bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Return to work after sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorder or injury: a longitudinal study conducted in Brazil
Authors: Silva-Junior João Silvestre , Martinez Maria Carmen , Sekiya Felipe Seiti , de Miranda Cristiano Barreto , Fischer Frida Marina
Published: September 2023

Background

Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries (MSDI) are conditions that affect the locomotor system characterized by pain and impairment of functionality. They are the leading cause of years lived with disability. The aim of this study was to analyze the factors that influence the return to work (RTW) among workers on sick leave due to MSDI.  

Methods

A longitudinal study was conducted in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between 2020–2022. The participants were 216 workers who required social security compensation due to MSDI. They filled out online questionnaires about their sociodemographic characteristics, health risk behaviors, work characteristics and health conditions. They were followed for 365 days after their first day of sick leave. A Cox regression was performed to identify the factors that influenced their first RTW.

Results

Most participants were male (53.0%), mean age was 39.5 years (SD 10.6), 70.4% returned to work within the one-year follow-up period. The mean duration of sick leave was 192.6 days. Factors associated with a lower RTW were age 40 years and older (HR 0.54; 95%CI 0.39–0.76) and the interaction between perceptions of the need for improvement in the physical and psychological domains of quality of life (HR 0.67; 95%CI 0.48–0.94).

Conclusions

Occupational healthcare professionals should pay greater attention to patients who are aging and those with perceived worse physical and psychological conditions, in order to facilitate the reintegration process and promote sustained RTW after sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorder or injury.
Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting deep venous thrombosis in patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Yang Zongyou , Rongqing Ren , Yang Zhizhou , Yang Hucheng , Yin Yingchao , Tian Siyu , Wang Zhihong , Hou Zhiyong
Published: October 2023

Purpose

To construct a novel nomogram model that can predict DVT and avoid unnecessary examination.

Methods

Patients admitted to the hospital with pelvis/acetabular fractures were included between July 2014 and July 2018. The potential predictors associated with DVT were analyzed using Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis. The predictive nomogram was constructed and internally validated.

Results

230 patients were finally enrolled. There were 149 individuals in the non-DVT group and 81 in the DVT group. Following analysis, we obtained the final nomogram model. The risk factors included age (OR, 1.037; 95% CI, 1.013–1.062; P = 0.002), body mass index (BMI) (OR, 1.253; 95% CI, 1.120–1.403; P < 0.001); instant application of anticoagulant after admission (IAA) (OR, 2.734; 95% CI, 0.847–8.829; P = 0.093), hemoglobin (HGB) (OR, 0.970; 95% CI, 0.954–0.986; P < 0.001), D-Dimer(OR, 1.154; 95% CI, 1.016–1.310; P = 0.027) and fibrinogen (FIB) (OR, 1.286; 95% CI, 1.024–1.616; P = 0.002). The apparent C-statistic was 0.811, and the adjusted C-statistic was 0.777 after internal validations, demonstrating good discrimination. Hosmer and Lemeshow’s goodness of fit (GOF) test of the predictive model showed a good calibration for the probability of prediction and observation (χ2 = 3.285, P = 0.915; P > 0.05). The decision curve analysis (DCA) and Clinical impact plot (CIC) demonstrated superior clinical use of the nomogram.

Conclusions

An easy-to-calculate nomogram model for predicting DVT in patients with pelvic-acetabular fractures were developed. It could help clinicians to reduce DVT and avoid unnecessary examinations.
Effects of hypochlorous acid mouthwash on salivary bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus in patients with periodontal disease: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Lin Ying-Chu , Tsai Cheng-Feng , Huang Hsiao-Ling
Published: September 2023

Background

The effects of a low concentration of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) mouthwash on salivary bacteria remained unclear. We aimed to evaluate the antibacterial effects of 100 ppm HOCl mouthwash on salivary bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), in patients with periodontal disease (PD).

Methods

Patients with PD were randomized into mouthwash-only (MW, n = 26) and mouthwash with periodontal flosser (MWPF, n = 27) groups. Patients without PD were selected for the control group (n = 30). S. aureus culture and saliva samples (before and after the intervention) were collected for bacterial DNA extraction. A real-time polymerase chain reaction assay and serial dilutions of S. aureus culture and saliva samples were used to measure the salivary bacteria total count (SBTC) and confirm the antibacterial effects of the mouthwash using S. aureus.

Results

No significant difference in demographic data was observed among the three groups. Before the intervention, the baseline SBTC of the MW and MWPF groups was significantly higher than that of the control group. After the mouthwash rinses, the SBTC data significantly changed in the MW and MWPF groups only (by 62.4% and 77.4%, respectively). After the base-2 log-transformation of the SBTC data, a similar trend was observed. Linear regression revealed that baseline SBTC and the MWPF intervention significantly affected SBTC reduction percentage by volume. After incubation with 10% (v/v) of mouthwash, the survival rates of 106 and 107 colony-forming units/mL of S. aureus were 0.51% ± 0.06% and 1.42% ± 0.37%, respectively.

Conclusions

These study results indicated that 100 ppm HOCl mouthwash treatment could effectively reduce SBTC in patients with PD and the abundance of S. aureus. It provides that the HOCl mouthwash can be an option for individuals to help control SBTC, especially in patients with PD.

