Beyond statistical significance:Embracing minimal clinically important difference for better patient care

The minimal clinically important difference(MCID)represents a pivotal metric in bridging the gap between statistical significance and clinical relevance,addressing the direct impact of medical interventions from the patient's perspective.This comprehensive review analyzes the evolution,applications,and challenges of MCID across medical specialties,emphasizing its necessity in ensuring that clinical outcomes not only demonstrate statistical significance but also offer genuine clinical utility that aligns with patient expectations and needs.We discuss the evolution of MCID since its inception in the 1980s,its current applications across various medical specialties,and the methodologies used in its calculation,highlighting both anchor-based and distribution-based approaches.Furthermore,the paper delves into the challenges associated with the application of MCID,such as methodological variability and the interpretation difficulties that arise in clinical settings.Recommendations for the future include standardizing MCID calculation methods,enhancing patient involvement in setting MCID thresholds,and extending research to incorporate diverse global perspectives.These steps are critical to refining the role of MCID in patient-centered healthcare,addressing existing gaps in methodology and interpretation,and ensuring that medical interventions lead to significant,patient-perceived improvements.

Individual differences determine the morphogenesis pattern and reproductive uniqueness of the invasive green macroalga,implications for its habitat adaptation

The marine green algae genus Chaetomorpha is a common source of“green tide”and is widespread on coasts around the world.In this study,based on invasive Chaetomorpha valida collected from the Shandong Peninsula,the morphogenesis and reproductive characteristics of two strains that are morphologically different from each other,were observed using experimental biology methods.The main results are as follows:(1)significant difference in the size of reproductive cells produced by Strains 1 and 2;(2)gametes produced by Strain 2 are isogamous and same gametangial during the binding process of gametes,whereas those of Strain 1 are isogamous but hetero-cystic;(3)progeny from Strain 1 has rhizoidal holdfast,whereas that of Strain 2 has discoid holdfast;(4)gametophytic“branching”was found in Strain 1.These results could validate the high phenotypic plasticity of macroalgae and offered an interpretation of habitat adaptation.Furthermore,this study innovatively provided fundamental research on the selection of macroalgal traits and explored competitive strategies for the dominant survival of macroalgae from a new perspective.

Finite Difference-Peridynamic Differential Operator for Solving Transient Heat Conduction Problems

Transient heat conduction problems widely exist in engineering.In previous work on the peridynamic differential operator(PDDO)method for solving such problems,both time and spatial derivatives were discretized using the PDDO method,resulting in increased complexity and programming difficulty.In this work,the forward difference formula,the backward difference formula,and the centered difference formula are used to discretize the time derivative,while the PDDO method is used to discretize the spatial derivative.Three new schemes for solving transient heat conduction equations have been developed,namely,the forward-in-time and PDDO in space(FT-PDDO)scheme,the backward-in-time and PDDO in space(BT-PDDO)scheme,and the central-in-time and PDDO in space(CT-PDDO)scheme.The stability and convergence of these schemes are analyzed using the Fourier method and Taylor’s theorem.Results show that the FT-PDDO scheme is conditionally stable,whereas the BT-PDDO and CT-PDDO schemes are unconditionally stable.The stability conditions for the FT-PDDO scheme are less stringent than those of the explicit finite element method and explicit finite difference method.The convergence rate in space for these three methods is two.These constructed schemes are applied to solve one-dimensional and two-dimensional transient heat conduction problems.The accuracy and validity of the schemes are verified by comparison with analytical solutions.

Stability and accuracy of central difference method for real-time dynamic substructure testing considering mass participation coefficient

For real-time dynamic substructure testing(RTDST),the influence of the inertia force of fluid specimens on the stability and accuracy of the integration algorithms has never been investigated.Therefore,this study proposes to investigate the stability and accuracy of the central difference method(CDM)for RTDST considering the specimen mass participation coefficient.First,the theory of the CDM for RTDST is presented.Next,the stability and accuracy of the CDM for RTDST considering the specimen mass participation coefficient are investigated.Finally,numerical simulations and experimental tests are conducted for verifying the effectiveness of the method.The study indicates that the stability of the algorithm is affected by the mass participation coefficient of the specimen,and the stability limit first increases and then decreases as the mass participation coefficient increases.In most cases,the mass participation coefficient will increase the stability limit of the algorithm,but in specific circumstances,the algorithm may lose its stability.The stability and accuracy of the CDM considering the mass participation coefficient are verified by numerical simulations and experimental tests on a three-story frame structure with a tuned liquid damper.

