bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How social support affects depression in college students: a moderated mediating effect
Authors: Zhang Junliang , Wan Chuangang , Zheng Shuang , Shen Ruiqing
Published: May 2024

Objective
To investigate how rumination influences the relationship between depression among college students and social support, and to test the moderating effect of gender differences on this basis.
Methods
A questionnaire survey was conducted using random cluster sampling method to select college students from several colleges and universities in Jiangxi and Zhejiang regions, and SPSS 26.0 was used for regression analysis and PROCESS plug-in for the construction of a moderated mediation model.
Results
Rumination partially mediated the association between social support and depression (indirect impact β = 0.68, P < 0.01);Social support adversely predicted depression in college students (β=-0.40, P < 0.001); and gender moderated the direct pathway of social support on college students' depression.Compared to male college students, female students were more likely to experience depression if they had lower amounts of social support.
Conclusion
Social support influenced college students' depression through the mediation of rumination thinking and the moderation of gender.
A Text Classification Method by Integrating Mobile Inverted Residual Bottleneck Convolution Networks and Capsule Networks with Adaptive Feature Channels
Authors: Jin Tao , Liu Jiaming
Published: May 2024

This study proposes a novel text classification model, MBConv-CapsNet, to address large-scale text data classification issues in the Internet era. Integrating the advantages of Mobile Inverted Bottleneck Convolutional Networks and Capsule Networks, this model comprehensively considers text sequence information, word embeddings, and contextual dependencies to capture both local and global information about the text effectively. It transforms from the original text matrix to a more compact and representative feature representation. A Capsule Network is designed to adaptively adjust the importance of different feature channels, including N-gram convolutional layers, selective kernel network layers, primary capsule layers, convolutional capsule layers, and fully connected capsule layers, aiming to enhance the model’s ability to capture semantic information of text across different feature channels. The use of the sparsemax function instead of the softmax function for dynamic routing within the Capsule Network directs the network’s focus more on capsules contributing significantly to the final output, reducing the impact of noise and redundant information, and further improving the classification performance. Experimental validation on multiple publicly available text classification datasets demonstrates significant performance improvements of the proposed method in binary classification, multi-classification, and multi-label text classification tasks, exhibiting better generalization capability and robustness.
Power Testing of Graphical Methods for identification of Outliers in Poisson Regression Model
Authors: Hussain Zawar , Akbar Atif , Nafisah Ibrahim , Almazah Mohammed M. A. , Alshahrani Mohammed
Published: May 2024

This paper investigates the structure and utility of partial residual (PRES), augmented partial residual (APRES), and conditional expectation and residuals (CERES) plots for visualising influence diagnostics as a function of chosen predictors in the context of generalised linear models (GLMs). Here, predictor transformation is used to analyse Poisson regression as GLM, and PRES, APRES, and CERES plots are created. Due to the behaviour of the response variable and the linked link function with various variables, these plots' effectiveness in creating a strong visual impression may vary. In comparison to other approaches, PRES, CERES (L), and CERES (K) exhibit the highest power for influence diagnostics, according to the power of the tests for various plots.
Natural product Swietenine improve the progression of diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting ferroptosis through activation of the Akt/GSK-3β/Nrf2 signaling pathway
Authors: Lu Mengyuan , Duan Jingyu , Liu Shuang , Deng Wenhao , Pei Feilong , Liu Yaowu , Zhang Chunping
Published: May 2024

Background
Ferroptosis is a newly defined form of iron dependent regulatory cell death distinct from apoptosis, autophagy, and necrosis, characterized by an abnormal increase in intracellular lipid reactive oxygen species. Diabetes nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common complications of diabetes and the most common cause of end-stage renal disease. Recent studies have shown that ferroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy. Swietenine belongs to the limonin class of compounds, which are extracted from the the Swietenia macrophylla King, a plant of the genus Swietenia, family Meliaceae King and have not been artificially synthesized to date. It is a natural product with a variety of pharmacological activities such as anti diabetes, improving inflammation, anti-oxidation, anti-bacterial, anti-tumor, etc. However, it is unclear whether Swietenine can improve diabetes nephropathy by inhibiting the occurrence of ferroptosis in glomerular podocytes (MPC-5) and its potential mechanism.
Objective
This study investigated the natural product Swi through Akt/GSK-3β/Nrf2 signaling pathway inhibits MPC-5 ferroptosis and improves diabetes nephropathy in the process of diabetes.
Method
In vivo, 8-week-old SD rats were induced with STZ/HFD to investigate the effect of Swi on improving DN and resisting ferroptosis. In vitro, the inhibitory effects of Swi on MPC-5 death. By giving verify the activation effect of Akt/GSK-3β/Nrf2 signaling pathway related inhibitors on downstream anti ferroptosis related proteins.
Results
In this study, Swi treatment improved renal injury in DN rats, which was proved by renal function related indexes, histopathological parameters and podocyte damage protein. In addition, Swi inhibited ferroptosis in vivo. Swi improved HG-induced MPC-5 cell viability, inhibited ferroptosis in MPC-5 cells. Swi inhibits ferroptosis by activating the Akt/GSK-3β/Nrf2 signaling pathway, which promotes the expression of downstream anti-ferroptosis related proteins.
Conclusion
Our research findings suggest for the first time that it may be through a new Akt/GSK-3β/Nrf2 dependent ferroptosis regulates the signaling pathway, thereby reducing the level of high glucose induced ferroptosis and improving diabetes nephropathy, which is expected to become a promising candidate drug for the treatment of diabetes
Modeling Spongy Moth Forest Mortality in Rhode Island Temperate Deciduous Forest
Authors: Dumarevskaya Liubov , Parent Jason R.
Published: May 2024

