Strangeness nuclear physics: a critical review on selected topics

Selected topics in strangeness nuclear physics are critically reviewed. This includes production, structure and weak decay of $\Lambda$--Hypernuclei, the $\bar K$ nuclear interaction and the possible existence of $\bar K$ bound states in nuclei. Perspectives for future studies on these issues are also outlined.Comment: 63 pages, 51 figures, accepted for publication on European Physical Journal

Outcome and risk factor analysis of patients who underwent open infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair

The aim of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes in patients who underwent open infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair. Consecutive patients who underwent open repair of infrarenal aortic aneurysms at our institution from July 1st 1990 to June 30th 2012 were reviewed from a prospective collected departmental database. Short-term outcomes included 30-day mortality and peri-operative complications. Independent risk factors to predict 30-day mortality were identified. Long-term survival and secondary interventions were also reported. Three hundred and eighty-three patients (317 males, median age 72 years with a range of 15–90 years) underwent open infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair during the period, of whom 266 (69.5%) were elective, 18 (4.7%) were urgent for symptomatic but nonruptured cases, and 99 (25.8%) were emergency procedures for ruptured aneurysms. Mean aneurysm size was 6.5 cm (ranging from 2.5 cm to15 cm). All patients were followed up for at least 24 months with a mean follow up period 163 months. Overall 30-day mortality was 11.0% (36.4% for ruptured cases, 11.1% for symptomatic cases, and 1.5% for elective cases, p < 0.001). Preexisting renal disease and ruptured aneurysms were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality (p = 0.001 and p = 0.006 respectively). Systemic complications included 50 cardiac events, 52 respiratory events, six renal events, three cerebral vascular accidents, and one deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism. Local complications included two anastomotic/graft hemorrhage, 10 distal thrombosis/embolisms, five bowel ischemias, one spinal cord ischemia, and 17 wound complications. The ruptured group presented survival rates of 53.5%, 50.5%, 47.5%, 42.3%, 38.0%, 21.9%, and 12.5% at 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years, respectively, while nonruptured survival rates were 91.5%, 88.0%, 83.7%, 78.3%, 73.0%, 43.0%, and 25.3%, respectively (log rank p < 0.001). For those who died 30 days after the operation, only six patients (1.8%) died from aneurysm related mortality. A total of three (0.9%) patients underwent late re-interventions, one for late aorto-enteric fistulae and two for anastomotic pseudoaneurysms. In the current era of endovascular repair, open infrarenal aneurysm repair is effective and durable, and has very low secondary interventions rates

Outcome and risk factor analysis of patients who underwent open infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes in patients who underwent open infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair. Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent open repair of infrarenal aortic aneurysms at our institution from July 1st 1990 to June 30th 2012 were reviewed from a prospective collected departmental database. Short-term outcomes included 30-day mortality and peri-operative complications. Independent risk factors to predict 30-day mortality were identified. Long-term survival and secondary interventions were also reported. Results: Three hundred and eighty-three patients (317 males, median age 72 years with a range of 15–90 years) underwent open infrarenal aortic aneurysm repair during the period, of whom 266 (69.5%) were elective, 18 (4.7%) were urgent for symptomatic but nonruptured cases, and 99 (25.8%) were emergency procedures for ruptured aneurysms. Mean aneurysm size was 6.5 cm (ranging from 2.5 cm to15 cm). All patients were followed up for at least 24 months with a mean follow up period 163 months. Overall 30-day mortality was 11.0% (36.4% for ruptured cases, 11.1% for symptomatic cases, and 1.5% for elective cases; p < 0.001). Preexisting renal disease and ruptured aneurysms were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality (p = 0.001 and p = 0.006 respectively). Systemic complications included 50 cardiac events, 52 respiratory events, six renal events, three cerebral vascular accidents, and one deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism. Local complications included two anastomotic/graft hemorrhage, 10 distal thrombosis/embolisms, five bowel ischemias, one spinal cord ischemia, and 17 wound complications. The ruptured group presented survival rates of 53.5%, 50.5%, 47.5%, 42.3%, 38.0%, 21.9%, and 12.5% at 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years, respectively; while nonruptured survival rates were 91.5%, 88.0%, 83.7%, 78.3%, 73.0%, 43.0%, and 25.3%, respectively (log rank p < 0.001). For those who died 30 days after the operation, only six patients (1.8%) died from aneurysm related mortality. A total of three (0.9%) patients underwent late re-interventions, one for late aorto-enteric fistulae and two for anastomotic pseudoaneurysms. Conclusion: In the current era of endovascular repair, open infrarenal aneurysm repair is effective and durable, and has very low secondary interventions rates

Bedtime smart device usage and accelerometer-measured sleep outcomes in children and adolescents