Trial registration

The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUHIRB-F(I)-20200042) on 20/03/2020 and retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrial.gov (NCT05372835) on 13/05/2022.
Network module analysis and molecular docking-based study on the mechanism of astragali radix against non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Xiao Wenke , Xu Yaxin , Baak Jan P. , Dai Jinrong , Jing Lijia , Zhu Hongxia , Gan Yanxiong , Zheng Shichao
Published: September 2023

Background

Most lung cancer patients worldwide (stage IV non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC) have a poor survival: 25%-30% patients die < 3 months. Yet, of those surviving > 3 months, 10%-15% patients survive (very) long. Astragali radix (AR) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine widely used for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the pharmacological mechanisms of AR on NSCLC remain to be elucidated.

Methods

Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography system coupled with Q-Orbitrap HRMS (UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) was performed for the qualitative analysis of AR components. Then, network module analysis and molecular docking-based approach was conducted to explore underlying mechanisms of AR on NSCLC. The target genes of AR were obtained from four databases including TCMSP (Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology) database, ETCM (The Encyclopedia of TCM) database, HERB (A high-throughput experiment- and reference-guided database of TCM) database and BATMAN-TCM (a Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechanism of TCM) database. NSCLC related genes were screened by GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database. The STRING database was used for protein interaction network construction (PIN) of AR-NSCLC shared target genes. The critical PIN were further constructed based on the topological properties of network nodes. Afterwards the hub genes and network modules were analyzed, and enrichment analysis were employed by the R package clusterProfiler. The Autodock Vina was utilized for molecular docking, and the Gromacs was utilized for molecular dynamics simulations Furthermore, the survival analysis was performed based on TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database.

Results

Seventy-seven AR components absorbed in blood were obtained. The critical network was constructed with 1447 nodes and 28,890 edges. Based on topological analysis, 6 hub target genes and 7 functional modules were gained. were obtained including TP53, SRC, UBC, CTNNB1, EP300, and RELA. After module analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that AR may exert therapeutic effects on NSCLC by regulating JAK-STAT signaling pathway, PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, as well as NFkB signaling pathway. After the intersection calculation of the hub targets and the proteins participated in the above pathways, TP53, SRC, EP300, and RELA were obtained. These proteins had good docking affinity with astragaloside IV. Furthermore, RELA was associated with poor prognosis of NSCLC patients.

Conclusions

This study could provide chemical component information references for further researches. The potential pharmacological mechanisms of AR on NSCLC were elucidated, promoting the clinical application of AR in treating NSCLC. RELA was selected as a promising candidate biomarker affecting the prognosis of NSCLC patients.
Risk factors for medication-related short-term readmissions in adults – a scoping review
Authors: Schönenberger N. , Meyer-Massetti C.
Published: September 2023

Background

Hospital readmissions due to medication-related problems occur frequently, burdening patients and caregivers emotionally and straining health care systems economically. In times of limited health care resources, interventions to mitigate the risk of medication-related readmissions should be prioritized to patients most likely to benefit. Focusing on general internal medicine patients, this scoping review aims to identify risk factors associated with drug-related 30-day hospital readmissions.

Methods

We began by searching the Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases from their inception dates to May 17, 2022 for studies reporting risk factors for 30-day drug-related readmissions. We included all peer-reviewed studies, while excluding literature reviews, conference abstracts, proceeding papers, editorials, and expert opinions. We also conducted backward citation searches of the included articles. Within the final sample, we analyzed the types and frequencies of risk factors mentioned.

Results

After deduplication of the initial search results, 1159 titles and abstracts were screened for full-text adjudication. We read 101 full articles, of which we included 37. Thirteen more were collected via backward citation searches, resulting in a final sample of 50 articles. We identified five risk factor categories: (1) patient characteristics, (2) medication groups, (3) medication therapy problems, (4) adverse drug reactions, and (5) readmission diagnoses. The most commonly mentioned risk factors were polypharmacy, prescribing problems—especially underprescribing and suboptimal drug selection—and adherence issues. Medication groups associated with the highest risk of 30-day readmissions (mostly following adverse drug reactions) were antithrombotic agents, insulin, opioid analgesics, and diuretics. Preventable medication-related readmissions most often reflected prescribing problems and/or adherence issues.

Conclusions

This study’s findings will help care teams prioritize patients for interventions to reduce medication-related hospital readmissions, which should increase patient safety. Further research is needed to analyze surrogate social parameters for the most common drug-related factors and their predictive value regarding medication-related readmissions.
Rab11a in the spinal cord: an essential contributor to complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced inflammatory pain in mice
Authors: Gu Jun-Xiang , Wang Jian , Ma Fu-Juan , Liu Miao-Miao , Chen Si-Hai , Wei Yi , Xiao Yi-Fan , Lv Pei-Yuan , Liu Xin , Qu Jian-Qiang , Yan Xian-Xia , Chen Tao
Published: September 2023

Inflammatory pain is a commonly observed clinical symptom in a range of acute and chronic diseases. However, the mechanism of inflammatory pain is far from clear yet. Rab11a, a small molecule guanosine triphosphate enzyme, is reported to regulate orofacial inflammatory pain in our previous works. However, the mechanism of Rab11a’s involvement in the regulation of inflammatory pain remains obscure. Here, we aim to elucidate the potential mechanisms through which Rab11a contributes to the development of inflammatory pain in the spinal level. It’s shown that neurons, rather than glial cells, were the primary cell type expressing Rab11a in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH). After intra-plantar injection of CFA, both the number of Fos/Rab11a-immunopositive neurons and the expression of Rab11a were increased. Administration of Rab11a-shRNA into the SDH resulted in significantly analgesic effect in mice with CFA injection. Application of Rab11a-shRNA also reduced the NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory post-synaptic current (EPSC) and the spike number of neurons in lamina II of the SDH in mice with CFA injection, without affecting the presynaptic glutamate release and the postsynaptic AMPA receptor-mediated EPSC. Our results thus suggest that the enhanced expression of neuronal Rab11a may be important for the process of inflammatory pain in mice with CFA injection, which is likely mediated by Rab11a’s potentiation of the competence of post-synaptic NMDAR and spiking of SDH neurons.
Changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in organic farming practice and abandoned tea plantation
Authors: Juang Kai-Wei , Chen Chiou-Pin
Published: September 2023