Invasive pests cause major ecological and economic damages to forests around the world. Satellite imagery is an important tool for monitoring defoliation at broad scales, but environmental conditions can affect whether defoliation leads to mortality. In this study, we modeled forest mortality resulting from a 2015-2017 Spongy moth outbreak in the temperate deciduous forests of Rhode Island (northeastern U.S.). We used Landsat-based defoliation mapping and geospatial environmental data with Random Forest to model mortality severity of canopy trees at a 100 m spatial resolution.
Defoliation was mapped based on declines in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in outbreak years compared to baseline NDVI from pre-outbreak years. Other predictors included geospatial data representing soil characteristics, drought condition, and forest characteristics as well as proximity to coast, development, and water. The Random Forest tool in Python Sklearn was used to model forest mortality with 2 classes (low/high) and 3 classes (low/med/high). The best models had overall accuracies of 82% and 65% for the 2-class and 3-class models, respectively. The most important predictors of forest mortality were defoliation, distance to coast, and canopy cover. Soils and topography had minimal importance in the models possibly due to limitations of the data and limited variability within our study area. Repeated defoliations were relatively rare during the outbreak. Model performance improved only slightly with the inclusion of more than 3 variables. The models classified 35% of forests as having canopy mortality > 5 trees/ha and 21% of Rhode Island forests having mortality >11 trees/ha. The study shows the benefit of Random Forest models that use both defoliation maps and geospatial environmental data for classifying forest mortality.
Estimation of mutual information via quantum kernel methods
Authors: Maeda Yota , Tezuka Hiroyuki , Kawaguchi Hideaki
Published: May 2024

Recently, the importance of analyzing data and collecting valuable insight efficiently has been increasing in various fields.
Estimating mutual information~(MI) plays a critical role in investigating the relationship among multiple random variables with a nonlinear correlation.
Particularly, the task to determine whether they are independent or not is called the independence test, whose core subroutine is estimating MI from given data.
It is a fundamental tool in statistics and data analysis that can be applied in a wide range of applications such as hypothesis testing, causal discovery and more.
In this paper, we propose a method for estimating mutual information using the quantum kernel.
We investigate the performance under various problem settings, such as different sample sizes or the shape of the probability distribution.
As a result, the quantum kernel method showed higher performance than the classical one under the situation that the number of samples is small, the variance is large or the variables possess highly non-linear relationships.
We discuss this behavior in terms of the central limit theorem and the structure of the corresponding quantum reproducing kernel Hilbert space.
Effect of pore characteristics on the dielectric constant of wood: considering the Moisture content and Frequency change
Authors: Qin Ruixia , Xu Huadong , Guo Jiaxing , Wang Peng , Yang Kang
Published: May 2024

Electromagnetic waves are gradually used in wood inspection and treatment. Three important parameters need to be considered in the application of this method, including moisture content (MC), porosity, and dielectric constant (ε), which affect the effectiveness of the application of electromagnetic waves, and these parameters can interact with each other. This study’s objective is to elucidate the effect and mechanism of porosity on the ε of wood with different MCs (absolute dry to saturated) in the frequency(f) range of 1 Hz-107 Hz. The pore parameters of four wood species are obtained by mercury piezometer and optical microscope, and the ε of wood with different MCs is obtained by dielectric spectrometer. The results indicate that the effect of porosity on the ε of wood needs to consider both f and MC. Relationship between porosity and ε of absolute dry wood shows opposite patterns in different f bands. When f ≤ 200 Hz, the porosity is positively correlated with ε. When f > 200 Hz, the porosity is negatively correlated with ε. However, the effect of f on the ε with the increase of MC is complicated. When f is low, the correlation among MC, porosity and ε is not significant, and as the f increases, the relationship between MC and ε becomes linear, and the growth rate of ε is large for wood with small porosity. The results of this study provide a reference for use of ε to detect wood pore characteristics and MC.
Cylinder wake flow in confined channel and its active control by sweeping jets
Authors: Song Jinsheng , Qiu Zihao , Liu Yingzheng , Wen Xin
Published: May 2024

