bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuro-oncology authorship trends in gender since 1944: a systematic review of 14,020 articles from five top-tier academic journals
Authors: Behmer Hansen Rosemary T. , Behmer Hansen Ryan A. , Gold Justin L. , Batchu Sai , Lozada Rebecca D. , Palma Samantha D. , Susman Stephen J. , Blocher William A. , Richardson Angela M.
Published: November 2022

OBJECTIVE

This study was performed to compare authorship trends, by gender, in the neurosurgical oncology literature.

METHODS

Complete author listings for neurosurgical oncology articles published between 1944 and 2021 in five top neuro-oncology journals were extracted from the PubMed database and journal websites on December 2, 2021. Author gender was characterized with the web application programming interface (API) genderize.io. The statistical significance (p < 0.05) of time-, journal-, and gender-based differences was determined by independent-samples t-test, chi-square test, and/or Fisher’s exact test.

RESULTS

A total of 14,020 articles were written by 67,115 unique authors occupying 97,418 authorship spots. The gender for 80,030 authorship positions (82.2%) was successfully characterized. Male authors were significantly more likely than the female authors to have a first-author publication, have a last-author publication, and have authored multiple articles within the data set. Among authors who published in multiple different years (n = 11,532), women had a shorter time window of publishing (5.46 vs 6.75 years between first and last publication: mean difference [MD] 1.28 [95% CI 1.06–1.50] years, p < 0.001). During this window, however, they were slightly more productive than the men, based on the mean number of publications per year (1.06 vs 1.01 articles: MD 0.05 [95% CI 0.02–0.09] articles, p = 0.002). The percentage of female authors on each neuro-oncology research team has increased by 3.3% (95% CI 2.6%–3.9%) per decade to a mean of 26.5% in the 2020s. Having a female last author was positively associated with having a female first author (OR 2.57 [95% CI 2.29–2.89]) and a higher proportion of women on the research team overall. The percentages of female first and last authors increased at significantly higher rates in medically oriented journals than in surgically oriented journals (first authors: 0.72% [95% CI 0.58%–0.87%] vs 0.36% [95% CI 0.30%–0.42%] per year, p < 0.001; and last authors: 0.50% [95% CI 0.38%–0.62%] vs −0.03% [95% CI −0.10% to 0.05%] per year, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Female authorship in top neuro-oncology journals has increased since the 1940s, with female-led teams showing greater gender diversity. However, female researchers lag behind their male counterparts in quantity of published research and are less likely to hold first or last authorship positions. This difference is more pronounced in the three neurosurgical oncology journals than in the two medical neuro-oncology journals, which may reflect the relatively low female representation in neurosurgery relative to medical oncology. Collectively, these trends have meaningful implications for career advancement, which is often dependent on academic productivity.
Forecasting and XAI for Applications Usage in OS
Authors: Ma Ruimin , Zhang Yuyi , Liu Jing , Li Yin , Petrosian Ovanes , Krinkin Kirill
Published: November 2022

In the context of digital informatization, the Internet is changing the way of human existence. The rapid development of the Internet has promoted the use of smartphones in people’s daily lives, and at the same time, a large number of applications running on different operating system environments have appeared on the market. Predicting the duration of application usage is crucial for the management planning of related companies and the good life of users. In this work, a dataset containing time series of user application usage information is considered and the problem of “application usage” forecast is being addressed. The dataset used in this work is based on reliable and realistic user records of the usage of the application. Firstly, this paper investigates suitable forecast models for application development on the applied user usage time dataset, which includes neural network algorithms and ensemble algorithms, among others. Then, an Explainable Artificial Intelligence Approach (SHAP) is introduced to explain the selected optimal forecast models, thus enhancing user trust of the forecasting models. The forecast results show that the ensemble models perform better in the time series dataset of user application usage information, especially LightGBM has more obvious advantages. Explanation results show that the frequency of use of the target variables, category and lagged nature are important features in the forecast of the application dataset.
A mutation-based approach for the formal and automated analysis of security ceremonies
Authors: Sempreboni Diego , Viganò Luca
Published: November 2022

