Added Value of Computed Tomography Virtual Intravascular Endoscopy in the Evaluation of Coronary Arteries with Stents or Plaques

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a widely used imaging modality for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) but is limited by a high false positive rate when evaluating coronary arteries with stents and heavy calcifications. Virtual intravascular endoscopy (VIE) images generated from CCTA can be used to qualitatively assess the vascular lumen and might be helpful for overcoming this challenge. In this study, one hundred subjects with coronary stents underwent both CCTA and invasive coronary angiography (ICA). A total of 902 vessel segments were analyzed using CCTA and VIE. The vessel segments were first analyzed on CCTA alone. Then, using VIE, the segments were classified qualitatively as either negative or positive for in-stent restenosis (ISR) or CAD. These results were compared, using ICA as the reference, to determine the added diagnostic value of VIE. Of the 902 analyzed vessel segments, CCTA/VIE had sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value (shown in %) of 93.9/90.2, 96.2/98.2, 96.0/97.7, 70.0/83.1, and 99.4/99.0, respectively, in diagnosing ISR or CAD, with significantly improved specificity (p = 0.025), accuracy (p = 0.046), and positive predictive value (p = 0.047). VIE can be a helpful addition to CCTA when evaluating coronary arterie

More than smell - COVID-19 is associated with severe impairment of smell, taste, and chemesthesis

Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments, such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation, and initial results of a multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 distinct chemosensory modalities (smell, taste, and chemesthesis) before and during COVID-19. In the first 11 days after questionnaire launch, 4039 participants (2913 women, 1118 men, and 8 others, aged 19-79) reported a COVID-19 diagnosis either via laboratory tests or clinical assessment. Importantly, smell, taste, and chemesthetic function were each significantly reduced compared to their status before the disease. Difference scores (maximum possible change ±100) revealed a mean reduction of smell (-79.7 ± 28.7, mean ± standard deviation), taste (-69.0 ± 32.6), and chemesthetic (-37.3 ± 36.2) function during COVID-19. Qualitative changes in olfactory ability (parosmia and phantosmia) were relatively rare and correlated with smell loss. Importantly, perceived nasal obstruction did not account for smell loss. Furthermore, chemosensory impairments were similar between participants in the laboratory test and clinical assessment groups. These results show that COVID-19-associated chemosensory impairment is not limited to smell but also affects taste and chemesthesis. The multimodal impact of COVID-19 and the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms. © 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

The trans-ancestral genomic architecture of glycemic traits

Glycemic traits are used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic health. To date, most genetic studies of glycemic traits have focused on individuals of European ancestry. Here we aggregated genome-wide association studies comprising up to 281,416 individuals without diabetes (30% non-European ancestry) for whom fasting glucose, 2-h glucose after an oral glucose challenge, glycated hemoglobin and fasting insulin data were available. Trans-ancestry and single-ancestry meta-analyses identified 242 loci (99 novel; P < 5 x 10(-8)), 80% of which had no significant evidence of between-ancestry heterogeneity. Analyses restricted to individuals of European ancestry with equivalent sample size would have led to 24 fewer new loci. Compared with single-ancestry analyses, equivalent-sized trans-ancestry fine-mapping reduced the number of estimated variants in 99% credible sets by a median of 37.5%. Genomic-feature, gene-expression and gene-set analyses revealed distinct biological signatures for each trait, highlighting different underlying biological pathways. Our results increase our understanding of diabetes pathophysiology by using trans-ancestry studies for improved power and resolution.A trans-ancestry meta-analysis of GWAS of glycemic traits in up to 281,416 individuals identifies 99 novel loci, of which one quarter was found due to the multi-ancestry approach, which also improves fine-mapping of credible variant sets.Diabetes mellitus: pathophysiological changes and therap

High education radical transformation era: How teachers’ competency can enhance the students’ employability?

© 2020, Editura Lumen. All rights reserved. In order to assess the correlation between teachers’ competency and a higher education students’ employability, this research systematically cross-employs the Analytical Network Process (ANP) approach of quantitative analysis and the Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) method of qualitative analysis to measure a series of questionnaire results from two groups of experts. As a result, the most valuable and contributive conclusion is that the three core teachers’ competency (Cooperative Relationship Competency-Social Developing Techniques, Cooperative Relationship Competency-Interflow Communication Abilities and Resource Satisfaction Competency-Teaching Resource Distribution) are supposed to systematically develop the three core student’s employability (Knowledge Competencies: Job Discovering, Knowledge Competencies: Problem Shooting and Knowledge Competencies: Sense of Value and Costs) resulting in an enhance value for a college degree as well as empirically advancing higher employment rate for higher education graduates in Taiwan