The wake dynamics of the flow past a confined circular cylinder and its active control by sweeping jets (SWJs) and steady jets (SJs) positioned at the front stagnation points were experimentally investigated using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and pressure measurements. Experiments were conducted across a range of Reynolds numbers (Re) from 10,000 to 45,000 and blockage ratios (β) of \(1/2\), \(1/3\), \(1/4\), and \(1/5\). A comprehensive comparison between the current results and existing literature on natural flow dynamics fills the knowledge gap and reveals that confinement gradually reduces the time-average pressure coefficient (C_p) and increases the drag coefficient (\({C}_{D}\)) and Strouhal number (St). The interaction between the wake and wall shear layer gradually increased as \(\beta\) increased. Both SWJs and SJs effectively suppressed wake fluctuations, and the statistical characteristics of the flow field and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) analysis indicated a consistent flow control mechanism between the two methods. However, the SJs introduced external fluctuations and unbalanced forces in the forward flow field, resulting in a wake flow asymmetry. By contrast, SWJs provide more uniform control and superior flow control effectiveness and efficiency.
Factors affecting the innovativeness of new drugs: Analysis of first-in-class drugs
Authors: Jung Soon Kyu , Yang Dong-Wook , Lee Sang-Won
Published: May 2024

Purpose: Analyzing how the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designates first-in-class drugs, which is an indicator of the innovativeness of new drugs, is fundamental to promoting innovative research in the pharmaceutical industry. In this study, we identify the factors that influence the approval of first-in-class drugs by the US FDA.
Methods: Datasets of new drugs approved by the US FDA between 2010 and 2022 were constructed using the EvaluatePharma database and Cortellis Competitive Intelligence. Using the set of drugs (n = 484) approved by the US FDA, we performed logistics regression analyses to identify the factors associated with the innovativeness of the new molecular entities. Molecular type, orphan drug status, disease, pharmacological action, drug target, firm size, country of developer, and drug development strategy were used as independent variables in the analyses. In addition, we examined differences over time.
Results: We identified statistically significant differences relating to antibody biologics, orphan drugs, oncology drugs, protein targets, self-originated or in-licensed strategy of US companies, and the acquisition strategy of non-US companies in the approval of first-in-class drugs. These effects differed in the two periods studied: after 2017 and before 2016.
Conclusion: By identifying the factors that influence the innovativeness of new drugs, pharmaceutical companies can develop strategies for developing innovative new drugs, and policymakers can gain insights into how to promote innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.
TOPCOAT: Towards Practical Two-Party Crystals-Dilithium
Authors: Snetkov Nikita , Vakarjuk Jelizaveta , Laud Peeter
Published: May 2024

The development of threshold protocols based on lattice-signature schemes has been of increasing interest in the past several years. The main research focus was towards protocols constructed for various variants of Crystals-Dilithium, future NIST digital signature standard known as ML-DSA. In this work, we propose TOPCOAT, a two-party lattice-based signature algorithm that embodies Dilithium's compression techniques. The aforesaid result is achieved by introducing a new hinting mechanism that allows parties to collaboratively calculate $\textsf{HighBits}$. Our hinting mechanism allows public key compression similar to Dilithium. Additionally, we suggest an optimization technique to minimize number of restarts both parties need to produce a valid signature. We prove security of our scheme under MLWE and MSIS assumptions in ROM, and provide implementation of our proposed scheme. As additional contribution, we present vulnerabilities and inconsistencies found in Liu et al. work which aimed to construct distributed lattice-based signature protocol.
Urbanization as a causal agent of changes in mutualistic networks between bees and plants
Authors: Graf Letícia Vanessa , Meyer Fabrício Schmitz , Jeronimo Fernando Fortunato , Gonçalves Rodrigo Barbosa
Published: May 2024

Urbanization is a major driver of species declines, which consequently also depletes the ecological interactions in which they participate. Plant-pollinator networks are the basis of ecosystem productivity, so the breakdown of these relationships has far-reaching ecological implications across multiple levels. Given the considerable potential of network studies to enhance our understanding of community ecology, here we aim to understand how urbanization affects plant-bee interactions and the topological structure of its network. Our study focused on a database of plant-bee interactions across ten sites within an urban gradient in southern Brazil. Data was collected by sampling bees in flowers with an entomological net over a period of ten months between 2017 and 2018. We examined two landscape variables associated with urbanization, vegetation cover and landscape diversity, to assess their influence on some species metrics (specialization – d'; among and within module connectivity – c and z) and network metrics (specialization – H2'; modularity – ΔQ; nestedness – NODF). We found no relationship between the urbanization variables and the species metrics. On the other hand, sites with lower landscape diversity presented more specialized, modular and nestedness networks. In these sites, bees shared fewer resources, showed more compartmentalized networks, and had fewer interactions among specialized species. This study highlights the importance of considering landscape diversity and its role in shaping ecological networks, particularly in urbanized environments.
A Case of Sarcoidosis Associated with Capecitabine
Authors: Birel Fatma Didem , Arslan Büşra Babahanoğlu , Argüder Emine
Published: May 2024