Background

The restoration of conventional tea plantations and the adoption of organic farming practices could impact soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) stocks. This study investigated the soil properties, SOC and N contents and stocks, and their vertical distributions of a secondary forest restored from an abandoned conventional tea plantation and a converted organic tea plantation. An adjacent conventional tea plantation employing similar intermediate farming served as a comparison.

Results

Within a 50-cm depth, the secondary forest exhibited a higher SOC stock of 115.53 ± 7.23 Mg C ha− 1 compared to 92.1 ± 8.54 Mg C ha− 1 for the conventional tea plantation. No significant differences in N stocks were seen between the two land uses. Significantly high SOC and N contents and stocks were found in the 0–10 cm layer of the secondary forest compared to the conventional tea plantation. No significant disparities in SOC and N stocks were found between the conventional and organic tea plantations within the 50 cm depth (92.1 ± 8.54 Mg C ha− 1 and 10.06 ± 1.01 Mg N ha− 1 vs. 97.47 ± 1.53 Mg C ha− 1 and 9.70 ± 0.10 Mg N ha− 1). However, higher levels of SOC and N contents and stocks were observed at a depth of 10 cm in the conventional tea plantation and below 10 cm in the organic tea plantation.

Conclusions

The C and N inputs derived from high litter production at the top soil strongly contributed to higher SOC and N contents and stocks in the secondary forest. The application of soybean amendments in the conventional tea plantation and the longer tea plantation age of the organic tea plantation influenced their distribution of SOC and N contents and stocks, respectively. Reverting a conventional tea plantation into a secondary forest contributed to C recovery and reaccumulation. The conventional tea plantation, employing similar intermediate farming practices, increased SOC and N contents and stocks in the surface soil compared to the organic tea plantation. However, adopting organic farming did not significantly increase SOC stocks compared to the conventional tea plantation.
Interval between contrast administration and T1-weighted MRI for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy: a single-case observation
Authors: Moscatelli Marco , Benzoni Chiara , Doniselli Fabio M. , Verri Mattia , Pascuzzo Riccardo , Aquino Domenico , Mazzi Federica , Erbetta Alessandra , Salsano Ettore
Published: October 2023

In adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), contrast enhancement (CE) is a disease activity marker, but there is uncertainty about the optimal delay, if any, between contrast injection and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition to avoid false-negative results. We acquired axial two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted gradient-echo every 6 min from 0 to 36 min after contrast administration (gadobutrol 0.1 mmol/kg) in an ALD patient with enlarging white matter lesions and progressive neuropsychological symptoms, using a 3-T magnet. The image signal over time was qualitatively assessed and measured in two regions of interest. On 3D sequences, no definite CE was appreciated, whereas on 2D sequences, CE was noticed after 6 min and definitely evident after 12 min, when 73% of the maximum signal intensity was measured. In ALD subjects, contrast-enhanced 2D T1-weighted gradient-echo sequences acquired at least 10 min after contrast injection may be considered to reduce false negative results.

Relevance statement

Our report is the first attempt to find an optimal delay between contrast administration and T1-weighted acquisition in cALD patients in order to correctly detect disease activity and avoid false negative results.

Key points

• The optimal time between contrast injection and image acquisition for MRI of adrenoleukodystrophy is unknown.

• Contrast enhancement predicts adrenoleukodystrophy progression and could help patient’s selection for the therapy.

• We acquired two post-contrast T1-GRE-2D/3D sequences several times to find the best injection-time.

• T1-weighted 2D GRE resulted more sensitive than T1-weighted 3D GRE even after long intervals from injection.

• A delay of about 10 min may minimize false negatives.

Graphical Abstract
Efficacy of hypertonic saline and mannitol in patients with traumatic brain injury and cerebral edema: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Iqbal Umer , Kumar Aashish , Arsal Syed Ali , Shafique Muhammad Ashir , Amin Shafin Bin , Raja Adarsh , Aqeel Rabbia , Waqas Sameeka
Published: October 2023

Background

Traumatic brain injury has a crippling impact on sufferers’ quality of life, and numerous therapy techniques are being researched to address this problem. In this study, we compared the superiority of HS against mannitol as one such element of treating TBI patients.

Objective

To compare the efficacy of hypertonic saline and mannitol and demonstrate superiority of one group over the other.

Method

Our meta-analysis included only randomized controlled trials that compared the efficacy of mannitol and hypertonic saline in the treatment of traumatic brain injury. The literature search was done using a variety of databases, like Google Scholar, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library. From each of the included RCTs, accurate data extraction, bias risk assessment, and statistical analysis were carried out.

Result

There are 748 patients among the 15 RCTs. Our primary outcomes are mortality and functional outcomes, and our secondary outcomes include treatment failure, osmolality, intracerebral pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), serum sodium (Na), partial pressure of oxygen in brain tissue (PBTO2), duration of elevated ICP, mean arterial pressure, hematocrit level, and central venous pressure. The comparison showed non-significant results for mortality (RR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.49–1.08; p = 0.12) and functional outcome (RR = 1.15, 95% CI = 0.74–1.80; p = 0.53). HS is linked to higher Na levels (RR = 4.55, 95% CI 1.34–7.76, P = 0.005, I2 = 96%). Despite performing a sensitivity analysis due to the heterogeneities in our various outcomes, the findings were still unreliable.

