Computed tomographic heterogeneous enhancement of spleen in healthy cats: comparing with diffuse infiltrative splenic lesions.

Introduction: Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the spleen in dogs and cats often displays a heterogeneous enhancement pattern. This study aimed to describe the CT appearances and duration of heterogeneous splenic enhancement in clinically healthy cats and to compare those enhancements with diffuse infiltrative splenic lesions (DISL). Methods: Spleens of 14 healthy cats were imaged using contrast-enhanced CT protocols which were obtained at 10, 25, and 45 s, and then every 40 s thereafter until 245 s had past from the initiation of contrast medium injection. The presence of transient splenic heterogeneity was evaluated. In addition, the relationships of certain variables including age, weight, systolic blood pressure, and splenic volume to the duration and the degree of splenic enhancement were determined. Also, medical records and CT images of five cats with DISL were retrospectively evaluated. Result: Transient heterogeneous enhancement of the spleen was observed in all 14 healthy cats, and the maximum heterogeneity was observed 25 s after the injection. Splenic heterogeneity lasted more than 5 min in nine of 14 cats (64.3%). No statistically significant relationships were seen between the duration and degree of splenic heterogeneity in the images taken 25 s after the injection and variables including weight, age, systolic blood pressure, and splenic volume. Discussion: Compared to the healthy group, early homogeneous splenic enhancement along with generalized splenomegaly was observed in all cats with DISL. Transient splenic heterogeneity is highly common in cats undergoing contrast-enhanced CT even in the generally scanned delayed phases, which can help with the interpretation of CT images of feline spleens. In addition, our results suggest that homogeneous splenic enhancement in post-contrast CT scans along with splenomegaly on CT images could be useful as a diagnostic indicator of DISL in cats.

Roles of Brand Benefits and Relationship Commitment in Consumers' Social Media Behavior around Sustainable Fashion.

As climate change continues, environmental sustainability has become a popular topic among brands and consumer groups. The fashion industry has detrimental impacts on the natural environment; however, little is known about how brand benefits can help sustainable fashion brands develop relationships with consumers and promote consumer behavior. This study focuses on Instagram to investigate how consumers' perceived brand benefits predict relationship commitment, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), and purchase intention. Prior studies have overlooked the possible effects of various benefits. This study outlines five benefits of sustainable fashion brands: inner self-expression, social self-expression, warm glow, green, and economic benefits. Results from a survey of sustainable fashion brand followers on Instagram showed that eWOM positively related with economic benefits and negatively with warm glow and green benefits. Findings further indicated a mediating effect of relationship commitment between benefits and consumers' behavior. Lastly, the level of environmental attitude influenced the mediating impact of relationship commitment. The implications of these findings are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.

When Experts Offer Conflicting Information: A Study of Perceived Ambiguity, Information Insufficiency, Trustworthiness and Risk Information Behaviors.

This study conducted an experiment to examine the impact of informational conflicts about COVID-19 transmission routes on cognitive and behavioral factors. We were guided by the risk information seeking and processing model and focused on relationships among perceived ambiguity, information insufficiency, trustworthiness, and seeking/avoidance across several conditions. Data from 304 participants indicated a higher level of perceived ambiguity in the conflicting information condition compared to the one-sided information condition. The serial mediations suggest conflicting information enhanced perceived ambiguity, which was negatively related with trustworthiness of experts, information seeking, and adherence intentions. These findings shed light on how conflicting information negatively affects the decision-making process and provide insight about what to consider when presenting dynamic information to the public.

Evaluation of the Abdominal Aorta and External Iliac Arteries Using Three-Dimensional Time-of-Flight, Three Dimensional Electrocardiograph-Gated Fast Spin-Echo, and Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography in Clinically Healthy Cats.