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease of unknown cause with multiorgan involvement, characterized by a noncaseating granulomatous reaction. There are four groups of drugs that have been associated with the development of drug-induced sarcoid-like reactions. These are immune checkpoint inhibitors, highly active antiretroviral drugs, interferons and tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists. A case of sarcoidosis due to capecitabine in a patient with colorectal cancer has previously been reported in the literature. Here, we aimed to present a case of sarcoidosis that developed after adjuvant capecitabine treatment in a patient diagnosed with breast cancer.
Role of Local Level Stakeholders in Adapting to Emerging Natech Risks Due to Climate Change in the Selangor River Basin, Malaysia
Authors: Yahaya Nurul Syazwani , Pereira Joy Jacqueline , Taha Mohd Raihan , Yaacob Wan Zuhairi Wan
Published: May 2024

Climate change has been linked to the aggravation of environmental degradation but adaptation measures to address local emerging issues are limited. Developing countries with growing industrial activities may be especially vulnerable to emerging pollution risk due to climate change. This paper investigates adaptation plans and the role of local stakeholders in addressing industrial pollution under the impacts of climate change. National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) submitted by selected countries in the Asia Pacific to the UNFCCC were initially analysed to determine the status of local-level measures. This was followed by semi-structured interviews with stakeholders exposed to floods and coastal inundation in an industrial area of the Selangor River Basin, Malaysia, to determine preparedness towards emerging risks. The findings revealed that NAPs do not explicitly address adaptation towards emerging risks of industrial pollution due to climate change. However, there are several potential entry points that can be used to incorporate this dimension. Interviews with stakeholders in a small coastal industrial area within the Selangor River Basin established that although 30% of the respondents have already been affected by floods or coastal inundation, less than 10% are prepared for emerging risks. This study provides insights for formulating local-level adaptation strategies to emerging climate and pollution risks, especially in developing nations with limited resources and capacity.
Simulation of the impact of humidity on the species generated by a one-dimensional discharge of helium gas.
Authors: Mehrabifard Ramin , soltani zahra , rezaie fatemeh , hatami mohammad mohsen , soltani hamed
Published: May 2024

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has several applications in different fields. One of these fundamental applications is medical usages, where various methods are employed to improve the plasma treatment process. The combination of different gases is one of the important strategies to improve the performance of plasma in treatment. In this paper, the optimized plasma parameters for one-dimensional radiofrequency discharge produced at low pressures in a helium gas combination is studied. In this research, the optimal combination of H2O and He is identified to attain the highest amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Considered mixture are 5,10,15 and 20 precent of H2O for one dimensional helium gas discharge. The results show that the parameters of the output plasma are highly dependent on the composition of the input gases. It is found that the greatest concentrations of H+, He+, Hes (excited helium), and OH/densities are observed when the H2O percentage is 10%. Moreover, the density distributions of various species and the temperatures of electrons are numerically calculated during the electrical discharge process. These findings provide useful knowledge on how to optimize plasma parameters for biomedical applications, which may lead to improved treatment results in several therapeutic areas.
Alzheimer's Disease Investigated via Gene-Environment Interactions, Biochemical Pathways, Cellular Processes, and Disease Phenotype Variability
Authors: Shafi Viqas , Siddiqui Ifrah
Published: May 2024

Background:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder influenced by genetic and environmental factors. APOE, APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, CLU, SORL1, BIN1, CR1, PICALM, TREM2, ABCA7, and CD33 play key roles in AD pathogenesis, affecting biochemical pathways and cellular processes. However, the interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental factors, as well as the reasons for variability in disease phenotype, remain poorly understood. This study aims to investigate these interactions to improve our understanding of AD etiology and inform personalized interventions.
Methods:
A comprehensive search encompassing databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and open access/subscription-based journals was conducted to retrieve relevant articles for the investigation of genes involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, including APOE, APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, CLU, SORL1, BIN1, CR1, PICALM, TREM2, ABCA7, and CD33. Articles were searched without any date restrictions. Utilizing the criteria delineated in the methodology section, studies were systematically reviewed to elucidate how environmental factors and genetics influence Alzheimer's disease onset, progression, symptom severity, and progression rates. This study adheres to relevant PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses).
Results:
Our investigation revealed the complicated interactions between genetic predisposition, environmental factors, biochemical pathways, and cellular processes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. APOE, APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, CLU, SORL1, BIN1, CR1, PICALM, TREM2, ABCA7, and CD33 influence amyloid-beta production, tau pathology, lipid metabolism, and inflammation in AD. These genes interact with environmental factors such as diet, pollutants, head trauma, and lifestyle, modulating disease risk and progression. Additionally, we found variability in disease phenotype among individuals carrying similar genetic mutations, influenced by genetic modifiers, environmental factors, cognitive reserve, and neurobiological differences.
Conclusion:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial disorder influenced by genetic and environmental factors. APOE, APP, PSEN1, PSEN2, CLU, SORL1, BIN1, CR1, PICALM, TREM2, ABCA7, and CD33 play critical roles in AD pathogenesis by affecting amyloid-beta production, tau pathology, lipid metabolism, and inflammation. These genes interact with environmental factors such as diet, pollutants, head trauma, and lifestyle, further modulating disease risk and progression. Understanding these complicated interactions is essential for developing personalized interventions to delay onset, reduce severity, and slow AD progression.
Patterns of health workforce turnover and retention in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in remote communities of the Northern Territory and Western Australia, 2017-2019
Authors: Veginadu Prabhakar , Russell Deborah J , Zhao Yuejen , Guthridge Steve , Ramjan Mark , Jones Michael P , Mathew Supriya , Fitts Michelle S , Murakami-Gold Lorna , Campbell Narelle , Tangey Annie , Boffa John , Rossingh Bronwyn , Schultz Rosalie , Humphreys John , Wakerman John
Published: May 2024