There is an increasing number of cyber-systems (e.g., systems for payment, transportation, voting, critical infrastructures) whose security depends intrinsically on human users. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach for the formal and automated analysis of security ceremonies. A security ceremony expands a security protocol to include human nodes alongside computer nodes, with communication links that comprise user interfaces, human-to-human communication and transfers of physical objects that carry data, and thus a ceremony’s security analysis should include, in particular, the mistakes that human users might make when participating actively in the ceremony. Our approach defines mutation rules that model possible behaviors of a human user, automatically generates mutations in the behavior of the other agents of the ceremony to match the human-induced mutations, and automatically propagates these mutations through the whole ceremony. This allows for the analysis of the original ceremony specification and its possible mutations, which may include the way in which the ceremony has actually been implemented or could be implemented. To automate our approach, we have developed the tool X-Men, which is a prototype that builds on top of Tamarin, one of the most common tools for the automatic unbounded verification of security protocols. As a proof of concept, we have applied our approach to three real-life case studies, uncovering a number of concrete vulnerabilities. Some of these vulnerabilities were so far unknown, whereas others had so far been discovered only by empirical observation of the actual ceremony execution or by directly formalizing alternative models of the ceremony by hand, but X-Men instead allowed us to find them automatically.
A new framework for APT attack detection based on network traffic
Authors: Nguyen Hoa Cuong , Xuan Cho Do , Nguyen Long Thanh , Nguyen Hoa Dinh
Published: November 2022

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attack detection and monitoring has attracted a lot of attention recently when this type of cyber-attacks is growing in both number and dangerous levels. In this paper, a new APT attack model, which is the combination of three different neural network layers including: Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP), Inference (I), and Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN) is proposed. The new model is named MIG for short. In this model, the MLP layer is in charge of aggregating and extracting properties of the IPs based on flow network in Network traffic, while the Inference layer is responsible for building IP information profiles by grouping and concatenating flow networks generated from the same IP. Finally, the GCN layer is used for analyzing and reconstructing IP features based on the behavior extraction process from IP information records. The APT attacks detection method based on network traffic using this MIG model is new, and has yet been proposed and applied anywhere. The novelty and uniqueness of this method is the combination of many different data mining techniques in order to calculate, extract and represent the relationship and the correlation between APT attack behaviors based on Network traffic. In MIG model, many meaningful anomalous properties and behaviors of APT attacks are synthesized and extracted, which help improve the performance of APT attack detection. The experimental results showed that the proposed method is meaningful in both theory and practice since the MIG model not only improves the ability to correctly detect APT attacks in network traffic but also minimizes false alarms.
A novel transfer learning model on complex fuzzy inference system
Authors: Huong Trieu Thu , Lan Luong Thi Hong , Giang Nguyen Long , Binh NguyenThi My , Vo Bay , Son Le Hoang
Published: November 2022

Transfer learning (TL) is further investigated in computer intelligence and artificial intelligence. Many TL methodologies have been suggested and applied to figure out the problem of practical applications, such as in natural language processing, classification models for COVID-19 disease, Alzheimer’s disease detection, etc. FTL (fuzzy transfer learning) is an extension of TL that uses a fuzzy system to pertain to the vagueness and uncertainty parameters in TL, allowing the discovery of predicates and their evaluation of unclear data. Because of the system’s increasing complexity, FTL is often utilized to further infer proper results without constructing the knowledge base and environment from scratch. Further, the uncertainty and vagueness in the daily data can arise and modify the process. It has been of great interest to design an FTL model that can handle the periodicity data with fast processing time and reasonable accuracy. This paper proposes a novel model to capture data related to periodical phenomena and enhance the quality of the existing inference process. The model performs knowledge transfer in the absence of reference or predictive information. An experimental stage on the UCI and real-life dataset compares our proposed model against the related methods regarding the number of rules, computing time, and accuracy. The experimental results validated the advantages and suitability of the proposed FTL model.
Green synthesis of CuO nanoparticles using Peganum harmala extract for photocatalytic and sonocatalytic degradation of reactive dye and organic compounds
Authors: Fekri Reza , Mirbagheri Seyed-Ahmad , Fataei Ebrahim , Ebrahimzadeh-Rajaei Gholamreza , Taghavi Lobat
Published: November 2022

