Think thin

BACKGROUND: The expanded forehead flap pedicled with superficial temporal vessel(s) is a common method to treat facial scar deformity. However, local bulkiness and hair retention have limited the use of this flap. METHODS: Five cadavers were used for anatomy to confirm the forehead "safety zone." A retrospective study was performed on 15 patients with facial scar deformity who were undergoing the expanded forehead superthin flap (without the expanded capsule, frontalis muscle, and with less hair follicles) pedicled with superficial temporal vessel(s) to transfer and repair the deformity...

BACKGROUND: Following increased screening efforts and the use of thin-slice computed tomography (CT), there has been a considerable increase in the incidence of ground-glass nodules (GGNs) in adults. As a result, we have more and more treatments for ground-glass nodules in adults, but few in children. Most think development pattern of pulmonary GGNs is lung inflammation, tumor, or tuberculosis that are more related to acquired or environmental factors. By studying the incidence of pulmonary GGNs in preschool children, we sought to determine whether we had ground glass nodules in the lung before we were teenagers, but we didn't pay attention to them until later...

Background: According to intervertebral space division, the characteristics of interbody bone graft fusion after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) were assessed via computed tomography (CT) scan to provide a theoretical basis for selecting the bone grafting site of interbody fusion. Methods: The medical records of 57 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and disc herniation treated with TLIF were analysed retrospectively. In total, 57 segments received lumbar interbody fusion...

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal at wastewater treatment plants that use anaerobic digesters for sludge treatment have historically encountered phosphate precipitation problems in the form of struvite. Literature on struvite is thin which is surprising given it can foul/block the sludge return lines and associated pumps and valves, causing significant operational problems. This study has evaluated if a typical large wastewater treatment plant can overcome this problem by adopting circular economy thinking...

Conspiracy beliefs are not just generated by "under-the-skull" individual factors, but are shaped also by cultural, economic, and institutional realities. A scan of the literature-complemented by our own secondary data analyses-suggests a reasonable convergence of evidence that conspiracy beliefs are higher in nations that are more corrupt, more collectivist, and lower in GDP per capita. There is some evidence that conspiracy beliefs may also be shaped by economic inequality, power distance, and authoritarianism, although the evidence base is thin...

BACKGROUND: For decades, dominant weight discourses have led to physical, mental, and social health consequences for young women in larger bodies. While ample literature has documented why these discourses are problematic, knowledge is lacking regarding how they are socially organized within institutions, like fashion and media, that young women encounter across their lifespan. Such knowledge is critical for those in public health trying to shift societal thinking about body weight. Therefore, we aimed to investigate how young women's weight work is socially organized by discourses enacted in fashion and media, interpreting work generously as any activity requiring thought or intention...

BACKGROUND: Drug prohibition has been associated with increased risk of overdose. However, drug prohibition remains the dominant drug policy, including in Canada with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. In 2017, the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (GSDOA) was enacted, to encourage people to contact emergency medical services by providing bystanders at the scene of an overdose with legal protection for simple possession and conditions related to simple possession. METHODS: We conducted an evaluation of the GSDOA in British Columbia, Canada that included one-on-one interviews with people who use illicit drugs (PWUD), to determine peoples' experiences and perceptions surrounding this form of decriminalization...

BACKGROUND: Breast implant illness, although not classified as a disease entity, has recently gained significant attention globally. The purpose of this study was to assess the status of explantation practices, discuss plastic surgeon's attitude toward requests for explantation and capsulectomy, and evaluate surgical management when accepting these challenges. METHODS: Twenty closed-ended multiple choice questions were formulated to an opinion poll. The anonymous opinion poll was distributed to members of American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and presidents of plastic surgery societies on all continents...

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious psychiatric illnesses with high mortality and societal cost. Despite their severity, there are few evidence-based treatments, and only 50% of individuals respond to existing treatments. This low response rate may be due to the fact that EDs are highly heterogeneous disorders. Precision treatments are needed that can intervene on individual maintenance factors. The first step in such treatment development is identification of central treatment targets, both at the group (i...

Serum levels of thin filament proteins, cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) employing high sensitivity antibodies provide a state-of-the art determination of cardiac myocyte injury in COVID-19 patients. Although there is now sufficient evidence of the value of these determinations in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, mechanisms of their release have not been considered in depth. We summarize the importance of these mechanisms with emphasis on their relation to prognosis, stratification, and treatment of COVID-19 patients...

