bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Programa de controle odontológico de saúde ocupacional (PCOSO)
Authors: Blumenschein Carmen AG , Módolo Valéria M , Calvielli Ida TP
Published: June 2024

A Odontologia voltada para a área ocupacional é pouco implementada apesar de sua significativa importância, mantendo-se afastada dos programas globais de saúde do trabalhador. Baseadas na atual situação dessa parea, as autoras propõem um programa de atuação do cirurgião-dentista em parceria com a Medicina do Trabalho, uma vez que o objetivo final é a melhoria da qualidade de vida. A implementação de um Programa Odontológico permitirá um levantamento das condições de saúde bucal, levantamentos estatísticos, estudos de prevalência e, acima de tudo, um estudo mais aprofundado da ação do ambiente laboral na cavidade bucal. Baseando-se no estudo da prevalência e do conhecimento mais detalhado das doenças bucais decorrentes da ação do ambiente de trabalho, será possível propor melhoria e/ou controle ambiental, com medidas de proteção coletiva e/ou individual. Os levantamentos estatísticos permitirão um dimensionamento ideal para o serviço odontológico dentro da empresa, bem como o estabelecimento de convênios para atendimento de funcionários e dependentes. Através de campanhas institucionais, ou não, será possível a orientação específica para gestantes e dependentes menores, bem como o estabelecimento de medidas profiláticas e preventivas. A prioridade do cirurgião-dentista do trabalho é a prevenção de doenças bucais, encaminhando para a Odontologia Assistencial toda e qualquer atividade curativa.
Psicodiagnóstico forense
Authors: Olivier Giovanina Gomes de Freitas
Published: June 2024

A autora tece considerações sobre a perícia em Psicologia Forense, tratando do psicodiagnóstico forense em suas especificidades com relação ao psicodiagnóstico clínico. Trata das etapas do psicodiagnóstico: entrevistas, instrumentos de avaliação psicodiagnóstica, elaboração do laudo, enfatizando as interrelações entre as diversas etapas e o aspecto multiprofissional que a perícia psicológica adquire.
Estimativa da idade pela mineralização dos ossos do carpo através de radiografias padronizadas
Authors: Massini Nelson , Daruge Eduardo , Ten Chen Ya , Francesquini Jr. Luiz , Daruge Jr. Eduardo , Oliveira Gesiamy Francisco de
Published: June 2024

A estimativa da idade humana constitui um dos estudos de grande importância nas perícias civis e criminais. No presente trabalho, procuramos estimar a idade pelo desenvolvimento e mineralização dos oito ossos do carpo, em 200 indivíduos brasileiros, leucodermas, de ambos os sexos, nas faixas etárias de 13 a 22 anos, através de radiografias padronizadas. Os resultados demonstram que dos oito ossos estudados, no sexo masculino, o trapézio e o trapezóide foram os que apresentaram um aumento de área mais uniforme, no períoso de 13 a 22 anos. Por outro lado, no sexo feminino, os resultados demonstram não haver diferenças significantes entre as idades e as dimensões das áreas dos ossos estudados. Concluímos que os ossos metacarpianos, no sexo feminino, apresentam um grau mais acelerado de crescimento/calcificação, que no sexo masculino. A análise de variância demonstrou haver diferenças significantes entre as dimensões dos ossos no sexo masculino. Através da análise de regressão linear, foi possível idealizar uma fórmula para a estimativa da idade para cada osso, porém, o trapezóide foi o que apresentou maior segurança para essa estimativa, isto é, de 80,78%.
Narciso e drácula no jogo de espelhos
Authors: Olivier Giovanina Gomes de Freitas , Venâncio Silvana
Published: June 2024

O presente artigo teve como objetivo enfocar o fenômeno "doença", utilizando como parâmetros a psicologia analítica e o paradigma da corporeidade. Utilizamos para tanto a teoria arquetípica de C. G. Jung e a concepção filosófica da fenomenologia de M. Merleau-Ponty. Enfatizamos o fato de que as doenças frequentemente manifestam aspectos arquetípicos e ilustramos tais arquétipos através de dois mitos: o mito clássico de Narciso e o mito de Drácula. Tomando como base ambos referenciais, analisamos igualmente as relações médico-paciente, enfocando os limites estreitos do paradigma mecanicista do corpo. Concluímos que o paradigma da corporeidade pode trazer uma importante contribuição para todas as ciências que tratam do fenômeno humano.
Equity in the Setting of Heart Failure Diagnosis: An Analysis of Differences Between and Within Clinician Practices
Authors: Gupta Anshal , Tisdale Rebecca L. , Calma Jamie , Stafford Randall S. , Maron David J. , Hernandez-Boussard Tina , Ambrosy Andrew P. , Heidenreich Paul A. , Sandhu Alexander T.
Published: June 2024

BACKGROUND:

Timely heart failure (HF) diagnosis can lead to earlier intervention and reduced morbidity. Among historically marginalized patients, new-onset HF diagnosis is more likely to occur in acute care settings (emergency department or inpatient hospitalization) than outpatient settings. Whether inequity within outpatient clinician practices affects diagnosis settings is unknown.