The present study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of photocatalytic and sonocatalytic processes for the removal of reactive blue 5 dye and organic compounds of textile effluent in the presence of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs). CuO NPs were synthesized using Peganum harmala seed extract. The structure of NPs was confirmed using SEM, TEM, XRD, EDX, and FTIR techniques. The tests were carried out in a batch system to assess factors affecting the dye removal efficiency, including contact time, pH, NPs dosage, and initial dye concentration. The experimental results showed that the photocatalytic process (98.42%) produced a higher degradation percentage than the sonocatalytic process (76.16%). While, the dye removal efficiency was not significant in the dark conditions (without UV or US waves). The maximum removal of reactive blue 5 dye under photocatalytic and sonocatalytic conditions occurred at the presence of 0.15 g of CuO NPs and dye concentration of 40 and 60 mg/L, respectively. The kinetic data followed a pseudo-second-order model in both photocatalytic and sonocatalytic processes with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.99. Isotherm studies showed that the Langmuir model was the best isothermal model to describe the adsorptive behavior of CuO NPs in a dark condition. The results obtained from GC-MS showed that the photocatalytic process had a degradation efficiency of over 87% in the removal of organic compounds.
Does perceived supervisor support reduce turnover intention? The mediating effects of work engagement among healthcare professionals
Authors: Xiaolong Tao , Gull Nida , Asghar Muhammad , Sarfraz Muddassar , Jianmin Zhang
Published: November 2022

BACKGROUND: The study’s value is based on a complete understanding of the employee polychronicity–employee intention to leave the relationship in the health care sector. OBJECTIVE: This study examines (1) the role of job engagement in alleviating the relationship between employee polychronicity and intention to leave, and (2) the moderating impact of perceived supervisor support as a relationship. METHOD: This study employed a cross-cultural research design and collected data from nurses working in public sector hospitals. Through job engagement and perceived supervisor support (PSS), the effect of nurses’ polychronicity on turnover intention was examined using the PLS-SEM approach. RESULTS: The findings of this study demonstrate that employee polychronicity has an impact on employee turnover. Employee engagement appears to operate as a mediator in the association between employee polychronicity and intention to leave and a moderating effect of PSS. CONCLUSION: By emphasizing employee engagement as a mediator and moderating role, the perceived supervisor supports the association between polychronicity and intention to leave of nurses. This study offered a crisp perspective on the complexities of the links between polychronicity, engagement, perceived organizational support, and employees’ intention to leave.
Relationship between financial literacy of preschool children and their parents
Authors:   Bunin Yelets State University, Gerasimova Evgenia N. , Krasova Tatiana D. ,   Bunin Yelets State University, Chuikova Zhanna V. ,   Bunin Yelets State University, Sushkova Irina V. ,   Bunin Yelets State University
Published: November 2022

