bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Frequency of social burden and underage children in neuro-oncological patients
Authors: Kamp Marcel A. , Sass Christiane , Januzi Donjetë , Dibué Maxine , Libourius Katharina , McLean Anna Lawson , Baumgarten Peter , McLean Aaron Lawson , Dinc Nazife , Senft Christian
Published: July 2023

Objective
Brain tumours can cause significant burden for patients and their families, including physical, psychological, and social challenges. This burden can be particularly difficult for patients with malignant brain tumours and those with underage children. However, the frequency of social burden among neuro-oncological patients and the proportion of patients with underaged children is currently unknown. The aim of this retrospective study is to determine the frequency of social and family dysfunction among neuro-oncological patients, the percentage of such patients who have underage children, and to assess their associated burden.
Methods
During a 22-month period, all outpatient brain tumour patients were asked to complete a short questionnaire that included epidemiological data, the EORTC-qlq-C30 and -BN20 questionnaire, and the distress thermometer. Data were collected and analysed using Prism 9 for macOS (Version 9, GraphPad Prism).
Results
Our analysis included 881 brain tumour patients, of which 540 were female. Median age was 61 years (ranging from 16 – 88 years). Of all patients, 228 suffered from malignant intracranial tumours. More than half of all patients and more than 65 % of patients with malignant tumours reported that their illness or medical treatment interfered with their social activities and family life. Almost 30 % of patients reported moderate or severe complaints. About 27 % of all patients (and 31 % of patients with malignancies) expressed moderate or major concerns that their family life could be disrupted.
Among the patients with malignancies, 83.5 % of patients had a total of 318 children at the time of tumour diagnosis, with a mean age of 33 ± 0.9. Of these patients with malignancies, 38 (17.9 %) had a total of 56 underage children at the time of tumour diagnosis, and currently have 53 underage children. Patients with minor children had more financial worries but less interference of their disease with social activities, less psycho-oncological distress, and a more positive outlook into the future (each, p < 0.0001). They evaluated their general health status and quality of life in the week prior to their current appointment significantly better (each p < 0.0001).
Conclusion
Our study found that 17.9 % of patients with malignant brain tumours have underage children. However, having underage children may actually be a positive resource for these patients, as they show lower distress values and better quality of life.
Systemic immune-inflammation index predicted clinical outcome in patients with aortic stenosis
Authors: Tang Yiyang , Zha Lihuang , Liu Zhenghui , Chen Qin , Feng Yilu , Juaiti Mukamengjiang , Zeng Xiaofang , Sun Jing , Yu Zaixin , Liang Benhui
Published: July 2023

Background Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a novel inflammatory-related biomarker, and we aim to explore whether it can predict the poor prognosis of patients with aortic stenosis (AS). Methods The detailed data of patients with AS were extracted from the MIMIC-IV database. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) and COX regression analyses were used to reveal the potential association between SII and all-cause mortalities. Propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), and subgroup analyses were conducted to validate our findings. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the performance of SII prognostic model. Results 839 patients were included in the study cohort. RCS analysis elucidated that the death risk of patients was gradually elevated with the increase of SII. Multivariate-adjusted 30-day (HR: 2.130; 95% CI: 1.167–3.885), 90-day (HR:1.644; 95% CI: 1.059–2.552) and 1-year (HR: 1.634; 95% CI: 1.136–2.350) all-cause mortalities were significantly higher in patients with high SII, which remained robust after PSM, IPTW, and subgroup analyses. The area under the ROC curve of SII (AUC: 0.727; 95% CI: 0.683–0.771) was superior to that of SOFA (AUC: 0.577; 95% CI: 0.525–0.629) and SAPSII (AUC: 0.681; 95% CI: 0.638–0.724) scores. Conclusion For patients with AS, SII was an independent predictor of elevated short-and long-term all-cause mortalities, with good predictive capability.
Poor periodontal health is linked to impaired cognitive performance in older people: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Arenas-Márquez María Jesús , Toro Pablo , Aguayo Sebastian
Published: July 2023