Background
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) in Australia aim to optimise access to comprehensive and culturally safe primary health care (PHC) for Aboriginal populations. Central to quality service provision is the retention of staff. However, there is lack of published research reporting patterns of staff turnover and retention specific to ACCHSs. This study quantified staff turnover and retention in regional and remote ACCHSs in the Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA), and examined correlations between turnover and retention metrics, and ACCHSs’ geographical and demographic characteristics.
Methods
The study used 2017-2019 payroll data for health workers in 22 regional and remote PHC clinics managed by 11 ACCHSs. Primary outcome measures included annual turnover and 12-month stability rates, calculated at both clinic and organisation levels.
Results
There was a median of 5 client-facing (Aboriginal health practitioners, allied health professionals, doctors, nurses/midwives, and ‘other health workers’ combined) and 2 non-client-facing (administrative and physical) staff per remote clinic, at any time point. Mean annual turnover rates for staff were very high, with 151% turnover rates at the clinic-level and 81% turnover rates at the organisation-level. Mean annual turnover rates for client-facing staff were 164% and 75%, compared to 120% and 98% for non-client-facing staff, at clinic and organisational levels, respectively. Mean 12-month stability rates were low, with clinic-level stability rates of only 49% and organisation-level stability rates of 58%. Mean annual clinic-level turnover rates were 162% for non-Aboriginal staff and 81% for Aboriginal staff. Both workforce metrics were moderately to highly correlated with the relative remoteness of clinics, size of regular clients serviced, and average annual headcount of employees in each clinic (p values <0.01).
Conclusion
Participating ACCHSs in remote NT and WA have a very high turnover and low retention of healthcare staff. Overall, clinic-level turnover rates tend to be lower for Aboriginal staff and increase as distance from regional centres increases. These staffing patterns are likely to impose an untoward burden on ACCHSs’ resources, and may also affect quality of service delivery due to lack of continuity of care.
Higher Performance of Mistral Large on MMLU Benchmark through Two-Stage Knowledge Distillation
Authors: Wilkins Jessica , Rodriguez Michael
Published: May 2024

Large language models (LLM) have undergone significant transformations through the application of knowledge distillation techniques aimed at enhancing performance on complex benchmarks like the MMLU. The research detailed herein introduces a novel two-stage distillation process designed to refine the capabilities of Mistral Large, resulting in marked improvements in both accuracy and contextual understanding. Initially, the model undergoes a teacher-student training phase where a high-performing teacher model imparts its knowledge to a less complex student model, utilizing both soft and hard target training methods to optimize knowledge transfer. This is followed by a specialized refinement stage where the student model is further fine-tuned on tasks that require advanced cognitive skills, specifically tailored to the challenges presented by the MMLU benchmark. Quantitative results indicate a substantial increase in accuracy across various tasks within the benchmark, while qualitative analyses show enhanced linguistic sophistication and contextual relevance in the model's responses. Comparisons with baseline models confirm that the distilled Mistral Large significantly outperforms traditional training approaches, setting new performance standards for language models. The implications of our findings suggest that the structured application of knowledge distillation can fundamentally alter the development trajectory of language models, making them more efficient and effective across diverse applications. The study's approach offers a scalable framework for future enhancements and has the potential to influence a wide range of applications in artificial intelligence, from automated conversational systems to sophisticated analytical tools.
Relationship Between Leadership Ostracism and Employee Engagement: A Moderated Mediation Model
Authors: Joko Suyono  , Lilik Wahyudi  , Harmadi  , Risgiyanti  , Suryandari Istiqomah
Published: May 2024