Introduction. The intensive development of the financial services market, optimal financial relations, which characterize the socio-economic situation in the modern world, require the improvement of the quality of education. The social order of the education system is a competitive member of society with a developed economic thinking and the ability to solve emerging problems in a constantly changing environment. Of particular importance is the task of developing financial literacy at the stage of preschool childhood, when children are just beginning to form ideas about financial categories. The purpose of this article was to identify the relationship between the levels of development of financial literacy in children and their parents. Materials and methods. The study involved 226 children of senior preschool age and their parents in the amount of 134 people. The main method for studying the financial literacy of older preschool children was a survey conducted on the basis of A.A. Smolentsev, modified by us. In order to identify the level of financial literacy of parents, we used a survey. For statistical processing of the obtained results, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used. Results. A high level of financial literacy was shown by 13% of six-year-old children: they explained the meaning of financial concepts, showed a steady interest in the work of their parents. 57% of children were at the average level. The existing representations of preschoolers were characterized as fuzzy and superficial. A low level was found in 30% of respondents. Preschoolers had no idea about the economic life of people. The results of the survey of parents showed the following: 12% of respondents were at a high level of financial literacy, 56% – at an average level and 32% – at a low level. A positive correlation was found between the levels of financial literacy of six-year-old children and their parents (p<0.05). Conclusion. The novelty of the study is to identify the relationship between the level of financial literacy of children and the specifics of economic literacy of their parents. The results obtained will improve the scientific and methodological support for the process of developing the basics of financial literacy in children of six years old, and can also be used in the development of preschool education programs.
Studying the attitude of young teachers to distance education
Authors:   Moscow Pedagogical State University, Neborsky Egor V. , Boguslavsky Mikhail V. ,   Institute for Strategy of Education Development, Naumova Tatyana A. ,   Udmurt State University
Published: November 2022

The problem of research. The COVID-19 pandemic provoked a sudden transition to distance learning, which was uneven and exerted serious psychological pressure on teachers, and therefore it seems important to assess the attitude of teachers to distance learning, especially those whose work experience ranged from 1 to 3 years. Materials and research methods. The purpose of the study was to identify the attitude of young school teachers to distance learning. The peculiarity of the study was that it compared two periods: March 2020, as the period of an emergency transition to distance learning, and December 2021, when it was already possible to talk about some psychological adaptation of teachers to this form of work. An anonymous survey was conducted among young school teachers who took non-core advanced training courses at the Udmurt State University. The study period is April-December 2021. 79 respondents took part in the survey. Results and discussion. The study showed that satisfaction with the transition to distance learning is low and averages 2.35 points. Oddly enough, the increase in the volume of work was in last place. A greater role was played by the psychological factor – internal resistance to this form of work. A year later, young teachers already admit the idea of the possibility of switching to such a format of education, which, of course, is connected with the experience that they received during the lockdown period. 76.6% noted that they lacked the prompting of those who often work remotely to quickly adapt to new conditions. It was found that teachers whose work experience at school was one year, according to their own observations, adapted to drastic changes much faster than their colleagues, whose work experience was three years. Findings. The results of the study allow us to formulate a number of conclusions. Firstly, it can be assumed that the higher the experience of working at school, the more difficult it was for the teacher to adapt to new conditions. Secondly, as the results of the study show, the low satisfaction of teachers with the educational process in a remote format is associated to a greater extent with a psychological factor. Thirdly, the technical equipment of schools and households at the time of the emergency transition to distance learning was uneven, which affected the effectiveness and satisfaction. Fourthly, the organization of advanced training, the exchange of experience, master classes and creative workshops would allow young teachers to quickly adapt to new conditions.
The Effect of Airline Service Major Students’ Online Practical Classrelated Stress on College Maladjustment and Dropout Intention during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model of Resilience
Authors:   Hospitality & Tourism Management Sejong University, Lee Yoona , Jeon Aeeun ,   Hanseo University
Published: November 2022

