Retraction Note: Mathematical analysis of COVID-19 pandemic by using the concept of SIR model.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1007/s00500-021-06133-1.].

Comparison of Phenylephrine Bolus and Infusion Regimens on Maternal and Fetal Outcomes During Cesarean Delivery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to compare phenylephrine boluses versus prophylactic infusion in parturients undergoing cesarean delivery under spinal or combined spinal-epidural anesthesia on feto-maternal outcomes.

Methods: Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and US Clinical registry databases were searched. Studies comparing phenylephrine boluses (both therapeutic and prophylactic) with infusion (both fixed- and variable-rate) assessing various feto-maternal outcomes were included.

Adjustable Phonatory PEEP to Treat Dysphonia: A Preliminary Investigation of Progressive Masked Voice Exercises (PMVE).

The Progressive Masked Voice Exercises (PMVE) with an innovative semioccluded ventilation mask fitted and adjustable positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) valve was evaluated. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the PMVE with the PEEP device and the Vocal Function Exercise (VFE) program on acoustic, auditory-perceptual, aerodynamic, and self-report measures. Twenty-five participants diagnosed with voice disorders met the criteria.

General Practice Sleep Scale - The "GPSS" - A proposed new tool for use in General Practice for risk assessment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.

Background: This pilot study investigated a new simplified OSA screening tool that could be used in primary care/GP settings - the "GPSS" tool - "General Practice Sleep Scale" and compared against common existing OSA screening tools.

Methods: A convenience sample of patients attending the respiratory and sleep clinic in the Northern Territory of Australia were included if they completed the GPSS prior to undergoing a diagnostic polysomnography. The GPSS contained 9 questions to provide information on: sex, age, body mass index, neck circumference, snoring, witnessed apnoeas, morning tiredness, daytime sleepiness and presence of hypertension/diabetes/heart disease/depression.

Development and validation of a measurement tool to assess student perceptions of using real patients in physical therapy education at the Rocky Mountain University, the United States: a methodological study.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and validate the Student Perceptions of Real Patient Use in Physical Therapy Education (SPRP-PTE) survey to assess physical therapy student (SPT) perceptions regarding real patient use in didactic education.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study developed a 48-item survey and tested the survey on 130 SPTs. Face and content validity were determined by an expert review and content validity index (CVI).

Passive Viscous Flow Selection via Fluid-Induced Buckling.

We study the buckling of a clamped beam immersed in a creeping flow within a rectangular channel. Via a combination of precision experiments, simulations, and theoretical modeling, we show how the instability depends on a pressure feedback mechanism and rationalize it in terms of dimensionless parameters. As the beam can bend until touching the wall above a critical flow rate, we finally demonstrate how the system can be used as a tunable passive flow selector, effectively redirecting the flow within a designed hydraulic circuit.

Comparison of the classical approach and costoclavicular approach of ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: The infraclavicular brachial plexus block (ICB) provides analgesia and anaesthesia of the upper limb. It is given using the classical or the more recently described costoclavicular (CC) approach at the level of cords. This systematic review aimed to assess which approach is better for the ICB in terms of onset, performance, and safety.

Comparison of viscoelastic flows in two- and three-dimensional serpentine channels.

Polymer solutions in the dilute regime play a significant role in industrial applications. Due to the intricate rheological properties of these highly viscoelastic fluids, especially in complex flow geometries, a thorough numerical analysis of their flow dynamics is imperative. In this research, we present a numerical investigation of purely elastic instability occurring in two- and three-dimensional serpentine channels under conditions where fluid inertia is negligible and across a broad spectrum of polymer relaxation times.

An efficient spherical fuzzy MEREC-CoCoSo approach based on novel score function and aggregation operators for group decision making.

The major objective of the current investigation is to build an integrated multiple criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) methodology based on combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) and spherical fuzzy set for determining the optimal solar power station. To begin with, an innovative spherical fuzzy score function is brought forward to strengthen the efficiency of the comparison for spherical fuzzy number (SFN). Secondly, several newly operational laws for SFN are defined and some novel aggregation operation based on them are propounded.

Efficacy and Safety of Skin Radiance Collagen on Skin and Hair Matrix: A Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial in Healthy Human Subjects.