Background At present, there is no cure for dementia, and most available treatments have shown marginal or no effect. This fact makes it crucial to identify factors that increase the risk of cognitive decline in the population. Evidence suggests that poor periodontal health may be one of those factors; nonetheless, to ascertain this possibility, it is necessary to account for the influence of education, as it is frequently the determining factor that explains the association between a risk factor and cognitive impairment. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether poor periodontal health is associated with impaired cognitive performance in older people from an agricultural community in Chile, independent of education. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with the entire universe of participants older than 60 years from the MAUCO cohort in 2015. The exposure of interest was periodontal health status assessed through a proxy measure based on gum appearance (color) and bleeding, and individuals were categorized into three groups: healthy periodontium, signs of possible disease, and unhealthy periodontium. The dependent variable was cognitive performance evaluated using the ACE-R test. The confounding effect generated by sociodemographic factors was controlled through regression models: linear regression with the score obtained in the ACE-R test and multinomial regression for normal cognition, cognitive impairment, and dementia as outcomes. Results The study included 2,716 participants with a mean age of 65.7 ± 4 years, of whom 52% were women and 63% had a low educational level. Unhealthy periodontium was observed in 10.8% of the individuals, while 17.6% had cognitive impairment or dementia. People with an unhealthy periodontium scored two points lower on the ACE-R test and were almost twice as likely to have dementia (OR 1.86 95% CI 1.07–3.25) than those with periodontal health, regardless of age, sex, and educational level. Conclusion Older people with unhealthy periodontium seem to have worse cognitive performance and a higher possibility of suffering from dementia than those with healthy periodontium, regardless of sociodemographic factors. Education does not explain this outcome.
Brown vs Green Energy Sources and Resource Productivity: The Role of Human Capital and Technology Transfer in Developing Economies
Authors: Aladejare Samson Adeniyi , Salihu Bobbi
Published: July 2023

This study determined the impacts of non-renewable and renewable energy consumption on natural resource productivity alongside human capital and technology transfer roles for 40 selected developing economies. The study relied on a dataset sourced between 1991 and 2021. The study applied the novel method of moments quantile regression (MMQREG) procedure for the analyses while ensuring inferential robustness through the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic OLS (DOLS), and Driscoll-Kraay (D-K) methods. Empirically, the study revealed that an increase in brown energy consumption exhausted resource productivity from the lower to the upper quantiles. In contrast, green energy utilisation enhanced resource productivity from the lower to the higher quantiles. Also, while human capital adversely affected resource productivity for both energy means, technology transfer positively impacted it from the lower to the upper quantiles. Likewise, inferences from the DOLS, FMOLS, and D-K techniques revealed similar findings. However, despite non-renewable energy being the dominant means of energy in these developing economies, the size of its adverse impact on resource productivity falls short of the increasing effect of renewable energy across all quantiles. Also, the magnitude of the negative impact of human capital on resource productivity is marginally more substantial with non-renewable energy. In contrast, the robustness of the enhancing impact of technology transfer is slightly more with renewable energy.
JEL Classification: O47, Q2, Q32.
Enhancing Brand Equity Through Sustainable Tourism Marketing: A Study on Home-Stays in Malaysia
Authors: Zain ul Abedin Janjua  , Gengeswari Krishnapillai  , Mobashar Rehman
Published: July 2023

This study examined the antecedent and consequent relationship between sustainable tourism, marketing, and brand equity in the Malaysian rural community-based homestays (RCBHs) perspective. A self-administered questionnaire method was employed to collect data. Homestay operators from three Malaysian states, namely Kuala Lumpur/Selangor, Pahang, and Pulau Pinang participated in the study. In order to test research hypotheses, a structural equation modelling approach was used. The findings of the study suggested that the antecedent (sustainable tourism marketing), the consequent (brand equity), and moderator (political support by local authorities) have a significant relationship. Additionally, it was found that sustainable tourism marketing (STM) promotes rural community-based tourism. As a branding tool for sustainable rural community-based tourism. This study provides a unique contribution to the tourism body of knowledge by introducing political support by local authorities (PLA) as a moderator in STM and brand equity relationship. RCBHs can employ tailor-made promotion policies for the development of homestay business brands; likewise, policymakers can apply undifferentiated promotion policies for the holistic expansion of sustainable homestay market.
The Relationship between Mindfulness and Social Entrepreneurial Intention with Perceived Behavioural Control as Mediator
Authors: Anh Bui Ngoc Tuan  , Loan Van Thi Hong  , Minh Pham
Published: July 2023

There is in an ongoing conflict between economic development and social needs, especially in developing countries. Social enterprises have been seen as a key to solving this problem. Universities however, has not focused much social entrepreneurship as an academic course, unlike corporate social responsibility. The aim of this study therefore, was to examine the relationship between mindfulness and social entrepreneurial intention (SEI) and the intermediary role of perceived controllability and self-efficacy to generate ideas for academics to develop new generations of social entrepreneurs. The study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the research hypotheses. A total of 294 students at all academic levels (bachelor, master, and PhD) at selected universities in southern Vietnam participated in this study. The data was collected between August 2019 and October 2019 by using questionnaires. The results showed a positive relationship between mindfulness and SEI.. Additionally, the study noted students’ perceived controllability and especially self-efficacy can enhance this relationship.
Can Audit Quality Predict Earnings Persistence?
Authors: Nguyen Vinh Khuong  , Nguyen Thanh Liem  , Tran Anh Tai
Published: July 2023

