Plos One
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Multicenter Study
Association of day 4 cumulative fluid balance with mortality in critically ill patients with influenza: A multicenter retrospective cohort study in Taiwan.
Fluid balance is a fundamental management of patients with sepsis, and this study aimed to investigate the impact of cumulative fluid balance on critically ill patients with influenza admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ A negative day 1-4 cumulative fluid balance was associated with a lower mortality rate in critically ill patients with influenza. Our findings indicate the critical role of conservative fluid strategy in the management of patients with complicated influenza.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Sinhala version of Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are cognitively complex activities related to independent living in the community. Robust IADL scales are needed, however the psychometric properties of instruments have been little evaluated. There is no validated instrument for Sri Lankan older populations. Sri Lanka has the highest proportion of older people in South Asia with rapid population ageing. Therefore, it is essential to have standard instruments to assess activity limitations. We aimed to cross-culturally adapt the original Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale from English to Sinhala and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Sinhala version. ⋯ The Lawton IADL scale was successfully translated and culturally adapted to Sinhala language. The Sinhala version demonstrated excellent reliability and construct validity. Given good psychometric properties, this scale would be recommended for use in future research.
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Comparative Study
High-impact and transformative science (HITS) metrics: Definition, exemplification, and comparison.
Countries, research institutions, and scholars are interested in identifying and promoting high-impact and transformative scientific research. This paper presents a novel set of text- and citation-based metrics that can be used to identify high-impact and transformative works. The 11 metrics can be grouped into seven types: Radical-Generative, Radical-Destructive, Risky, Multidisciplinary, Wide Impact, Growing Impact, and Impact (overall). ⋯ Looking at the subcomponents of transformativeness, there is no evidence that transformative work is adopted slowly or that the generation of important new concepts coincides with the obsolescence of existing concepts. We also find that the generation of important new concepts and highly cited work is more risky. Finally, supporting the validity of our metrics, we show that work that draws on a wider range of research fields is used more widely.
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To investigate the protective effect of chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) on acute lung injury (ALI) caused by blast injury, and explore possible molecular mechanisms. ⋯ Blast injury causes inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis in the lung tissues of mice. COS has protective effects on blast injury-induced ALI, possibly by promoting DDAH1 expression and inhibiting ADMA and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways.
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Multicenter Study
The Spine painDETECT questionnaire: Development and validation of a screening tool for neuropathic pain caused by spinal disorders.
To develop screening tools for neuropathic pain caused by spinal disorders, the Spine painDETECT questionnaire (SPDQ) and its short-form version (SF-SPDQ), by modifying the Japanese version of the painDETECT questionnaire (PDQ-J), and to validate these tools. ⋯ We developed the SPDQ and SF-SPDQ as valid screening tools for neuropathic pain caused by spinal disorders. Both have moderate utility as screening tools, with the SF-SPDQ perhaps being preferable for clinical use. However, physicians should be vigilant about possible false-positive diagnoses.