bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perkembangan Lembaga Pendidikan Islam Kontemporer
Authors: Fiandi Arif , Ilmi Darul
Published: December 2022

The purpose of writing this article is to find out and discuss the development of contemporary Islamic educational institutions. This study uses the literature review method by gathering information from literary sources, such as books, articles, research reports, and other sources that are relevant to the topics discussed. Islamic educational institutions which at first took place in a simple manner with simple management as well. However, along with the times and the development of the world of education, Islamic educational institutions are also developing. The development of Islamic educational institutions is a necessity and must occur. The results of this study are that there are five periods in the development of Islamic educational institutions, namely: the coaching period, the golden period, the decline period, the stagnation period and the modern period. It is this modern period Islamic educational institution that has developed to date, which is called a contemporary Islamic educational institution. Contemporary Islamic educational institutions exist in the form of formal, non-formal and informal educational institutions. Contemporary Islamic educational institutions are managed with modern management, complete infrastructure, integrated curriculum, and can meet the expectations of society, especially formal contemporary Islamic educational institutions.
When Less Is More – Pipelle Endometrial Sampling for Quantification of Uterine Natural Killer Cells in Patients With Recurrent Implantation Failure or Habitual Abortion
Authors: Lapides L , Varga I , Klein M , Rybánska L , Belušáková V , Babál P
Published: December 2022

Despite recent advancements in reproductive medicine, recurrent implantation failure and habitual abortion remain ongoing issues. One of the most important aspects of successful implantation is the intricate immune response and regulation necessary for the acceptance of the hemiallogenic embryo. The most numerous immune cells in the decidua are uterine natural killer cells (uNK). Studies suggest that changes in the uNK count and physiology may be responsible for the aforementioned pathological conditions. Thus, testing for uNK may provide valuable insights into their pathogenesis. The study compared Pipelle endometrial sampling with conventional curettage to find out whether the less invasive Pipelle method is a viable alternative of tissue collection. Tissue samples from 14 patients obtained by both methods were examined. The average size of tissue samples obtained with Pipelle was 17 mm2, samples obtained with curettage had on average 34 mm2. Using immunohistochemical visualization of CD56 (NK cells) and granzyme B antigens (serine protease-expressing activation state of NK cells), it was found that the average total count of CD56 / mm2 was 115 for Pipelle and 120 for curettage, respectively. The study also proved a correlation between granzyme B positivity and identification of NK cells clusters. The results indicated that Pipelle endometrial sampling seems a suitable method of tissue harvesting for the purpose of uNK cells examination. Pipelle endometrial sampling is safe, cost-effective and can be performed on an outpatient basis without the need of anesthesia or analgesia. Several issues remain yet to be solved: how to standardize the subsequent uNK testing, how to interpret the results and finally yet importantly, how to use this knowledge in personalized treatment protocols.
Food security in Ukraine: state and current issues of nowadays
Authors: Palapa N. , Demyanyuk O. , Nagorniuk О.
Published: December 2022

The problem of food security in Ukraine and in the world in general has become especially relevant due to the growing population on the planet, depletion of natural resources, declining soil productivity, climate change and military conflicts. The number of countries with existing food security problems has increased in recent years. Different views on food security, state of food security in Ukraine are analyzed and comparisons with the countries of Europe and the world are made. According to statistics, in 2020 the caloric content of the Ukrainian diet was only 7% higher than the threshold level of 2.500 kcal/day, but less than the minimum WHO physiological standard (3.000 kcal/day) while the caloric content of the Ukrainian diet in 1990 was 3597 kcal/day. In addition, the diet of the population of Ukraine remains unbalanced with a predominance of plant products. The most critical is the state of consumption of complete protein foods (meat, milk, fish) and vitamin products (fruits). Ukrainians consume even less than the minimum norm for fish and fish products, as well as fruit. The indicator of import dependence is calculated, according to which as of 2020 it was the highest for fish and fish products — 82%, which is 52% above the threshold level of 30%. The predominant share of imported supplies falls on fish species that are caught exclusively in the waters of maritime economic zones of other countries, while the consumption of fish and fish products by the population of Ukraine remains below the recommended dietary norms. It is established that due to domestic production more than 90% of our country meets the necessary consumer needs of the population for most foods. The analysis and comparative assessment of the structure of total consumer expenditures of households in 2016 and 2020, as well as comparisons with EU countries. According to the State Statistics Service, consumer spending of Ukrainian households is 91.4% of income. The largest share of their income (48.1%) Ukrainians spent on food, housing and utilities — 14.4%. In the EU, housing, utilities and fuel rank first in the structure of household consumption expenditures — 25.7% of total expenditures. Citizens of Slovakia and Finland spend the most on this item — 30.7% and 30.5% of all expenses, respectively. The lowest one is 15.5% in Lithuania. Europeans spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages on average 14.8% of the total consumer spending structure, second only to utilities.
Evaluation of phytotoxicity of disinfectants used for manure disinfection
Authors: Kryvokhyzha Ye. , Pinchuk V. , Tertichna O.
Published: December 2022