Research on the impact of audit quality on earnings persistence is of interest to managers, investors, and researchers. However, the results have been inconsistent. Therefore, this study was undertaken to examine the link between audit quality and earnings persistence with audit firm size as a measure of audit quality. Quantitative analysis was adopted to analyse a sample of 228 listed firms in the Vietnamese stock market between 2014 and 2017. Findings suggested that audit quality has a positive effect on earnings persistence. This trend was also true for firm size and cash ratio, while debt ratio and firm age negatively impacted earnings persistence. The research contributes to current literature by proposing viable solutions for functional government agencies, audit companies, and enterprise managers in improving the quality of auditing and information disclosed.
Features of the population structure of Fucus vesiculosus L. (Phaeophyceae) in different areas of the Murmansk coast of the Barents Sea, 2021
Authors: Malavenda S. V. , Nikulina V. D.
Published: July 2023

The age, size-mass and reproductive structure of the Fucus vesiculosus population in the areas of the Murmansk coast has been studied on boulder soils of the middle horizon of the littoral with weakened surf. In the studied areas characterized by different temperature conditions and the degree of anthropogenic impact the biomass of F. vesiculosus does not differ statistically significantly. The minimum population size has been found in the middle knee of the Kola Bay, the maximum – at the eastern stations. In the warmer Pechenga and Retinskaya Bays, receptacles form on thalli with more branching than in the Zelenetskaya and Yarnyshnaya Bays; thalli in western Murman have a lower age of appearance of receptacles. The linear dimensions of thalli and their mass do not differ in the studied areas. The beginning of zygote germination judging by the size of seedlings is the same on the entire coast. Maximum fertility is observed at the age of 2.5–3 years. Differences between the coenopopulations of F. vesiculosus in Western and Eastern Murman indicate the important role of climate in shaping the appearance of littoral vegetation. The current level of pollution in the Kola Bay has a negative impact on the survival of fucus seedlings, however, it can be concluded that the life span of thalli is high and the population is stable.
New species of freshwater bryozoans Plumatella sibirica (Phylactolaemata), Western Siberia (Russia)
Authors: Gontar V. I. , Sharapova T. A.
Published: July 2023

Western Siberia is the least studied region with respect to the distribution, ecology, and systematic composition of freshwater bryozoans. The collection of material on freshwater bryozoans of the West Siberian Plain was carried out as part of study of the zooperiphyton of the water bodies of the Tyumen region (including the Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Districts) in 1987–2016. As a result of the collected material analysis, description of a new species of phylactolemic bryozoans (Bryozoa) Plumatella sibirica has been presented. The new species has autozooids in the form of tubules with a rounded cross section. Phlotoblasts are oval, with slightly narrowed poles. Size and surface morphology of flotoblasts and sessoblasts distinguish the species from related species Plumatella repens (Linn?) and P. buschnelli (Wood). The maximum biomass of zooperiphyton in forest-tundra lakes has been noted in communities dominated by large colonies of Plumatella sibirica, where this bryozoan is the absolute dominant. In the course of further studies, a new species of bryozoans Plumatella sibirica may also be found in other regions of Siberia.
Even lighter particle dark matter
Authors: Chavarria Alvaro E.
Published: July 2023

We report on recent progress in the search for dark matter particles
with masses from 1 Mev c^{-2}−2
to 1 Gev c^{-2}−2.
Several dark matter candidates in this mass range are expected to
generate measurable electronic-recoil signals in direct-detection
experiments. We focus on dark matter particles scattering with electrons
in semiconductor detectors since they have fundamentally the highest
sensitivity due to their low ionization threshold. Charge-coupled device
(CCD) silicon detectors are the leading technology, with significant
progress expected in the coming years. We present the status of the CCD
program and briefly report on other efforts.
Directional dark matter searches
Authors: Baracchini Elisabetta
Published: July 2023

The importance of directly detect and experimentally probe the nature of Dark Matter (DM) is universally and incontrovertibly recognised as one of the most compelling tasks of today’s fundamental physics. Directional DM searches aim at developing experimental techniques that can give access to the measurement of the incoming direction of the DM particle. This can provide a correlation with an astrophysical source that no background whatsoever can mimic and offers an unique key for a positive, unambiguous identification of a DM signal.
Axions in the early universe
Authors: D'Eramo Francesco
Published: July 2023

The Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong CP problem provides a motivated framework rich in cosmological consequence. Thermal axion production is unavoidable if there is a thermal bath at early times. Scattering and decay processes of bath particles can dump relativistic axions in the primordial plasma, and they can leave observable signatures in cosmological observables probing both the early and the late universe if produced with a significant abundance. We present recent and significant improvements for the calculation of the axion production rate for different scenarios and apply these results to predict the abundance of produced axions. Finally, we provide updated cosmological bounds on the QCD axion mass.
The status of the galactic center gamma-ray excess
Authors: Hooper Dan
Published: July 2023

The Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess has a spectrum, angular distribution, and overall intensity that agree remarkably well with that expected from annihilating dark matter particles in the form of a m_X \simmX∼ 50 GeV thermal relic. Previous claims that these photons are clustered on small angular scales or trace the distribution of known stellar populations once appeared to favor interpretations in which this signal originates from a large population of unresolved millisecond pulsars. More recent work, however, has overturned these conclusions, finding that the observed gamma-ray excess does not contain discernible small scale power, and is distributed with approximate spherical symmetry, not tracing any known stellar populations. In light of these results, it now appears significantly more likely that the Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess is produced by annihilating dark matter.
Underground laboratories
Authors: Ianni Aldo
Published: July 2023

A brief review on underground laboratories at the time of IDM 2022 is reported. General characteristics of these research infrastructures are discussed and a few highlights from different laboratories are reported. The idea of networking between underground laboratories is discussed.
The low-energy spectrum in DAMIC at SNOLAB
Authors: Chavarria Alvaro E.
Published: July 2023

The DAMIC experiment employs large-area, thick charge-coupled devices (CCDs) to search for the interactions of low-mass dark matter particles in the galactic halo with silicon atoms in the CCD target. From 2017 to 2019, DAMIC collected data with a seven-CCD array (40-gram target) installed in the SNOLAB underground laboratory. We report dark-matter search results, including a conspicuous excess of events above the background model below 200V_{ee}Vee, whose origin remains unknown. We present details of the published spectral analysis, and update on the deployment of skipper CCDs to perform a more precise measurement by early 2023.
Reduction in radioactivity-induced backgrounds using a novel active veto detector for rare event search experiments
Authors: Chaudhuri Mouli , Jastram Andrew , Agnolet G. , Banik S. , Chen H. , Iyer Vijay , Kashyap Varchaswi K. S. , Kubik Andrew , Lee Matthew , Mahapatra Rupak , Maludze Sandro , Mirabolfathi Nader , Mishra Nityasa , Mohanty Bedangadas , Neog Himangshu , Platt Mark
Published: July 2023

The results of a newly developed annular cryogenic phonon-mediated active veto detector are discussed which shows a significant reduction of radioactivity-induced backgrounds in rare event search experiments. The veto detector is made up of germanium weighing ∼500 g with an outer diameter of 76 mm and an inner diameter of 28 mm. The detector can host a 25 mm diameter germanium inner target detector of mass ∼10 g. A GEANT4 simulation with the active veto and inner target detector shows a gamma background reduction of 50 - 80% which is further improved (> 90%) with 4pi veto coverage. Experimental measurements with the detector assembly agree well with the simulation.
Search for low mass WIMP dark matter with DarkSide-50
Authors: Kimura Masato
Published: July 2023

DarkSide-50 is a direct dark matter detection experiment at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso that uses argon as the target material. Exploiting the ionization signal from a dual-phase time projection chamber filled with low-radioactivity argon, it has set the most stringent exclusion limit on WIMPs with a mass of few \mathrm{GeV}/c^2GeV/c2. A new analysis has recently been carried out with a larger exposure, profiting from an improved understanding of the detector response and background model. An improvement of about a factor 10 in sensitivity is expected for a WIMP mass of 2 GeV/c^22.
Dialogical practices for imagined lines
Authors: O'Connor Michael
Published: July 2023

Imagined lines are proposed here as a phenomenon found in concepts, mental imagery, and metaphors. This essay has three parts to highlight the multimodality of imagined lines: a video, an audio track, and a written component. The writing introduces practices, frames the artistic works, and describes and considers the breadth of what an imagined line could be. The audio and video works give context to the writing and communicate in their medium the experience of imagined lines that appear in other modes. The body is used here as the starting point for examining its traces and how that helps us to understand ideas like straight, interference, and listening. This essay proposes that a closer examination of imagined lines can bring unrelated topics into proximity. Simultaneously, the work suggests there are benefits when paying attention to incorporating and using imagined lines in our thinking. By bringing what is often unnoticed into our awareness, we can make direct relationships between the intangible and tangible.
7 Abiku solos for 11 bacteria falling through
Authors: Pinheiro Flavia
Published: July 2023

