Characteristics of Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon on the Task of Naming Celebrities in Healthy Elderly Adults

Objectives: In general, the incidence of Tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon increases with age, but studies on the difference in the incidence of TOT phenomenon according to the age of healthy elderly adults are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence and resolution rate of the TOT, and to find out the change in performance according to the syllabic clues.Methods: Ninety-six healthy elderly people whose age range was between 65 and 84 years old participated in the study. Participants were divided into three groups: 55-64 years old, 65-74 years old, and 75-84 years old age range groups. The TOT task used 30 questions about celebrity naming organized by period and category.Results: First, there was a significant difference of the TOT rate by age group, and as the age increased, the TOT rate due to partial retrieval failure and total retrieval failure increased. Second, the rate of TOT response type that explained the celebrity’s occupation was the highest in all groups. Third, there were significant differences between groups in both the voluntary TOT resolution rate and the TOT resolution rate after providing the syllabic clue. The recovery rate after the syllabic clues decreased with increasing age.Conclusion: This study observed the difference in characteristics of TOT phenomenon in elderly adults according to age group and the importance of phonological clues in TOT phenomenon resolution.

Association Study of Apolipoprotein E Gene Polymorphism With Incidence and Delayed Resolution of Hemifacial Spasm

Objective: This study investigates the correlation between Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) polymorphism and the incidence and delayed resolution of hemifacial spasms.Methods: The APOE genotypes of 151 patients with hemifacial spasm and 73 control cases were determined by cleaved amplification polymorphism sequence-tagged sites. The distribution of three APOE alleles (ε2, ε3, and ε4) in two groups and the delayed resolution rate in 6 genotypes were calculated and statistically analyzed.Results: The proportion of patients with APOE ε3/ε4 genotype in the hemifacial spasm group (25.17%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (12.33%) (P = 0.027). In terms of allele frequency, the proportion of the APOE ε4 allele in the hemifacial spasm group (15.56%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (6.85%) (P = 0.009). Meanwhile, the proportion of APOE ε4 allele carriers in the hemifacial spasm group (29.80%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (13.7%) (P = 0.009). Logistic regression analysis showed that the ε4 allele significantly increased the incidence of hemifacial spasm (OR 2.675, 95%CI 1.260-5.678, P = 0.010). Among the 32 patients with a delayed resolution, the ε3/ε3 and ε3/ε4 had the highest proportion in 6 genotypes. The delayed resolution rate of APOE ε3/ε4 (34.21%) was significantly higher than APOE ε3/ε3 (17.78%) (P < 0.05). The delayed resolution rate of APOE ε4 carriers was the highest (33.33%) in the 3 allele carriers, but there was no significant difference among the 3 allele carriers (P = 0.065).Conclusion: The polymorphism of APOE is relevant to the incidence rate of hemifacial spasms. APOE ε4 allele increases the incidence of hemifacial spasm. The APOE ε4 allele may promote the occurrence of delayed resolution.

Treatment Efficacy of Forced Prolonged Position After Cupulolith Repositioning Maneuver in Apogeotropic HSCC BPPV

Objectives: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the forced prolonged position (FPP) in patients with horizontal semicircular canal (HSCC) cupulolithiasis in whom the cupulolith repositioning maneuver (CuRM) failed. Methods: Fifty-four consecutive patients with HSCC cupulolithiasis were included, and immediate treatment efficacy of CuRM and short-term treatment efficacy of FPP were investigated. Results: We performed the CuRM in HSCC cupulolithiasis, and, if the CuRM did not show immediate success, instructed the patients to perform the FPP or the sham position (by random allocation) at home. The immediate therapeutic success of the CuRM was assessed by the absence of nystagmus and vertigo on positional testing after 30 minutes of the maneuver, which was 14.8% on the first visit day. And the resolution rate of HSCC cupulolithiasis was higher in the FPP group than in the sham position group at the second (78.3% vs 55.6%), third (75.0% vs 42.9%), and fourth visits (100% vs 25.0%). Conclusion: Although the CuRM has been considered to be a good therapeutic option for HSCC cupulolithiasis because it theoretically aims to detach otoconial particles attached both on the utricle and canal sides of the cupula, the immediate success rate was only 14.8% at the first visit. The FPP can be additionally recommended to improve the resolution rate in HSCC cupulolithiasis patients in whom the CuRM fails.

