Journals
2026 EN
Mutale Gabriella · KaranikaMurray Maria · Bailey Di
+3 more
ABSTRACT Objectives This study evaluated the effectiveness of the use of automated chatbots within one NHS Talking Therapies provider. Two chatbots were designed and piloted: (1) to help prepare patients for therapy and (2) to provide solution‐based coaching to patients regarding a problem or concern. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of these chatbots in the NHS Talking Therapies service. Methods The chatbots were made available to patients ( N = 4329) who had been referred for therapy and were waiting for their first assessment. Data from a control group of patients ( N = 4333) who did not use a chatbot were also analysed. The evaluation adopted a mixed methods approach to capture data relating to the conversations had by patients with the chatbot, feedback regarding satisfaction with its use, data relating to patient attendance and standardised outcome measures relating to patients' improvements in anxiety and depression. Results Qualitative data showed that the chatbots were received positively by patients who gave feedback. Quantitative data showed non‐attendance was significantly lower in the control group ( p ≤ 0.001), cancellations were significantly lower in the control group ( p ≤ 0.001), but days spent in therapy were significantly higher in the chatbot groups ( p ≤ 0.001). All groups saw significant improvements in their GAD‐7 ( p = 0.000) and PHQ‐9 ( p = 0.000) scores. Conclusions In NHS Talking Therapy services, waiting times have been problematic; thus, chatbots can be a useful tool to assist patient engagement while they wait for their appointment. Therefore, they have the potential to reduce anxiety, frustration or disappointment in patients who are unable to wait for too long and may drop out before they start therapy.
Journals
2026 EN
Yang Michael · Munsayac Marissa A. · Romero Steven C.
+1 more
ABSTRACT Late complications of repaired congenital heart disease are increasingly common, including tricuspid stenosis and regurgitation. We present a case of a 36‐year‐old female with tetralogy of Fallot, 1.5 ventricle repair, and prior tricuspid repair using homograft tissue without an annuloplasty ring, who developed worsening congestive heart failure. Transesophageal echocardiogram revealed severe tricuspid stenosis and regurgitation. We performed transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement with a SAPIEN S3 Ultra RESILIA valve within a CP‐covered stent. To our knowledge, this is the first implantation of the SAPIEN S3 Ultra RESILIA valve in the tricuspid position without an annuloplasty ring, and the first implantation of a balloon‐expandable valve in a native tricuspid valve without extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support.
Journals
2026 EN
Aarts Hugo M. · Hemelrijk Kimberley I. · Broeze Gijs M.
+4 more
ABSTRACT Background Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has gained interest as concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) is now often treated conservatively before TAVR, and TAVR is increasingly used in younger patients with longer life expectancies. Therefore, more contemporary data on PCI after TAVR are warranted to optimize CAD treatment and guide lifetime management. The primary objective was to evaluate the incidence of PCI in patients with prior TAVR, including insights on trends and procedural and clinical outcomes from a large, nationwide cohort. Methods Data from the Netherlands Heart Registration were used to identify patients with prior TAVR who underwent PCI between January 2015 and September 2021. Results Among 216,813 PCI patients, 419 (0.19%) had previously undergone TAVR, representing an incidence of 2.81% among all TAVR patients ( n = 14,933) in the Netherlands. The annual proportion of PCI procedures after TAVR increased from 0.05% in 2015 to 0.39% in 2021 ( p < 0.001). Procedural adverse events were low. Patients treated with self‐expanding transcatheter heart valves (THVs) more frequently underwent PCI without stenting (17.8% vs. 10.1%, p = 0.049), though target vessel revascularization rates and all‐cause mortality were comparable. Matched patients with and without prior TAVR had similar clinical outcomes. Conclusions The incidence of PCI after TAVR is low but increasing. Clinical outcomes are comparable between THV platforms, but self‐expanding THVs were associated with higher rates of PCI without stent implantation. The growing need for PCI after TAVR underscores the importance of coronary access in lifetime management strategies by multidisciplinary heart teams.
Journals
2026 EN
Dereje Wondwosen Mengist · Yalew Lidya · Tafesse Nardos
+1 more
ABSTRACT Stevens–Johnson syndrome is one of the few dermatological emergencies in clinical practice. The syndrome is often secondary to the usage of drugs, of which allopurinol, penicillins, sulfa drugs, ibuprofen, sodium valproate, phenytoin, lamotrigine, and carbamazepine are commonly implicated. Stevens–Johnson syndrome due to amitriptyline combination has not been reported in the literature before.
Journals
2026 EN
Stevenson Brian J. · Falcón Amanda K. · Shirk Steven D.
ABSTRACT Employment is an important factor in psychosocial functioning and recovery from mental health and substance use disorders, but it may be difficult to attain among individuals facing challenges related to substance use and economic constraints. A possible area of intervention to support individuals in recovery is job‐search strategy, the quality of which is related to employment outcomes. We examined the relationships among haphazard job searching, economic constraint, substance use, and the related experience of pre‐employment drug screening in a sample of 500 currently employed US veterans with histories of substance use addiction. Bivariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to identify correlates and examine specific relationships among variables. We found that age, education level, and economic constraint were related to haphazard job searching, but substance use type and patterns of use were not. While the experience of a pre‐employment drug screen was not related to haphazard job searching, being denied a job due to pre‐employment drug screens during a job search and subsequent feelings of discouragement were associated with haphazard job searching. Implications for the relationships among these variables and career counseling considerations are discussed.