Conclusion

Our study revealed inconsequential trends for HS and mannitol, and no conclusion was made. We believe the two medications to be equally effective, but there is still opportunity for improvement as more studies are carried out. Eventually, a conclusive decision can be reached in the future.
Detecting fake reviewers in heterogeneous networks of buyers and sellers: a collaborative training-based spammer group algorithm
Authors: Zhang Qi , Liang Zhixiang , Ji Shujuan , Xing Benyong , Chiu Dickson K. W.
Published: October 2023

It is not uncommon for malicious sellers to collude with fake reviewers (also called spammers) to write fake reviews for multiple products to either demote competitors or promote their products’ reputations, forming a gray industry chain. To detect spammer groups in a heterogeneous network with rich semantic information from both buyers and sellers, researchers have conducted extensive research using Frequent Item Mining-based and graph-based methods. However, these methods cannot detect spammer groups with cross-product attacks and do not jointly consider structural and attribute features, and structure-attribute correlation, resulting in poorer detection performance. Therefore, we propose a collaborative training-based spammer group detection algorithm by constructing a heterogeneous induced sub-network based on the target product set to detect cross-product attack spammer groups. To jointly consider all available features, we use the collaborative training method to learn the feature representations of nodes. In addition, we use the DBSCAN clustering method to generate candidate groups, exclude innocent ones, and rank them to obtain spammer groups. The experimental results on real-world datasets indicate that the overall detection performance of the proposed method is better than that of the baseline methods.
No evidence for neuronal damage or astrocytic activation in cerebrospinal fluid of Neuro-COVID-19 patients with long-term persistent headache
Authors: de Boni Laura , Odainic Alexandru , Gancarczyk Natalie , Kaluza Luisa , Strassburg Christian P. , Kersting Xenia A. K. , Wüllner Ullrich , Schmidt Susanne V. , Petzold Gabor C.
Published: September 2023

Headache is one of the most common neurological manifestations of COVID-19, but it is unclear whether chronic headache as a symptom of Post-COVID-19 is associated with ongoing CNS damage. We compared cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of markers of CNS damage and inflammation in Post-COVID-19 patients with persistent headache to hospitalized acute COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms and to non-COVID-19 disease-controls. CSF levels of neurofilament light chain, Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 and Tau were similar in patients with persistent headache in post-COVID-19 compared to acute COVID-19 patients and all control groups. Levels of glial fibrillary astrocytic protein were lower in patients with persistent headache in post-COVID-19 compared to some control groups of patients with neurological disease. Therefore, our pilot study of CSF markers indicates that persistent post-COVID-19 headache is not a sign of underlying neuronal damage or glial activation.
Novel 3D local feature descriptor of point clouds based on spatial voxel homogenization for feature matching
Authors: Yang Jiong , Zhang Jian , Cai Zhengyang , Fang Dongyang
Published: September 2023

Obtaining a 3D feature description with high descriptiveness and robustness under complicated nuisances is a significant and challenging task in 3D feature matching. This paper proposes a novel feature description consisting of a stable local reference frame (LRF) and a feature descriptor based on local spatial voxels. First, an improved LRF was designed by incorporating distance weights into Z- and X-axis calculations. Subsequently, based on the LRF and voxel segmentation, a feature descriptor based on voxel homogenization was proposed. Moreover, uniform segmentation of cube voxels was performed, considering the eigenvalues of each voxel and its neighboring voxels, thereby enhancing the stability of the description. The performance of the descriptor was strictly tested and evaluated on three public datasets, which exhibited high descriptiveness, robustness, and superior performance compared with other current methods. Furthermore, the descriptor was applied to a 3D registration trial, and the results demonstrated the reliability of our approach.
Arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI applications in drug-resistant epilepsy and epileptic emergency
Authors: Xu Yingchun , Tan Ge , Chen Deng , Liu Jiao , Zhou Zixian , Liu Ling
Published: September 2023

Epilepsy affects all age groups and is one of the most common and disabling neurological disorders worldwide. Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), status epilepticus (SE), and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), which are associated with considerable healthcare costs and mortality, have always been difficult to address and become the focus of clinical research. The rapid identification of seizure onset and accurate localization of epileptic foci are crucial for the treatment and prognosis of people with DRE, SE, or near-SUDEP. However, most of the conventional neuroimaging techniques for assessing cerebral blood flow of people with epilepsy are restricted by time consumption, limited resolution, and ionizing radiation. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a newly powerful non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging technique that enables the quantitative evaluation of brain perfusion, characterized by its unique advantages of reproducibility and easy accessibility. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential advantages of ASL for the diagnosis and evaluation of epilepsy. Therefore, in this review, we discussed the complementary value of ASL in evaluating and characterizing the basic substrates underlying refractory epilepsy and epileptic emergencies.
A comparison of new and existing rootstocks to reduce canker of apple trees caused by Neonectria ditissima (Nectriaceae, Hypocreales)
Authors: Shuttleworth Lucas A. , Newman Sonia , Korkos Ioannis
Published: September 2023