This study investigated the effect of leadership ostracism on employee engagement through defensive silence as a mediating variable, using the conservation of resources theory framework and the need-threat/need fortification model. The study also examined the role of external social support, which has the potential to moderate the indirect effect of leadership ostracism on employee engagement. Data were collected from civil servants in Indonesia using self-report questionnaires. Using the snowball sampling technique, an online survey was conducted to collect data. Of 504 accepted responses, 310 met all the criteria and were analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and a moderated mediation model. The moderated mediation analysis showed that low perceived external social support indirectly strengthens the negative influence of leadership ostracism on employee engagement through defensive silence. This research enriches the ostracism literature, especially regarding leadership ostracism and its relationship with employee engagement, which has not been empirically tested in previous studies.
The Mediating Effect of Innovation on the Relationship Between Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries
Authors: Ploypailin Kijkasiwat  , Anwar Hussain  , Uzma Nisar  , Chee Yoong Liew
Published: May 2024

Prior studies have shown that innovation has a mediating effect on the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance. This study compares this mediating effect in developed and developing countries using agency theory and signaling theory. A panel sample of 2,688 firms in developing and developed countries is analysed for the period of 2002–2017. The empirical findings demonstrate that corporate innovation fully mediates the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance in developed countries. However, innovation partially mediates the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance in developing countries. This could be because of different socioeconomic factors and capabilities of innovators involved in corporate governance structure. The study has both theoretical and policy implications and provides insights for policy makers for identifying the influence of innovation on firm value and evaluating the importance of corporate governance.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through and Inflation: Policy Insights for Vietnam Based on Comparative Analyses Across Asia
Authors: Anh T. Q. Dang  , Anh D. Pham
Published: May 2024

The exchange rate is a crucial macro indicator for any open economy, whereby any change in the rate would influence, to a certain extent, various socioeconomic facets. One of the significant impacts is revealed in the pass-through of exchange rate variations to price inflation, also known as the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT). This paper explores the effect of ERPT on domestic inflation in Vietnam by comparing with other Asian economies. Specifically, pass-through mechanisms are examined for every single price as well as a distribution chain from import price index (IMP), producer price index (PPI) to consumer price index (CPI). The empirical results show that exchange rate shocks positively influence the price changes in Vietnam as well as in other Asian countries. According to Cholesky decomposition, the exchange rate plays a limited role in regulating CPI movements. Besides, world commodity prices are found to have a significant impact on domestic inflation across the sample-countries. Our findings reveal profound implications for monetary policy management and price stability.
Factors influencing green bond yield: Evidence from Asia and Latin American countries
Authors: Abhilash Abhilash , S. Shenoy Sandeep , K. Shetty Dasharathraj
Published: May 2024

Despite numerous studies in the domain of green bonds, a paucity of literature concentrates on emerging countries’ green bonds. To fill this void, this study aims to examine the factors influencing green bond yield in the Asian and Latin American contexts. The data are compiled from the Bloomberg and Fred databases between 2017 and 2022. The panel regression with the Generalized Least Square method was employed. The results reveal that Asian green bonds provide higher yields with less risk to their investors than Latin American green bonds. The regression results of Asian green bonds show negligible effects of all factors, except coupon rate with a positive effect (β = 0.844), indicating its remarkable influence on green bond yield. However, the findings of Latin American green bonds uncover that coupon (β = 0.780), maturity (β = 0.025), and bond rate (β = 2.472) surpass the green bonds yield due to their positive effects, whereas issue size (β = –1.215) causes a reduction in the green bonds yield with their negative effect. Further, Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosure shows a positive (β = 1.611) effect, indicating better yield for investors due to their potential power to vanish greenwashing in these markets. Moreover, interest rate and GDP exert significant positive (β = 0.141) and negative (β = –0.030) effects on green bond yield, respectively. This observation implies that higher lending rates increase bond yield, whereas GDP-led growth provides lower yield due to better economic prospects and high investor demand for the bonds.
AcknowledgmentThe authors are grateful to Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, for providing financial assistance in the form of a “JRF Contingency Grant” for this research article.
L-carnitine: food sources, adequate and clinically effective doses
Authors: Kodentsova V. M. , Risnik D. V. , Kryukova E. V. , Dariy S. G.
Published: May 2024