Journals
2026 EN
Erlaut Anugerah · Steven Soen · Hernowo Pandit
+5 more
Abstract The phenomena of bubble formation from the venturi pipe microbubble generator were investigated. The air hole sizes were varied at 1, 0.5, and 0.3 mm while the volumetric flow rates were set at 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 LPM. Insertion of a guitar string with a diameter of 0.2 mm into the 0.5 mm air hole size was also performed to examine its effect. The simulation of the bubble shrinkage process in water (sizes of 25, 50, 75, and 100 μm) was held with and without saturated nitrogen at 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 0.875, and 1 atm. The experiment shows that average bubble sizes for air hole sizes of 1, 0.5, and 0.3 mm are 1.37, 1.40, and 1.09 mm, respectively. The flow rate alteration significantly affects the bubble sizes for air hole sizes of 0.5 and 0.3 mm but is not meaningful for 1 mm. In addition, the guitar string insertion also produces spherical bubbles with a size of 1.33 mm for deep depth location. Moreover, simulation results prove that smaller bubble sizes lead to prolonged shrinkage time and a greater mass transfer coefficient in the liquid phase with and without saturated nitrogen.
Journals
2026 EN
Ratnani Rita Dwi · Nuha Nuha · Steven Soen
+10 more
Abstract The future of sustainable chemicals lies in the adoption of renewable sources such as biomass conversion. One unique biomass that can be utilized is water hyacinth. Apart from being able to overcome river pollution, its valorization can produce bio‐oil. In this study, the environmental impacts of water hyacinth pyrolysis were assessed. It employed the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach with a cradle‐to‐gate system boundary and a functional unit of 50 kg of bio‐oil. The pyrolysis of 250 kg of pretreated water hyacinth at 400°C demonstrated a yield of 19.45% ± 1.02% for bio‐oil. Following the results, the pyrolysis process predominantly contributes to 66.2%–99.7% of environmental impacts due to the high liquid petroleum gas (LPG) requirement. The sensitivity results exhibit a meaningful change of impacts under alteration of ±10% LPG consumption. The findings underscore the environmental benefits of converting water hyacinth into bio‐oil to address its ecological challenges while simultaneously enhancing sustainability.
Journals
2026 EN
Lysakowski Anna · Govindaraju Aravind Chenrayan · Price Steven D.
+6 more
ABSTRACT The amniote inner ear contains an unusual type of hair cell and a unique postsynaptic calyx terminal with specialized ion channel expression and afferent transmission mechanisms. The calyceal afferent terminal enwraps the hair cell and leads to a heminode. It has morphological and functional microdomains with distinct complements of potassium channels and scaffolding proteins. Stimulation of hair cells gives rise to postsynaptic potentials in the membrane facing the hair cell that propagate along the outer face of the calyx and parent axon to the heminode, giving rise to spikes with timing and response properties that vary with location (epithelial zone) and afferent morphology (calyx‐only vs. dimorphic with additional bouton terminals). Heminodes of calyx‐only afferents lie within the epithelium, placing the calyces themselves closer to the heminode. We report that diverse voltage‐gated sodium (Na V ) channel proteins (including Na V 1.1–1.3, 1.5. 1.6, 1.8, and 1.9), HCN (hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide‐gated) channels, and associated scaffolding proteins (ankyrins, βIV‐spectrin, and ezrin) are differentially deployed across calyx microdomains, and specific complements of proteins also vary with innervation zone in vestibular epithelia. Our results suggest the calyx outer surface plays a role analogous to an axon initial segment in central neurons, and that systematic variation in Na V pore‐forming subunits underlies differences in firing properties of vestibular afferents in different epithelial zones.
Journals
2026 EN
Lysakowski Anna · Govindaraju Aravind Chenrayan · Price Steven D.
+6 more
The cover image is based on the Research Article Distribution of Voltage‐Gated Sodium Channels and Scaffolding Proteins on Vestibular Calyx Ending Delineates the Axon Initial Segment by Anna Lysakowski et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.70127 .
Journals
2026 EN
Rapos Victoria · Ufkes Steven · Chau Cecil
+4 more
ABSTRACT Objective Preterm birth alters typical brain development due to complex exposures related to neonatal illness, pain management, and brain injury. Despite an increased understanding of neonatal brain injury on developmental outcomes, the association of cerebellar maturation with school‐age motor and cognitive function remains incompletely understood. The current study evaluated neonatal clinical factors associated with regionally specific cerebellar volumes and white matter pathways at 8 years of age in children born preterm (24–32 weeks of gestational age). Methods Neuroimaging, clinical, and behavioral data were collected from 130 children born very preterm (24–32 weeks' gestational age) at BC Women's Hospital. Cerebellar subregions were automatically segmented using CerebNet, and cerebellar white matter connectivity was assessed using tractography. The relationships between cerebellar subregion volumes and neonatal clinical factors were examined using constrained principal component analysis. Cognitive and motor neurodevelopmental outcomes related to cerebellar volume and connectivity were also investigated. Results Neonatal clinical factors including mechanical ventilation, number of invasive procedures, and opioid exposures were associated with reduced cerebellar volumes in specific subregions. Acute neonatal mortality risk (i.e., SNAPPE‐II) was negatively associated with cerebellar connectivity at 8 years. Reduced cerebellar volumes and structural connectivity were related to poorer cognitive and motor outcomes. Interpretation In very preterm children, neonatal illness severity and exposure to invasive procedures and opioids are associated with reduced cerebellar volumes, connectivity, and poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes at 8 years.