The grafting of apple rootstocks on to scions confers benefits including reduced tree size/dwarfing for trellis based growing systems, increased tolerance to physiological stress, and pest and disease management. The current study investigated the effect of rootstock selection on canker and tree death using eight common rootstocks M9 337, M9 337 with Golden Delicious (GD) interstock, M9 EMLA, MM106, M116, M26, Geneva® G11 and G41, in addition to six advanced selections from the NIAB East Malling apple breeding programme EMR-001—EMR-006, all grafted with Gala scions. One of the rootstocks, M9 377 was also grafted with a GD interstock. Two locations in England were selected, the first at East Malling, Kent, the second, at Newent, Gloucestershire. Several variables were analysed including cumulative numbers of dead trees per rootstock from 2017 to 2020, number of rootstock ‘A type’ cankers, number of scion mainstem ‘B type’ cankers, and number of peripheral ‘C + D + E’ branch cankers at the Kent and Gloucestershire locations in the fourth and final assessment year of 2020. Kendall’s rank correlation was used to test if trunk circumference (a measure of tree vigour) and canker were statistically dependant. Results showed that in Kent, there were significant differences between rootstocks for scion B cankers and peripheral C + D + E cankers. There were no significant differences found between rootstocks for rootstock A cankers at Kent, or any of the three canker types in Gloucestershire. There were up to 31.25% dead trees in Kent (EMR-004), and 30% in Gloucestershire (M9 337 with GD interstock, M26), but there were no significant differences in number of dead trees due to rootstock type in either Kent or Gloucestershire. The Kendall’s rank correlation analysis indicated there was almost no dependence of trunk circumference on canker. The three rootstocks with the overall lowest susceptibility to canker were M116, EMR-006, and EMR-004. The industry standard rootstocks M9 EMLA and M9 337 were ranked 12 and 14, and with EMR-001 were the three worst performing rootstocks. The Geneva® rootstocks G11 was ranked 6, and G41 was ranked 11. An interplay of factors are likely involved in the development of canker including location and environmental effects—rainfall, relative humidity, temperature, wind, soil type, topography, aspect, and other seasonal infection processes including pathogen inoculum load, and rainsplash of inoculum between trees and within individual trees, the genetics and physiology of each scion/rootstock combination, water and nutritional status of trees, hormonal and molecular signalling, and orchard management including pruning and removal of cankers.
Biphasic pleural mesothelioma treated successfully with multimodal therapy: a case report
Authors: Omura Kenshiro , Fukai Ryuta , Nishida Tomoki , Yamaguchi Nobuo , Naitoh Wataru , Teshima Shinichi , Tobe Shunichi , Hibino Makoto , Tanaka Fumihiro , Noguchi Masayuki
Published: October 2023

Background

Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive malignant tumor and has a poor prognosis. In particular, biphasic pleural mesothelioma is a less common histologic type, and successful outcomes are rare.

Case presentation

A 60-year-old man was referred to our associated hospital because of dyspnea. Massive right pleural effusion and thickening of the entire right parietal pleura were revealed by radiological examination. After pleural biopsy, we diagnosed the patient’s tumor as biphasic pleural mesothelioma. The patient was admitted to our hospital for multimodal treatment. Two cycles of chemotherapy were initially administered with dramatic effects. Therefore, we decided to perform surgery and achieved a macroscopic complete resection. Postoperative chemotherapy was administered with no adverse events. No recurrence has been observed 11 months post-operation.

Conclusions

We encountered a case of biphasic pleural mesothelioma that responded well to chemotherapy, enabling macroscopic complete resection.
EGFR Mutation Detection in Brazilian Patients With Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Lessons From Real-World Data Scenario of Molecular Testing
Authors: Montella Tatiane , Zalis Mariano , Zukin Mauro , Cordeiro de Lima Vladmir Claudio , Baldotto Clarissa , De Marchi Pedro , Salles Paulo , Mathias Clarissa , Barrios Carlos , Kawamura Carolina , Calabrich Aknar , Araújo Luiz Henrique , Castro Gilberto , Bustamante Carolina , Santa Maria André , Reis Marcelo , Ferreira Carlos Gil
Published: September 2023

PURPOSE

There is a paucity of consistent data concerning genetic mutations in Brazilian patients with lung cancer. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations detected in a real-world scenario using a large cohort of Brazilian patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study on the basis of a database of EGFR molecular analysis from tumor samples of patients with a confirmatory histopathological diagnosis of primary lung cancer. Specimens were collected from 2013 to 2017 and were tested using cobas, next-generation sequencing, and Sanger sequencing platforms.

RESULTS

A total of 7,413 tumor specimens were tested. The patients were predominantly women with a median age of 67.0 years. Patients with at least one mutation represented 24.2% of the total sample. Among the positive patients, the majority had just one mutation, but two or more simultaneous mutations were observed in 1.52% of patients. Exon 19 deletion was the most prevalent alteration in the sample (12.8%), followed by exon 21 L858R (6.9%) and exon 20 insertion (1.6%). All others were considered uncommon mutations and were observed in 18.5% of all mutated patients and 4.0% of the total sample (2.3%-18.7% depending on the sequencing method).