Manure as an organic fertilizer in practice of agriculture is allowed to use only if it does not contain pathogenic microorganisms. Upon detection in manure and chicken droppings of pathogens of infectious diseases is carried out their disinfection. Choosing method of disinfection is carried out at the direction of veterinary service taking into account danger of arising of epizootic situation, type of pathogen of disease, presence and type of chemical reagents and technical means. For disinfection of animal by-products by chemical method we use a large number of disinfecting agents potentially hazardous for the environment which is associated with the content in their composition of xenobiotics, in particular aldehydes, chlorine, phenols, etc. The paper presents results of biotesting of soils polluted by disinfecting agents used for disinfection animal by-products, in particular, bioethanol, Novochlor-Extra (contain such active substances how inorganic chlorine compounds and alkali) and Dezaktin (organic chlorine compounds, anion SAS and sodium tripolyphosphate). The assessment was carried out under laboratory conditions through biotesting with the use of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). It is established, that after five-day cultivation of barley seeds in soils containing 1.0, 10.0 and 100.0 mg/kg of such agents as bioethanol, Novochlor-Extra and Dezaktin there was gradual reduction of mass of stem to 10.2% compared to a control. When the content in soils was 1.0, 10.0 and 100.0 mg/kg of investigated disinfectants gradual reduction of length of stem of barley by an average of 12.2% was observed. At pollution of soil investigated agents in the number of 1.0, 10.0 and 100.0 mg/kg we observed the small increase of length of longest of root by an average of 7.8%, which indicates to stimulating influence on the growth of root system and absence of phytotoxicity. When the content of disinfectants bioethanol and Novochlor-Extra in soils was in a quantity of 1000 mg/kg, there was reduction of mass, length of stem and longest root of an average of 19.1, 30.5 and 16.8%, respectively. At pollution of soil at the level of 1000 mg/kg agent of Dezactin we observed reduction of mass of stem to 61.8%, its length on 72.0% and length of longest of root to 67.4% that demonstrated to phytotoxic influence. At the hit of disinfectants with disinfected animal by-products in soils in a quantity of ≥1000 mg/kg it is possible to predict negative impact on morphometric indicators of plant what probably will lead to worsen of their development. The method of determination of pollution of soils by delay growth of root of plants is informative express method for ecological assessment of content in them the disinfectants used for disinfection of animal by-products.
Aspects of ecological taxation development in the European economy transformation
Authors: Polishchuk V.
Published: December 2022

It is revealed that the fiscal ecological policy plays a principal role in the complex process of economic transformation. One of its functions is a direct participation in the realization of the nature environment conservation policy of European countries, which in turn react resolutely and balanced on the aggravation of resource problems and ecological crisis. The main purpose of this article is the influence identification of the environmental taxation on the realization of the environmental conservation policy of the European Economic Area (EEA) with financial and economic capability of the modern European countries considered. Complex indicators, which are investigated analytically with the comparative analysis considered, are utilized for the realization of the aforementioned endeavor. The experience of the European countries is recommended to be explored, generalized and engrained if possible in Ukraine for modern system of the environmental taxation formation. The indicators, which characterize the level of EU environmental taxation income, are analyzed systematically. As the realization of the fiscal and ecological policy has to become one of the stimulating factors of the environmental conservation, the basic aspects of environmental taxation implementation of the European countries are determined. The systematic approach for environmental taxation influence determination on the successive prospects of environmental conservation doctrine realization by the European community is applied in the article. The European community in turn has to make a balanced choice of the chief priorities for the further community and economic development. It has been proven that the environment degradation and irrational usage of the natural resources are the main motivating stimulus for the environmental conservation policy of Europe transportation. It should be pointed out that the efficacious implementation of the environmental taxation is obligatory for the full-fledged policy realization. The comprehensive investigating method which indicates the real influence of different kinds of the environmental taxation on an increase of the technical level of the production and the auspicious investment climate establishment. The realization of the investment policy of the environmental conservation and fiscal ecological reform are the paramount component of the sustainable development and its fulfillment must be directed to the increase of the quality level of the environment. European countries have already reached certain results, but the modification of nature conservation policy must be continuous and meet the requirements of time. It is investigated that ecotax can play a critical role in material and mental influence on a manufacturer, a consumer and non-ecological services. Financial instruments in turn are more often utilized by market economy countries for improving ecosystem quality and live circumstances of society.
Searching Algorithm in a nonrelational database
Authors: Ceresnak Roman , Kvet Michal , Matiasko Karol
Published: December 2022