Arterial thromboembolism is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in cats. Definitive diagnosis requires advanced imaging modalities, such as computed tomography angiography (CTA) and contrast-enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). However, CTA involves exposure to a large amount of ionized radiation, and CE-MRA can cause systemic nephrogenic fibrosis. Non-contrast-enhanced (NE) MRA can help accurately diagnose vascular lesions without such limitations. In this study, we evaluated the ability of NE-MRA using three-dimensional electrocardiograph-gated fast spin-echo (3D ECG-FSE) and 3D time-of-flight (3D TOF) imaging to visualize the aorta and external iliac arteries in clinically healthy cats and compared the results with those obtained using CE-MRA. All 11 cats underwent 3D ECG-FSE, 3D TOF, and CE-MRA sequences. Relative signal intensity (rSI) for quantitative image analysis and image quality scores (IQS) for qualitative image analysis were assessed; the rSI values based on the 3D TOF evaluations were significantly lower than those obtained using 3D ECG-FSE (aorta 3D TOF: 0.57 ± 0.06, aorta 3D ECG-FSE: 0.83 ± 0.06, P < 0.001; external iliac arteries 3D TOF: 0.45 ± 0.06, external iliac arteries 3D ECG-FSE:0.80 ± 0.05, P < 0.001) and similar to those obtained using CE-MRA (aorta: 0.58 ± 0.05, external iliac arteries: 0.57 ± 0.03). Moreover, IQS obtained using 3D TOF were significantly higher than those obtained using 3D ECG-FSE (aorta 3D TOF: 3.95 ± 0.15, aorta 3D ECG-FSE: 2.32 ± 0.60, P < 0.001; external iliac arteries 3D ECG-FSE: 3.98 ± 0.08, external iliac arteries 3D ECG-FSE: 2.23 ± 0.56, P < 0.001) and similar to those obtained using CE-MRA (aorta: 3.61 ± 0.41, external iliac arteries: 3.57 ± 0.41). Thus, 3D TOF is more suitable and produces consistent image quality for visualizing the aorta and external iliac arteries in clinically healthy cats and this will be of great help in the diagnosis of FATE.

In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Thermometry for Brain and Body Temperature Variations in Canines under General Anesthesia.

The core body temperature tends to decrease under general anesthesia. Consequently, monitoring the core body temperature during procedures involving general anesthesia is essential to ensure patient safety. In veterinary medicine, rectal temperature is used as an indicator of the core body temperature, owing to the accuracy and convenience of this approach. Some previous studies involving craniotomy reported differences between the brain and core temperatures under general anesthesia. However, noninvasive imaging techniques are required to ascertain this because invasive brain temperature measurements can cause unintended temperature changes by inserting the temperature sensors into the brain or by performing the surgical operations. In this study, we employed in vivo magnetic resonance thermometry to observe the brain temperatures of patients under general anesthesia using the proton resonance frequency shift method. The rectal temperature was also recorded using a fiber optic thermometer during the MR thermometry to compare with the brain temperature changes. When the rectal temperature decreased by 1.4 ± 0.5 °C (mean ± standard deviation), the brain temperature (white matter) decreased by 4.8 ± 0.5 °C. Furthermore, a difference in the temperature reduction of the different types of brain tissue was observed; the reduction in the temperature of white matter exceeded that of gray matter mainly due to the distribution of blood vessels in the gray matter. We also analyzed and interpreted the core temperature changes with the body conditioning scores of subjects to see how the body weight affected the temperature changes.

The Impact of Emotion and Government Trust on Individuals' Risk Information Seeking and Avoidance during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-country Comparison.

This study examines the emotional mechanisms of how public trust in the governments' actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic shapes individuals' risk information-seeking and avoidance. To make cross-cultural comparisons, we conducted a multi-country survey early in the pandemic in South Korea, the United States (US) and Singapore. The results suggest that trust was negatively related to fear, anger, sadness and anxiety, and positively related to hope. These emotions were significant mediators of the effect of trust on information seeking and avoidance, except for anger on avoidance. Importantly, the indirect effects of trust in government varied by country. Fear was a stronger mediator between trust and information seeking in South Korea than in the US. In contrast, sadness and anger played more prominent mediating roles in Singapore than in South Korea. This study offers theoretical insights into better understanding the roles of discrete emotions in forming information behaviors. The findings of this study also inform communication strategies that seek to navigate trust in managing pandemics that impact multiple nations.