Purpose: Collagen supplements are rising in the market as collagen has been demonstrated to be an important protein in the human aging process. Also, it is safe and easily absorbed in the body. Hence the aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness and safety of a collagen and antioxidant-rich treatment compared to a placebo in relation to various skin and hair indicators in healthy adult human subjects.

Optical modeling and computational analysis of improved daylight collector geometry for a tubular skylight.

A carefully designed daylight collector for a tubular skylight is necessary to serve the occupants' illumination needs under the dynamic trajectory of the sun. This work simulated an improved configuration of a passive daylight collector comprising parabolic and conical reflectors in a modeled room using the lighting software tool TracePro. Results indicated that the lighting performance of the proposed design configuration was significantly enhanced under low altitude sun in comparison with conventional tubular skylights (with revolved parabolic and cylindrical reflectors) [Light.

Efficient feature selection based novel clinical decision support system for glaucoma prediction from retinal fundus images.

The process of feature selection (FS) is vital aspect of machine learning (ML) model's performance enhancement where the objective is the selection of the most influential subset of features. This paper suggests the Gravitational search optimization algorithm (GSOA) technique for metaheuristic-based FS. Glaucoma disease is selected as the subject of investigation as this disease is spreading worldwide at a very fast pace; 111 million instances of glaucoma are expected by 2040, up from 64 million in 2015.

A comparative analysis of radical cystectomy with perioperative chemotherapy, chemoradiation therapy, or systemic therapy in patients with clinically advanced node-positive bladder cancer (cN2/N3).

Introduction: The management of non-metastatic clinically advanced lymph nodal (cN2/N3) bladder cancer (Stage IIIB) could involve radical cystectomy, chemoradiation, or systemic therapy alone. However, a definitive comparison between these approaches is lacking. This study aims to compare the outcomes of patients undergoing radical cystectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection (RC-PLND), chemoradiation therapy (CRT) or systemic therapy (including immunotherapy) (ST) only in patients with stage IIIB bladder cancer.

The 21-foot principle: Effects of age and sex on knife attack characteristics.

Introduction: Knives are commonly-used weapons in criminal activities and interpersonal assaults worldwide. Injury reports have identified the upper body as the most frequent location of knife injuries, and that stabbing attacks are more fatal than slashing attacks. The first two aims of the study explore whether the type of attack and attack location could be predicted from age and sex group.

Mean wavelength-based Fresnel lens solar collector for eliminating the hotpot problem in daylighting systems.

In this paper, the mean-wavelength-based Fresnel lens was designed by merging the modified edge ray principle and idea of superposition. The bottom-to-top approach optimizes the design of individual prisms according to the predetermined plastic optical fiber (POF) bundle size. The simulated optical efficiency of the collector for the sun's visible spectrum (380-740 nm) light is 82.

The conformational phase diagram of charged polymers in the presence of attractive bridging crowders.

Using extensive molecular dynamics simulations, we obtain the conformational phase diagram of a charged polymer in the presence of oppositely charged counterions and neutral attractive crowders for monovalent, divalent, and trivalent counterion valencies. We demonstrate that the charged polymer can exist in three phases: (1) an extended phase for low charge densities and weak polymer-crowder attractive interactions [Charged Extended (CE)]; (2) a collapsed phase for high charge densities and weak polymer-crowder attractive interactions, primarily driven by counterion condensation [Charged Collapsed due to Intra-polymer interactions [(CCI)]; and (3) a collapsed phase for strong polymer-crowder attractive interactions, irrespective of the charge density, driven by crowders acting as bridges or cross-links [Charged Collapsed due to Bridging interactions [(CCB)]. Importantly, simulations reveal that the interaction with crowders can induce collapse, despite the presence of strong repulsive electrostatic interactions, and can replace condensed counterions to facilitate a direct transition from the CCI and CE phases to the CCB phase.

Pharmacoeconomic Aspects of Diabetes Mellitus: Outcomes and Analysis of Health Benefits Approach.

Pharmacoeconomics is an important tool for investigating and restructuring healthcare policies. In India, recent statistical studies have shown that the number of diabetic patients is rapidly increasing in the rural, middle and upper-class settings. The aim of this review is to call attention towards the need to carry out pharmacoeconomic studies for diabetes mellitus and highlight the outcome of these studies on healthcare.