The problem of the data growth and it is storing to the nonrelational data-bases is related to their decreasing efficiency of searching. Nowadays, a very popular database in memory will help us with decreasing the efficiency of the operation searching in this paper. This paper examines the data search-ing in applications hosted in cloud service Amazon with using of nonrela-tional database DynamoDB. It develops new procedures to provide faster response to user and to obtain the data using of nonrelational database Dy-namoDB, that will provide the demanded data and subsequently, it will transfer them to the memory. The given procedure is based on two methods. The first method is a recognition of values, to which the user refers and the provision of this data to the database in memory. The second method is re-lated to the automatic storing of the data transferred to the database in memory. We perform various experiments in the paper, which are showing us a border of efficiency respectively inefficiency from a time perspective.
System of Automatic Recognition of Video Text Amazigh based on the Random Forest
Authors: Rachidi Youssef
Published: December 2022

In this paper; we introduce a system of automatic recognition of Video Text Amazigh based on the Random Forest. After doing some pretreatments on the video and picture, the text is segmented into lines and then into characters. In the stage of characteristics extraction, we are representing the input data into the vector of primitives. These characteristics are linked to pixels’ densities and they are extracted on binary pictures. In the classification stage, we examine four classification methods with two different classifiers types namely the convolutional neural network (CNN) and the Random Forest method. We carried out the experiments with a database containing 3300 samples collected from different writers. The experimental results show that our proposed OCR system is very efficient and provides good recognition accuracy rate of handwriting characters images acquired via Video camera phone.
Risk Disclosure as a Way to Increase the Informative Value of Corporate Reporting for Stakeholders
Authors: Zenkina Irina
Published: December 2022

The article is devoted to the study of risk as a category of accounting and reporting and substantiation of directions for comprehensive disclosure of risks in order to increase the informative value of corporate reporting for stakeholders. The article shows the development of approaches to the definition of risk and provides an updated definition of risk in accordance with modern concepts. A classification of risks is proposed in the context of the concept of multiple capitals and the concept of sustainable development, which is relevant to the task of adequate disclosure of information about risks. It is demonstrated that the modern legal regulation of accounting, standards and guidelines in the field of corporate reporting assigns an important role to risks. Based on an empirical study, the recommended limits for the disclosure of information about risks by organizations in the framework of ensuring the transparency of reporting are determined. The factors stimulating economic entities to disclose information on the risks of sustainable development in corporate reporting are considered. An assessment is made of the impact of digital tools and technologies on the ability to predict, assess and disclose risks in corporate reporting, as well as on the effectiveness of decisions of organizations' stakeholders.
The relationship of students’ psychological security level in the digital educational environment
Authors: Kobicheva Aleksandra
Published: December 2022

Currently some studies that demonstrate the correlation between students' level of psychological security and their academic performance and engagement have been published. Many studies have examined the importance of the level of psychological safety among students, some of which have proposed a methodology for assessing this indicator. To assess students' level of psychological security in studying, there were conducted online surveys. The sample included 351 students between the ages of 19 and 21 (M = 19.57, SD = 0.59), predominantly female (57%). As a result of the survey, it was found that women showed a higher level of psychological safety. The same trend was found in levels of academic engagement and academic performance. Using linear regression analysis, psychological safety was found to positively affect academic performance and attainment, especially in an online educational environment.
Education for Colombian Civil Engineers under Problem-Based E-Learning Modalities
Authors: González-Palacio Liliana
Published: December 2022

It is well known that material resistance is a core course for any civil engineer, since construction work requires the use of materials that are subject to constant exposure to internal and external factors. The University of Medellín has implemented a new strategy in its materials resistance course that includes elements of virtual education and elements of active learning focused on PBL (Problem-Based Learning). This article describes the use of the new educational methodology and its advantages. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that only lectures do not contribute to the active involvement of students in the learning process and do not allow students to acquire the practical skills necessary to apply the studied courses in their future work. Active involvement in solving practical problems has not only a great impact on student motivation, but also improves academic engagement and performance.
Digital Transformation of Church Services and Fundraising in Cyprus
Authors: Christodoulou Maria
Published: December 2022

Nowadays Cyprus does not have academic traditions in Theology at the institutional level that go back that long. The argument put forward in this paper is that, there is not so many of theology around Cyprus, which has never been acknowledged. The jury is still out as to whether we can speak of Cypriot theology schools, derived from the conjuncture of global, regional and local factors and the dialectic of social/geopolitics, with the exception perhaps of the Cypriot strands which primarily address identity issues. In any case, theology has long transcended national or ethnic boundaries, but location and rooting still matters, as it provides perspectives from specific vantage points. We can see that trends derive from different traditions, and they have always been connected to and have co-existed with global or regional tendencies, although not necessarily peacefully with or in recognition of each other. This paper considers the development of Cypriot churches toward the use of digital technology in worship and fundraising. In the case of religious organisations, at first glance, support from their followers is the most obvious resource. However, the resources of a religious organisation are not limited to its electoral capabilities. It should be borne in mind that well established Cyprus churches have significant influence on the economic and social sphere, acting as a beneficiary or co-owner of economic enterprises and a founder of socially significant organisations (e.g., hospitals, schools, universities, colleges, charitable foundations, and orphanages).
From bench to bedside: Calprotectin (S100A8/S100A9) as a biomarker in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Inciarte-Mundo José , Frade-Sosa Beatriz , Sanmartí Raimon
Published: December 2022