Purpose: we analyzed the association between bedtime smart device usage habits and accelerometer-measured sleep outcomes (total sleeping time, sleep efficiency, and wake after sleep onset) in Hong Kong children and adolescents aged 8–14. Methods: a total of 467 students in Hong Kong participated in this study from 2016 to 2017. They self-reported their bedtime smart device usage habits. The primary caregiver of each participant was also invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire about the family’s social-economic status and bedtime smart device usage habits. An ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer was used to assess participants’ 7-day sleep outcomes. Results: the mean age of the participants was 10.3 (SD 1.9), and 54% were girls. Among the participants, 27% (n = 139) used a smart device before sleep, and 33% (n = 170) kept the smart device on before sleep. In total, 27% (n = 128) placed the smart device within reach before sleep, 23% (n = 107) would wake up when notifications were received, and 25% (n = 117) immediately checked the device after being awakened by a notification. Multiple regression controlling for age, sex, socio-economic status, and other confounders showed that those who woke up after receiving a notification had a statistically longer sleeping time (19.7 min, 95% CI: 0.3, 39.1, p = 0.046), lower sleep efficiency (− 0.71%, 95% CI − 1.40, − 0.02, p = 0.04), and a longer wake after sleep onset (2.6 min, 95% CI: 0.1, 5.1, p = 0.045) than those who did not. Nonetheless, all primary caregivers’ bedtime smart device habits were insignificantly associated with all sleep outcomes of their children. Conclusion: those who woke up after receiving smart device notifications had lower sleep efficiency and longer wake after sleep onset than those who did not, and they compensated for their sleep loss by lengthening their total sleep time.</p

Psychometric properties and demographic correlates of the smartphone addiction scale-short version among Chinese children and adolescents in Hong Kong

Nearly all children and teens in Hong Kong own a smartphone. There is currently no validated instrument that measures whether they use their phone too much. This study tested the psychometric properties of a translated Chinese version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) and examined the demographic correlates of smartphone addiction among Hong Kong children and adolescents. A total of 1,901 primary school children and secondary school pupils were recruited from 15 Hong Kong schools. Furthermore, 1,797 primary caregivers were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire on their socioeconomic status and educational attainment. The study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify the factor structure of SAS-SV for half the participants (n = 951), while confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess the goodness-of-fit of EFA models for the remaining half (n = 951). Spearman correlations were used to assess the convergent validity of the SAS-SV, taking account of time spent by subjects on phones per day, the Smart Device Addiction Screening Tool (SDAST), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). EFA generated a three-factor model (with factors labeled "dependency," the incidence of a "problem," and "time spent"). CFA confirmed this model yielded an acceptable goodness-of-fit (Comparative Fit Index = 0.96, Tucker Lewis Index = 0.95, and root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.06). SAS-SV was positively correlated with SDAST (ρ = 0.59), PSQI (ρ = 0.29), and CES-D (ρ = 0.35), and negatively correlated with MSPSS (ρ = -0.10). A linear regression model showed that female adolescents, those with highly educated caregivers and those who spent more time using smartphones on their holidays, had on average higher SAS-SV scores, meaning they showed greater vulnerability to becoming addicted. The study found that SAS-SV is a valid scale for estimating excessive smartphone use among Hong Kong children and adolescents

Higher Viral Load of Emerging Norovirus GII.P16-GII.2 than Pandemic GII.4 and Epidemic GII.17, Hong Kong, China

We compared viral load of emerging recombinant norovirus GII.P16-GII.2 with those for pandemic GII.Pe-GII.4 and epidemic GII.P17-GII.17 genotypes among inpatients in Hong Kong. Viral load of GII.P16-GII.2 was higher than those for other genotypes in different age groups. GII.P16-GII.2 is as replication competent as the pandemic genotype, explaining its high transmissibility and widespread circulation

Association between time spent on smart devices and change in refractive error: a 1-year prospective observational study among Hong Kong children and adolescents

This study examined the association between smart device usage and the 1-year change in refractive error among a representative sample of Hong Kong children and adolescents aged 8–14 years. A total of 1597 participants (49.9% male, mean age 10.9, SD 2.0) who completed both baseline (2017–2018) and 1-year follow-up (2018–2019) eye examinations were included in the present study. The non-cycloplegic auto-refractive error was measured and the average spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was analyzed. The participants also self-reported their smart device usage at baseline. Multivariate regression adjusted for age, sex, baseline SER, parents’ short-sightedness, BMI, time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and caregiver-reported socio-economic status showed that, compared with the reference group (&lt;2 h per day on both smartphone and tablet usages), those who spent ≥2 h per day using a smartphone and &lt;2 h per day using a tablet had a significantly negative shift in refractive error (1-year change in SER −0.25 vs. −0.09 D, p = 0.01) for the right eye, while the level of significance was marginal (1-year change −0.28 vs. −0.15 D, p = 0.055) for the left eye. To conclude, our data suggested spending at most 2 h per day on both smartphones and tablets

Association of Auricular Reflective Points and Status of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Matched Case-Control Study

The reflexive property of the ear can cause various physical attributes to appear on the auricle in the presence of bodily disorders. The association of auricular signals (presence or absence of discoloration, marks after pressing, tenderness, and electrical resistance) and diabetes mellitus (DM) should be further investigated because auricular diagnosis is an objective, painless, and noninvasive method that provides rapid access to information. A matched case-control study on 282 subjects was conducted. Cases (n=141) were defined as those diagnosed with type 2 DM (T2DM). Every subject in the case group was matched with the control by age and gender. Ear diagnosis was conducted in three aspects: inspection, electrical detection, and tenderness testing. Results suggest that the tenderness and electrical conductivity of some auricular points, including “pancreas and gallbladder,” “endocrine,” “kidney,” “lower tragus,” “heart,” and “eyes,” were associated with T2DM status in Chinese population. In the subgroup analyses, certain auricular signals were also associated with glycemic control, disease duration, and related complications. Auricular diagnosis could be considered as a screening method for vulnerable populations with T2DM risk. Thus, appropriate interventions can be implemented to prevent or delay the progression of T2DM