Endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurement: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurement (EUS-PPG) is a new modality where the portal pressure is measured by directly introducing a needle into the hepatic vein and portal vein. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EUS-PPG. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify pertinent studies. The primary outcomes assessed were the technical and clinical success of EUS-PPG. Technical success was defined as successful introduction of the needle into the desired vessel, while clinical success was defined as the correlation of the stage of fibrosis on the liver biopsy to EUS-PPG, or concordance of HVPG and EUS-PPG. The secondary outcomes were pooled rates for total and individual adverse events related to EUS-PPG. Pooled estimates were calculated using random-effects models with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Eight cohort studies with a total of 178 patients were included in our analysis. The calculated pooled rates of technical success and clinical success were 94.6% (95%CI 88.5-97.6%; P=<0.001; I2=0) and 85.4% (95%CI 51.5-97.0%; P=0.042; I2=70), respectively. The rate of total adverse events was 10.9% (95%CI 6.5-17.7%; P=<0.001; I2=4), and 93.7% of them were mild, as defined by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Abdominal pain (11%) was the most common adverse event, followed by bleeding (3.6%). There were no cases of perforation or death reported in our study. Conclusions: EUS-PPG is a safe and effective modality for diagnosing portal hypertension. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to validate our findings.

Duodenocaval Fistula: Unmasking the Rare Culprit of Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage.

Duodenocaval fistula is an extremely rare and life-threatening cause of gastrointestinal hemorrhage and septicemia. Diagnosing this condition is challenging due to its nonspecific symptoms, leading to significant delays in diagnosis and contributing to its remarkably high mortality rate. We present a unique case of duodenocaval fistula associated with prior radiation, peptic ulcer disease, and antiangiogenic cancer therapy, nearly resulting in the death of a young patient.

A quasi-experimental study on health insurance coverage and health services in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Nigeria has the highest maternal mortality rate among sub-Saharan African countries. Recently, universal health insurance coverage has been embraced as a means to enhance population health in low- and middle-income countries. Hitherto, the effect of health insurance coverage on the utilisation of facility-level delivery is largely unknown in the face of the earnest need to lower maternal mortality rates in developing countries. AIM: To empirically investigate the association of health insurance coverage on health services utilisation of facility-level delivery and the extent to which public- and private-sector facility delivery in Nigeria had a disproportionate associational effect with health insurance coverage, in the universal health coverage era. SETTING: A cross-sectional study conducted for Nigeria. METHODS: This study employed a quasi-experimental method using propensity scores along with different matching methods that were applied to the most recent wave of Nigeria's Demographic and Health Survey (2020) data. RESULTS: Evidence suggests that childbearing mothers from insured households had an average of 25% probability of utilising facility-level delivery relative to mothers from uninsured households in the year that preceded the survey. Moreover, private-sector facility delivery had a 31% higher associational effect with health insurance coverage than public-sector facility delivery, which had an estimated probability of 21%. CONCLUSION: Expansion of health insurance coverage in Nigeria will be a desirable way to stimulate the utilisation of facility-level delivery by women of childbearing age. Consequently, coverage expansion has the potential to save many maternal and newborn lives in Nigeria.Contribution: This study has contributed to the urgent attention of the federal government of Nigeria to monitor and revamp the health insurance coverage policies of the country for better facilitation of health services to the Nigerian population.

Effect of work from home and employee mental health through mediating role of workaholism and work-family balance.