METHODS:

We determined the setting of incident HF diagnosis among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries between 2013 and 2017. We identified sociodemographic and medical characteristics associated with HF diagnosis in the acute care setting. Within each outpatient clinician practice, we compared acute care diagnosis rates across sociodemographic characteristics: female versus male sex, non-Hispanic White versus other racial and ethnic groups, and dual Medicare-Medicaid eligible (a surrogate for low income) versus nondual-eligible patients. Based on within-practice differences in acute diagnosis rates, we stratified clinician practices by equity (high, intermediate, and low) and compared clinician practice characteristics.

RESULTS:

Among 315 439 Medicare patients with incident HF, 173 121 (54.9%) were first diagnosed in acute care settings. Higher adjusted acute care diagnosis rates were associated with female sex (6.4% [95% CI, 6.1%–6.8%]), American Indian (3.6% [95% CI, 1.1%–6.1%]) race, and dual eligibility (4.1% [95% CI, 3.7%–4.5%]). These differences persisted within clinician practices. With clinician practice adjustment, dual-eligible patients had a 4.9% (95% CI, 4.5%–5.4%) greater acute care diagnosis rate than nondual-eligible patients. Clinician practices with greater equity across dual eligibility also had greater equity across sex and race and ethnicity and were more likely to be composed of predominantly primary care clinicians.

CONCLUSIONS:

Differences in HF diagnosis rates in the acute care setting between and within clinician practices highlight an opportunity to improve equity in diagnosing historically marginalized patients.
Source-Free Domain Adaptation for Question Answering with Masked Self-training
Authors: Yin Maxwell J. , Wang Boyu , Dong Yue , Ling Charles
Published: June 2024

Previous unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) methods for question answering (QA) require access to source domain data while fine-tuning the model for the target domain. Source domain data may, however, contain sensitive information and should be protected. In this study, we investigate a more challenging setting, source-free UDA, in which we have only the pretrained source model and target domain data, without access to source domain data. We propose a novel self-training approach to QA models that integrates a specially designed mask module for domain adaptation. The mask is auto-adjusted to extract key domain knowledge when trained on the source domain. To maintain previously learned domain knowledge, certain mask weights are frozen during adaptation, while other weights are adjusted to mitigate domain shifts with pseudo-labeled samples generated in the target domain. Our empirical results on four benchmark datasets suggest that our approach significantly enhances the performance of pretrained QA models on the target domain, and even outperforms models that have access to the source data during adaptation.
Visually Grounded Speech Models Have a Mutual Exclusivity Bias
Authors: Nortje Leanne , Oneaţă Dan , Matusevych Yevgen , Kamper Herman
Published: June 2024

When children learn new words, they employ constraints such as the mutual exclusivity (ME) bias: A novel word is mapped to a novel object rather than a familiar one. This bias has been studied computationally, but only in models that use discrete word representations as input, ignoring the high variability of spoken words. We investigate the ME bias in the context of visually grounded speech models that learn from natural images and continuous speech audio. Concretely, we train a model on familiar words and test its ME bias by asking it to select between a novel and a familiar object when queried with a novel word. To simulate prior acoustic and visual knowledge, we experiment with several initialization strategies using pretrained speech and vision networks. Our findings reveal the ME bias across the different initialization approaches, with a stronger bias in models with more prior (in particular, visual) knowledge. Additional tests confirm the robustness of our results, even when different loss functions are considered. Based on detailed analyses to piece out the model’s representation space, we attribute the ME bias to how familiar and novel classes are distinctly separated in the resulting space.
A new species of Campanula L. (Campanulaceae) from Western Himalaya, India
Authors: BALKRISHNA ACHARYA , SINGH HARSH , JOSHI BHASKER , SRIVASTAVA ANUPAM , KUMAR AASHISH , KUMAR AMIT , VATS PRASHANT , SINGH VIKRAM , MISHRA RAJESH KUMAR
Published: June 2024

A new species Campanula densiciliata from Yamunotri, Uttarakhand is described and illustrated. The new species is closely related with other previously described species namely, Campanula argyrotricha and C. latifolia but, differ in its rounded leaf base with sinuate margins, much reduced calyx teeth less than half of the corolla with crenate margin, elliptic corolla lobes and different lengths of stigmatic lobes. The new species is found in humus rich soil under Rhododendron forest.
The mantis shrimp genus Clorida Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842 (Crustacea: Stomatopoda: Squillidae) in Japan, with the first Japanese record of Cloridina ichneumon (Fabricius, 1798)
Authors: NAKAJIMA HIROKI , UEDA TETSUYA , ITANI GYO , OSAWA MASAYUKI
Published: June 2024