The number of people counting calories through apps is increasing, yet concerns have been raised that this could trigger symptoms of eating disorders. Although associations between calorie tracking and eating disorder symptomatology have been identified, further research is needed to understand motives for, and the perceived impact of, using a calorie tracking app. This study addressed these gaps with data collected from 1357 adults. A high percentage of participants (n = 964; 71%) had used a calorie tracking app; 531 participants (39%) reported currently using a calorie tracking app...

Inspired by recent experimental work on virus-polymer mixtures, we study the properties of thin smectic fibrils composed of chiral rodlike particles using Monte Carlo simulations. Due to the interplay between surface energy, elastic deformation energy, and entropic effects, the fibril's layers relax into a twisted state. We focus our study on the layers' twist direction and map our results to the antiferromagnetic Ising model. In this view, the chiral interaction mimics an external field that drives the layers to have the same sense of twist...

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) of depression is hypothesized to achieve its effects by correcting negative biases. However, little research has tested how biases change over the course of CBT. We focus on biases in interpersonal judgments and examine whether changes in biases occur in CBT and are associated with symptom improvements. A sample of 126 adults (60% women, mean age 31.7, 83% White) participated in CBT of depression. Observers provided ratings of patients participating in two interpersonal tasks on three occasions...

Although young adults are interested in finance, their financial competence, especially about the topic of retirement, is fairly thin. With a large sample of members of Generation Z (ages 18-25, n  = 1,311), I explored whether young adults talk about retirement with others; and the correlates between talking about retirement and retirement preparation. Participants reported whether they have spoken about retirement with nine sources: parents, siblings, other family members (non-parent; non-sibling), friends, significant others, co-workers, financial advisors, people on internet forums, and "other sources...

Malaria is a major mosquito-borne public health problem especially in tropical countries. The authors report a malaria infection in a 31-year-old man who had returned from East Africa with developed fever and rigor. Because of his thrombocytopenia, decreased hemoglobin, elevated liver enzymes, and splenomegaly, and because of failure to question about recent travel history, he was initially referred to the hematological hospital and medical staff suspected a hematological problem, so he was investigated for bone marrow aspirate and biopsy...

Pulmonary segmentectomy is one of the advanced techniques in thoracic surgery, but it is difficult to understand and master because of its complex anatomical structure. The purpose of this study is to explore the application effect of three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction based on an improved U-net network in the anatomy of thoracic surgery. In this study, a total of 40 standardization training residents of thoracic surgery in our hospital were randomly divided into two groups. The control group was taught by conventional thin-slice CT images, while the observation group was taught by 3D image reconstruction based on the improved U-net network...

Among children, neonates have the highest incidence of thrombosis due to risk factors such as catheter instrumentation, an evolving coagulation system and congenital heart disease. Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) are the most commonly used anticoagulants in neonates. Published guidelines delineate dosing and monitoring protocols for LMWH therapy in newborns. However, challenging clinical situations frequently present that warrant healthcare providers to think critically beyond the range of guidelines, and judiciously resolve specific problems...

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was validating Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) among pregnant women, who are vulnerable to eating disorders (EDs). METHODS: In 2012-2013, 1146 women (aged 18-47 years) completed a questionnaire including EDI during the first 3 days after delivery. We checked factorial validity of three diagnostic subscales of EDI with confirmative factor analysis and internal validity by Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlation. We also tested discriminative validity by comparing average of the three subscale of EDI in case of ED and non-ED groups...

PURPOSE: Cervical dystonia is a common movement disorder for which botulinum toxin (BoNT) is the first choice treatment. Injecting the specific neck muscles can be challenging because of their thin morphology and deep locations. We, therefore, designed a study to investigate the locations of the posterior neck muscles to help the physician predict the locations of the targeted neck muscles and to protect the vertebral vessels from injury during deep injections. METHODS: The posterior neck region was divided into four quadrants by imaginary lines passing vertically and transversely through the spinous process of C2 vertebra (C2sp )...

The concept of diagnosis and treatment of keratoconus is constantly updated. Today, we are not only concerned with how to delay the progress of the disease, but also with the preservation of useful vision for patients as well as improvement of visual quality. With the precise and individualized application of excimer laser and femtosecond laser technology in ophthalmology, corneal cross-linking combined with excimer laser ablation for the irregular cornea has become a new strategy for keratoconus. However, questions have been raised and caused ophthalmologists' thinking...