BACKGROUND: The current global outbreak caused by COVID-19 has produced a unique situation with severe health and financial consequences. The fast and quick global impact called for an immediate response. A key public health action was the decision to amend the law to allow employees to work from home (WFH) whenever it was possible. In response to public health restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19, organizations quickly switched to WFH without fully comprehending the effects of continued WFH on mental and physical health. Working from anywhere and at any time has made the separation between business and personal life more difficult. These modifications may cause employees' workdays to be longer and to experience greater work-life conflict. Overwork and work addiction provide a greater risk to the public's health and can harm various facets of mental and physical health, such as depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties. There hasn't been much research on the underlying processes that link workaholism to poor mental health, especially among Indian academics. PURPOSE: There is a rise in the number of people who are worried about their mental health in academic settings. The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether academicians in India can potentially have a healthy work-family balance, which may mitigate the negative impacts of workaholism and poor mental health especially due to the Work from Home system. METHODOLOGY: A population-based study was conducted on academicians (n = 456) at private and public universities in Delhi NCR, India. Workaholism, work-family balance, and mental health difficulties were all measured using self-reported scales in the study. By using path analysis, the proposed mediation model was evaluated. The survey responses had an accuracy rate of 80%. Based on the conceptual research framework, PLS-SEM path modeling is used to find the causal connection between the indicators and latent components. FINDINGS: The findings indicated that workaholism has been associated with mental health in two different ways: directly and through work-family balance. The path analysis found a statistically significant relationship between work from home and mental health through workaholism and work-family balance. Increased levels of anxiety, depression, stress, headaches, exhaustion, and reduced job satisfaction were some of the mental health consequences of Work from Home. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: This study provides real-world guidance to human resource managers on how to prioritize composite-level interventions at all levels of the university to create highly satisfied employees, provide a good working environment, and improve employees' mental health. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Many researches have been done on the relationship between work-from-home and employee mental health, but relatively few have looked at how work-life balance and workaholism play a role in how work-from-home affects employees' mental health. This study fills a need in the academic and practitioner literature by investigating the relationship between work-from-home from home and employee mental health as well as the mediating function of work-family balance and workaholism with regard to Indian higher education institutions.

Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Induces Acinar-to-Ductal Cell Transdifferentiation and Pancreatic Cancer Initiation Via LAMA5/ITGA4 Axis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by desmoplastic stroma surrounding most tumors. Activated stromal fibroblasts, namely cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), play a major role in PDAC progression. We analyzed whether CAFs influence acinar cells and impact PDAC initiation, that is, acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM). ADM connection with PDAC pathophysiology is indicated, but not yet established. We hypothesized that CAF secretome might play a significant role in ADM in PDAC initiation. METHODS: Mouse and human acinar cell organoids, acinar cells cocultured with CAFs and exposed to CAF-conditioned media, acinar cell explants, and CAF cocultures were examined by means of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, RNA sequencing, immunoblotting, and confocal microscopy. Data from liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis of CAF-conditioned medium and RNA sequencing data of acinar cells post-conditioned medium exposure were integrated using bioinformatics tools to identify the molecular mechanism for CAF-induced ADM. Using confocal microscopy, immunoblotting, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis, we validated the depletion of a key signaling axis in the cell line, acinar explant coculture, and mouse cancer-associated fibroblasts (mCAFs). RESULTS: A close association of acino-ductal markers (Ulex europaeus agglutinin 1, amylase, cytokeratin-19) and mCAFs (α-smooth muscle actin) in LSL-KrasG12D/+; LSL-Trp53R172H/+; Pdx1Cre (KPC) and LSL-KrasG12D/+; Pdx1Cre (KC) autochthonous progression tumor tissue was observed. Caerulein treatment-induced mCAFs increased cytokeratin-19 and decreased amylase in wild-type and KC pancreas. Likewise, acinar-mCAF cocultures revealed the induction of ductal transdifferentiation in cell line, acinar-organoid, and explant coculture formats in WT and KC mice pancreas. Proteomic and transcriptomic data integration revealed a novel laminin α5/integrinα4/stat3 axis responsible for CAF-mediated acinar-to-ductal cell transdifferentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Results collectively suggest the first evidence for CAF-influenced acino-ductal phenotypic switchover, thus highlighting the tumor microenvironment role in pancreatic carcinogenesis inception.

Ultrathin, biodegradable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stents for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: Final three-year results of the PERFORM-EVER registry.