Introduction. Airline service major students have experienced very high online practical class-related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, because students in online classes have not had the ability to practice service skills and customer service techniques that would previously have been learned in face-to-face classes (e.g., service role-playing, food and beverage role-playing, etc.). Thus, online practical class-related stress has led to high college life maladjustment and dropout intention among students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationships among online practical class-related stress, college life maladjustment, and dropout intention, and to examine the effect of resilience as a moderated mediation that weakens the negative impact between college life maladjustment and dropout intention. Samples and methods. The participants in this study were 314 airline service major students from three universities in South Korea. Data were collected from sophomore (40.1%), junior (30.9%), and senior (29%) students in South Korea. This study used SPSS Win.21.0 statistics programs to conduct the frequency test, exploratory analysis, and reliability and correlation tests. For the moderated mediation analysis, ‘Model 14 of PROCESS macro ver.4.0’ was used as the statistical method. Results. First, dropout intention had positive correlations with both online practical class-related stress (r = .518, p<.01) and college life maladjustment (r = .325, p<.01), while it had a negative correlation with resilience (r = -.494, p < .01). Second, resilience was found to have conditional indirect effects on the relationship between online practical class-related stress and dropout intention through college life maladjustment that were significant (p < .01) when the resilience values were 4.0 (.0379~.1200) and 4.5 (.0244~.0740), respectively. Therefore, the moderated mediation effect of resilience was verified. Practical significance. This study found that airline service major students with high resilience have decreased dropout intention. The results of this study indicate that students’ resilience should be fostered and reinforced with the goal of reducing or overcoming students’ college life maladjustment and dropout intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sociocultural adaptive stressors of international students in Russia
Authors:   Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University), Sokolova Evgeniia V. , Voevoda Elena V. ,   Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University), Morozov Vladimir M. ,   Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University)
Published: November 2022

Introduction. Every international student participating in academic mobility experiences sociocultural adaptation difficulties to a certain extent when facing distinctive cultural features that distinguish host culture from student’s native one and may, therefore, become adaptive stressors. Eliciting these specific cultural features and considering them in academic process and communication with international students is relevant and may favour the development of intercultural competence skills, reduction of adaptation time and establishment of psychological comfort and, thus, decrease the risk of strong cultural shock, maladaptation and facilitate healthy interpersonal communication between international and local students. All together this may contribute to sociocultural adaptation making it milder for international students to undergo. The research aims at identifying specific sociocultural differences between Russia and foreign countries, which may act as stressors impeding the adaptation process and have a negative impact on international students’ academic performance. Materials and methods. The survey embraced 103 international students from MGIMO University and Ryazan State University named after S. Yesenin. All the students had experience of living and studying in Russia. The authors designed a questionnaire concerning several domains of everyday life including residence, climate, food and nourishment, public transportation use, services (medical institutions, banks and post offices), communication with locals, financial availability and fulfillment of expectations of living in Russia. The survey was anonymous and conducted by means of Google Forms. Results. The research revealed adaptive difficulties and cultural novelties for students in every domain, where the domain of post offices and banks services use appears to be the least problematic and constitutes 5% and 10% of respondents respectively. The domains of food/nourishment (75%), climate (46%) and dormitory residence (38%) emerged to be the most socioculturally unfamiliar. The participants also indicated language barrier as a sociocultural stressor hindering communication in everyday and academic life. Conclusion. Awareness of potential sociocultural adaptive stressors and practical implementation of the knowledge by university staff may help to facilitate the process of international students’ sociocultural adaptation and enhance the efficiency of work in multicultural university team.
Terapia de reperfusão após reversão de parada cardiorrespiratória por infarto do miocárdio: relato de caso
Authors: Rodrigues Jonathan Matheus Martins , Ferreira Samuel de Souza , Pereira Anne Caroline Castro , Alarcão Eduarda Luz Barbosa , França Bruna Paiva de , Ramos Nathalia Moura
Published: November 2022

