P = 0.35, respectively). The patterns and areas of elevated WSS demonstrated good reproducibility on semiquantitative assessment. CONCLUSION: 4D flow MRI-derived peak velocity, WSS, and WSS-derived heatmaps showed good multiyear and multiscan stability in BAV patients with low aortic growth rates. These findings underscore the reliability of these metrics in monitoring BAV patients for potential risk of dilation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.

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