A concretizing research on making higher-education sustainability count

In order to manage the worrying predicament of declining global birth rates, a majority of higher-education institutions have commenced to institute a series of diversified strategies in order to make higher-education sustainability count. The aim of this research is to present the results of a study with the goal of helping educational institutions achieve their sustainability. As a succession of quantitative and qualitative analyses and measurements, there are four valuable and contributive findings in this research. First, total tuition and miscellaneous revenues (TTMR), total university–industry cooperative revenues (TUCIR) and total grants from government (TGG) of higher-education governance (HEG) were able to directly and effectively increase higher-education sustainable value. This definitively indicates that current higher-education students and staff, as well as higher-education experts and professionals, indeed agree that the tuition and miscellaneous fees, university–industry cooperative, and government grant revenues have become the most critical determinants of university environment social governance (UESG). This is because the majority of higher-education institutions do need these revenue resources to advance a succession of environmental protections, social responsibilities, and governance performance for current higher-education institution sustainability development. Second, comprehensive scale of QS rankings (CS-QS) was the most important key determinant to evaluate the university social responsibility development (USRD), which means the majority of higher-education institutions have to pay more attention on the comprehensive scale of QS rankings (CS-QS) in order to make more sustainability count. The third finding is the number of student’s publications (NSP), which was the most crucial key determinant to assay return on investments (ROI), meaning current higher-education students, staff, experts, and professionals consent to higher-education institutions having to establish an evaluated system for student’s publications to stimulate students to publish their diversified studying outcomes in order to make students recognize their growth after taking courses in higher education. The last finding is total tuition and miscellaneous revenues (TTMR) was the most momentous key determinant to control high education governance (HEG), which means current higher-education students, staff, experts, and professionals are concerned with the various governance performances of their tuition and miscellaneous fees. As for the future direction, there are still some evaluated criteria and assessed methods to be comprehensively considered and employed for inducing in-depth conclusions and findings with higher research reliability and validity without time limitations and resource restrictions

Maintaining a committed online customer: A study across search-experience-credence products

The goal of relationship marketing is to build and maintain a committed, loyal relationship between a customer and an organization. Although studies have discussed the types of relational bonds that enhance customer loyalty, empirical research that focuses on the application of relational bonds in a virtual environment is relatively sparse. In response, this study investigates the effects of various relational bonds on customer commitment across search-experience-credence goods/services on Internet. The results suggest that financial, social, and structural bonds have positive impacts on customer commitment. In addition, financial bonds are more successful in strengthening customer commitment for search goods/services than for experience or credence goods/services. Structural bonds are more important for credence and experience goods/services than for search goods, and social bonds are almost equally important for all three types of goods/service. (c) 2005 New York University. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

A concrete study on social-media connection of global literacy abilities in moocs under the dual impacts of lower birth-rate and covid-19

In order to break through the dual impacts of lower birth rates and COVID-19, a majority of higher education institutions have commenced in providing a series of diversified Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to effectively reduce these huge dual impacts. This research employed the Social Learning Theory (SLT) of educational doctrine for theoretical uses and the Factor Analysis (FA) approach of quantitative analysis and Trigonometrical Entropy Method (TEM) method of qualitative analysis for statistically purposes. These concepts were employed to explore the most critical social-media connection of global literacy abilities in MOOC. After a succession of assessed meas-urements, there are two most valuable findings. First, higher education institutions have to simul-taneously and efficiently institute the Course Complete Rate of Course Assessment (CCR-CA), User Completely Unrestricted Operation of Course Operation (UCUO-CO) and Course Professionaliza-tion Technology Function of Course Function (CPTF-CF) into the course’s design. Specifically, higher education institutions need to establish MOOCs features in Course Evaluation Technology Function (CETF), Course Professionalization Technology Function (CPTF) and Aggregation Technology Function (ATF) of MOOCs features into the current MOOCs. This is done in order to effectively promote the Individual Social Feature (ISF) of “social-media connection of global literacy abilities” for overcoming these serious dual impacts. In addition, higher education institutions have to also construct the social-media connection of global literacy abilities evaluation model for appraising Individual Social Feature (ISF) of each MOOCs participant. Second finding, higher education institutions should develop Convenience of Course Operation (C-CP), Feedback Technology Function of Basic Function (FTF-BF) and Connectionization of Course Operation (C-CO) of higher education strategies of developed sustainability into the course’s structure. Further, they should also build Connectionization (CZ) of MOOCs features into the current MOOCs in order to efficiently foster Application Programming Interface (API) of social-media connection of global literacy abilities for conquering these serious dual impacts as well