O artigo traz um relato de caso sobre a aplicação da terapia de reperfusão após reversão de uma parada cardiorrespiratória com fibrilação ventricular após um infarto agudo do miocárdio com supradesnivelamento do segmento ST, com posterior discussão das principais indicações e manejo adequado das estratégias de reperfusão miocárdica. O objetivo deste estudo é demonstrar, a partir de um relato de caso, como as corretas indicações de reperfusão podem mudar positivamente o prognóstico de um Infarto Agudo do Miocárdio com Supradesnivelamento do Segmento ST (IAMCST), sendo a pergunta norteadora: Qual é a relação prognóstica entre a evolução favorável de um caso de IAMCST e corretas indicações de terapia de reperfusão? A metodologia usada foi a revisão do prontuário de paciente e a revisão bibliográfica de artigos publicados no PubMed e Scielo, bem como a V Diretriz da Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia. O resultado foi a reperfusão eletrocardiográfica em 90 minutos após terapia trombolítica seguida de cateterismo cardíaco e angioplastia, com alta da paciente sem sequelas após uma semana.
Influence on Ratio of NaOH/ZrSiO4 in Alkali Fusion for Amang Zircon Sand
Authors: Subuki Istikamah
Published: November 2022

Amang Zircon Sand from Amang Onn Sdn. Bhd. mineral company has a high composition of zirconium at 61.63 wt% and low silicon composition at 4.90 wt%. The high composition of zirconium in Amang zircon sand indicates the possibility to synthesise it into a zirconia. Zirconium was synthesised using alkali fusion method with different ratio of NaOH/ZrSiO4 to determine the optimum ratio based on the zirconium yield. Alkali fusion method is coupled with thermal treatment as it will produce a higher yield of zirconium with lower impurities. Then it will be leached with deionised water and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The synthesised zirconium was characterised through X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and particle size distribution (PSD) analysis. The XRF analysis after the fusion and thermal treatment shows a high composition of zirconium as well as great reduction of silicon. 1.2NaOH/ZrSiO4 is determined to be the optimum ratio as it has the lowest silicon impurity of 2.11 wt% and high yield of zirconium at 71.40 wt%. The low impurities will reduce the chance of cracking and maximising the efficiency of zirconia. It is supported by XRD patterns that are dominated by high zirconium peaks. The zirconium oxychloride obtained after acid leaching has a high zirconium composition. This shows that it is possible to use Amang zircon sand as a precursor to synthesis a zirconia using alkali fusion method with sodium hydroxide.
Sosialisasi dan Pendampingan Pemasaran Digital Bagi UMKM Terdampak Covid-19 Dusun Segunung, Jombang
Authors: Panjaitan Feliks Anggia Binsar Kristian , Sumiati Sumiati
Published: November 2022

Pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk memberikan sosialisasi dan pendampingan dalam membantu UMKM di masa pandemi Covid-19, dimana penjualan dan pendapatan mengalami penurunan. Kemudian diadakan pendampingan pelatihan digital marketing bagi UMKM di Dusun Segunung Desa Wonosalam Kabupaten Jombang. Masyarakat sangat antusias saat mengikuti kegiatan tim pelaksana pelayanan, dan saat dimintai masukan tentang pelatihan pendampingan, ada 30 peserta yang sudah memahami Digital Marketing; 35 peserta memahami penggunaan Digital Marketing; 34 peserta tertarik dengan pembuatan Konten Materi; 35 peserta memahami Materi Presentasi; sebanyak 35 peserta mendapat tambahan pengetahuan selama diskusi; 35 peserta ingin mengikuti Pelatihan Perorangan; dan terakhir, 35 peserta merasakan manfaat dari program sosialisasi dan pendampingan tersebut.
Pengembagang Modul Bahasa Inggris untuk Mahasiswa Program Studi Matematika di STKIP Muhammadiyah Pagaralam
Authors: Sari Andini , Yuliana
Published: November 2022