This article explores the profound themes and conceptual framework of the performance installation, "7 Abiku solos for 11 bacteria falling through" which merges sounds, texts, images, and movement to engage the audience in an imaginative exploration of the unborn.
The work delves into the realms of mortality, wandering souls, and regimes of invisibility. It delves into an unacknowledged past, embodying a ghostly memory that represents a forbidden, mutilated, and foreign existence.The project is framed within an anti-colonial context, emphasizing a choreography of the struggling body as it seeks escape from hazardous environments and transcends borders. It embraces the choreography of contamination, celebrating fugitivity and displacement as transformative actions. With a transdisciplinary approach, the work aims to materialize and give shape to nonhegemonic voices and existences. It encourages the exploration of impossible choreographies and envisions alternative cosmological futures that address social, gender, and racial inequalities. This pursuit of a radical aesthetic shift fosters collaborative efforts to challenge prevailing power structures.
Assemblage and Non-Standard Aesthetics
Authors: Paulus Stefan
Published: July 2023

Deleuze and Guattari describe the body without organs as a frontier experience, as an enrichment, strata, and an assemblage of intensities. The body without organs is made through experimentation, sound production, haptic perception rather than interpretation, and visual perception, because ideas of the world, the visual are encoded and appropriated by the conceptual apparatus, by the territorial machine. At the heart of Laruelle's non-photography and his non-standard aesthetics is the attempt to withdraw onto-photo-logical causality from the visual, from object-forms. For this purpose, objects are to be considered as scientific discoveries and should be investigated using a generic science that uncovers indeterminants and scenarios. Therefore, this article discovers assemblages with the perspective of a non-standard aesthetic, to find not only in the audible material, but also in the visual material of video montages, double and multiple exposures, the non-onto-photo logical areas of perception of the organless, the imaginary, the darkening of concepts, the superpositions of experiences, and images without objects.
Public debt management and economic growth: A threshold regression approach
Authors: Ngoc Son Nguyen
Published: July 2023

This study deals with the impact of national debt on gross domestic product growth, which plays an essential role in economic development when the debt-to-GDP ratio achieves the optimal public debt ratio. The goal of this study is to comprehend the relationship between government debt and GDP growth, which becomes increasingly essential for economic development as the debt-to-GDP ratio approaches the optimal threshold of public debt. The study applied regression threshold models, unit roots, and Pearson correlation tests to the data collected in Vietnam from 2000 to 2020 to determine the optimum national debt-to-GDP threshold. The results show that the correlation between national debt-to-GDP and GDP growth was 85.2%. All the variables are stationary at the first difference and lag after one year, and the 38% threshold is the best level of national debt for GDP growth. This study contributes to the theoretical enhancement of the current knowledge of the factors that offer the Vietnamese government a point of reference for policy recommendations to control national debt successfully.
Organizational competitiveness in NGOs: An empirical study of Jordan
Authors: M. Alomari Khalid , Farajat Jihad , Alaodat Hamza
Published: July 2023

Non-governmental organizations form a vital part of the social fabric in contemporary societies. They provide services and support to marginalized groups, enhance advocacy and awareness of social and environmental issues, and influence public policies. Given the lack of studies on non-governmental organizations operating in Jordan, it is crucial to understand their situations and shed the light on their methods to gain a competitive advantage. This study aims to analyze the mediation and sequential moderation linking the advantages of dynamic capabilities, differentiated strategies, social capital, common goals, and organization learning to produce competitive advantage from the perspective of strategy and organizational capacity. The study sample consisted of 100 employees working in non-governmental organizations in Jordan, who were selected in a simple random way.The findings reveal the factors that can influence business competitiveness by developing dynamic capabilities, differential strategic effects, and accumulating social capital. The study supports the organizational idea of learning to compete by emphasizing internal management practices (e.g., common goals, purposes, and social capital) and external attributes (e.g., differential strategies and dynamic capabilities). Finally, Jordanian companies should improve the links between their social capital, common goals, and dynamic capabilities to become competitive.
AcknowledgmentThe study is funded by Alhussein Bin Talal University, fund decision (288/2022).
Identification and analysis of influencing factors on construction quality management for rural drinking water safety projects
Authors: Xu Shuitai , Chen Meiling , Zhou Yuhui , Wang Yabo
Published: July 2023

Exploring the influencing factors of construction quality management is the key to ensuring the quality of rural drinking water safety projects. Based on grounded theory, the influencing factors were identified and 65 relevant staff were selected by the objective sampling method for in-depth interviews to obtain the original data. In this study, 34 initial concepts, 18 main categories, and five core categories were collected and extracted for the rural drinking water project's safety engineering and construction quality management evaluation system. Furthermore, the incremental model of influencing factors on construction quality management performance of rural drinking water safety projects was established by the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory–Interpretive Structural Modeling (DEMATEL-ISM) model. Through calculation and analysis, the key influencing factors of construction quality management performance of rural drinking water safety projects were identified as controls on common quality problems, quality specification implementation, leadership level, acceptance management, design disclosure and modification, and human environment. Countermeasures and suggestions are proposed to improve the construction quality management performance of rural drinking water safety construction projects.
Puerto Lirquén y su descarbonización: Aplicando medidas de mitigación basado en la reconversión de equipamiento portuario a Hidrógeno verde
Authors: Gallegos Marco Antonio
Published: July 2023