Comparison of catheter-over-needle and catheter-through-needle methods in ultrasound-guided continuous femoral nerve block: A prospective, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The catheter-through-needle (CTN) method involves the insertion of a catheter with an outer diameter smaller than the initial puncture hole. We investigated whether the catheter-over-needle (CON) method is more effective than the CTN method in local anesthetic leakage at the catheter insertion site and catheter dislodgement, and how it affects postoperative pain management. METHODS: Seventy patients scheduled to undergo continuous femoral nerve block for pain control following total knee arthroplasty were enrolled and randomized to receive a perineural catheterization with either the CTN method (group CTN) or CON method (group CON). After ultrasound-guided catheterization, the transparent securement dressing was attached. The study compared the CON and CTN methods in terms of leakage at the catheter insertion site, catheter dislodgement, and postoperative analgesic efficacy for 48 hours postoperatively. RESULTS: Leakage at the catheter insertion site was significantly lower in the group CON (P < .05), while catheter dislodgement was not significantly different between the groups. The other adverse events were not different between the groups. The procedure time was significantly shorter in group CON (P < .05). No significant intergroup differences were observed 48 hours postoperatively in the visual analog scales, the number of patients requiring additional analgesics, and the number of times a bolus dose was injected with an injection pump. CONCLUSION: The CON method was able to shorten the procedure time while reducing the incidence of leakage at the catheter insertion site than the CTN method, and showed similar effects in postoperative pain management.

Prediction of endotracheal tube size using a printed three-dimensional airway model in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease: a prospective, single-center, single-group study.

BACKGROUND: To determine the correct size of endotracheal tubes (ETTs) for endotracheal intubation of pediatric patients, new methods have been investigated. Although the three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has been successful in the field of surgery, there are not many studies in the field of anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a 3D airway model for prediction of the correct ETT size, and compare the results with a conventional age-based formula in pediatric patients. METHODS: Thirty-five pediatric patients under six years of age who were scheduled for congenital heart surgery were enrolled. In the pre-anesthetic period, the patient's computed tomography (CT) images were converted to Standard Triangle Language (STL) files using the 3D conversion program. A Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) type 3D printer was used to print 3D airway models from the sub-glottis to the upper carina. ETT size was selected by inserting various sized cuffed-ETTs to a printed 3D airway model. RESULTS: The 3D method selected the correct ETT size in 21 out of 35 pediatric patients (60%), whereas the age-based formula selected the correct ETT size in 9 patients (26%). CONCLUSIONS: Prediction of the correct size of ETTs using a printed 3D airway model demonstrated better results than the age-based formula. This suggests that the selection of ETT size using a printed 3D airway model may be feasible for helping minimize re-intubation attempts and complications in patients with congenital heart disease and/or those with an abnormal range of growth and development.

Endotracheal intubation using a three-dimensional printed airway model in a patient with Pierre Robin sequence and a history of tracheostomy -a case report.

BACKGROUND: Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) patients have an increased risk of difficult intubation due to anatomical airway abnormalities, and intubation simulation with a three-dimensional (3D) printed airway model before anesthesia may facilitate safe airway management. CASE: We describe the case of a 6.5-year-old boy with a history of PRS (a triad of micrognathia, glossoptosis, and airway obstruction), tracheostomy, and subglottic fibrosis who required general anesthesia. Preparation for this potentially difficult intubation included estimation of endotracheal tube size using a 3D printed airway model derived from 3D computed tomography of the airway, which enabled successful endotracheal intubation via video laryngoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: If general anesthesia is necessary in patients with dysmorphic features such as PRS and there is a history of tracheal pathology, the possibility of difficult intubation should always be considered and simulation of endotracheal intubation using a 3D printed model of the airway can be helpful clinically in such situations.

No Regrets When It Comes to Your Health: Anticipated Regret, Subjective Norms, Information Insufficiency and Intent to Seek Health Information from Multiple Sources.