Influences of clean fracturing fluid viscosity and horizontal in-situ stress difference on hydraulic fracture propagation and morphology in coal seam

The viscosity of fracturing fluid and in-situ stress difference are the two important factors that affect the hydraulic fracturing pressure and propagation morphology. In this study, raw coal was used to prepare coal samples for experiments, and clean fracturing fluid samples were prepared using CTAB surfactant. A series of hydraulic fracturing tests were conducted with an in-house developed triaxial hydraulic fracturing simulator and the fracturing process was monitored with an acoustic emission instrument to analyze the influences of fracturing fluid viscosity and horizontal in-situ stress difference on coal fracture propagation. The results show that the number of branched fractures decreased, the fracture pattern became simpler, the fractures width increased obviously, and the distribution of AE event points was concentrated with the increase of the fracturing fluid viscosity or the horizontal in-situ stress difference. The acoustic emission energy decreases with the increase of fracturing fluid viscosity and increases with the increase of horizontal in situ stress difference. The low viscosity clean fracturing fluid has strong elasticity and is easy to be compressed into the tip of fractures, resulting in complex fractures. The high viscosity clean fracturing fluids are the opposite. Our experimental results provide a reference and scientific basis for the design and optimization of field hydraulic fracturing parameters.

Sex differences in the association between the muscle quality index and the incidence of depression: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Depression presents significant challenges to mental health care.Although phy-sical activity is highly beneficial to mental and physical health,relatively few stu-dies have conducted on the relationship between them.AIM To investigate the association between muscle quality index(MQI)and incidence of depression.METHODS The data used in this cross-sectional study were obtained from the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey,which included informa-tion on MQI,depression,and confounding factors.Multivariable logistic regre-ssion models were employed,while taking into account the complex multi-stage sampling design.A restricted cubic spline model was utilized to investigate the non-linear relationship between the MQI and depression.Additionally,subgroup analyses were performed to identify influential factors.RESULTS The prevalence of depression in this population was 8.44%.With the adjusted model,the MQI was associated with depression in females(odds ratio=0.68,95%confidence interval:0.49-0.95)but not in males(odds ratio=1.08,95%confidence interval:0.77-1.52).Restricted cubic spline adjustment of all covariates showed a significant negative non-linear relationship between depression and the MQI in females.The observed trend indicated an 80%decrease in the risk of depression for each unit increase in MQI,until a value of 2.2.Subsequently,when the MQI exceeded 2.2,the prevalence of depression increased by 20%for every unit increase in the MQI.Subgroup analyses further confirmed that the MQI was negatively associated with de-pression.CONCLUSION The MQI was inversely correlated with depression in females but not males,suggesting that females with a higher MQI might decrease the risk of depression.

Post-stack reverse-time migration using a finite difference method based on triangular grids

Compared with other migration methods, reverse-time migration is based on a precise wave equation, not an approximation, and performs extrapolation in the depth domain rather than the time domain. It is highly accurate and not affected by strong subsurface structure complexity and horizontal velocity variations. The difference method based on triangular grids maintains the simplicity of the difference method and the precision of the finite element method. It can be used directly for forward modeling on models with complex top surfaces and migration without statics preprocessing. We apply a finite difference method based on triangular grids for post-stack reverse-time migration for the first time. Tests on model data verify that the combination of the two methods can achieve near-perfect results in application.

Difference Analysis on Contents of Gallic Acid and Catechins of Tea Resources from Yunnan Province

[Objective] This study aimed to analyze the difference in the contents of gallic acid and catechins of tea resources from Yunnan Province. [Method] By using high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）, the contents of gallic acid （GA）, catechins （C）, epicatechin （EC）, epigallocatechin （EGC）, epicatechin gallate （ECG） and epigallocatechin gallate （EGCG） of 121 tea germplasms from the China National Germplasm Tea Repositories （CNGTR） at the Tea Research Institute of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences （TRIYAAS） were measured. [Result] The content of GA ranged from 0.210% to 1.902%, with an average of 0.834%, explaining rela- tively low GA content among tea germplasms. The content of C ranged from 0.069% to 8.865%, with an average of 1.916%. The content of EC ranged from 0.126% to 2.865%, with an average of 1.112%. The content of EGC ranged from 0.00% to 3.709%, with an average of 0.954%. The content of ECG ranged from 0.739% to 8.957%, with an average of 4.063%. The content of EGCG ranged from 0.819% to 11.77%, with an average of 5.939%. The content of total C ranged from 6.354% to 22.654%, with an average of 14.042%. [Conclusion] There was relatively big difference of catechin contents among different tea resources, indicating that there was plentiful biodiversity of Yunnan tea germplasms. At the same time, three tea germplasms with high epigallocatechin gallate content （≥10%） was selected preliminarily, which would provide important materials for breeding tea cultivars with high EGCG content in the future.