L-carnitine plays a key role in cell bioenergetics, it belongs to vitamin-like substances, but unlike vitamins, it not only comes from food, but is also synthesized in the body. Endogenous synthesis decreases with age, under certain physiological conditions, taking medications. In this regard, specialized food products (SFP) and food supplements are being developed, containing L-carnitine as one of the functional ingredients. Comparison of doses of L-carnitine approved for use in biologically active food supplements and specialized food products with doses that provide a clinical effect.A review of existing literature on this issue in recent years was carried out using the RSCI, Pubmed databases and in the Google Scholar, ResearchGate systems. The amount of L-carnitine contained in a daily portion of SPP is established by domestic regulatory documents based on an adequate level of daily intake for adults, which is 300 mg and the upper permissible level of daily intake in the composition of SFP and food supplements is 900 mg/day. Reception of L-carnitine 1–2 g per day. within 5–12 weeks led to an increase in its concentration in the blood plasma, and also improved the indicators of the antioxidant status. Long-term intake of L-carnitine in doses of 2–3 g in patients with dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes (DM2) and cardiovascular diseased (CVD) led to an improvement in the lipid profile of blood plasma, glycemic control, and had an anti-inflammatory effect. The condition for achieving a clinical effect in patients is long-term use and high doses. The intake of physiological doses of L-carnitine is appropriate for individuals from risk groups. Clinically effective doses of L-carnitine, when used for at least 12 weeks, correspond to or are 2 times higher than the upper permissible intake level in the composition of SPP and dietary supplements.
Flushing in children with cutaneous mastocytosis
Authors: Kasikhina E. I. , Zhukova O. V. , Ostretsova M. N. , Kochetkov M. A. , Nada A. Ya.
Published: May 2024

Introduction. Flushing is a subjective feeling of warmth that is accompanied by redness of the skin on any part of the body, but mainly on the face, neck and upper trunk. Episodic flushing with other symptoms associated with mast cell mediators can be observed in 30–50% of children with cutaneous mastocytosis (CM).

Aim. To analyze the frequency of flushing in children with various clinical forms of cutaneous mastocytosis. To study serum tryptase levels in children with flushing.

Materials and methods. The study included data from 275 children aged from 6 months to 17 years inclusive, who were undergoing outpatient treatment and observation at the Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Dermatovenereology and Cosmetology from March 2022 until January 2024. The concentration of tryptase in the blood was determined by immunofluo-rescence on a three-dimensional porous solid phase (ImmunoCAP technology, Pharmacia Diagnostics AB, Sweden). Polarization and immersion dermatoscopy with 20x magnification were performed.

Results. Flushings were observed in 17.5% of patients out of 275 observed children with CM. The level of tryptase more than 15 µg/l was determined in 20.8% of children with flushing, above 11.0 µg/l – in 37.5%. Tryptase levels were higher than 8.0 µg/L in 22 (45.8%) patients. In 25.0% of patients with flushing, tryptase levels did not exceed 5 µg/L. The severity of the vascular pattern in lesions and apparently healthy skin was characteristic of patients with frequent or prolonged flushing and tryptase levels above 8.0 µg/L.

Conclusion. This study was the first in the Russian Federation to demonstrate the prevalence of flushing in children with various clinical forms of cutaneous mastocytosis. The results showed that the assessment of serum tryptase levels should be performed in all children with flushing, regardless of the clinical form of mastocytosis, including those with isolated and multiple skin mastocytomas. Clinical laboratory and dermatoscopic monitoring are important for the development of individual therapeutic tactics and prevention of mediator reactions and anaphylaxis.
Contribution of obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus to cognitive impairment
Authors: Shishkova V. N.
Published: May 2024

Obesity is a vivid example of one of the most common chronic non-infectious multifactorial diseases in today’s world. Not only the conventional elements of an “unhealthy lifestyle” such as hypodynamia and overeating, but also external socio-economic and psychosocial factors play an important role in the development of this disease. This review summarizes the main pathogenetic components that combine the development of both metabolic and vascular, including cerebrovascular, complications of obesity. The authors present the current classification of obesity adopted by domestic endocrinologists, which includes an assessment of the risk of obesity-associated complications. The mechanisms of pathological effects of insulin resistance, which morphological substrate is visceral obesity, are considered in detail. Its key role in the initiation and progression of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases has been shown. The mechanisms involved in the development of cognitive impairment in patients with obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus are described. Due to the urgency of the problem raised, the prospective of choosing a therapeutic and preventive approach to the management of such patients are assessed. With regard to this category of patients, the use of fonturacetam was discussed. Fonturacetam has been shown to have the proven clinical effects that not only improve the cognitive and emotional status in patients with cerebrovascular pathology, but also have a direct effect on the potential root cause of the development and progression of vascular and metabolic disorders, i.e. on the obesity. Fonturacetam that has an anorexigenic effect can also be prescribed as a weight corrector in addition to the diet therapy. Thus, the use of fonturacetam can become a promising trend in the treatment and prevention of today’s most common diseases.
Hereditary human diseases with skeletal pathology – molecular pathogenesis and clinical characteristics
Authors: Valeeva D. I. , Khusainova R. I. , Khusainova L. N. , Tyurin A. V.
Published: May 2024

