Functional and dysfunctional impulsivity mediates the relationships between ‘Dark Triad’ traits and cyberbullying perpetration

Background: Cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation have been associated with psychological distress, including depression and suicidal ideation. Prior studies have shown that the ‘Dark Triad’ personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) are associated with greater likelihood of perpetration, yet there is a research gap regarding potential mediators of this relationship. Aims: To test whether functional and dysfunctional impulsivity act as mediators between Dark Triad traits and cyberbullying perpetration. Methods: A cross-sectional online study was conducted, in which a sample of 141 university students (63% male) from Malaysia were recruited by online and local poster advertising inviting them to complete a questionnaire containing a series of psychometric scales, including measures of ‘Dark Triad’ personality traits, impulsivity and cyberbullying perpetration. Results: A relationship between cyberbullying perpetration and higher psychopathy scale scores was mediated by dysfunctional, but not functional, impulsivity. The relationship between cyberbullying and narcissism scores was not mediated by impulsivity. Higher Machiavellianism scores were similarly associated with cyberbullying, but there was no correlation at all between Machiavellianism and impulsivity scores. Conclusion: Our findings add to the literature by showing that not only Dark Triad scale scores are associated with cyberbullying, but that difficulty in refraining from or controlling impulsive behaviours (dysfunctional impulsivity) may be a key component in this relationship. Given that our sample was of generally well-functioning people, our findings may not extend to those with serious cyberbullying problems. Yet, they provide avenues for identifying people at risk of such behaviours before problems become well-established and call for more nuanced approaches towards understanding and intervening with problematic cyberbullying

BERT for Long Documents: A Case Study of Automated ICD Coding

Transformer models have achieved great success across many NLP problems. However, previous studies in automated ICD coding concluded that these models fail to outperform some of the earlier solutions such as CNN-based models. In this paper we challenge this conclusion. We present a simple and scalable method to process long text with the existing transformer models such as BERT. We show that this method significantly improves the previous results reported for transformer models in ICD coding, and is able to outperform one of the prominent CNN-based methods

Postoperative Discharge Destination Impacts 30-Day Outcomes: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Multi-Specialty Surgical Cohort Analysis

Surgical patients can be discharged to a variety of facilities which vary widely in intensity of care. Postoperative readmissions have been found to be more strongly associated with post-discharge events than pre-discharge complications, indicating the importance of discharge destination. We sought to evaluate the association between discharge destination and 30-day outcomes. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database. Patients were dichotomized based on discharge destination: home versus non-home. The main outcome of interest was 30-day unplanned readmission. The secondary outcomes included post-discharge pulmonary, infectious, thromboembolic, and bleeding complications, as well as death. In this cohort study of over 1.5 million patients undergoing common surgical procedures across eight surgical specialties, we found non-home discharge to be associated with adverse 30-day post-operative outcomes, namely, unplanned readmissions, post-discharge pulmonary, infectious, thromboembolic, and bleeding complications, as well as death. Non-home discharge is associated with worse 30-day outcomes among patients undergoing common surgical procedures. Patients and caregivers should be counseled regarding discharge destination, as non-home discharge is associated with adverse post-operative outcomes

Association of Chronic Kidney Disease With Postoperative Outcomes: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Multi-specialty Surgical Cohort Analysis

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with higher incidence of major surgery. No studies have evaluated the association between preoperative kidney function and postoperative outcomes across a wide spectrum of procedures. We aimed to evaluate the association between CKD and 30-day postoperative outcomes across surgical specialties. METHODS: We selected adult patients undergoing surgery across eight specialties. The primary study endpoint was major complications, defined as death, unplanned reoperation, cardiac complication, or stroke within 30 days following surgery. Secondary outcomes included Clavien-Dindo high-grade complications, as well as cardiac, pulmonary, infectious, and thromboembolic complications. Multivariable regression was performed to evaluate the association between CKD and 30-day postoperative complications, adjusted for baseline characteristics, surgical specialty, and operative time. RESULTS: In total, 1,912,682 patients were included. The odds of major complications (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.14 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.07, 2.21]), death (aOR 3.03 [95% CI: 2.88, 3.19]), unplanned reoperation (aOR 1.57 [95% CI: 1.51, 1.64]), cardiac complication (aOR 3.51 [95% CI: 3.25, 3.80]), and stroke (aOR 1.89 [95% CI: 1.64, 2.17]) were greater for patients with CKD stage 5 vs. stage 1. A similar pattern was observed for the secondary endpoints. CONCLUSION: This population-based study demonstrates the negative impact of CKD on operative outcomes across a diverse range of procedures and patients