CONCLUSION

This study examined the prevalence of EGFR mutations in Brazilian patients with NSCLC using different technologies, suggesting that the type of method used, directed or nondirected against specific mutations, influences the analysis, particularly for uncommon mutations, which will be missed by mutation-specific approaches such as cobas testing. Our estimates are the largest in Latin America and are consistent with previous reports from other parts of the world. Besides the variability in methods described here as technology incorporation advances in a nonhomogeneous manner, it is probably like the real-world clinical setting Brazilian oncologists face in their daily practice.
Clinicopathologic Profile and Psychosocial Experiences of Nigerian Breast Cancer Survivors
Authors: Wuraola Funmilola Olanike , Olasehinde Olalekan , Di Bernardo Matteo , Aderounmu Adewale Abdulwasiu , Adisa Adewale Oluseye , Omoyiola Oluwatosin Zaniab , Omisore Adeleye Dorcas , Kingham Thomas Peter , Mango Victoria , Alatise Olusegun Isaac
Published: September 2023

Breast cancer survivors mitigated the impact of the diagnosis with physical enhancement, spirituality, and family support.
The Photographic Pipeline of Machine Vision; or, Machine Vision's Latent Photographic Theory
Authors: Malevé Nicolas , Sluis Katrina
Published: October 2023

Despite computer vision's extensive mobilization of cameras, photographers, and viewing subjects, photography's place in machine vision remains undertheorized. This article illuminates an operative theory of photography that exists in a latent form, embedded in the tools, practices, and discourses of machine vision research and enabling the methodological imperatives of dataset production. Focusing on the development of the canonical object recognition dataset ImageNet, the article analyzes how the dataset pipeline translates the radical polysemy of the photographic image into a stable and transparent form of data that can be portrayed as a proxy of human vision. Reflecting on the prominence of the photographic snapshot in machine vision discourse, the article traces the path that made this popular cultural practice amenable to the dataset. Following the evolution from nineteenth-century scientific photography to the acquisition of massive sets of online photos, the article shows how dataset creators inherit and transform a form of “instrumental realism,” a photographic enterprise that aims to establish a generalized look from contingent instances in the pursuit of statistical truth. The article concludes with a reflection on how the latent photographic theory of machine vision we have advanced relates to the large image models built for generative AI today.
Physical Disability and Labor Market Discrimination: Evidence from a Video Résumé Field Experiment
Authors: Bellemare Charles , Goussé Marion , Lacroix Guy , Marchand Steeve
Published: September 2023

We sent fictitious applications to firms advertising job openings. We find that revealing a disability decreases callback rates by 25 percentage points. This result is not explained by accessibility constraints or lower productivity due to disability. We find that including a video résumé of a well-spoken applicant significantly increases callbacks by 10 percentage points for persons with and without disabilities, suggesting that discrimination is unaffected by quality signals in our context. Analysis of viewing activity suggests that employers seek less information when the applicant is disabled. Disclosing the disability later in the video increases employers' viewing time but leaves callback rates unchanged. (JEL C93, J14, J23, J24, J71, K31, M51)
Παιδί και Ψηφιακή Τεχνολογία
Authors: Σαντοριναίος Μάνθος
Published: September 2023

Για πρώτη φορά στην ιστορία της ανθρώπινης ύπαρξης θα μπορούσε να συμβεί, στον δυτικό πολιτισμό, τις δεκαετίες 1990 – 2000 μια καθοριστική ανατροπή στο κοινωνικο-τεχνολογικό περιβάλλον. Το κύριο χαρακτηριστικό της περιόδου αυτής είναι το γεγονός ότι τα παιδιά έχουν μία μεγαλύτερη αντίληψη και γνώση των ψηφιακών μηχανισμών και των εικονικών χώρων που δημιουργούν, από πολλούς ενήλικες. Το γεγονός αυτό συμβάλει στην απόκτηση σημαντικών δεξιοτήτων και τρόπων σκέψης εκ μέρους των παιδιών στα νέα μέσα, τα οποία έχουν άμεση σχέση με τη δομή του νέου πολιτισμού που αναπτύσσεται ραγδαία. Στο παρόν άρθρο θα γίνει μία προσπάθεια να μελετηθεί το συγκεκριμένο φαινόμενο, το οποίο θα μπορούσε να προκαλέσει μια ανατροπή των ισορροπιών ανάμεσα στις δύο γενιές. Με αφορμή αυτήν την υπόθεση θα μελετηθεί η σχέση των ενηλίκων με τα παιδιά και κυρίως αν η βαρύτητα του ενδιαφέροντος εκ μέρους των ενηλίκων επικεντρώνεται στο παιδί ως άτομο ή στην εκπαίδευση του.
Αναζητώντας τη Δημοκρατία
Authors: Διδυμιώτης Ορέστης , Παρασκευά-Βελουδογιάννη Δέσποινα , Γκόγκου Σάρα , Κωνσταντάς Ορέστης , Κουζελης Γεράσιμος
Published: September 2023

Το παρόν άρθρο επιδιώκει να ερμηνεύσει τις στάσεις και τις απόψεις της νεολαίας αναφορικά με τις έννοιες της πολιτικής και της δημοκρατίας εξετάζοντας ποσοτικά και ποιοτικά δεδομένα που προέκυψαν στο πλαίσιο έρευνας του Πανεπιστήμιου Αθηνών. Τα ευρήματα επισημαίνουν τη δυσαρέσκεια και τη δυσπιστία των νέων απέναντι στον πολιτικό κόσμο και την αντιπροσωπευτική δημοκρατία· υποδεικνύουν επίσης μια τάση προτίμησης σε μορφές άμεσης δημοκρατίας, καθώς και τη θετική αποτίμηση των δυνατοτήτων που προσφέρει το διαδίκτυο ως προς την ενίσχυση της οριζόντιας συμμετοχής. Τα αιτήματα της λογοδοσίας, της ανάληψης ευθύνης, της αποτελεσματικότητας, εν μέρει και της πολιτικής συμπερίληψης, αποκτούν ιδιάζουσα βαρύτητα στο πλαίσιο αυτής της δυσαρέσκειας. Η απαξίωση του πολιτικού συστήματος είναι, ωστόσο, διφορούμενη: Συνδέεται συγχρόνως με τάσεις λαϊκισμού, αυταρχισμού ή/και τεχνοκρατικής ανάθεσης. Τέλος, η νεοφιλελεύθερη ιδεολογία ασκεί σημαντική επίδραση σε ένα τμήμα της νεολαίας, ενώ ο θρησκευτικός συντηρητισμός στέκεται εμπόδιο στον κοινωνικό φιλελευθερισμό και την εκκοσμίκευση του κράτους.
Οικονομική βιωσιμότητα τουριστικών επιχειρήσεων πλήρους εξυπηρέτησης (All Inclusive)
Authors: Βασιλακάκης Κωνσταντίνος
Published: October 2023

Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή επιχειρεί την εξέταση των ευρύτερων θεματικών ενοτήτωντου τουρισμού και του ξενοδοχειακού κλάδου, καθώς και των ιδιαιτεροτήτων του συστήματοςπλήρους εξυπηρέτησης (All Inclusive - Α.Ι.).Στο θεωρητικό μέρος γίνεται μια καταγραφή - επισκόπηση στα επικαιροποιημένα στατιστικάστοιχεία του τουρισμού καθώς και μια αναφορά του συστήματος πλήρους εξυπηρέτησης (Α.Ι.),για να αποσαφηνιστούν οι ιδιαιτερότητες και τα χαρακτηριστικά του. Επιπλέον, δίνεται έμφασηστην οργάνωση και στη διοίκηση των επισιτιστικών τμημάτων ξενοδοχειακών επιχειρήσεων,καθώς και στις έννοιες της οικονομικής βιωσιμότητας των επιχειρήσεων, με μια πρότασηκριτηρίων που οδηγούν τις ξενοδοχειακές επιχειρήσεις στη βιώσιμη οικονομική διαχείριση.Η παρούσα διατριβή μνημονεύει και αναδεικνύει σημαντικά κριτήρια αξιολόγησης καιεπιλογής των προμηθευτών των ξενοδοχειακών επιχειρήσεων. Ειδικότερα, η διατριβήδιερεύνησε τους παράγοντες που επηρεάζουν την επιλογή προμηθευτή στις ελληνικέςξενοδοχειακές επιχειρήσεις που λειτουργούν τμήμα τροφίμων και ποτών, καθώς και τουςλόγους διακοπής συνεργασίας με τους προμηθευτές. Η έρευνα μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ως μιαπρώτη επισκόπηση στον κλάδο αυτό στην Ελλάδα.Τα αποτελέσματα της εμπειρικής έρευνας ανέδειξαν έξι (6) παράγοντες που επιδρούν στηνεπιλογή των προμηθευτών στα επισιτιστικά τμήματα των ελληνικών ξενοδοχείων (όπως πρώτεςύλες, χρηματοδότηση, περιβάλλον, υπηρεσίες, προέλευση - θρεπτικά συστατικά και σχέση –αξιοπιστία). Οι κύριοι στόχοι της επιλογής προμηθευτή συνδέονται με οικονομικά κριτήρια,όπως είναι το κόστος, η έγκαιρη παράδοση, η ποιότητα και οι καλύτερες υπηρεσίες,αποτελέσματα που επιβεβαιώνονται από σχετικές προηγούμενες έρευνες.Η εμπειρική έρευνα κατέδειξε τρία (3) νέα σημαντικά κριτήρια που δεν είχαν μελετηθεί έωςτώρα από άλλους συγγραφείς, όπως τον τόπο προέλευσης των πρώτων υλών, τα θρεπτικάσυστατικά των πρώτων υλών και την προηγούμενη απόδοση των πρώτων υλών (ή απώλεια -φύρα των πρώτων υλών κατά το μαγείρεμα).Κυρίως από αυτά τα νέα κριτήρια δημιουργήθηκε μια νέα μεθοδολογία βελτιστοποίησηςεκτίμησης κόστους που απευθύνεται σε επιχειρήσεις που προσφέρουν έτοιμο φαγητό(επισιτιστικές επιχειρήσεις γενικά). Η μεθοδολογία βελτιστοποίησης εκτίμησης κόστουςπροέκυψε μέσω μιας επέκτασης του προβλήματος δίαιτας και αφορά στον προσδιορισμό ενόςσυνδυασμού έτοιμων τροφίμων ο οποίος θα ικανοποιεί συγκεκριμένες απαιτήσεις διατροφήςως προς τα θρεπτικά συστατικά με ελαχιστοποίηση του αντίστοιχου κόστους ανά άτομο.Εν κατακλείδι, η θεωρητική συμβολή της διατριβής είναι ο εμπλουτισμός σε θεωρητικόεπίπεδο του συστήματος πλήρους εξυπηρέτησης (Α.Ι.) στον τουρισμό, ο καθορισμόςσημαντικών κριτηρίων αξιολόγησης και επιλογής των προμηθευτών και η ανάδειξη τηςσημασίας της έννοιας της οικονομικής βιωσιμότητας των τουριστικών (ξενοδοχειακών)επιχειρήσεων με μια πρόταση κριτηρίων που συνδέονται με αυτή. Επιπλέον, δημιουργείται μιαμεθοδολογία βελτιστοποίησης εκτίμησης κόστους διατροφής στις τουριστικές (ξενοδοχειακές)επιχειρήσεις.
Investing in human capital in the era of European Universities: A comparative analysis of skill mismatches across the regions of the ERUA countries
Authors: Emmanouil Effie , Gourzis Kostas , Boukouvalas Kostas , Gialis Stelios
Published: October 2023