Fast Policy Interpretation and Dynamic Conflict Resolution for Blockchain-Based IoT System

Although the blockchain-based Internet of Things (BC-IoT) has been applied in many fields, it still faces many security attacks due to lacking policy-based security management (PbSM). Previous PbSM is usually time-consuming, which is difficult to integrate into BC-IoT directly. The high-latency policy conflict resolving in traditional PbSM cannot meet the BC-IoT’s low-latency requirement. Moreover, the conflict resolution rate is low as the PbSM usually neglects the runtime information. Therefore, it is challenging that achieving an efficient PbSM for BC-IoT and overcomes both time and resource consumption. To address the problem, we propose a novel PbSM for BC-IoT named FPICR to realize fast policy interpretation and dynamic conflict resolution efficiently. We first present policy templates based on system log to interpret policy in high speed in BC-IoT. Benefiting from matching the characteristics of the system processing, FPICR supports interpreting a policy into the smart contract directly without complex content parsing. We then propose a weighted directed policy graph (WDPG) to evaluate the importance of the deployed policies more accurately. To improve the policy conflict resolution rate, we implement the resolution algorithm through reconstructing the WDPG. Taking the traits of these properties, FPICR thus can also remove the redundant data to compress storage space by the WDPG. Experiment results highlight that FPICR outperforms the baseline in all measure metrics. Especially, compared with the state-of-the-art method, the speedup of interpretation in FPICR is about up to 2.1 × . The conflict resolution rate in FPICR can be improved by 6.2% on average and achieve up to 96.1%.

EFFICACY OF ENDOSCOPIC TOPICAL MITOMYCIN C APPLICATION IN CAUSTIC ESOPHAGEAL STRICTURES IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Caustic ingestion and development of esophageal strictures are recognized major public health problems in childhood. Different therapeutic methods have been proposed in the management of such strictures. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate efficacy and risk of endoscopic topical application of mitomycin C in the treatment of caustic esophageal strictures. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Central Cochrane, and LILACS databases. The outcomes evaluated were dysphagia resolution rate, number of dilations performed in resolved cases, and the number of dilations performed in all patients. RESULTS: Three randomized clinical trials were included for final analysis with a total of 190 patients. Topical mitomycin C application group showed a significant increase in dysphagia resolution rate, corresponding to a 42% higher dysphagia resolution as compared to endoscopic dilation alone, with statistical significance between the two groups (RD: 0.42 - [CI: 0.29-0.56]; P-value <0.00001). The mean number of dilations performed in resolved cases were significantly less in the topical mitomycin C application group, compared to endoscopic dilations alone, with statistical significance between the two groups (MD: 2.84 [CI: 1.98-3.69]; P-value <0.00001). When comparing the number of dilations in all patients, there was no statistical difference between the two groups (MD: 1.46 [CI: -1.53-4.44]; P-value =0.34). CONCLUSION: Application of topical mitomycin C with endoscopic dilations in caustic esophageal strictures was more effective in dysphagia resolution than endoscopic therapy alone in the pediatric population. Moreover, topical mitomycin C application also reduced the number of dilation sessions needed to alleviate dysphagia without rising morbidity.

Clinical and microbiological factors predicting outcomes of nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis

Peritonitis due to gram-negative bacilli (GNB), particularly nonfermenting GNB (NF-GNB), is a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis with a low resolution rate. Beyond the patient’s condition, microbiological properties such as antimicrobial resistance, biofilm production and other virulence factors can explain the poor outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of patient condition, microbiological characteristics, including biofilm production, and treatment on peritonitis outcome. We reviewed the records of 62 index episodes caused by NF-GNB that occurred between 1997 and 2015 in our center. The etiologies were species of Pseudomonas (51.6%), Acinetobacter (32.2%), and other NF-GNB (16.1%). There was a high (72.9%) proportion of biofilm producer lineages. The in vitro susceptibility rate of Pseudomonas spp. to amikacin, ciprofloxacin, and ceftazidime was significantly greater than that of Acinetobacter spp. and other species; however, there was a similar low resolution rate (< 45%) among the episodes attributable to them. Preexisting exit-site infection was independently associated with nonresolution. No other factor, including biofilm production, was associated with the outcome. The higher in vitro susceptibility of Pseudomonas compared to other NF-GNB that presented a similar resolution rate suggests that bacterial virulence factors such as biofilms can act in concert, thereby worsening the outcome.