The registry reports 3-year safety and clinical performance of the ultrathin strut (60 µm) biodegradable polymer-coated Tetrilimus, an everolimus-eluting stent (EES) (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Limited, India), in 'real-world' patients with coronary artery disease. A total of 815 Tetrilimus EES were implanted in 735 lesions in 594 patients. At 3-year follow-up, primary endpoint (target lesion failure, TLF) was reported in 8.6 % patients, including 2.6 % cardiac deaths, 3.5 % myocardial infarction and 2.6 % target lesion revascularization. At three-year, no cases of definite stent thrombosis were reported. The final three-year results of PERFORM-EVER registry endorse the continuous safety and effectiveness Tetrilimus EES.

New Alternative? Self-Assembling Peptide in Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a common and potentially fatal condition with all-cause mortality ranging from 3 to 10%. Endoscopic therapy traditionally involves mechanical, thermal, and injection therapies. Recently, self-assembling peptide (SAP) has become increasingly available in the United States. When applied to an affected area, this gel forms an extracellular matrix-type structure allowing for hemostasis. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the safety and efficacy of this modality in GIB. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search of major databases from inception to Nov 2022. The primary outcomes assessed were the success of hemostasis, rebleeding rates, and adverse events. The secondary outcomes assessed were successful hemostasis with monotherapy with SAP and combined therapy, which may include mechanical, injection, and thermal therapies. Pooled estimates were calculated using random-effects models with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The analysis included 7 studies with 427 patients. 34% of the patients were on anticoagulation or antiplatelet agents. SAP application was technically successful in all patients. The calculated pooled rate of successful hemostasis was 93.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 84.7-97.0, I2 = 73.6), and rebleeding rates were 8.9% (95% CI 5.3-14.4, I2 = 55.8). The pooled rates of hemostasis with SAP monotherapy and combined therapy were similar. No adverse events were noted related to SAP. CONCLUSION: SAP appears to be a safe and effective treatment modality for patients with GIB. This modality provides an added advantage of improved visualization over the novel spray-based modalities. Further, prospective, or randomized controlled trials are needed to validate our findings.

Stochastic frontier approach to efficiency analysis of health facilities in providing services for non-communicable diseases in eight LMICs.

BACKGROUND: The rising burden of non-communicable diseases presents an increasing public health challenge to many low- and middle-income countries. This problem may be compounded in health systems with lower levels of technical efficiency (TE). METHODS: This study used recent Service Provision Assessments data to estimate the level of TEs of health facilities in eight countries. Initially, the general and disease-specific service readiness indexes are estimated. Finally, the production function is estimated using the exposures and the outcomes of the model. RESULTS: Evidence shows that the general and disease-specific service readiness indexes are significantly associated with an increase in the number of outpatient visits. Outpatient visits may increase by 14% with an increase in health worker density. Similarly, outpatient visits may increase by 0.3% with a unit increase in the general and diabetes service readiness indexes. Furthermore, outpatient visits may increase by 0.4% and 0.8% with an increase in services readiness for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. respectively. Overall, the level of TE score suggests the need for improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Facility-level service readiness for chronic diseases is quite low. Therefore, improving health outcomes related to chronic diseases requires urgent investment in high-quality health systems in these countries.

Single-incision needle-knife biopsy for the diagnosis of GI subepithelial tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A histologic diagnosis of GI subepithelial tumors (SETs) is important because of the malignant potential of these lesions. The current modalities of choice, including EUS-guided FNA and biopsy (EUS-FNA/FNB) have demonstrated suboptimal diagnostic success. Single-incision with needle-knife (SINK) biopsy has emerged as an alternative diagnostic approach to increase tissue acquisition and diagnostic success. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the technical success, diagnostic success, and adverse events of SINK biopsy. METHODS: We searched multiple databases including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from inception to July 2022. The primary outcomes assessed were the technical success and diagnostic success of SINK in GI SETs. The secondary outcomes assessed were adverse events and whether immunohistochemical analysis could be successfully performed on tissue samples obtained via SINK. RESULTS: Seven studies with a total of 219 SINK biopsy procedures were included in this meta-analysis. The technical success rate was 98.1% (95% CI, 94.9%-99.3%; P = .000; I2 = .0%), and the diagnostic success rate was 87.9% (95% CI, 82.6%-91.7%; P = .000; I2 = .0%). The immunohistochemical success rate was 88.3% (95% CI, 78.7%-93.9%; P = .000; I2 = 3.5%). The rate of adverse events was 7.5% (95% CI, 4.3%-12.7%; P = .00; I2 = 7.2%), and bleeding was the most common adverse event. CONCLUSION: SINK biopsy is a safe diagnostic procedure with a high technical and diagnostic success in patients with GI SET. Further randomized controlled trials and direct comparison studies are needed to validate these findings.