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk pengembangan modul bahasa Inggris berbasis kearifan lokal bagi mahasiswa yang sesuai dengan analisa kebutuhan. Modul ini diharapan untuk memudahkan pengajaran bahasa Inggris pada mahasiswa program studi non bahasa Inggris di STKIP Muhammadiyah  serta meningkatkan pencapaian hasil belajar melalui modul yang dibuat berdasarkan skema pengembangan Borg&Gall dengan melalui beberapa tahapan, yakni (1) analisis kebutuhan (2) perencanaan modul (3) pengembangan modul (4) validasi modul (5) revisi modul I (6) uji coba modul (7) revisi modul II (8) modul akhir. Metode yang dipakai dalam penelitian ini adalah Penelitian dan Pengembangan. Penelitian yang menggunakan design penelitian dan pengembangan ini memiliki subjek uji berupa; 2 ahli pembelajaran, 2 teman sejawat, dan 40 mahasiswa semester 1 yang mengambil mata kuliah bahasa Inggris dan dipilih secara tidak acak sebagai validasi uji modul. Data dikumpulkan melalui observasi, interview dan kuisioner yang dibagikan pada subjek uji dan menjadi acuan untuk pengembangan modul sesuai tahapan yang diadaptasi dari skema pengembangan Borg&Gall. Hasil dari pengembangan modul ini berupa bahan ajar yang dapat digunakan sebagai referensi utama dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris pada program studi Matematika di STKIP Muhammadiyah Pagaralam.
Polymorphism of INS VNTR is associated with glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies and postprandial C-peptide in patients with diabetes onset after 35 years of age.
Authors: Matějková-Běhanová M , Vaňková M , Hill M , Kučera P , Cinek O , Anděl M , Bendlová B
Published: November 2022

Variability in the number of tandem repeats of the insulin gene (INS VNTR) is probably involved in the genetic regulation of insulin secretion. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of INS VNTR polymorphism with the presence of glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA) and C-peptide levels in patients with the onset of diabetes after 35 years of age. We investigated 117 patients, median of age 63 (range 40-83) years, median of diabetes duration 8 (range 1-30) years; 31 GADA-positive and 86 GADA-negative subjects. INS VNTR polymorphism was typed indirectly using - 23HphI (T/A) polymorphism, which is in complete linkage disequilibrium with INS VNTR. The I/I, I/III and III/III genotypes were found in 22 (71 %), 8 (26 %), 1 (3 %) GADA-positive individuals and in 39 (45 %), 35 (41 %), 12 (14 %) GADA-negative individuals, respectively. The Class I allele and the genotype I/I were significantly associated with the presence of GADA (OR=2.72, CI 95 %=1.29-5.73 and OR=2.95, CI 95 %=1.22-7.13). The presence of Class III allele was significantly associated with a higher level of postprandial C-peptide in GADA-positive subjects, even when regarding the duration of diabetes. Our results of INS VNTR polymorphism in patients with the onset of diabetes after 35 years of age confirm the association of Class I INS VNTR with autoimmune diabetes and the protective effect of Class III INS VNTR on the insulin secretion in GADA-positive subjects.
Efficacy of Yogic Practices on Stress Among Adolescent Girls Suffering from Dysmenorrhea
Authors: K. Geetha , P. Arunachalam , R Elangovan
Published: November 2022

This is an experimental research, selection based on random group sampling between 18 to 22 years of age. The adolescent girls suffering from dysmenorrhea are identified based on their feedback in the questionnaire designed for selection purposes. Selected 120 Girls were further screened and 40 Adolescent Girls were selected for the treatment depending upon the severity of dysmenorrhea. The chosen girls were then split into an experimental group and a control group, each with 20 members. Six days a week, between six and seven o'clock, for a period of 12 weeks, the Experimental Group received treatment using chosen yogic techniques. Active rest was given to the control group. The experimental and control groups underwent pre- and post-testing before and after yoga therapy, during which the psychological variable stress levels were determined. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to identify any significant group differences. According to the study's findings, yogic practices considerably reduced stress levels in the experimental group compared to the control group. It is concluded that the Yogic practices helped to reduce the stress level among adolescent girls suffering from dysmenorrhea.
Estrategias de afrontamiento y estrés percibido en adolescentes frente a la pandemia de covid-19
Authors:   Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Avecilla Torres Lizbeth Paola , Cañas Lucendo Manuel ,   Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Published: November 2022