Self-Treatment of Posterior Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: A Preliminary Study

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate a modified Epley maneuver for self-treatment of posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (PC-BPPV).Methods: The study recruited 155 patients with PC-BPPV. All patients were randomized into the Epley maneuver group (n = 77) and modified Epley maneuver group (n = 78). We analyzed the resolution rate (1 day and 1 week), residual symptoms after the maneuver, and adverse effects.Results: It was found that the modified Epley maneuver group had a higher resolution rate than that of the Epley maneuver group in the treatment of PC-BPPV after 1 day of the initial maneuver (p &lt; 0.05). However, there was no difference in resolution rate between the Epley maneuver group and the modified Epley maneuver group in resolution rate after 1 week of the initial maneuver (p &gt; 0.05). The modified Epley maneuver group had fewer residual symptoms than that of the Epley maneuver group 1 week after treatment of PC-BPPV (p &lt; 0.05). Significant improvements were also observed in average DHI scores in patients who underwent the modified Epley maneuver compared to the Epley maneuver (p &lt; 0.05). There was no significant difference in adverse effects between the two groups (p &gt; 0.05).Conclusions: The modified Epley maneuver has a satisfactory therapeutic efficacy with less residual symptoms and could be recommended as a self-treatment for patients with PC-BPPV.

A study of quality prediction for large-scale open source software projects

Open source software (OSS) has seen remarkable progress in recent years. Moreover, OSS usage in corporate information systems has been increasing steadily; consequently, the overall impact of OSS on the society is increasing as well. While product quality of enterprise software is assured by the provider, the deliverables of an OSS are developed by the OSS developer community; therefore, their quality is not guaranteed. Thus, the objective of this study is to build an artificial-intelligence-based quality prediction model that corporate businesses could use for decision-making to determine whether a desired OSS should be adopted. We define the quality of an OSS as “the resolution rate of issues processed by OSS developers as well as the promptness and continuity of doing so.” We selected 44 large-scale OSS projects from GitHub for our quality analysis. First, we investigated the monthly changes in the status of issue creation and resolution for each project. It was found that there are three different patterns in the increase of issue creation, and three patterns in the relationship between the increase in issue creation and that of resolution. It was confirmed that there are multiple cases of each pattern that affect the final resolution rate. Next, we investigated the correlation between the final resolution rate and that for a relevant number of months after issue creation. We deduced that the correlation coefficient even between the resolution rate in the first month and the final rate exceeded 0.5. Based on these analysis results, we conclude that the issue resolution rate in the first month once an issue is created is applicable as knowledge for knowledge-based AI systems that can be used to assist in decision-making regarding OSS adoption in business projects.

EXPRESS: Safety and Efficacy of Remote Ischemic Conditioning for the Treatment of Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) can promote hematoma resolution, attenuate brain edema, and improve neurological recovery in animal models of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Aims This study aimed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of RIC in patients with ICH. Methods In this multicenter, randomized, controlled trial, 40 subjects with supratentorial ICH presenting within 24-48 hours of onset were randomly assigned to receive medical therapy plus RIC for consecutive 7 days or medical therapy alone. The primary safety outcome was neurological deterioration within 7 days of enrollment, and the primary efficacy outcome was the changes of hematoma volume on CT images. Other outcomes included hematoma resolution rate at 7 d ([hematoma volume at 7 d − hematoma volume at baseline]/hematoma volume at baseline), perihematomal edema (PHE), and functional outcome at 90 days. Results The mean age was 59.3±11.7 years and hematoma volume was 13.9±4.5 mL. No subjects experienced neurological deterioration within 7 days of enrollment, and no subject died or experienced RIC-associated adverse events during the study period. At baseline, the hematoma volumes were 14.19±5.07 mL in the control group and 13.55±3.99 mL in the RIC group, and they were 8.54±3.99 mL and 6.95±2.71 mL at 7 days after enrollment, respectively, not a significant difference (p>0.05 each). The hematoma resolution rate in the RIC group (49.25±9.17%) was significantly higher than in the control group (41.92±9.14%; MD, 7.3%; 95% CI, 1.51% to 13.16%; p=0.015). The absolute PHE volume was 17.27±8.34 mL in the control group and 12.92±7.30 mL in the RIC group at 7 days after enrollment, not a significant between-group difference (p=0.087), but the relative PHE in the RIC group (1.77±0.39) was significantly lower than in the control group (2.02±0.27; MD, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.39-0.47; p=0.023). At 90-day follow-up, 13 subjects (65%) in the RIC group and 12 subjects (60%) in the control group achieved favorable functional outcomes (mRS score≤3), not a significant between-group difference (p=0.744). Conclusions Repeated daily RIC for consecutive 7 days was safe and well-tolerated in patients with ICH, and it may be able to improve hematoma resolution rate and reduce relative PHE. However, effects RIC on the absolute hematoma and PHE volume and functional outcomes in this patient population need further investigations. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT03930940.