Safety and efficacy of EUS-guided ablation of pancreatic lesions with ethanol versus ethanol with paclitaxel: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background and Objectives: EUS-guided ethanol ablation has emerged as an alternative method for pancreatic lesions. Recently, paclitaxel was added to ethanol to assess ablative effects in pancreatic lesions. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on EUS-guided ethanol ablation (EUS E) versus EUS-guided ethanol with paclitaxel (EUS EP) ablation for the management of pancreatic lesions. Methods: Comprehensive search of multiple electronic databases and conference proceedings including PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases (from inception to May 2020). The primary outcome evaluated complete ablation of the lesions radiologically and the secondary outcome evaluated adverse events (AEs). Results: Fifteen studies on 524 patients were included in our analysis. The pooled complete ablation rate was 58.89% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 38.72-77.80, I2 = 91.76%) and 55.99% (95% CI = 44.66-67.05, I2 = 0) in the EUS E and EUS EP groups (P = 0.796), respectively. The pooled AE rates were 13.92% (95% CI = 4.71-26.01, I2 = 83.43%) and 31.62% (95% CI = 3.36-68.95, I2 = 87.9%) in the EUS E and EUS EP groups (P = 0.299), respectively. The most common AE was abdominal pain at 7.27% (95% CI = 1.97-14.6, I2 = 68.2%) and 12.44% (95% CI = 0.00-39.24, I2 = 81.1%) in the EUS E and EUS EP groups (P = 0.583), respectively. Correlation coefficient (r) was ‒0.719 (P = 0.008) between complete ablation and lesion size. Conclusion: Complete ablation rates were comparable among both groups. AE rates were higher in the EUS EP group. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to validate our findings.

Safety and Clinical Performance of Biodegradable Polymer-Coated Ultra-Thin Everolimus-Eluting Stents in "Real-World" Patients: A Multicenter Registry (PERFORM-EVER).

BACKGROUND: Tetrilimus (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Limited, Surat, India) is a biodegradable polymer-coated everolimus-eluting stent with cobalt-chromium stent platform and ultra-thin (60 µm) strut thickness. We aimed to report 1-year safety and clinical performance of Tetrilimus everolimus-eluting stent in patients with coronary artery disease in "real-world" clinical practice. METHODS: The PERFORMance of biodegradable polymer-coated ultra-thin EVERolimuseluting stents was an observational, multicenter, single-arm, and investigator-initiated retrospective registry. All "real-world" patients who had received Tetrilimus everolimuseluting stent between July-2015 and October-2016 at four study centers were analyzed. The data were collected retrospectively either by extraction from existing databases in consecutive fashion where index and follow-up data existed or the follow-up was obtained by telephonic contact. Primary endpoint was 1-year incidence of target lesion failure, which was defined as a composite endpoint of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization by percutaneous or surgical methods. The Academic Research Consortium-defined stent thrombosis was assessed as additional safety endpoint. RESULTS: During the study period, 815 Tetrilimus everolimus-eluting stents (1.4 ± 0.5 stent/ patient) were implanted to treat 735 coronary lesions (1.1 ± 0.3 stent/lesion) in 594 patients (mean age: 55.6 ± 12.1 years). The cumulative incidence of target lesion failure at 1-year follow-up was 3.7%, which included 9 (1.5%) cardiac deaths, 8 (1.4%) myocardial infarctions, and 5 (0.8%) target lesion revascularizations. There were 5 (0.8%) cases of probable stent thrombosis and 4 (0.7%) cases of possible stent thrombosis at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Low incidences of target lesion failure and stent thrombosis at 1-year followup indicates that biodegradable polymer-coated ultra-thin Tetrilimus everolimus-eluting stents may have encouraging safety and efficacy in unselected real-world patients with coronary artery disease, including those with high-risk characteristics and complex lesions.