Differences of the Silencing Effect at Cellular Level and Individual Level

[Objective]The aim was to compare the silencing effect of three vectors containing shRNA quartet of different lengths at cellular level and individual level.[Method]To silence EGFP gene,three shRNA quartets of 21,27 and 29 bp composed of hU6,mU6,h7SK and hH1 promoters were constructed and then cloned into silencing vectors.After the vectors were transfected into Vero cells or injected into mouse muscle,real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was conducted to detect the mRNA level of EGFP gene.[Result]All the three vectors showed better silencing effect;in which,the silencing effect at the cellular level was far higher than that at individual level.[Conclusion]Multi-site tandem expression shRNA may show better silencing effect;intramuscular injection maybe a transgenic method for baby mouse.

Finite-difference calculation of traveltimes based on rectangular grid

To the most of velocity fields, the traveltimes of the first break that seismic waves propagate along rays can be computed on a 2-D or 3-D numerical grid by finite-difference extrapolation. Under ensuring accuracy, to improve calculating efficiency and adaptability, the calculation method of first-arrival traveltime of finite-difference is de- rived based on any rectangular grid and a local plane wavefront approximation. In addition, head waves and scat- tering waves are properly treated and shadow and caustic zones cannot be encountered, which appear in traditional ray-tracing. The testes of two simple models and the complex Marmousi model show that the method has higher accuracy and adaptability to complex structure with strong vertical and lateral velocity variation, and Kirchhoff prestack depth migration based on this method can basically achieve the position imaging effects of wave equation prestack depth migration in major structures and targets. Because of not taking account of the later arrivals energy, the effect of its amplitude preservation is worse than that by wave equation method, but its computing efficiency is higher than that by total Green′s function method and wave equation method.

An Analysis of Value Differences in English and Chinese Idioms from the Perspective of Intercultural Communication

Idioms are the essence and gems of human wisdom and an important carrier of national culture. As a special form of language, they play an important role in intercultural communication. Due to the uniqueness of each culture, English and Chinese idioms are different in many aspects, values included. The present paper attempts to analyze the different values in English and Chinese idioms from three aspects: dependence vs independence, past-time orientation vs future-time orientation, and harmony vs competition. And the authors hope that it will be of some practical significance in people's intercultural communication.

Regional Differences of the Urinary Proteomes in Healthy Chinese Individuals

Objective Urine is a promising biomarker source for clinical proteomics studies.Regional physiological differences are common in multi-center clinical studies.In this study,we investigate whether significant differences are present in the urinary proteomes of individuals from different regions in China.Methods In this study,morning urine samples were collected from healthy urban residents in three regions of China(Haikou,Xi’an and Xining)and urinary proteins were preserved using a membrane-based method(Urimem).The urine proteomes of 27 normal samples were analyzed using LC-MS/MS and compared among three regions.Functional annotation of the differential proteins among the three areas was analyzed using the DAVID online database,and pathway enrichment of the differential urinary proteins was analyzed using KEGG.Results We identified 1898 proteins from Urimem samples using label-free proteome quantification,of which 56 urine proteins were differentially expressed among the three regions(P<0.05).Hierarchical clustering analysis showed that inter-regional differences caused less significant changes in the urine proteome than intersex differences.After gender stratification,16 differential proteins were identified in male samples and 84 differential proteins were identified in female samples.Among these differential proteins,several proteins have been previously reported as urinary disease biomarkers.Conclusions Urimem will facilitate urinary protein storage for large-scale urine sample collection.Regional differences are a confounding factor influencing the urine proteome and should be considered in future multicenter biomarker studies.

Individual Learner Differences and Second Language Acquisition

Learners differ,so does their language acquisition.Studies show there are several personality factors affecting the process of language of learning.This paper attempts to indicate these factors to help learners have a better understanding of their own learning.

Individual differences in English Learning Strategies

Some learners' personal factors, such as gender, major, motivation and language proficiency, influence the use of language learn- ing strategies. This paper reports the results of a survey study which investigates the individual differences and the employment of English learning strategies, examines the association between enjoyment and strategy use, motivation and strategy use, gender and strategy use, major and strategy use, English proficiency and strategy use.

The Differences of Cultural Connotations between English and Chinese Idioms

The paper analyses the cultural differences in English and Chinese idioms from three aspects and tries to figures out the underlying reasons of those differences.It is necessary for us to understand and learn about the cultural differences between English and Chinese idioms and a good mastery of those differences can help us get rid of the communicative barriers and understanding barriers.