S100A9/S100A8 (calprotectin), a member of the S100 protein family, has been shown to play a pivotal role in innate immunity activation. Calprotectin plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as it triggers chemotaxis, phagocyte migration and modulation of neutrophils and macrophages. Higher calprotectin levels have been found in synovial fluid, plasma, and serum from RA patients. Recent studies have demonstrated better correlations between serum or plasma calprotectin and composite inflammatory disease activity indexes than c-reactive protein (CRP) or the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Calprotectin serum levels decreased after treatment, independently of the DMARD type or strategy. Calprotectin has shown the strongest correlations with other sensitive techniques to detect inflammation, such as ultrasound. Calprotectin independently predicts radiographic progression. However, its value as a biomarker of treatment response and flare after tapering is unclear. This update reviews the current understanding of calprotectin in RA and discusses possible applications as a biomarker in clinical practice.
Kimura’s disease: A clinicopathological study of 23 cases
Authors: Lee Chih-Chun , Yu Kuang-Hui , Chan Tien-Ming
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Kimura’s disease (KD) is an uncommon lymphoproliferative fibroinflammatory disorder. Patients present with head and neck subcutaneous nodules with or without lymphadenopathy. Peripheral blood eosinophilia and elevated serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels are typical. This study was designed to delineate the clinicopathological features, pattern of care, and disease course of 23 Taiwanese patients with KD.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 23 consecutive cases (16 male and 7 female; age at diagnosis: 12–77 years) of KD diagnosed at our institution from 2015 to 2020.

Results

The median time from presentation to diagnosis was 1 month. Twenty-one patients presented with unilateral or bilateral head and neck masses. The remaining two presented with right flank and right arm lesions, respectively. Peripheral blood eosinophilia was observed in nine, and elevated IgE levels were observed in four. All were diagnosed using either excisional or core-needle biopsy. Seven patients underwent fine needle aspiration without a diagnostic yield. Salivary gland and lymph node involvement was observed in three and seven patients, respectively. Most lesions showed tissue eosinophilia (100%) and florid follicular hyperplasia (78.26%). Three cases had histological KD-IgG4-RD overlap and three had comorbid IgG4-RD were recognized. Thirteen patients underwent surgical resection, one received adjuvant therapy, and two received prednisolone monotherapy.

Conclusion

KD should be considered in patients with subcutaneous masses, eosinophilia, and elevated IgE levels. Biopsy remains the gold standard of diagnosis. Increased recruitment of IgG4+ plasma cells is a common feature. Consideration of IgG4-RD in all KD patients may be prudent.
Relationship between thick or greasy tongue-coating microbiota and tongue diagnosis in patients with primary liver cancer
Authors: Zhang Yuren , Zhao Hetong , Guo Yuyu , Meng Yongbin , Yu Shasha , Pan Bo , Zhai Xiaofeng
Published: December 2022

Tongue diagnosis is a unique aspect of traditional Chinese medicine for diagnosing diseases before determining proper means of treatment, but it also has the disadvantage of relying on the subjective experience of medical practitioners and lack objective basis. The purpose of this article is to elucidate tongue-coating microbiota and metabolic differences in primary liver cancer (PLC) patients with thick or greasy tongue coatings. Tongue-coating samples were analyzed in 60 PLC patients (30 PLC with thick or greasy tongue-coating patients and 30 PLC with tongue-coating neither thick nor greasy) and 25 healthy controls (HC) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. As compared to healthy individuals, tongue coatings of patients with PLC had elevated levels of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. The abundance of Fusobacteria, SR1_Absconditabacteria_, and Spirochaete were higher in tongue coatings of healthy controls compared to samples in patients with PLC. In addition to site-specific differences, higher abundances of Fusobacteria and Actinobacteria were observed in thick or greasy tongue-coating patients as compared to non-thick and greasy tongue-coating patients. The inferred metagenomic pathways enriched in the PLC tongue-coating patients were mainly those involved in replication, recombination, and repair of protein. We also identify a tongue-coating microbiome signature to discriminate HC and PLC, including 15 variables on genus level. The prediction performance of the signature showed well in the training and validation cohorts. This research illustrates specific clinical features and bacterial structures in PLC patients with different tongue coatings, which facilitates understanding of the traditional tongue diagnosis.
Efficacy of sildenafil and high-dose anakinra in an MIS-C patient with pulmonary vasculitis: A case report
Authors: La Torre Francesco , Calabrese Gerolmina , Signorile Katia , Bizzoco Francesca , Mastrorilli Carla , Strippoli Antonella , Amato Doriana , Carella Francesco , Vairo Ugo , Giordano Paola , Milella Leonardo , Cardinale Fabio
Published: December 2022