Malondialdehyde-Acetaldehyde Extracellular Matrix Protein Adducts Attenuate Unfolded Protein Response During Alcohol and Smoking-Induced Pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Epidemiological studies have established alcohol and smoking as independent risk factors for recurrent acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis. However, the molecular players responsible for the progressive loss of pancreatic parenchyma and fibroinflammatory response are poorly characterized. METHODS: Tandem mass tag-based proteomic and bioinformatics analyses were performed on the pancreata of mice exposed to alcohol, cigarette smoke, or a combination of alcohol and cigarette smoke. Biochemical, immunohistochemistry, and transcriptome analyses were performed on the pancreatic tissues and primary acinar cells treated with cerulein in combination with ethanol (50 mmol/L) and cigarette smoke extract (40 µg/mL) for the mechanistic studies. RESULTS: A unique alteration in the pancreatic proteome was observed in mice exposed chronically to the combination of alcohol and cigarette smoke (56.5%) compared with cigarette smoke (21%) or alcohol (17%) alone. The formation of toxic metabolites (P < .001) and attenuated unfolded protein response (P < .04) were the significantly altered pathways on combined exposure. The extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins showed stable malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde (MAA) adducts in the pancreata of the combination group and chronic pancreatitis patients with a history of smoking and alcohol consumption. Interestingly, MAA-ECM adducts significantly suppressed expression of X-box-binding protein-1, leading to acinar cell death in the presence of alcohol and smoking. The stable MAA-ECM adducts persist even after alcohol and smoking cessation, and significantly delay pancreatic regeneration by abrogating the expression of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK7 and CDK5) and regeneration markers. CONCLUSIONS: The combined alcohol and smoking generate stable MAA-ECM adducts that increase endoplasmic reticulum stress and acinar cell death due to attenuated unfolded protein response and suppress expression of cell cycle regulators. Targeting aldehyde adducts might provide a novel therapeutic strategy for the management of recurrent acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis.

Predicting key drivers for health care expenditure growth in the Middle East region: a Grossman-PLS modeling approach.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have provided evidence to the literature on the demand side of the determinants of health-care expenditure by employing the Grossman model. However, understanding the supply side of the determinants of health-care expenditure will be of crucial importance for improving health outcomes. METHODS: This study has used panel data for 15 Middle-East region countries for the time period of 2000-2016 Initially, Grossman's model of the demand for care is estimated. Furthermore, a Parallel model of the supply of care is estimated for contradistinction analysis. Finally, an integrated partial least square structural equation model is being developed. RESULTS: Results show that the relative wage rate and aging variables are the only indicators that are statistically significant with theoretically consistent signs as postulated by Grossman's theoretical model. The opposite is true with schooling and the proxy of the medical care relative prices. However, in the parallel model, all the four drivers of the demand for care are statistically significant determinants of health-care spending. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, expansion of health insurance coverage particularly for the elderly cohort of the population could be a promising mechanism to boost the demand for care and eventually improve health outcomes.

Identification of Immunoglobulin G Autoantibody Against Malondialdehyde-Acetaldehyde Adducts as a Novel Serological Biomarker for Ulcerative Colitis.