基于4C/ID&PBL模型的劳动课堂活动项目的设计与实践

文章在深入研究4C/ID模型及项目式学习的基础上,运用4C/ID模型(学习任务、支持信息、程序信息和专项操练)和项目式学习(PBL)的设计方法,构建4C/ID&PBL教学设计模式,探讨基于4C/ID&PBL模型的初中劳动课堂活动项目的设计过程与实施的原则。

Age-specific differences in the association between prediabetes and cardiovascular diseases in China:A national cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease(CVD)is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide,the global burden of which is rising.It is still unclear the extent to which prediabetes contributes to the risk of CVD in various age brackets among adults.To develop a focused screening plan and treatment for Chinese adults with prediabetes,it is crucial to identify variations in the connection between prediabetes and the risk of CVD based on age.AIM To examine the clinical features of prediabetes and identify risk factors for CVD in different age groups in China.METHODS The cross-sectional study involved a total of 46239 participants from June 2007 through May 2008.A thorough evaluation was conducted.Individuals with prediabetes were categorized into two groups based on age.Chinese atherosclerotic CVD risk prediction model was employed to evaluate the risk of developing CVD over 10 years.Random forest was established in both age groups.SHapley Additive exPlanation method prioritized the importance of features from the perspective of assessment contribution.RESULTS In total,6948 people were diagnosed with prediabetes in this study.In prediabetes,prevalences of CVD were 5(0.29%)in the younger group and 148(2.85%)in the older group.Overall,11.11%of the younger group and 29.59% of the older group were intermediate/high-risk of CVD for prediabetes without CVD based on the Prediction for ASCVD Risk in China equation in ten years.In the younger age group,the 10-year risk of CVD was found to be more closely linked to family history of CVD rather than lifestyle,whereas in the older age group,resident status was more closely linked.CONCLUSION The susceptibility to CVD is age-specific in newly diagnosed prediabetes.It is necessary to develop targeted approaches for the prevention and management of CVD in adults across various age brackets.

Application of gray-tone difference matrix-based features of pavement macrotexture in skid resistance evaluation

This paper presents a method to characterize asphalt pavement macrotexture using the gray-tone difference matrix （GTDM）and discusses the potentials of the GTDM indicators for skid resistance evaluation.There are 37 field sites included in the data collection,which cover 6 types of asphalt pavement surfaces. The mean profile depth derived from 3-D macrotexture measurements （MPD3 ） has a significant relationship with the mean texture depth （MTD ）,which can be described by a logarithm model with R2 of 0.962.There is no significant linear relationship between the friction coefficient at a speed of 60 km/h （DFT60 ）and macrotexture indicators.A nonlinear model with British pendulum number （BPN ） incorporated can relate DFT60 to MTD or indicator fcon .A comparison with MTD shows that GTDM-based fcon has a potential to be a macrotexture indicator for skid resistance evaluation,which describes the general height difference and the average local height difference of pavement macrotexture. A relatively high fcon is helpful for improving asphalt pavement skid resistance.

Irregular surface seismic forward modeling by a body-fitted rotated–staggered-grid finite-difference method

Finite-difference(FD) methods are widely used in seismic forward modeling owing to their computational efficiency but are not readily applicable to irregular topographies. Thus, several FD methods based on the transformation to curvilinear coordinates using body-fitted grids have been proposed, e.g., stand staggered grid(SSG) with interpolation, nonstaggered grid, rotated staggered grid(RSG), and fully staggered. The FD based on the RSG is somewhat superior to others because it satisfies the spatial distribution of the wave equation without additional memory and computational requirements; furthermore, it is simpler to implement. We use the RSG FD method to transform the firstorder stress–velocity equation in the curvilinear coordinates system and introduce the highprecision adaptive, unilateral mimetic finite-difference(UMFD) method to process the freeboundary conditions of an irregular surface. The numerical results suggest that the precision of the solution is higher than that of the vacuum formalism. When the minimum wavelength is low, UMFD avoids the surface wave dispersion. We compare FD methods based on RSG, SEM, and nonstaggered grid and infer that all simulation results are consistent but the computational efficiency of the RSG FD method is higher than the rest.

Broadband mid-infrared pulse via intra-pulse difference frequency generation based on supercontinuum from multiple thin plates

We report on the generation of optical pulses with a nearly one octave-spanning spectrum ranging from 1300 nm to2500 nm at 1 kHz repetition rate, which are based on intra-pulse difference frequency generation(DFG) in β-barium borate crystal(β-BBO) and passively carrier-envelope-phase(CEP) stabilized. The DFG is induced by few-cycle pulses initiated from spectral broadening in multiple thin plates driven by a Ti: sapphire chirped-pulse amplifier. Furthermore, a numerical simulation is developed to estimate the conversion efficiency and output spectrum of the DFG. Our results show that the pulses from the DFG have the potential for seeding intense mid-infrared(MIR) laser generation and amplification to study strong-field physics and attosecond science.