We revised the previous records of Clorida japonica Manning, 1978 and conducted extensive field and museum material surveys in Japan. The material examined included five species of the genus Clorida Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842 as follows: C. japonica; C. albolitura Ahyong & Naiyanetr, 2000; C. denticauda (Chhapgar & Sane, 1967); C. rotundicauda (Miers, 1880); and C. seversi Moosa, 1973. Among them, C. albolitura, C. denticauda, C. rotundicauda, and C. seversi are new to the Japanese stomatopod fauna. Re-examination of the Japanese specimens previously reported as C. japonica has shown that they partially belong to Cloridina ichneumon (Fabricius, 1798), a new record from Japan as well. A key to the Japanese species of Clorida and Cloridina reported in this study is also provided.
Two new species of Plutomurus Yosii (Collembola: Tomoceridae) from Georgia and Iran
Authors: BARJADZE SHALVA , MAYVAN MAHMOOD MEHRAFROOZ , PARIMUCHOVÁ ANDREA , MAGHRADZE ETER , KOVÁČ ĽUBOMÍR
Published: June 2024

Plutomurus weinerae sp. nov. from Usholta Cave, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, Georgia, and P. danialensis sp. nov. from Danial Cave, Mazandaran province, Iran are described, illustrated and differentiated from other morphologically similar congeners. New species are distinguishable from similar species by head and abdominal macrochaetotaxy (P. weinerae) and by shorter antennae (P. danialensis). An updated identification key to the species of the genus Plutomurus known from the Western Palearctic is presented. A list of the invertebrate communities for Usholta and Danial caves is provided.
Markers of predicting discharge from forensic psychiatric hospitals in Czechia
Authors: Sebalo Ivan , Sebalo Vňuková Martina , Anders Martin , Ptáček Radek , Páv Marek
Published: June 2024

Background:

Secure forensic hospital treatments are resource-intensive, aiming to rehabilitate offenders and enhance public safety. While these treatments consume significant portions of mental health budgets and show efficacy in some countries, their effectiveness in Czechia remains underexplored. Previous research has highlighted various factors influencing the likelihood of discharge from these institutions. Notably, the role of sociodemographic variables and the length of stay (LoS) in the context of forensic treatments has presented inconsistent findings across studies.

Methods:

The study, part of the ‘Deinstitutionalization project’ in Czechia, collected data from all inpatient forensic care hospitals. A total of 793 patients (711 male, 79 female and 3 unknown) were included. Data collection spanned 6 months, with tools like HoNOS, HoNOS-Secure, MOAS, HCR-20V3 and AQoL-8D employed to assess various aspects of patient health, behaviour, risk and quality of life.

Results:

The study revealed several determinants influencing patient discharge from forensic hospitals. Key assessment tools, such as HoNOS secure scores and the HCR-20 clinical subscale, showed that higher scores equated to lower chances of release. Furthermore, specific diagnoses like substance use disorder increased discharge odds, while a mental retardation diagnosis significantly reduced it. The type of index offense showed no influence on discharge decisions.

Conclusion:

Factors like reduced risk behaviours, absence of mental retardation diagnosis, social support and secure post-release housing plans played significant roles. The results underscored the importance of using standardized assessment tools over clinical judgement. A standout insight was the unique challenges faced by patients diagnosed with mental retardation, emphasizing a need for specialized care units or tailored programmes.
Association of the intergenerational structure with the onset of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults in China
Authors: Ma Jun , Liu Wenwen , Chai Yangfan , Wang Jiayu , Kong Guilan
Published: June 2024

Background:

Chinese family structure has undergone tremendous changes over the past few decades. Moreover, the association of the intergenerational structure with depression remains controversial.

Aims:

This study aimed to find out the association of the intergenerational structure and the onset of depressive symptoms among Chinese middle-aged and older adults.

Methods:

This study included 4,868 participants of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), who were enrolled in 2011 without depressive symptoms and followed up at least once later in 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020. Taking the time-varying confounding effect into account, the time-dependent Cox regression models were used to estimate the association of the intergenerational structure and the onset of depressive symptoms.

Results:

Among the studied middle-aged and older adults, compared to one-generation households, higher hazard ratios (HR) of developing depressive symptoms were found in three-generation households in the study population (HR = 1.21, 95% CI [1.08, 1.36]). Further, for female participants, skipping-generation households (HR = 1.38, 95% CI [1.05, 1.83]) and three-generation lineal households (HR = 1.21, 95% CI [1.02, 1.43]) were found to be significantly associated with new-onset depressive symptoms compared to empty-nest couples. For male participants, living alone (HR = 1.65, 95% CI [1.30, 2.11]), living in standardized nuclear households (HR = 1.27, 95% CI [1.06, 1.54]), impaired nuclear households (HR = 1.80, 95% CI [1.18, 2.76]), or three-generation lineal households (HR = 1.34, 95% CI [1.12, 1.60]) were found to have a significant association with the onset of depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

This study found that males living alone, with unmarried children, or in three-generation lineal households, and females living with grandchildren were more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms. Therefore, special attention should be paid to people in these intergenerational structure subtypes.
A Rare Neurilemmoma of the Nasal Vestibule: A Case With the Review of Literature
Authors: Zhou Yi , Kong Lili , Hu Qidi , Sun Dongxun , Deng Jing , Sun Yao
Published: June 2024

