Reference Values and the Z-Score Values of Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion in Chinese Children

Objective To establish age-specific and body surface area (BSA)-specific reference values of Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion (TAPSE) for children under 15 years old in China. Study design A retrospective study was conducted in Children's Hospital Attached to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics. A total of 702 cases were included in this research to establish reference values of TAPSE. SPSS 25.0 (IBM) was used for data analysis. Lambda-mu-sigma method was used to calculate and construct the age-specific and BSA-specific percentiles and Z-score curves of TAPSE. Results The mean value of TAPSE increased with age and BSA from 0 to 15 years in a nonlinear way and reached the adult level (17mm) until 1 year old. No difference could be observed in genders. Conclusions TAPSE values increased with age and BSA in Chinese children aged between 0-15 years and there was no difference between boys and girls. A multi-center study from different parts of China is supposed to be conducted in the future to reflect the whole spectrum of TAPSE in Chinese children.

Eye health promotion-oriented policy statements in various national and provincial health policy documents in South Africa

Background: There are many fragmented public health policies that give directives towards various aspects of healthcare needs and implementation. However, none of these policies make specific reference to eye health promotion (EHP) as an enabler for individuals to take control of the determinants of their eye health (EH) needs.Aim: The current study sought to identify EHP messages in the various available policy documents at both national and provincial health department levels with a view to assessing awareness on the available gaps for the development of an integrated EHP policy in South Africa.Setting: The study used documents provided by the National Department of Health and those that were available online from various other provincial Departments of Health in the country.Methods: Content analysis of EH policies requested from the Directorate of Chronic Diseases, Disabilities and Geriatrics was conducted. Various other health policies that were enacted post-1994 and endorsed by the National and Provincial Departments of Health were also considered for analysis.Results: Twenty-four documents were considered for content analysis. The national guidelines on eye healthcare made reference to EH activities such as immunisation of children, vision screening of the elderly, vitamin A supplementation and maternal services to detect sexually transmitted diseases, amongst others. Of the 20 national and provincial health documents analysed, only four made reference to EH. None of these documents made any specific reference to EHP.Conclusion: Although four national guidelines contain content related to EHP, the fragmentation and lack of integration with other health policy documents may lead to eye healthcare messages not being prioritised for dissemination even where they are highly required. Also, public eye healthcare services in general will continue to lag behind as is the case in most provinces in South Africa.

Signature Construction and Molecular Subtype Identification Based on Pyroptosis-Related Genes for Better Prediction of Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. However, there is a lack of adequate means of treatment prognostication for HCC. Pyroptosis is a newly discovered way of programmed cell death. However, the prognostic role of pyroptosis in HCC has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we generated a novel prognostic signature to evaluate the prognostic value of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) using the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The accuracy of the signature was validated using survival analysis through the International Cancer Genome Consortium cohort ( n = 231 ) and the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University cohort ( n = 180 ). Compared with other clinical factors, the risk score of the signature was found to be associated with better patient outcomes. The enrichment analysis identified multiple pathways related with pyroptosis in HCC. Furthermore, drug sensitivity testing identified six potential chemotherapeutic agents to provide possible treatment avenues. Interestingly, patients with low risk were confirmed to be associated with lower tumor mutation burden (TMB). However, patients at high risk were found to have a higher count of immune cells. Consensus clustering was performed to identify two main molecular subtypes (named clusters A and B) based on the signature. It was found that compared with cluster B, better survival outcomes and lower TMB were observed in cluster A. In conclusion, signature construction and molecular subtype identification of PRGs could be used to predict the prognosis of HCC, which may provide a specific reference for the development of novel biomarkers for HCC treatment.

Establishing laboratory-specific reference intervals for TSH and fT4 by use of the indirect Hoffman method