Reducir los gases de efecto invernadero está dentro de los compromisos contraídos por Chile en el Acuerdo de París (2015), por lo que la contaminación de los puertos es uno de los aspectos que resolver para cumplir este tratado internacional. El presente trabajo pretende integrar a la matriz energética de DP World Puerto Lirquén el Hidrógeno verde como combustible, considerando para esto: 1) sustituir las grúas horquillas que utilizan diésel por unidades con motorización eléctrica, alimentadas con pilas de Hidrógeno como combustible, 2) fomentar el uso de Hidrógeno verde en remolcadores que prestan servicios en DP World Puerto Lirquén, a través de reconversión de motores diésel a combustión dual, 3) asegurar suministro de Hidrógeno verde instalando una planta de electrólisis para abastecer equipos portuarios y 4) generar externalidades positivas en la población, las que se verían reflejadas en la educación y capacitación en conceptos de energías limpias y el significado de la reducción de gases de efecto invernadero. Para lo anterior, se desarrollan cuatro aspectos principales; análisis técnico, económico, ambiental y social, finalizando con una conclusión de los resultados de estos análisis y su viabilidad.
Prebiotics and Postbiotics for Anticancer Immunity
Authors: Kumar Singh Gireesh , Singh Ravi Bhushan , Shakya Anshul
Published: July 2023

Cancer remains a daunting task for clinicians and scientists. Many scientists
across the globe are toiling in their labs to find an effective and safe treatment modality
for cancer. Although significant stride has been achieved in the field of cancer
treatment, and millions of precious lives have been saved using available therapeutic
strategies, viz. chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologics and surgical intervention.
However, the search for the panacea for cancer is still not over, and new dimensions
are being constantly explored. Maneuvering the immune system for controlling and
treating cancer is a new fascinating field, and rigorous researches are underway. The
importance of anticancer immunity as a promising treatment approach has been
recognised even by the Nobel Prize Authority and James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo
were jointly awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their
revolutionary research in cancer immunotherapy. This chapter discusses the different
aspects of immune system response vis a vis cancer development and strategies to
manipulate the immune system through prebiotics and postbiotics to control and cure
the different types of cancer. Prebiotics and postbiotics are being explored extensively
for their role in modifying disease progression and control of cancer. Prebiotics and
postbiotics are considered safe alternatives to manipulate the immune system in order
to get therapeutic benefits for cancer.
Business Model Canvas Training for High School Students in Malang Raya
Authors: Hussein Ananda Sabil , Hapsari Raditha
Published: July 2023

Indonesia's current entrepreneurship ratio is relatively low compared to other countries, indicating the need for initiatives to encourage entrepreneurial skills among the youth. This research aims to address the need for increased entrepreneurship in Indonesia, particularly among high school students in the Malang Raya region. The implementation of the community service project has successfully provided valuable entrepreneurship training to high school and vocational students, equipping them with essential knowledge and practical applications of entrepreneurship. The comprehensive training material has ignited enthusiasm and cultivated a strong interest among the participants to engage in entrepreneurial activities. By promoting an entrepreneurial mindset and imparting business strategies, including the Business Model Canvas, the training has accelerated students' understanding and education. Future research should explore different pedagogical approaches in entrepreneurship training, conduct longitudinal studies to track students' progress, and address specific challenges faced by high school and vocational students in starting and running their own businesses. By considering these research directions, entrepreneurship education can be further enhanced, leading to more effective training programs and support for young aspiring entrepreneurs in Malang Raya.
Ultrasonic Powder Atomization for Additive Manufacturing
Authors: Halapi David , Varga László
Published: July 2023

The following article presents a special case of metal powder production, ultrasonic metal atomization. In this case, ultrasound technology is based on the capillary wave phenomenon. We verify the suitability of the produced powders for 3D metal printing with various tests. In the case of prints with a metal powder bed fusion (PBF), the properties of the raw material of the powder are extremely important. The main results of the tests carried out in the article (SEM images, EDS composition analysis, sieve analysis) were described.
Formulation and phytochemical analysis of a potentially functional beverage from combining a leaf extract and pulp of Annona muricata (Annonaceae)
Authors: Nolasco-González Yolanda , García-Magaña María de Lourdes , León-Fernández Andrés Eloy , Monribot-Villanueva Juan L. , Guerrero-Analco José A. , Montalvo González Efigenia
Published: July 2023