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a newly identified clinical entity still not very well known in terms of epidemiology, pathogenesis, and long-term outcome. Pulmonary involvement with acute respiratory failure is an unusual life-threatening complication of MIS-C, often a reason for admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and the use of mechanical ventilation. We present a case of a 7-year-old male patient, previously healthy, hospitalized for MIS-C, treated with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), high dose methylprednisolone, and anakinra. After 2 days of the aforementioned therapy, the patient presented with hypoxia (SatO2: 85% in ambient air room) and breathing difficulties. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed the presence of multiple bilateral basal parenchymal thickening and small basal pleural effusion and an arterial blood gas analysis revealed severe hypoxia (PaO2/FiO2 ratio, 170 mmHg). Because of a worsening of respiratory distress, the patient was transferred to the PICU, where invasive mechanical ventilation and a continuous infusion of anakinra (12 mg/kg/day) were started. An echocardiogram was performed, which showed an increase in pulmonary pressure (40 mmHg) with normal heart ejection fraction (55%), and the hypothesis of pulmonary vasculitis involving the pulmonary arterioles was made. Therefore, therapy with sildenafil (0.15 mg/kg/day) was promptly set up, with an immediate improvement of the clinical picture of respiratory failure, reduction of pulmonary pressure (23 mmHg), and subsequent extubation at 36 h with a regular clinical course until discharge. As far as we know, our case represents the first report of pulmonary vasculitis in an MIS-C patient. The use of sildenafil and high-dose continuous anakinra may represent a rescue therapy in cases of MIS-C with pulmonary vasculitis or with difficulty in extubation, allowing a short-term hospitalization in intensive care and improving the long-term outcome in these patients.
The impact of omentectomy on cause-specific survival of Stage I–IIIA epithelial ovarian cancer: A PSM–IPTW analysis based on the SEER database
Authors: Hao Zhimin , Yu Yangli , Yang Sufen
Published: December 2022

Objective

Routine omentectomy is generally performed during surgery for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The current study aims to evaluate the impact of omentectomy on cause-specific survival of Stage I–IIIA EOC patients.

Methods

Patients who presented with clinical Stage I–IIIA serous, clear cell, endometrioid, and mucinous ovarian cancers were selected from the SEER Database for the period between 2004 and 2018. We extracted clinicopathological data and surgical information with the focus on the performance of omentectomy and lymphadenectomy. Binary logistic regression and recursive partitioning analyses were conducted to identify the significant factors for the performance of omentectomy during surgery. Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) techniques were utilized to balance confounding factors. Multivariate, exploratory subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of omentectomy on cause-specific survival (CSS).

Results

A total of 13,302 patients with EOC were enrolled in the study. The cohort comprised 3,569 endometrioid, 4,915 serous, 2,407 clear cell, and 2,411 mucinous subtypes. A total of 48.62% (6,467/13,302) of patients underwent the procedure of omentectomy during primary surgery, and only 3% absolute improvement in CSS at the individual level was observed, without statistical significance based on multivariate analysis. According to the regression-tree model with recursive partitioning analysis, the procedure of lymphadenectomy was found to be the strongest factor to distinguish the performance of omentectomy, followed by the tumor stage. Patients who underwent omentectomy were more likely to be managed in Stage I than those who underwent lymphadenectomy. After PSM-IPTW adjustment, the inclusion of omentectomy in the initial surgical procedure did not demonstrate a beneficial impact on CSS compared with those who did not undergo the procedure. Exploratory subgroup analysis indicated that the performance of omentectomy improved 5-year CSS in Stage II–IIIA patients. In the sensitive analyses for various tumor stages, omentectomy appeared to benefit only Stage II patients. However, patients across various stages seemed to benefit from the performance of lymphadenectomy, irrespective of the performance of omentectomy on them.