Nerolidol Mitigates Colonic Inflammation: An Experimental Study Using both In Vivo and In Vitro Models

Nerolidol (NED) is a naturally occurring sesquiterpene alcohol present in various plants with potent anti-inflammatory effects. In the current study, we investigated NED as a putative anti-inflammatory compound in an experimental model of colonic inflammation. C57BL/6J male black mice (C57BL/6J) were administered 3% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in drinking water for 7 days to induce colitis. Six groups received either vehicle alone or DSS alone or DSS with oral NED (50, 100, and 150 mg/kg body weight/day by oral gavage) or DSS with sulfasalazine. Disease activity index (DAI), colonic histology, and biochemical parameters were measured. TNF-α-treated HT-29 cells were used as in vitro model of colonic inflammation to study NED (25 µM and 50 µM). NED significantly decreased the DAI and reduced the inflammation-associated changes in colon length as well as macroscopic and microscopic architecture of the colon. Changes in tissue Myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentrations, neutrophil and macrophage mRNA expression (CXCL2 and CCL2), and proinflammatory cytokine content (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) both at the protein and mRNA level were significantly reduced by NED. The increase in content of the proinflammatory enzymes, COX-2 and iNOS induced by DSS were also significantly inhibited by NED along with tissue nitrate levels. NED promoted Nrf2 nuclear translocation dose dependently. NED significantly increased antioxidant enzymes activity (Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT)), Hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1), and SOD3 mRNA levels. NED treatment in TNF-α-challenged HT-29 cells significantly decreased proinflammatory chemokines (CXCL1, IL-8, CCL2) and COX-2 mRNA levels. NED supplementation attenuates colon inflammation through its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity both in in vivo and in vitro models of colonic inflammation

Frondanol, a Nutraceutical Extract from Cucumaria frondosa, Attenuates Colonic Inflammation in a DSS-Induced Colitis Model in Mice

Frondanol is a nutraceutical lipid extract of the intestine of the edible Atlantic sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa, with potent anti-inflammatory effects. In the current study, we investigated Frondanol as a putative anti-inflammatory compound in an experimental model of colonic inflammation. C57BL/6J male black mice (C57BL/6J) were given 3% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in drinking water for 7 days to induce colitis. The colitis group received oral Frondanol (100 mg/kg body weight/per day by gavage) and were compared with a control group and the DSS group. Disease activity index (DAI) and colon histology were scored for macroscopic and microscopic changes. Colonic tissue length, myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentration, neutrophil and macrophage marker mRNA, pro-inflammatory cytokine proteins, and their respective mRNAs were measured using ELISA and real-time RT-PCR. The tissue content of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) was also measured using ELISA. Frondanol significantly decreased the DAI and reduced the inflammation-associated changes in colon length as well as macroscopic and microscopic architecture of the colon. Changes in tissue MPO concentrations, neutrophil and macrophage mRNA expression (F4/80 and MIP-2), and pro-inflammatory cytokine content (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) both at the protein and mRNA level were significantly reduced by Frondanol. The increase in content of the pro-inflammatory mediator leukotriene B4 (LTB4) induced by DSS was also significantly inhibited by Frondanol. It was thus found that Frondanol supplementation attenuates colon inflammation through its potent anti-inflammatory activity

The Association between Serum Albumin and Post-Operative Outcomes among Patients Undergoing Common Surgical Procedures: An Analysis of a Multi-Specialty Surgical Cohort from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP)

While studies have demonstrated an association between preoperative hypoalbuminemia and adverse clinical outcomes, the optimal serum albumin threshold for risk-stratification in the broader surgical population remains poorly defined. We sought define the optimal threshold of preoperative serum albumin concentration for risk-stratification of adverse post-operative outcomes. Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database, we identified 842,672 patients that had undergone a common surgical procedure in one of eight surgical specialties. An optimal serum albumin concentration threshold for risk-stratification was determined using receiver-operating characteristic analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the odds of adverse surgical events; a priori defined subgroup analyses were performed. A serum albumin threshold of 3.4 g/dL optimally predicted adverse surgical outcomes in the broader cohort. After multivariable analysis, patients with hypoalbuminemia had increased odds of death within 30 days of surgery (odds ratio [OR] 2.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.94–2.08). Hypoalbuminemia was associated with greater odds of primary adverse events among patients with disseminated cancer (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.88–2.20) compared to patients without disseminated cancer (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.44–1.51). The standard clinical threshold for hypoalbuminemia is the optimal threshold for preoperative risk assessment