Background and Aims: Annona muricata beverages are widely used in traditional medicine to treat different ailments; however, they have been little characterized phytochemically and are consumed as sugary beverages, and may contribute to non-communicable diseases, including obesity. The objective of this work was to obtain and characterize a sensorially acceptable beverage from an extract of A. muricata leaves and pulp. Methods: A mixture design was used to formulate nine beverages by combining different ratios of the aqueous extract of A. muricata leaves and pulp. These beverages were subjected to physicochemical and sensory evaluation. Based on these results, one beverage was selected to be characterized by spectrophotometry and compared with an infused and commercial beverage. In addition, the selected beverage was further analyzed for its phytochemical composition by ultra-high-performance chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array detector. Key results: The selected beverage was formulated with 25% pulp, 50% leaf extract, and 25% water; it also displayed a 7.63 °Brix, pH 3.42, and 0.40% acidity. This beverage was up to three times higher in bioactive compounds than infused and commercial beverages. Fourteen phenolic compounds and two acetogenins were quantified, while two alkaloids (coclaurine and reticuline) and fifteen acetogenins were tentatively identified. Conclusions: The combination of A. muricata leaf extract and pulp is a vital alternative to obtain a sensorially acceptable beverage that contains bioactive compounds with a potential medicinal action since the phenolic compounds, alkaloids, and acetogenins present in the beverage could have efficient biological activities in the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases.
Increased KCNN4 Expression Is Correlated With Poor Survival in Lower Grade Glioma
Authors: LEHRER STEVEN , RHEINSTEIN PETER H.
Published: July 2023

Background/Aim: Networks of glioma cells are linked to small groups of pacemaker cells in which levels of calcium ions pulse periodically, driving a signal through the network that causes tumor growth. Using inhibitors, one study blocked the activity of the Ca2+ activated potassium-channel protein KCa3.1 in in vitro models and mice, preventing the proliferation of glioma cells and tumor expansion. Marked reduction of tumor cell viability occurred within the entire network, as well as reduced tumor growth in mice and extended animal survival. Materials and Methods: KCa3.1 is encoded by the gene potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily N member 4 (KCNN4) on the chromosomal location 19q13.31. We used the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to evaluate the effect of KCNN4 on human glioma survival in the TCGA Lower Grade Glioma (LGG) dataset. Results: In humans, KCNN4 is prognostic in glioma; high expression is unfavorable. In addition, KCNN4 copy number variations are prognostic. Increased masked copy number segments are unfavorable in lower grade glioma. KCNN4 is lost in gliomas with the 1p 19q co-deletion, which may explain in part the comparatively favorable prognosis of 1p 19q co-deletion tumors. Conclusion: Our finding of increased KCNN4 expression related to poor survival in human lower grade glioma suggests that developing novel therapies, such as KCa3.1-inhibiting drugs, might be worthwhile.
A Narrative Review of the TP53 and Its Product the p53 Protein
Authors: Foroutan Behzad
Published: July 2023

The main purpose of this paper was to generate a narrative review related to the current knowledge of the TP53 gene and its product, the p53 protein. It was also attempted to elucidate the different p53 reactivation strategies of great interest, as various small molecules are being studied to reactivate mutant p53. PubMed and ScienceDirect were searched for p53, mutant p53, and wild-type p53 limited by the title filter through the end of 2022. The collected articles were studied, evaluated and summarized. In the short (p) arm of chromosome 17, there is a special place for TP53. (17p.13.1). It is made up of 19,180 bp, which includes thirteen exons, (elevem exons, two alternative exons), and ten introns. TP53 is mutated in most types of human cancers resulting in aggressive cancer proliferation, immune system evasion, genomic instability, invasion, and metastasis. Under stress-free conditions, p53 function is negatively regulated by HDM2, a p53 target gene, which binds to it and establishes an auto-regulatory negative feedback loop that promotes proteasomal-dependent degradation. In these conditions, p53 maintains at low levels and normalizes biological operations as the master regulator of cell fate. However, under conditions of stress such as DNA damage, hypoxia, oxidative stress, oncogene expression, nutrient deprivation, ribosomal dysfunction, or telomere attrition the p53 selection pathway will be cell type-specific and depend on the type and severity of the cell damage. Post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation and acetylation, which induce the expression of p53 target genes, contribute to the p53 selection pathway. In these conditions, p53 tetramerized and stabilized in the nucleus and activated, and its levels increased in the cell due to blocking the interaction with MDM2. Valuable findings have been discovered that elucidate the biological, biochemical, immunological, physiological, and pathological roles of p53 and its fundamental roles in cancer biology and genetics. The information gathered here should contribute to a better understanding of the impact of p53 deregulation on cancer and new research aimed at finding new anticancer strategies capable of reactivating the cancer suppressive function of WT and/or blocking the function of mutant p53 in order to improve cancer therapy and prognosis.
Prognostic index of hypertensive cardiopathy evolutionary changes: from mild diastolic dysfunction to depressed systolic function.
Authors: Álvarez-Aliaga Alexis , Naranjo Flores Liannys Lidia , Suárez-Quesada Alexis , Salvador del Llano-Sosa David , Quesada Vázquez Andrés José , Frómeta Guerra Adonis
Published: July 2023