Conclusion

Routine omentectomy may not be associated with survival benefit for patients with a grossly normal-appearing omentum, especially for those with clinical Stage I epithelial ovarian cancers.
Variational Bayes to Accelerate the Lagrange Multipliers towards the Dual Optimization of Reliability and Cost in Renewable Energy Systems
Authors: Nikolaidis Pavlos
Published: December 2022

Renewable energy sources are constantly increasing in the modern power systems. Due to their intermittent and uncertain potential, increased spinning reserve requirements are needed to conserve the reliability. On the other hand, each action towards efficiency improvement and cost reduction contradicts the participation of variable resources in the energy mix, requiring more accurate tools for optimal unit commitment. By increasing the renewable contribution, not only does the overall system inertia decrease with the decreasing conventional generation, but more generators that are expensive are also introduced. This work provides a radically different approach towards a tractable optimization task based on the framework of Lagrange relaxation and variational Bayes. Following a dual formulation of reliability and cost, the Lagrange multipliers are accelerated via a machine learning mechanism, namely, variational Bayesian inference. The novelty in the proposed approach stems from the employed acquisition function and the effect of the Gaussian process. The obtained results show great improvements compared with the Lagrange relaxation alternative, which can reach over USD 1 M in production cost credits at the least number of function evaluations. The proposed hybrid method promises global solutions relying on a proper acquisition function that is able to move towards regions with minimum objective value and maximum uncertainty.
Assessing Academics’ Third Mission Engagement by Individual and Organisational Predictors
Authors: Karlsdottir Verena , Torfason Magnus Thor , Edvardsson Ingi Runar , Heijstra Thamar Melanie
Published: December 2022

In recent years, the coming of the entrepreneurial university has brought about a third role in academia, which involves greater visible exchange of academics with society and industry. In this paper, the authors investigate to what extent individual and organisational factors influence the propensity of academics to engage in different types of Third Mission (TM) activities. This study is based on a large-scale survey of academics in Iceland regarding engagement in socio-economic activities. The results indicate that “soft” activities such as community activities and external teaching and training can be better predicted by individual factors, while hard activities such as applied contract research and commercialisation can be better predicted by organisational factors. Overall, academics are most likely to participate in community-related activities. Hereby, academics from the STEM and health disciplines, with work experience outside of academia and who are open to new experiences are more likely to be engaged in applied contract research and commercialisation. Academics belonging to disciplines other than STEM and health sciences and those that on an average publish more peer-reviewed articles are more likely to disseminate their knowledge to a wider audience outside of academia through public science communication. Gender, rank, and teaching do not affect TM participation, but openness, performance, or discipline do.
Feather Damage Monitoring System Using RGB-Depth-Thermal Model for Chickens
Authors: Zhang Xiaomin , Zhang Yanning , Geng Jinfeng , Pan Jinming , Huang Xinyao , Rao Xiuqin
Published: December 2022

Feather damage is a continuous health and welfare challenge among laying hens. Infrared thermography is a tool that can evaluate the changes in the surface temperature, derived from an inflammatory process that would make it possible to objectively determine the depth of the damage to the dermis. Therefore, the objective of this article was to develop an approach to feather damage assessment based on visible light and infrared thermography. Fusing information obtained from these two bands can highlight their strengths, which is more evident in the assessment of feather damage. A novel pipeline was proposed to reconstruct the RGB-Depth-Thermal maps of the chicken using binocular color cameras and a thermal infrared camera. The process of stereo matching based on binocular color images allowed for a depth image to be obtained. Then, a heterogeneous image registration method was presented to achieve image alignment between thermal infrared and color images so that the thermal infrared image was also aligned with the depth image. The chicken image was segmented from the background using a deep learning-based network based on the color and depth images. Four kinds of images, namely, color, depth, thermal and mask, were utilized as inputs to reconstruct the 3D model of a chicken with RGB-Depth-Thermal maps. The depth of feather damage can be better assessed with the proposed model compared to the 2D thermal infrared image or color image during both day and night, which provided a reference for further research in poultry farming.
LPS-Induced Liver Injury of Magang Geese through Toll-like Receptor and MAPK Signaling Pathway
Authors: Li Bingxin , Hong Longsheng , Luo Yindan , Zhang Bingqi , Yu Ziyu , Li Wanyan , Cao Nan , Huang Yunmao , Xu Danning , Li Yugu , Tian Yunbo
Published: December 2022