Research suggests that a search for health information from diverse sources is crucial for obtaining accurate and quality information. As a result, this study examines motivators of intentions to use multiple information sources. Our guiding framework is the planned risk information seeking model, which poses a direct relationship between seeking-related subjective norms and information seeking intentions, and an indirect relationship between those two variables through information insufficiency (or perceived need for more information). To further explore these relationships, we integrate a novel variable, anticipated regret, as an additional mediator of both relationships. The information seeking behavior of interest in this study is intention to seek information through multiple sources. Survey results from 379 undergraduate students show that seeking-related subjective norms are positively related with information insufficiency through regret, and positively related with seeking intent through regret and information insufficiency. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Differences in Health-Related Social Media Usage by Organizations and Individuals.

Introduction: Social media is used as a tool for both information providers and information consumers to disseminate and receive health information. There is a dearth of research that compares the differences between different types of health provider Twitter® (Twitter, Inc., San Francisco, CA) posting styles, specifically regarding the ways in which they communicate health information with the public. This is particularly true for more localized studies that focus on small data sets. Methods: Our study seeks to help fill this gap through an exploration of emergent trends of social media use of small, but specific, stakeholders in Texas, in the United States. Results: A content analysis of health information providers' (individual, organizational, and governmental groups) Tweets based on digital, ethnographic, and grounded theory methods was performed to provide quantitative and qualitative findings in terms of purpose, sentiment, visual features, tone of the Tweets, and public engagement. Conclusions: The findings indicate how individual or organizational users differentially use their Twitter accounts and open up a discussion of what factors might influence effective communication with the public.

Effects of COVID-19 Misinformation on Information Seeking, Avoidance, and Processing: A Multicountry Comparative Study.

We examined the implications of exposure to misinformation about COVID-19 in the United States, South Korea, and Singapore in the early stages of the global pandemic. The online survey results showed that misinformation exposure reduced information insufficiency, which subsequently led to greater information avoidance and heuristic processing, as well as less systematic processing of COVID-19 information. Indirect effects differ by country and were stronger in the U.S. sample than in the Singapore sample. This study highlights negative consequences of misinformation during a global pandemic and addresses possible cultural and situational differences in how people interpret and respond to misinformation.

e-Health and new moms: Contextual factors associated with sources of health information.

OBJECTIVE: Guided by the Uses and Gratifications approach, to examine mothers' use and preference of e-Health media, and associated contextual factors. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: Cross-sectional survey of 165 mothers (White, African-American, and Hispanic) from a stratified random sample. MEASURES: Use of online media about mother-baby care; favorite websites about motherhood and best-liked features of Web sites; channel preferences (Web site, postal mail, text) for receiving three types of health information; and contextual factors, e.g., education. RESULTS: Media use ranged from 96% for health information searches about babies to 46% for YouTube viewing about mother-baby topics. Contextual factors, such as education, were associated with media use. Babycenter was the most frequently reported favorite Web site and rich, relevant information was the best-liked feature. Across three health topics (weight, stress/depression, parenting) mothers preferred receiving information by Web site, followed by postal mail and least by text messaging (χ2 statistics, p < .001). Stress and race/ethnicity were among factors associated with preferences. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers widely used e-Health related media, but use was associated with contextual factors. In public health efforts to reach new mothers, partnering with mother-favored Web sites, focusing on audience-relevant media, and adopting attributes of successful sites are recommended strategies.

A Cross-Comparative Survey of Information Seeking and Scanning About Drug-Related Sources and Topics Among U.S. and Israeli College Students.

There is an increasing amount of drug-related information that is easily accessible from media and interpersonal sources. Recent research shows significant positive associations between information acquisition and nonmedical drug use intentions among college students. This study examines information about amphetamines and marijuana that was actively searched ("seeking") as well as information that was encountered during routine media use ("scanning"). Data are drawn from a cross-national comparative survey of college students in the United States (N = 734) and in Israel (N = 800). U.S. participants reported seeking and scanning information about marijuana across a broader range of sources than Israeli participants. Among U.S. and Israeli participants, the most frequently searched marijuana-related topics included the benefits of marijuana, negative effects of marijuana use, and political reasons why marijuana should be legal. Participants from both countries reported the benefits of amphetamines, and the negative effects of amphetamine use as the most frequently searched topics about amphetamines. Participants in both countries identified the internet and friends as the most popular sources of drug-related information and noted that physicians, friends, and the internet were the most trusted sources. Implications for research on information seeking and health communication are discussed.