INTRODUCTION: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with immune responses with oxidative stress wherein high levels of malondialdehyde result in the formation of a highly stable and immunogenic malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde adduct (MAA). Thus, this study evaluated the status of MAA and anti-MAA antibody isotypes in IBD and their potential as novel serological biomarkers for differentiating ulcerative colitis (UC) from Crohn's disease (CD). METHODS: Levels of MAA and anti-MAA antibodies were examined in patients with IBD (171), non-IBD gastrointestinal diseases (77), and controls (83) from 2 independent cohorts using immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Receiver operating characteristic curves and Youden cutoff index from logistic regression were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: The MAA and blood immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-MAA antibody levels were significantly elevated in IBD compared with non-IBD patients (P = 0.0008) or controls (P = 0.02). Interestingly, patients with UC showed higher levels of IgG anti-MAA (P < 0.0001) than patients with CD including those with colonic CD (P = 0.0067). The odds ratio by logistic regression analysis predicted stronger association of IgG anti-MAA antibody with UC than CD. Subsequent analysis showed that IgG anti-MAA antibody levels could accurately identify (P = 0.0004) UC in the adult cohort with a sensitivity of 75.3% and a specificity of 71.4% and an area under the curve of 0.8072 (0.7121-0.9024). The pediatric cohort also showed an area under the curve of 0.8801 (0.7988-0.9614) and precisely distinguished (P < 0.0001) UC with sensitivity (95.8%) and specificity (72.3%). DISCUSSION: Circulating IgG anti-MAA antibody levels can serve as a novel, noninvasive, and highly sensitive test to identify patients with UC and possibly differentiate them from patients with CD.

The dynamics of public and private health expenditure on health outcome in Southeast Asia.

Though the level of public and private health expenditure per capita in Southeast Asia is comparatively below the level of health expenditure in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the former has higher rates of under-five and non-communicable disease mortality rates than the latter. Similarly, life expectancy at birth is considerably higher in OECD compared to Southeast Asia, despite the global progress in recent decades. This study examines the dynamics of public and private health expenditure on health outcomes in Southeast Asia, vis-a-vis two of the Sustainable Development Goals targets. The techniques of fixed effect, random effect and feasible generalised least squares methods are used to obtain robust estimates. Furthermore, the analysis dives deep into the analysis of country-specific impacts of public and private health expenditure on health outcomes using the technique of seemingly unrelated regression. Estimates show that, across Southeast Asia, public health expenditure alone contributes to improving life expectancy at birth, lower level of under-five and non-communicable disease mortality rates. Unlike public health expenditure, private health expenditure contributes to better health outcomes only in Brunei and Singapore but not across the countries of Southeast Asia. The implications of the findings and possible future research areas are highlighted further.

Evaluation of sustainable e-waste collection method for urban and rural region of India.

Electronic waste is one of the most challenging waste streams to manage. It has become a significant concern in developing countries due to the ever-increasing volume of generation coupled with deficient growth in collection and processing infrastructure. For the various stakeholders, it is of paramount importance to adopt a robust and sustainable collection method for hazard mitigation. The prevalent e-waste collection methods are categorized under four major heads, namely take-back, retail store, door-to-door and curbside collection. The e-waste collection problems are analysed from various perspective, based on literature that cited developing country-specific survey and data that includes India. Economic sustainability and potential risk are included as attributes in the evaluation scheme. We attempt to establish a decision-making model. Discussion with the field experts and decision-makers (DMs) provided the weights for various attributes and sub-attributes. A fuzzy linguistic scale is used to take care of ambiguity in DMs' opinion. Fuzzy- Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is used to determine the importance of various attributes and sub-attributes, while Fuzzy-VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (FVIKOR) is used to determine the rank of the alternatives. Based on the analysis, 'take-back collection' and 'retail store based collection' are found the most suitable options for urban and rural regions respectively. The attributes, social awareness and economical sustainability are found to have the highest significance in both cases. Implementation of a collection method is an expensive activity, and the proposed Fuzzy-Multi Attribute Decision Making attempts to capture various attributes and their complex interplay to arrive at a decision on optimum e-waste collection option(s) in a specific locality.

Analysis of Critical Success Factors to Design E-waste Collection Policy in India: A Fuzzy DEMATEL Approach.