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is one of the main virulence factors of Gram-negative bacteria. In the process of waterfowl breeding, an inflammatory reaction due to LPS infection is easily produced, which leads to a decline in waterfowl performance. The liver plays a vital role in the immune response and the removal of toxic components. Therefore, it is necessary to study the mechanism of liver injury induced by LPS in goose. In this study, a total of 100 1-day-old goslings were randomly divided into a control group and LPS group after 3 days of pre-feeding. On days 21, 23, and 25 of the formal experiment, the control group was intraperitoneally injected with 0.5 mL normal saline, and the LPS group was intraperitoneally injected with LPS 2 mg/(kg body weight) once a day. On day 25 of the experiment, liver samples were collected 3 h after the injection of saline and LPS. The results of histopathology and biochemical indexes showed that the livers of the LPS group had liver morphological structure destruction and inflammatory cell infiltration, and the levels of ALT and AST were increased. Next, RNA sequencing analysis was used to determine the abundances and characteristics of the transcripts, as well as the associated somatic mutations and alternative splicing. We screened 727 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with p < 0.05 and |log2(Fold Change)| ≥ 1, as the thresholds; GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that LPS-induced liver injury may be involved in the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, FoxO, and PPAR signaling pathway. Finally, we intersected the genes enriched in the key pathway of LPS-induced liver injury with the top 50 key genes in protein–protein interaction networks to obtain 28 more critical genes. Among them, 17 genes were enriched in Toll-like signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. Therefore, these results suggest that LPS-induced liver injury in geese may be the result of the joint action of Toll-like receptor, MAPK, NOD-like receptor, FoxO, and PPAR signaling pathway. Among them, the TLR7-mediated MAPK signaling pathway plays a major role.
Ciprofloxacin Alone vs. Ciprofloxacin plus an Aminoglycoside for the Prevention of Infectious Complications following a Transrectal Ultrasound-Guided Prostate Biopsy: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Thirion Daniel J. G. , Caissy Jean-Alexandre , Poulin Florence , Lanfranchi Camille S. H. , Deda Albin , Aprikian Armen , Frenette Charles , Andonian Sero
Published: December 2022

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of augmented prophylaxis (ciprofloxacin augmented with an aminoglycoside) compared with that of empirical prophylaxis (ciprofloxacin alone) on transrectal post-prostate biopsy infectious complication (PBIC) rates. A retrospective cohort study evaluated 2835 patients receiving either augmented or empirical prophylactic regimen before undergoing a transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy between January 2010 and October 2018. The patients were compared according to prophylactic regimen received. The incidence of PBICs and the impact of risk factors were evaluated. A total of 1849 patients received the empirical regimen, and 986 patients received the augmented regimen. The composite PBIC rate was 2.1% (n = 39) and 0.9% (n = 9) (p = 0.019), respectively, and the SIRS rate was 1.9% and 0.8% (p = 0.020), respectively. Of the 50 patients presenting with a PBIC, 29 (58%) had positive cultures (blood and/or urine) for Escherichia coli, of which 28 (97%) were ciprofloxacin-resistant. Taking a fluoroquinolone in the previous 6 months and having a previous urinary tract infection within 1 year prior to the biopsy had significant impact on PBIC rates (p = 0.009 and p = 0.011, respectively). Compared with ciprofloxacin alone, augmented prophylaxis was associated with significantly lower PBICs.
Monocarbonyl Curcumin Analogues as Potent Inhibitors against Human Glutathione Transferase P1-1
Authors: Pantiora Panagiota , Furlan Veronika , Matiadis Dimitris , Mavroidi Barbara , Perperopoulou Fereniki , Papageorgiou Anastassios C. , Sagnou Marina , Bren Urban , Pelecanou Maria , Labrou Nikolaos E.
Published: December 2022

The isoenzyme of human glutathione transferase P1-1 (hGSTP1-1) is involved in multi-drug resistance (MDR) mechanisms in numerous cancer cell lines. In the present study, the inhibition potency of two curcuminoids and eleven monocarbonyl curcumin analogues against hGSTP1-1 was investigated. Demethoxycurcumin (Curcumin II) and three of the monocarbonyl curcumin analogues exhibited the highest inhibitory activity towards hGSTP1-1 with IC50 values ranging between 5.45 ± 1.08 and 37.72 ± 1.02 μM. Kinetic inhibition studies of the most potent inhibitors demonstrated that they function as non-competitive/mixed-type inhibitors. These compounds were also evaluated for their toxicity against the prostate cancer cells DU-145. Interestingly, the strongest hGSTP1-1 inhibitor, (DM96), exhibited the highest cytotoxicity with an IC50 of 8.60 ± 1.07 μΜ, while the IC50 values of the rest of the compounds ranged between 44.59–48.52 μΜ. Structural analysis employing molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and binding-free-energy calculations was performed to study the four most potent curcumin analogues as hGSTP1-1 inhibitors. According to the obtained computational results, DM96 exhibited the lowest binding free energy, which is in agreement with the experimental data. All studied curcumin analogues were found to form hydrophobic interactions with the residue Gln52, as well as hydrogen bonds with the nearby residues Gln65 and Asn67. Additional hydrophobic interactions with the residues Phe9 and Val36 as well as π–π stacking interaction with Phe9 contributed to the superior inhibitory activity of DM96. The van der Waals component through shape complementarity was found to play the most important role in DM96-inhibitory activity. Overall, our results revealed that the monocarbonyl curcumin derivative DM96 acts as a strong hGSTP1-1 inhibitor, exerts high prostate cancer cell cytotoxicity, and may, therefore, be exploited for the suppression and chemosensitization of cancer cells. This study provides new insights into the development of safe and effective GST-targeted cancer chemosensitizers.
Physicochemical Properties and Oxidative Stability of an Emulsion Prepared from (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Modified Chicken Wooden Breast Myofibrillar Protein
Authors: Wang Ke , Li Yan , Zhang Yimin , Sun Jingxin
Published: December 2022