A variety of diseases can affect the nasal vestibule. It might be challenging to diagnose and treat a nasal vestibular tumor due to the anatomical characteristics of the nasal vestibule. Neurilemmoma is a tumor derived from Schwann cells of the nerve sheath. Less than 4% of these tumors invade the nasal cavity and sinuses. Nasal vestibule neurilemmoma is rare, it is often overlooked when a mass discovered. The diagnosis of it is mainly based on clinical symptoms, nasal endoscopy, and imaging, The mainstay of treatment is complete resection surgery. Pathological examination provides the final diagnosis. We present a patient with nasal vestibule neurilemmoma who underwent a successful endoscopic surgery without cosmetic deformity, and discuss the clinical manifestations, histological features, imaging features, differential diagnosis, treatment options, then reviewed relevant literature of this rare benign lesion.
Assessing Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills in Just a Few Minutes: 96-, 45-, and 20-Item Short Forms of the BESSI
Authors: Sewell Madison N. , Yoon Hee J. , Lechner Clemens M. , Napolitano Christopher M. , Rammstedt Beatrice , Roberts Brent W. , Soto Christopher J.
Published: June 2024

Social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills matter for individuals’ well-being and success. The behavioral, emotional, and social skills inventory (BESSI) uses 192 items to assess 32 specific SEB skills across five broad skill domains. This research developed three short forms of the BESSI-192 and explored their measurement properties, predictive validity, and cross-cultural comparability. We found that BESSI-96, BESSI-45, and BESSI-20 largely captured the psychological content of the BESSI-192 measure, retained a robust multidimensional structure, and demonstrated adequate reliability. At the domain and facet level, the BESSI short forms showed patterns of associations with external criteria that were similar to the BESSI-192 and preserved most of the BESSI-192’s predictive power. The BESSI short forms also demonstrated full or partial measurement invariance between the primarily U.S.-based and German adult samples. We conclude by discussing contexts in which the short forms may be useful for researchers and practitioners.
Does Scientific Evidence Sell? Combining Manual and Automated Content Analysis to Investigate Scientists’ and Laypeople’s Evidence Practices on Social Media
Authors: Biermann Kaija , Nowak Bianca , Braun Lea-Marie , Taddicken Monika , Krämer Nicole C. , Stieglitz Stefan
Published: June 2024

Examining the dissemination of evidence on social media, we analyzed the discourse around eight visible scientists in the context of COVID-19. Using manual ( N = 1,406) and automated coding ( N = 42,640) on an account-based tracked Twitter/X dataset capturing scientists’ activities and eliciting reactions over six 2-week periods, we found that visible scientists’ tweets included more scientific evidence. However, public reactions contained more anecdotal evidence. Findings indicate that evidence can be a message characteristic leading to greater tweet dissemination. Implications for scientists, including explicitly incorporating scientific evidence in their communication and examining evidence in science communication research, are discussed.
Primary Intraosseous Spindle Cell Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Case Report in an Unusual Location
Authors: Plotzke Jaclyn M. , Rabah Raja , Robinson Dan R. , Edmonds Amy , Bloom David A. , Mody Rajen , Heider Amer
Published: June 2024

Spindle cell/sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma is an infrequent subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma according to the World Health Organization Classification of Soft Tissue and Bone Tumours, which includes a novel category of intraosseous spindle-cell rhabdomyosarcomas (ISCRMS) with EWSR1:: or FUS::TFCP2 fusions. We report a case of ISCRMS with EWSR1::TFCP2 fusion presenting in the femur mimicking osteosarcoma in this unusual primary location. We present an 18-year-old male with relapsed widely metastatic sarcoma, morphologically identical to osteosarcoma responding poorly to chemotherapy, initially presenting in the distal femur. Sections showed a high-grade malignant neoplasm with sheets of epithelioid and spindled cells without obvious rhabdomyoblastic differentiation morphologically containing focal areas resembling new bone/osteoid formation. Molecular sequencing identified t(12;22) EWSR1::TFCP2. The tumor cells were diffusely positive for pancytokeratin, MyoD1, and ALK by retrospective immunohistochemistry. Desmin and SATB2 were focally positive. Myogenin was negative, and INI-1 expression was retained. ISCRMS commonly involves craniofacial and pelvic bones, but rarely originates in long bones, as in this case. Initially, osteosarcoma was the primary diagnostic consideration based on distal long bone location, patient age, and evidence of osteoid formation. Distinction between the two entities may be nearly impossible on morphologic grounds alone, which presents a diagnostic pitfall without molecular or extensive immunoprofiling data.
Genetic and early life factors influence on time-to-multiple sclerosis diagnosis: A UK Biobank study
Authors: Nova Andrea , Di Caprio Giovanni , Bernardinelli Luisa , Fazia Teresa
Published: June 2024

Background:

Previous investigations into multiple sclerosis (MS) risk factors predominantly relied on retrospective studies, which do not consider different follow-up times and assume a constant risk effect throughout lifetime.

Objective:

We aimed to evaluate the impact of genetic and early life factors on MS diagnosis by employing a time-to-event analysis in a prospective cohort.

Methods:

We used the UK Biobank data, considering the observation period from birth up to 31 December 2022. We considered genetic risk, using a multiple sclerosis polygenic risk score (MS-PRS), and various early life factors. Tobacco smoking and infectious mononucleosis diagnosis were also considered as time-varying variables along the follow-up. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, we examined the associations between these factors and MS diagnosis instantaneous risk.