Differential diagnosis of hereditary diseases is challenging due to similar clinical manifestations, diversity of nosologies, wide clinical variability and genetic heterogeneity, severity, rare frequency and complex molecular etiology. In some of them, connective tissue as a whole is involved in the pathological process, affecting almost all organs and systems of the human body, and in particular bone tissue, disrupting its remodeling and microarchitecture. The defect can occur at any of the stages of remodeling: during the initiation process, during bone resorption, osteoblast differentiation, osteoid mineralization, etc. Violation of the microarchitecture of bone tissue is accompanied by the development of low-traumatic fractures and deformities, early osteoarthritis, the formation of contractures and chronic pain syndrome. Genetic studies of patients have expanded knowledge about  the molecular signaling pathways that coordinate bone development and metabolism, the nature of disease inheritance, clinical features, and specific bone biomarkers. This article provides an overview of key cellular mechanisms, features of diagnosis and treatment of hereditary human diseases that affect the condition of bone tissue and skeleton: osteogenesis imperfecta, EhlersDanlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome, juvenile osteoporosis, hypophosphatasia, osteopetrosis, progressive diaphyseal dysplasia, mucopolysaccharidoses, achondroplasia, multiple hereditary exostoses. Doctors of different specialties can encounter these diseases, and making a correct diagnosis will make it possible to determine the correct algorithm for patient management and begin timely treatment, the ability to prevent the development of severe complications, improve the quality of life of patients, restore maximum working capacity and reduce the percentage of disability.
Modern view on the use of alpha lipoic acid in neurological practice
Authors: Khaibullina D. Kh. , Maksimov Yu. N. , Khaibullina A. R.
Published: May 2024

Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is an essential cofactor for mitochondrial enzymes, a powerful antioxidant, and an important component of many metabolic processes. Most research on ALA has focused specifically on its antioxidant properties. A number of conditions – aging, atherosclerosis, liver cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, various types of polyneuropathy, psoriasis and others can significantly reduce the level of ALA in the body. The article analyzes modern literature (107 sources, including 17 systematic reviews and meta-analyses). Traditionally, ALA is used in complex therapy of patients suffering from diabetic and alcoholic polyneuropathy. However, the analysis of studies conducted around the world is not limited to these two nosological forms. The use of ALA as adjuvant therapy for a number of conditions and diseases is justified, as confirmed by clinical studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. All studies assessed not only the effectiveness of ALC, but also its safety and the incidence of adverse events and showed that ALC has a high safety profile. ALA has not only a pronounced antioxidant effect, but also the ability to chelate toxic metals, increase intracellular glutathione levels, reduce blood glucose levels, overcome insulin resistance, participate in mitochondrial metabolism, stimulate the production of cAMP, normalize the lipid profile, reduce the level of inflammatory markers, etc. Based on Because of the positive effect of using ALC in the treatment of various symptoms and nosologies, the list of indications requires revision, expansion and addition.
In the article “Double blind randomized placebocontrolled study of the efficacy and safety of proroxan in the complex therapy of generalized anxiety disorder”
Authors: Goncharov O. V. , Bereza Z. V. , Goncharova E. O. , Tikhomirov D. I.
Published: May 2024

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Multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of hyperplastic diseases of the uterus
Authors: Dobrokhotova Ju. E. , Markarov A. E. , Ponimanskaya M. A. , Apresyan S. V. , Khlynova S. A. , Dimitrova V. I. , Papoyan S. A. , Markova E. A. , Slyusareva O. A.
Published: May 2024

Introduction. Uterine fibroids are ranked second and endometriosis is ranked third in the gynaecological pathology pattern. Uterine fibroids and endometriosis are among the most common diseases of the female genitalia and occur in every 4–5 gynaecological patients.

Aim. To improve a multidisciplinary approach to the choice of surgical organ-preserving treatment strategies in hyperplastic diseases of the uterus using occlusion techniques.

Materials and methods. A cohort prospective comparative study examined a multidisciplinary approach to the choice of surgical organ-preserving treatment strategies in uterine hyperplastic hysteropathies using occlusion techniques.

Results. The study showed that uterine artery embolization is indicated if FIGO 2–5 fibroids’ size is > 4 cm in patients who are not planning pregnancy. The laparoscopic myomectomy with temporary uterine artery occlusion is provided if FIGO 2–6 fibroids’ size is from 6.0 to 8.0 cm, the laparoscopic myomectomy with temporary balloon occlusion of the internal iliac arteries is the procedure of choice if fibroids’ size is from 8.0 to 12.0 cm and they are located in the cervical-isthmus region and in areas of vascular bundles, and vaginal myomectomy with temporary balloon occlusion of the common iliac arteries is performed if FIGO 8 fibroids’ size is > 4 cm and they are located in the cervix. If adenomyosis nodes’ size is from 4.0 to 6.0 cm, they are removed using laparoscopic access with temporary occlusion of the uterine arteries; if adenomyosis nodes’ size is ≥ 6.0 cm, they are removed using laparoscopic access with temporary balloon occlusion of the internal iliac arteries.

Conclusion. The multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of hyperplastic diseases of the uterus is regarded as optimal.
Sprawozdanie z konferencji naukowej Tożsamość i przyszłość polskiego prawa służby cywilnej – poświęconej pamięci Profesor Teresy Górzyńskiej
Authors: Nadstazik Luiza
Published: May 2024

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