The design of an e-waste collection policy is challenging, especially for a country like India, where the economy is a developing state, and there is a large diversity in socio-economic factors. The e-waste collection policy impacts the various stakeholders such as the manufacturer, the raw material producers, the assemblers, the retailers, the generator (households and bulk consumers), the scrap dealers, the smelters, the recyclers, and the regulators. The design of an e-waste collection policy needs to consider the appropriate set of Critical Success Factors (CSFs), which will maximise the e-waste collection providing business sustainability to the stakeholders while satisfying the environmental regulations in the operating locations. Twenty-three CSFs identified and categorised in six implication dimensions for the e-waste collection policy framework based on a literature survey and experts committee view. The fuzzy DEMATEL approach is employed to analyse the CSFs to design an e-waste collection policy in India from a comprehensive perspective. Cause and effect interrelationship is established among the CSFs, and also their impacts are evaluated to segregate the CSFs into cause group (prominent influencing and independent) and effect group (influenced and dependent). The CSFs such as technology involvement, green practices, environmental program, certification and licensing, public ethics and stakeholder's awareness for circular economy are prominent influencing CSFs for e-waste collection policy in India. The current study is expected to provide a platform for policymakers to design the e-waste collection policy.

Efficacy of EUS-guided needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy in the diagnosis of pancreatic lesions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background and Objectives: Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) is a procedure in which an AQ-Flex nCLE mini-probe is passed through an EUS-FNA needle into a pancreatic lesion to enable subsurface in vivo tissue analysis. In this study, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of nCLE for the diagnosis of pancreatic lesions. Materials and Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of several databases and conference proceedings, including PubMed, EMBASE, Google-Scholar, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases (earliest inception to March 2020). The primary outcomes assessed the pooled rate of diagnostic accuracy for nCLE and the secondary outcomes assessed the pooled rate of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and adverse events (AE) of nCLE to diagnose premalignant/malignant pancreatic lesions. Results: Eleven studies on 443 patients were included in our analysis. The pooled rate of diagnostic accuracy of EUS nCLE was 83% (95 confidence interval [CI] = 79-87; I 2 = 0). The pooled rate of sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of EUS nCLE was 85.29% (95% CI = 76.9-93.68; I 2 = 85%), 90.49% (95% CI = 82.24-98.74; I 2 = 64%), 94.15% (95% CI = 88.55-99.76; I 2 = 68%), and 73.44% (95% CI = 60.16-86.72; I 2 = 93%), respectively. The total AE rate was 5.41% (±5.92) with postprocedure pancreatitis being the most common AE at 2.28% (±3.73). Conclusion: In summary, this study highlights the rate of diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and PPV for distinguishing premalignant/malignant lesions. Pancreatic lesions need to be further defined with more validation studies to characterize CLE diagnosis criteria and to evaluate its use as an adjunct to EUS-FNA.

Choice of sedation in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: is monitored anesthesia care as safe as general anesthesia? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Monitored anesthesia care (MAC) and general anesthesia (GA) are the 2 most common methods of sedation used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the overall safety between MAC vs. GA in ERCP. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases to identify studies reporting the use of MAC or GA as a choice of sedation for ERCP. The primary outcome was to compare the overall rate of sedation-related adverse events in MAC vs. GA groups. The secondary endpoint was to investigate the total duration of the procedure, recovery time, ERCP cannulation rates, and conversion rate of MAC to GA. The meta-analysis was performed using a Der Simonian and Laird random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 21 studies reporting on 11,592 patients were included. The overall sedation-related side-effects were similar in the GA (12.76%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.80-21.73; I2=95%) and MAC (12.08%, 95%CI 5.38-20.89; I2=99%) groups (P=0.956). Hypoxia, arrhythmias, hypotension, aspiration and other sedation-related side-effects were similar between the 2 groups. The mean duration of the procedure was longer in the MAC group, but the mean recovery time was shorter. Significant heterogeneity was noted in our meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In our meta-analysis, the overall sedation-related side-effects were similar between the MAC and GA groups. MAC could be used as a safer alternative to GA when performing ERCP. However, large multicenter randomized control trials are needed to further validate our findings.