Results:

We analyzed 345,027 participants, of which 1669 had an MS diagnosis. Our analysis revealed age-dependent effects for sex (females vs males) and higher MS-PRS, with greater hazard ratios observed in young adults.

Conclusion:

The age-dependent effects suggest that retrospective studies could have underestimated sex and genetic variants’ risk roles during younger ages. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of a time-to-event approach using longitudinal data to better characterize age-dependent risk effects.
Structural seismic responses prediction using the gradient-enhanced hybrid PINN
Authors: Xing Chenxi , Xu Zidong , Wang Hao
Published: June 2024

To rapidly and effectively assess the bridge seismic-resistant capability, it is essential to conduct efficient predictions of bridge seismic responses. Recently, physics informed neural network (PINN) has made great progress and utilized to solve differential equations in different fields. However, how to increase its accuracy and efficiency still remains an open challenge. In this work, a novel gradient-enhanced Fourth-Order Runge-Kutta PINN (gRK4-PINN), as a powerful hybrid PINN, is utilized to achieve this goal. As for gRK4-PINN, the physical information is not simply embedded into the loss function; instead, the RK4 method and the physical model is intricately integrated with the neural network. In addition, to improve the predictive performance, additional gradient equation is directly embedded in loss function. A large-span continuous girder high speed railway (CGHSR) bridge is adopted as numerical experiment to validate the fidelity of the proposed method. Results reveal that the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of the predicting seismic responses is relatively small, whose value is below 0.014 in most of the time. These small MAE values indicate that the proposed gRK4-PINN performs well in predicting the seismic responses of the CGHSR bridge.
Machine learning-based prediction of cerebral oxygen saturation based on multi-modal cerebral oximetry data
Authors: Lee Kwang-Sig , Kim Su Jin , Kim Dong Cheol , Park Sang-Hyun , Jang Dong-Hyun , Kim Eung Hwi , Kang YoungShin , Lee Sijin , Lee Sung Woo
Published: June 2024

This study develops machine learning-based algorithms that facilitate accurate prediction of cerebral oxygen saturation using waveform data in the near-infrared range from a multi-modal oxygen saturation sensor. Data were obtained from 150,000 observations of a popular cerebral oximeter, Masimo O3™ regional oximetry (Co., United States) and a multi-modal cerebral oximeter, Votem (Inc., Korea). Among these observations, 112,500 (75%) and 37,500 (25%) were used for training and test sets, respectively. The dependent variable was the cerebral oxygen saturation value from the Masimo O3™ (0–100%). The independent variables were the time of measurement (0–300,000 ms) and the 16-bit decimal amplitudes values (infrared and red) from Votem (0–65,535). For the right part of the forehead, the root mean square error of the random forest (0.06) was much smaller than those of linear regression (1.22) and the artificial neural network with one, two or three hidden layers (2.58). The result was similar for the left part of forehead, that is, random forest (0.05) vs logistic regression (1.22) and the artificial neural network with one, two or three hidden layers (2.97). Machine learning aids in accurately predicting of cerebral oxygen saturation, employing the data from a multi-modal cerebral oximeter.
Damage diagnosis of plates and shells through modal parameters reconstruction using inverse finite-element method
Authors: Belur Muhammed Yavuz , Kefal Adnan , Abdollahzadeh Mohammad Amin , Fassois Spilios D.
Published: June 2024

In this study, a new modal-based structural health monitoring (SHM) approach is proposed based on the inverse finite-element method (iFEM) to perform damage diagnosis of the plate and shell structures based on full-field modal parameters reconstructed from discrete sensor data. The iFEM formulation can effectively solve a shape sensing or deformation reconstruction problem, where changing displacements of the structure are predicted by minimizing a variational least squares error function of analytical and experimental discrete strains with respect to unknown displacements. Such a solution provides the time-domain response of the structures, which may be solely not enough to extract the dynamical properties of the structure for underlying the unhealthy conditions. To address this important gap, the iFEM is enhanced by processing the full-field displacement solution with fast Fourier transformation, enabling mechanical parameters to switch from time to frequency domain. This posterior step, named iFEM Modal Reconstruction (iFEM-MoRe), can recover full-field dynamical characteristics from the response discrete Fourier transformation of a structure for the investigation of unhealthy structural conditions and damage identification. In this regard, iFEM-MoRe allows the utilization of the entire time/frequency-domain response of structures for correlating modal/dynamical characteristics with structural anomalies. To verify the capability of the approach, intact and damaged cases of benchmark problems are solved. According to the results, it is demonstrated that iFEM-MoRe can predict highly precise natural frequencies just from discrete sensor data without loading/material information. Also, it is revealed that iFEM-MoRe can highly accurately reconstruct full-field mode shapes and diagnose damaged conditions by pinpointing alternated dynamical characteristics of structures as compared to intact parameters. Overall, the presented approach can serve as a complementary toolbox for vibration and/or statistical time series SHM methods to understand full-field modal characteristics of damaged cases just from a network of sensors.
Improving 3D-spacer fabric composites with silica nano particles for buildings soundproofing
Authors: Ibrahim Aous , Kaddar Taher Rajab
Published: June 2024