Hypertensive cardiopathy is a variable and complex group of effects that can provoke a chronic elevation of arterial pressure in the heart. Its morbidity and mortality are increasing. To evaluate the capacity of an index based on prognostic factors to predict the evolution of hypertensive cardiopathy with mild diastolic dysfunction to depressed systolic function. We carried out a prospective cohort study in patients with hypertensive cardiopathy, followed at the specialized arterial hypertension physician's office of the Specialty Policlinic attached to "Carlos Manuel de Céspedes" General University Hospital, Bayamo Municipality, Granma Province, Cuba. The period evaluated was from Jan 1, 2008, to Dec 31, 2021. The patients followed had at least four appointments per year. Index internal validity. The mean values of the proposed index were twice as high in patients with hypertensive heart disease with depressed systolic function (mean: 11.05; p= 0.000) than in those who did not develop it. The optimal cutpoint was seven (sensitivity: 92.2 {IC: 88.94 to 95.42}; specificity: 86.7 {IC: 81.67 to 87.17}; validity index 86.7 {IC: 84.55 to 88.85}). External validity. The index showed excellent discriminative ability (area under the ROC curve of 0.954), and the calibration was adequate (Hosmer and Lemeshow: X2= 3.485; p= 0.900). The index obtained for the prognosis of hypertensive cardiopathy evolutionary changes from normal ejection fraction to cardiac insufficiency with reduced ejection fraction has an adequate predictive capacity and calibration, as well as accuracy and reliability.

Keywords: hypertension, hypertensive cardiopathy, prognostic factors, prognostic index.
Production of nanobodies in Andean camelids and their most common applications: A general review in the medical field.
Authors: Ortega C. P. , Rivera L. M. , Trujillo L. E.
Published: July 2023

The heavy chain fraction present in Camelidae antibodies is so-called nanobodies. They have different characteristics when compared to immunoglobulin G, like more diminutive size, higher affinity, shorter half-life in serum, etc. These proteins are codified by B lymphocytes cDNAs and can be produced in different hosts like Escherichia Coli, Pichia Pastoris, plant cells and even insect cells. Andean camelids have been mainly used in the Andean region of South America as transport means and source of raw materials like fibers and meat, then being of great economic importance. However, in Ecuador, the potential of these animals as a source of biomedical products has not been investigated or exploited yet. Due to the scarce information related to these molecules and their industrial production in the country, this review aims to remark on the most common medical application of nanobodies produced from Andean camelids; also, industrial applications are described.

Keywords: Cancer, Coronavirus, VHH, production, treatment, diagnosis.
The problem associated with tuberculosis in cattle and how this is being addressed
Authors: Zuniga Sanchez Roxana , Sanchez Ramos Oliberto , Camacho Frank
Published: July 2023

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis that primarily infects cattle but has a wide range of hosts. It represents a global health problem affecting the livestock industry tremendously, with economic losses of about 3 billion annually. Dairy cattle produce a decline of 10% in terms of liters of milk produced and 5% in the meat industry because of live weight loss and seized carcasses in abattoirs. The core of the current control measures implemented in most countries against bTB is based on the diagnosis with tuberculin skin test (TST) and culling of infected animals. Unfortunately, control programs have failed to eradicate the disease since no vaccine protects cattle from infection.

Moreover, the strain of M. bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin, BCG used as a vaccine for human tuberculosis, interferes with surveillance tools. Nowadays, most researchers have been working on improving the efficacy of BCG through a prime-boost strategy that involves a first immunization with BCG and a booster with different types of vaccines. A less explored approach by experts has been the development of a new vaccine that only includes some protective antigens of M. bovis that should be absent ot in low representation in TST. On the other hand, because TST precludes implementation of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine–based control programs, several investigations have been carried out to replace the TST with a DIVA test that allows to differentiation infected from vaccinated animals. In this review, most of the studies cited agree that without an effective vaccine and a compatible diagnosis, no program for eradication would be successful against tuberculosis in cattle.

Keywords: bovine tuberculosis; bTB; Mycobacterium bovis; diagnosis; tuberculin skin test, TST, bPPD; vaccines, DIVA.
Peer Review of “The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Lineages (Variants) and COVID-19 Vaccination on the COVID-19 Epidemic in South Africa: Regression Study” (Preprint)
Authors:   Anonymous
Published: July 2023

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