Investment in human capital in the form of education and its returns for workers in terms of better-quality jobs remains a contested issue in the literature. While some postulate that such an investment leads to marginal productivity increments, others refute this hypothesis arguing that it overlooks crucial political economic factors. To contribute to ongoing debates, this paper provides a comparative analysis at the regional level, covering the period between 2009 and 2021 and 5 EU countries (Greece, Bulgaria, France, Germany, and Denmark), putting particular emphasis on the regions that are associated with the countries of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA). Specifically, the analysis calculates highly educated individuals employed in low-, medium-, and high-skill occupations, and then identifies the relative regional concentrations of each (mis)match using the Location Quotient Index. Findings highlight the uneven geography of skill mismatches, as robust and innovative economies tend to allocate their labour force across occupations more efficiently than peripheral regions. Discussing our key findings through the lens of Geographical Political Economy, we point to five interconnected determinants of human capital allocation: national economies’ dynamism, regional industrial specialisations, degree of urbanisation, local institutional capacity, and demographics. Concluding, five sets of policy recommendations are proposed aligning with the EU New Skills Agenda and the European Universities Initiative.
Sports anthropological studies of adolescent karateka and judoka in comparison
Authors: Raschka Christoph , Anders Michael
Published: September 2023

The approach of the present study was to look for differences in body development in children practicing karate or judo. 50 children between the age of 7 and 16 years were measured for this study. Parnell’s and Heath and Carter’s somatotypes were used as well as the German constitution schools of Conrad as well and Knussmann. The influence on higher muscle development through practice of these martial arts cannot be denied, although no significant differences between the martial arts were found.

Only with a version of Conrad’s checkerboard pattern graph specially tailored for children, we could work out impressive differences between the sports. Differentiated according to age groups, it is noticeable that the male judoka make the most significant development from the hypoplastic area towards hyperplastic with increasing age.
CHANGES IN THE INDICATORS OF THE CROP STRUCTURE AND BARLEY PRODUCTIVITY DEPENDING ON THE LEVELS OF MINERAL NUTRITION AND LEAF FEEDING OF PLANTS
Authors: Yakomaskin Stepan , Kargin Vasiliy , Zubarev Aleksey
Published: October 2023

The purpose of the study is to study the effect of the level of mineral nutrition and foliar fertilization with liquid complex fertilizer (ZhKU) «Agris» of “Azotkaliy” brand on the structure of the crop and yield of barley. The work was carried out in 2020-2022 in the Republic of Mordovia. The scheme of the experiment provided for the study of the following options: basic application of mineral fertilizers (factor A): without fertilizers (0), N30P30K30, N60P60K60, N90P90K90; foliar top dressing with liquid complex fertilizers (factor B): without top dressing (0), housing 2 l/ha, housing 4 l/ha, housing 6 l/ha. The soil of the experimental site is alluvial medium humus (5.5 %), slightly acidic (pHKCl 5.3), in the arable layer was characterized by an average content of mobile (Kirsanov method, GOST 54650.) phosphorus (91 mg/kg) and manganese (53.7 mg/kg), high – potassium (170 mg/kg), zinc (1.6 mg/kg) and boron (1.9 mg/kg). During the growing season, the best weather conditions were in 2020 and 2022, and 2021 was less favorable for the growth and development of plants. The application of mineral fertilizers on average for three years increased the productive bushiness of plants by 0.38...0.66 pcs./rast. (by 19.0...33.0 %), the number of grains in the ear by 1.1...2.6 pcs. (by 6.8...16.0 %), grain weight per ear by 0.08...0.15 g (by 13.1...24.6 %), barley yield by 0.46...0.77 t/ha (by 15.3...25.7 %). The best parameters of the crop structure and grain yield are noted in the N60P60K60 variant. A further increase in the level of mineral nutrition to N90P90K90 did not lead to a significant change in the studied indicators. Non-root fertilizing of plants of the housing and communal services “Agris” of “AzotKaliy” brand did not have a significant impact on the productive bushiness of plants. Its introduction at a dose of 4 l/ha provided an increase in the number of grains in the ear by 7.3...12.8%, the weight of grain from the ear by 0.08...0.11 g (by 12.7...17.5 %), the yield of barley by 0.37...0.50 t/ha (by 11.7...15.9 %). A further increase in the dose of LCU to 6 l/ha did not lead to a significant change in the studied indicators. Thus, the most favorable conditions for the development of plants in the experiment were formed in the variant with the introduction of mineral fertilizers at a dose of N60P60K60 and foliar top dressing of the housing and communal services “Agris” of “Azotkaliy” brand in the amount of 4 l/ha. The productivity of barley here was 3.92 t/ha.
The Role of an Inclusive Educational Environment in the Development of Communication Skills and Emotional Intelligence of Younger Students: A Study of Best Practices, Conclusions and Recommendations
Authors: Kondyukova A.
Published: October 2023

This article examines the issue of an inclusive educational environment in the development of communication skills and emotional intelligence of younger schoolchildren. The question of the peculiarities of emotional intelligence has been studied, the issues of communication of students have been studied.
Adaptation of Intellectually Gifted Children in the Educational Process of Primary School
Authors: Orlova I. , Krasnova E.
Published: October 2023

The article reveals the results of psychological and pedagogical research on the organization of activities aimed at the adaptation of children with intellectual giftedness. The article introduces the peculiarities of the organization of psychological and pedagogical support of gifted children in primary school. It provides recommendations for the prevention of violations of the social adaptation of gifted children at the stage of primary general education.