Modern science and technology constantly require new and novel materials with special properties. Over the past decade, Nanocomposites materials have received significant attention as active materials in components ranging from sensors to biomaterials, electronics devices to structural parts. These novel composites have applications in many areas, such as energy, insulation, manufacturing, and the modern building industry. However, not all applications have the same requirements in terms of acoustic insulation, so it is useful to adapt the kind of core materials and their product specifications, such as particle size and porosity, to the different applications. Furthermore, in some applications, cheaper core materials, like precipitated silica, would be a reasonable alternative to replace the time-consuming series of measurements. Because of many bad conditions that affect acoustic insulation properties in modern buildings. And to summarize recent applications of nanotechnology as they relate to textile fibers, yarns, and fabrics for improving acoustic insulation in modern buildings and civilian communities, this paper discusses the ability to apply 3D woven spacer fabric (3DWSF) composite materials reinforced with epoxy, rigid polyurethane foam, and silica nanoporous particles, which were prepared by the sol-gel technique. Four samples had been prepared, all of these samples were textile composite materials, and reinforced with two types of nano silica 99.8% SiO2; mesoporous Ns particles with porosity up to 83%, true density 0.08 g/cm³, and particle size between 100 and 2000 nm and pore size 70–150 nm, which had been prepared by Sol-gel technique, and nonporous Aerosil®200 particles with surface area 200–225 m2/g, true density 0.25 g/cm³, and particle size between 2 and 20 nm. We used rigid polyurethane foam as core material, and epoxy resin for laminating the fabric. 3D spacer E-glass fabrics, and chopped E-glass microfibers had been used. The weight percentage of silica nano particles which were used in this research was 5% by weight, which was better for economic reasons, and enough, to enhance the acoustic absorption coefficient up to [Formula: see text] = 99.79%. The best sound absorption could be achieved by using mesoporous silica nanoparticles, and soundproofing of an insulator using this porous structure is better than using a nonporous one. We found in this research that the thickness 45 mm and semi-porosity structure of the 3DWSF composite insulator material were enough to make a difference, with reference to the thermal and acoustic insulation guide of buildings.
Lingual osteoma presenting as a solitary painless lesion: Report of a rare case with review of the literature
Authors: Salih Abdulwahid M , Hassan Shko H , Saeed Yadgar A , Muhialdeen Aso S , Hussein Bushra O , Ali Rawa M , Qadir Abdullah A , Abdullah Ari M , Dhahir Hardi M , Qaradakhy Aras J , Kakamand Fahmi H
Published: June 2024

Lingual osteoma, a rare, benign bone tumor that primarily affects the posterior tongue, can be difficult to diagnose. This study aims to report a case of osteoma affecting the tongue in a 17-year-old female. The patient had a foreign body sensation and a progressively growing lesion for 3 years and underwent clinical examination and diagnostic procedures. A well-defined, smooth-surfaced, white mass was discovered in the posterior third of the tongue. The 1.5 × 1 × 0.4 cm mass was completely excised under local anesthesia and histopathologically confirmed as a benign lingual osteoma. The 2-month post-operative outcome was uneventful. The rarity of lingual osteoma, as well as the fact that it is often asymptomatic, makes diagnosis difficult. The diagnosis entails a proper clinical examination, imaging studies, and histopathological analysis. Surgical intervention, primarily aimed at complete excision while preserving tongue function, remains the primary treatment option. Successful excision entails educating healthcare professionals about this rare benign bony tumor to ensure the best possible patient outcomes.
Primary psoas abscess as a complication of postpartum: A case report
Authors: Mougui Ahmed , El Bouchti Imane
Published: June 2024

Primary psoas abscess is an uncommon yet critical factor contributing to postpartum sepsis. This report is of a case of postpartum primary psoas abscess in a 24-year-old Moroccan woman. After an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, a 24-year-old primiparous Moroccan woman presented to our hospital with a 3-week history of severe left-sided lower abdominal pain that radiated to the anterior aspect of the left thigh. She had been taking ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, and paracetamol for a week without any improvement. On examination, she was febrile and pale. The laboratory analysis revealed the presence of microcytic anemia, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and an increased level of C-reactive protein. Computed tomography scans of the abdomen, and pelvis were conducted, revealing a substantial left psoas abscess. Under the guidance of computed tomography, anterior abdominal percutaneous drainage of the abscess was successfully performed. A pan-sensitive Streptococcus agalactiae strain was identified through culture of the specimen. The patient showed a favorable response to treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanate and gentamicin. This case illustrates that primary psoas abscess should be considered in cases of any postpartum infectious presentation.
Light-independent pathway of STN7 kinase activation under low temperature stress in runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.)
Authors: Krysiak Małgorzata , Węgrzyn Anna , Kowalewska Łucja , Kulik Anna , Ostaszewska-Bugajska Monika , Mazur Jan , Garstka Maciej , Mazur Radosław
Published: June 2024

Background

The phosphorylation of the Light-Harvesting Complex of photosystem II (LHCII) driven by STATE TRANSITION 7 (STN7) kinase is a part of one of the crucial regulatory mechanisms of photosynthetic light reactions operating in fluctuating environmental conditions, light in particular. There are evidenced that STN7 can also be activated without light as well as in dark-chilling conditions. However, the biochemical mechanism standing behind this complex metabolic pathway has not been deciphered yet.