Background The results of examinations of laboratory parameters are the basis of appropriate medical decisions. The availability of reliable and accurate reference intervals (RIs) for each laboratory parameter is an integral part of its appropriate interpretation. Each medical laboratory should confirm their RIs. Up-to-date reference intervals for thyroid function hormones are still a matter of ongoing controversy. The aim of the study was the application of the indirect Hoffman method to determine RIs for TSH and fT4 based on the large data pools stored in laboratory information systems and the comparison of these RIs to generally used RIs. Material and methods The TSH and fT4 routine examination results of hospitalized and outpatient populations were collected over five years (2015–2019), and reference limits were established by the improved Hoffmann method after the exclusion of outliers. Comparative verification of established RIs was conducted with the RIs values provided by test manufacturers and literature data. Results Various RIs were observed in different age groups in the examined populations. For TSH, RIs varied between different age groups, with a narrower range of RIs in the studied adult population and a shift of both reference boundaries toward higher values in comparison to manufacturers’ data among children. RIs estimated for fT4 were very similar to the manufacturer and literature data. Conclusion Thyroid hormone levels change during a person’s lifetime and vary between sexes, but this difference does not always influence the clinical interpretation of laboratory results in the context of RIs. The use of indirect methods is justified due to the ease and low cost of their application.

Polycentric Environmental Governance to Achieving SDG 16: Evidence from Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa

Effective environmental governance is deemed essential in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. However, environmental dimensions have no specific reference across the SDG 16 targets and indicators. In achieving SDG 16—the realization of peace, justice, and strong institution, polycentric environmental governance involving multiple actors across scales deserves thoughtful consideration. This study illustrates the potential of a polycentric approach to environmental governance in achieving SDG 16, using case studies of forest, watershed, and transboundary bushland and seascape management in Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa, namely Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Kenya–Somalia cross-border. By highlighting four key elements of polycentric governance namely, political will, legal framework, support from higher-level governance and capacity building, the case studies demonstrate that polycentric governance play a significant role in achieving three environment-relevant SDG 16 targets, yet these targets are silent about environmental governance dimensions. Since many conflicts arise from the environment and natural resources sector, we suggest that (i) polycentric environmental governance be strongly pursued to achieve SDG 16, and (ii) SDG 16 includes indicators specifically directed on polycentric environment and natural resource governance.

Some Notes About the Current Researches on the Physics of Relativistic Jets

Some highlights of the recent researches in the field of relativistic jets are reviewed and critically analyzed. Given the extent of the available literature, this essay symbolically takes the baton from the outstanding and recent review by Blandford, Meier, and Readhead (2019). Therefore, I focus mostly on the results published during the latest few years, with specific reference to jets from active galactic nuclei.

Q Methodology

Q methodology is a research method that focuses systematically on people's internal and subjective viewpoints. Since its introduction as an alternative form of data collection and analysis, Q methodology has been utilized in various fields of study. However, although its use would enable an enriched understanding of individuals' subjective accounts of reality, it has not been fully exploited yet, and the use of it is still in its infancy. Thus, sparked off by the scarcity of interest in the use of Q methodology, this chapter attempts to provide an overview of this research method with a specific reference to what it is and how it is implemented. The chapter concludes with an example of a recent Q study for illustrative purposes. It is believed that this account is of relevance for researchers in various fields of study with its focus on Q methodology, which is an underutilized but a valuable tool to gain deeper insights into subjective realities experienced by individuals.

Semantic and Pragmatic Implications of Inaccurate Translations of Shari’a-Court Phrases & Sentence Extracts into English

The present paper aims to highlight the semantic and pragmatic implications of the inaccurate English translations of Gazan shari’a-court phrases and sentence extracts. The researchers analyze the translations of five shari’a-court phrases and five sentence extracts from shari’a-court documents of different shari’a courts in Gaza Strip. The descriptive analytical approach was adopted to conduct this research paper. The texts used in this paper are extracted from a thesis on the linguistic difficulties Palestinian translators face when rendering shari’a-court terms in which the researchers participated as a master student and a supervisor. When selecting the source texts, the researchers consulted an assistant professor in law to identify the legal phrases and sentential extracts which require specific familiarity with shari’a-court terms. Then, the selected texts were given to four Palestinian sworn translators who rendered the translations which were afterwards analyzed by the researchers in light of explanations of the legal meaning of the shari’a-court terms by the law specialist. The findings of the selected translations, five phrases and five sentential extracts from fifty phrases and thirty-five sentential extracts in the original thesis, show that the inaccurate translations of shari’a-court terms have semantic and pragmatic implications which are mainly reflected in semantic loss and pragmatic ambiguity which lies in lack of specific reference to intended persons. The researchers recommend integrating specific contents in legal translation courses to better familiarize student translators and trainee translators with the semantic complexity of shari’a-court terms and the practical methods which can be adopted to translate such terms into English. Attention should also be given to the legal terms which are characterized by culture-based meanings.