The deterioration of wooden breast myofibrillar protein (WBMP) causes a decline in its processing performance, and the protein becomes easier to oxidize. Previous studies have revealed that the use of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) may improve the physicochemical properties and oxidative stability of proteins in aqueous solutions. The effects of varying concentrations (0.01%, 0.02%, 0.03%, and 0.04% w/v) of EGCG on the physicochemical properties of a WBMP emulsion (1.2% WBMP/10% oil) and the inhibition of lipid and protein oxidation were studied. The results revealed that a moderate dose of EGCG (0.03%) could significantly (p < 0.05) improve the emulsion activity index (4.66 ± 0.41 m2/g) and emulsion stability index (91.95 ± 4.23%), as well as reduce the particle size of the WBMP emulsion. According to the micrographs and cream index, 0.03% EGCG retarded the phase separation by stopping the aggregation of droplets and proteins, thus significantly improving the stability of WBMP emulsions. During storage at 50 °C for 96 h, 0.03% EGCG inhibited lipid oxidation (lipid hydroperoxide and 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance formation) and protein oxidation (carbonyl formation and sulfhydryl loss). In contrast, lower and higher EGCG concentrations (0.01%, 0.02%, and 0.04%) demonstrated shortcomings (such as weak antioxidant capacity or protein over-aggregation) in improving the quality and oxidation stability of the emulsion. In conclusion, a moderate dose of EGCG (0.03%) can be used to improve the quality and shelf life of WBMP emulsions.
Gestational Hypertension and High-Density Lipoprotein Function: An Explorative Study in Overweight/Obese Women of the DALI Cohort
Authors: Stadler Julia T. , van Poppel M. N. M. , Christoffersen Christina , Hill David , Wadsack Christian , Simmons David , Desoye Gernot , Marsche Gunther ,   DALI Core Investigator Group
Published: December 2022

Gestational hypertension (GHTN) is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk for mothers and their offspring later in life. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are anti-atherogenic by promoting efflux of cholesterol from macrophages and suppression of endothelial cell activation. Functional impairment of HDL in GHTN-complicated pregnancies may affect long-term health of both mothers and offspring. We studied functional parameters of maternal and neonatal HDL in 192 obese women (pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 29), who were at high risk for GHTN. Maternal blood samples were collected longitudinally at <20 weeks, at 24–28 and 35–37 weeks of gestation. Venous cord blood was collected immediately after birth. Maternal and cord blood were used to determine functional parameters of HDL, such as HDL cholesterol efflux capacity, activity of the vaso-protective HDL-associated enzyme paraoxonase-1, and levels of the HDL-associated anti-inflammatory apolipoprotein (apo)M. In addition, we determined serum anti-oxidative capacity. Thirteen percent of the women were diagnosed with GHTN. While we found no changes in measures of HDL function in mothers with GHTN, we observed impaired HDL cholesterol efflux capacity and paraoxonase-1 activity in cord blood, while serum antioxidant capacity was increased. Of particular interest, increased maternal paraoxonase-1 activity and apoM levels in early pregnancy were associated with the risk of developing GHTN. GHTN significantly impairs HDL cholesterol efflux capacity as well as HDL PON1 activity in cord blood and could affect vascular health in offspring. Maternal paraoxonase-1 activity and apoM levels in early pregnancy associate with the risk of developing GHTN.
MicroRNAs in the Regulation of NADPH Oxidases in Vascular Diabetic and Ischemic Pathologies: A Case for Alternate Inhibitory Strategies?
Authors: Wallace Sean R. , Pagano Patrick J. , Kračun Damir
Published: December 2022

Since their discovery in the vasculature, different NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoforms have been associated with numerous complex vascular processes such as endothelial dysfunction, vascular inflammation, arterial remodeling, and dyslipidemia. In turn, these often underlie cardiovascular and metabolic pathologies including diabetes mellitus type II, cardiomyopathy, systemic and pulmonary hypertension and atherosclerosis. Increasing attention has been directed toward miRNA involvement in type II diabetes mellitus and its cardiovascular and metabolic co-morbidities in the search for predictive and stratifying biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Owing to the challenges of generating isoform-selective NOX inhibitors (NOXi), the development of specific NOXis suitable for therapeutic purposes has been hindered. In that vein, differential regulation of specific NOX isoforms by a particular miRNA or combina-tion thereof could at some point become a reasonable approach for therapeutic targeting under some circumstances. Whereas administration of miRNAs chronically, or even acutely, to patients poses its own set of difficulties, miRNA-mediated regulation of NOXs in the vasculature is worth surveying. In this review, a distinct focus on the role of miRNAs in the regulation of NOXs was made in the context of type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic injury models.