Results

In this work, we showed that dark-chilling induces light-independent LHCII phosphorylation in runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.). In dark-chilling conditions, we registered an increased reduction of the PQ pool which led to activation of STN7 kinase, subsequent LHCII phosphorylation, and possible LHCII relocation inside the thylakoid membrane. We also presented the formation of a complex composed of phosphorylated LHCII and photosystem I typically formed upon light-induced phosphorylation. Moreover, we indicated that the observed steps were preceded by the activation of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (OPPP) enzymes and starch accumulation.

Conclusions

Our results suggest a direct connection between photosynthetic complexes reorganization and dark-chilling-induced activation of the thioredoxin system. The proposed possible pathway starts from the activation of OPPP enzymes and further NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase C (NTRC) activation. In the next steps, NTRC simultaneously activates ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and thylakoid membrane-located NAD(P)H dehydrogenase-like complex. These results in starch synthesis and electron transfer to the plastoquinone (PQ) pool, respectively. Reduced PQ pool activates STN7 kinase which phosphorylates LHCII. In this work, we present a new perspective on the mechanisms involving photosynthetic complexes while efficiently operating in the darkness. Although we describe the studied pathway in detail, taking into account also the time course of the following steps, the biological significance of this phenomenon remains puzzling.
Mitigation of drought stress in maize and sorghum by humic acid: differential growth and physiological responses
Authors: Abu-Ria Mohamed E. , Elghareeb Eman M. , Shukry Wafaa M. , Abo-Hamed Samy A. , Ibraheem Farag
Published: June 2024

Background

Drought is a major determinant for growth and productivity of all crops, including cereals, and the drought-induced detrimental effects are anticipated to jeopardize world food security under the ongoing global warming scenario. Biostimulants such as humic acid (HA) can improve drought tolerance in many cereals, including maize and sorghum. These two plant species are genetically related; however, maize is more susceptible to drought than sorghum. The physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying such differential responses to water shortage in the absence and presence of HA, particularly under field conditions, are not fully understood.

Results

Herein, the effects of priming maize and sorghum seeds in 100 mg L−1 HA on their vegetative growth and physiological responses under increased levels of drought (100%, 80%, and 60% field capacity) were simultaneously monitored in the field. In the absence of HA, drought caused 37.0 and 58.7% reductions in biomass accumulation in maize compared to 21.2 and 32.3% in sorghum under low and high drought levels, respectively. These responses were associated with differential retardation in overall growth, relative water content (RWC), photosynthetic pigments and CO2 assimilation in both plants. In contrast, drought increased root traits as well as H2O2, malondialdehyde, and electrolyte leakage in both species. HA treatment significantly improved the growth of both plant species under well-watered and drought conditions, with maize being more responsive than sorghum. HA induced a 29.2% increase in the photosynthetic assimilation rate in maize compared to 15.0% in sorghum under high drought level. The HA-promotive effects were also associated with higher total chlorophyll, stomatal conductance, RWC, sucrose, total soluble sugars, total carbohydrates, proline, and total soluble proteins. HA also reduced the drought-induced oxidative stress via induction of non-enzymic and enzymic antioxidants at significantly different extents in maize and sorghum.

Conclusion

The current results identify significant quantitative differences in a set of critical physiological biomarkers underlying the differential responses of field-grown maize and sorghum plants against drought. They also reveal the potential of HA priming as a drought-alleviating biostimulant and as an effective approach for sustainable maize and sorghum production and possibly other crops in drought-affected lands.
QTL analysis on a lemon population provides novel insights on the genetic regulation of the tolerance to the two-spotted spider mite attack
Authors: Catalano Chiara , Di Guardo Mario , Licciardello Giuliana , Seminara Sebastiano , Tropea Garzia Giovanna , Biondi Antonio , Troggio Michela , Bianco Luca , La Malfa Stefano , Gentile Alessandra , Distefano Gaetano
Published: June 2024

Background

Among the Citrus species, lemon (Citrus limon Burm f.) is one of the most affected by the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch). Moreover, chemical control is hampered by the mite’s ability to develop genetic resistance against acaricides. In this context, the identification of the genetic basis of the host resistance could represent a sustainable strategy for spider mite control. In the present study, a marker-trait association analysis was performed on a lemon population employing an association mapping approach. An inter-specific full-sib population composed of 109 accessions was phenotyped through a detached-leaf assays performed in modified Huffaker cells. Those individuals, complemented with two inter-specific segregating populations, were genotyped using a target-sequencing approach called SPET (Single Primer Enrichment Technology), the resulting SNPs were employed for the generation of an integrated genetic map.

Results

The percentage of damaged area in the full-sib population showed a quantitative distribution with values ranging from 0.36 to 9.67%. A total of 47,298 SNPs were selected for an association mapping study and a significant marker linked with resistance to spider mite was detected on linkage group 5. In silico gene annotation of the QTL interval enabled the detection of 13 genes involved in immune response to biotic and abiotic stress. Gene expression analysis showed an over expression of the gene encoding for the ethylene-responsive transcription factor ERF098-like, already characterized in Arabidopsis and in rice for its involvement in defense response.

Conclusion

The identification of a molecular marker linked to the resistance to spider mite attack can pave the way for the development of marker-assisted breeding plan for the development of novel selection coupling favorable agronomical traits (e.g. fruit quality, yield) with a higher resistance toward the mite.
Measures of fragmentation of rest activity patterns: mathematical properties and interpretability based on accelerometer real life data
Authors: Danilevicz Ian Meneghel , van Hees Vincent Theodoor , van der Heide Frank C. T. , Jacob Louis , Landré Benjamin , Benadjaoud Mohamed Amine , Sabia Séverine
Published: June 2024

Accelerometers, devices that measure body movements, have become valuable tools for studying the fragmentation of rest-activity patterns, a core circadian rhythm dimension, using metrics such as inter-daily stability (IS), intradaily variability (IV), transition probability (TP), and self-similarity parameter (named $$\alpha$$
α
). However, their use remains mainly empirical. Therefore, we investigated the mathematical properties and interpretability of rest-activity fragmentation metrics by providing mathematical proofs for the ranges of IS and IV, proposing maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimators for TP, introducing the activity balance index (ABI) metric, a transformation of $$\alpha$$
α
, and describing distributions of these metrics in real-life setting. Analysis of accelerometer data from 2,859 individuals (age=60-83 years, 21.1% women) from the Whitehall II cohort (UK) shows modest correlations between the metrics, except for ABI and $$\alpha$$
α
. Sociodemographic (age, sex, education, employment status) and clinical (body mass index (BMI), and number of morbidities) factors were associated with these metrics, with differences observed according to metrics. For example, a difference of 5 units in BMI was associated with all metrics (differences ranging between -0.261 (95% CI -0.302, -0.220) to 0.228 (0.18, 0.268) for standardised TP rest to activity during the awake period and TP activity to rest during the awake period, respectively). These results reinforce the value of these rest-activity fragmentation metrics in epidemiological and clinical studies to examine their role for health. This paper expands on a set of methods that have previously demonstrated empirical value, improves the theoretical foundation for these methods, and evaluates their empirical use in a large dataset.
Embolization alone is as effective as TACE for unresectable HCC: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails
Authors: Wang Guoliang , Zhang Jinxiang , Liu Hao , Zheng Qichang , Sun Ping
Published: June 2024

Background

Despite transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) was recommended as first line therapy for intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the efficacy of transarterial embolization (TAE) has not been widely recognized. This work was to determine whether TAE was as effective and safe as TACE for unresectable HCC.

Methods

We performed a systematic search of electronic databases and other sources for randomized controlled studies (RCTs) comparing TAE with TACE for unresectable HCC. Results were expressed as Hazard Ratio (HR) for survival and Odds Ratio (OR) for dichotomous outcomes using RevMan 5.4.1.

Results

We included 6 trials with 683 patients. The risk of bias of included RCTs was from unclear to high risk. There were no significant differences between TACE and TAE for progression-free survival (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.45–1.55; p = 0.57), overall survival (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.90–1.35; p = 0.36), and objective response rate (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.80–1.71; p = 0.42) without obvious publication bias. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. TAE group reported similar or less adverse effects than TACE group in all the studies.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that TAE was as effective as TACE. Since TAE was simpler, cheaper and had less adverse effects than TACE, TAE should be a better choice in most cases where TACE was indicated for unresectable HCC.
Comparative analysis of dexmedetomidine, midazolam, and propofol impact on epilepsy-related mortality in the ICU: insights from the MIMIC-IV database
Authors: Li Xun , Yue Wei
Published: June 2024

Background

Dexmedetomidine (Dex), midazolam, and propofol are three distinct sedatives characterized by varying pharmacological properties. Previous literature has indicated the positive impact of each of these sedatives on ICU patients. However, there is a scarcity of clinical evidence comparing the efficacy of Dex, midazolam, and propofol in reducing mortality among people with epilepsy (PWE). This study aimed to assess the impact of Dex, midazolam, and propofol on the survival of PWE.

Methods

The data were retrospectively retrieved from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database (version 2.0). PWE were categorized into Dex, midazolam, and propofol groups based on the intravenously administered sedatives. PWE without standard drug therapy were included in the control group. Comparative analyses were performed on the data among the groups.

Results

The Dex group exhibited a significantly lower proportion of in-hospital deaths and a markedly higher in-hospital survival time compared to the midazolam and propofol groups (p < 0.01) after propensity score matching. Kaplan-Meier curves demonstrated a significant improvement in survival rates for the Dex group compared to the control group (p = 0.025). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed no significant differences in survival rates among the Dex, midazolam, and propofol groups (F = 1.949, p = 0.143). The nomogram indicated that compared to midazolam and propofol groups, Dex was more effective in improving the survival rate of PWE.

Conclusion

Dex might improve the survival rate of PWE in the ICU compared to no standard drug intervention. However, Dex did not exhibit superiority in improving survival rates compared to midazolam and propofol.