La presente investigación se realizó para probar la relación entre las estrategias de afrontamiento y el estrés percibido en adolescentes de 16 a 17 años, durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Se llevó a cabo un estudio cuantitativo sustentado sobre un análisis bibliográfico y trabajo de campo no experimental y correlacional, que alcanza el nivel explicativo. El diseño del estudio contempla un muestreo no probabilístico aplicado en 26 instituciones educativas de Riobamba, alcanzando una muestra de 113 estudiantes del tercer año de bachillerato. Las herramientas empleadas para recolectar la información requerida para contestar la pregunta de investigación, son: el inventario de estrategias de afrontamiento (CSI) y la escala de estrés percibido relacionada con el COVID-19 (EPP-10-c). Los resultados han mostrado que las estrategias con porcentajes altos han sido la restructuración cognitiva, el apoyo social, el seguido de resolución de problemas y la expresión emocional. Los valores menos representativos son los relacionados a las estrategias de afrontamiento inadecuado. Con base en esta información se verifica afirmativamente la hipótesis planteada, es decir, se prueba que los adolescentes con estrategias de afrontamiento de manejo adecuado presentan bajos niveles de estrés percibido frente a la actual pandemia de COVID-19.
Nanomaterials to combat SARS-CoV-2: Strategies to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19
Authors: Valenzuela-Fernández Agustín , Cabrera-Rodriguez Romina , Ciuffreda Laura , Perez-Yanes Silvia , Estevez-Herrera Judith , González-Montelongo Rafaela , Alcoba-Florez Julia , Trujillo-González Rodrigo , García-Martínez de Artola Diego , Gil-Campesino Helena , Díez-Gil Oscar , Lorenzo-Salazar José M. , Flores Carlos , Garcia-Luis Jonay
Published: November 2022

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which severely affect the respiratory system and several organs and tissues, and may lead to death, have shown how science can respond when challenged by a global emergency, offering as a response a myriad of rapid technological developments. Development of vaccines at lightning speed is one of them. SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks have stressed healthcare systems, questioning patients care by using standard non-adapted therapies and diagnostic tools. In this scenario, nanotechnology has offered new tools, techniques and opportunities for prevention, for rapid, accurate and sensitive diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. In this review, we focus on the nanotechnological applications and nano-based materials (i.e., personal protective equipment) to combat SARS-CoV-2 transmission, infection, organ damage and for the development of new tools for virosurveillance, diagnose and immune protection by mRNA and other nano-based vaccines. All the nano-based developed tools have allowed a historical, unprecedented, real time epidemiological surveillance and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, at community and international levels. The nano-based technology has help to predict and detect how this Sarbecovirus is mutating and the severity of the associated COVID-19 disease, thereby assisting the administration and public health services to make decisions and measures for preparedness against the emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 and severe or lethal COVID-19.
Regenerative medicine applications: An overview of clinical trials
Authors: Petrosyan Astgik , Martins Paulo N. , Solez Kim , Uygun Basak E. , Gorantla Vijay S. , Orlando Giuseppe
Published: November 2022

Insights into the use of cellular therapeutics, extracellular vesicles (EVs), and tissue engineering strategies for regenerative medicine applications are continually emerging with a focus on personalized, patient-specific treatments. Multiple pre-clinical and clinical trials have demonstrated the strong potential of cellular therapies, such as stem cells, immune cells, and EVs, to modulate inflammatory immune responses and promote neoangiogenic regeneration in diseased organs, damaged grafts, and inflammatory diseases, including COVID-19. Over 5,000 registered clinical trials on ClinicalTrials.gov involve stem cell therapies across various organs such as lung, kidney, heart, and liver, among other applications. A vast majority of stem cell clinical trials have been focused on these therapies’ safety and effectiveness. Advances in our understanding of stem cell heterogeneity, dosage specificity, and ex vivo manipulation of stem cell activity have shed light on the potential benefits of cellular therapies and supported expansion into clinical indications such as optimizing organ preservation before transplantation. Standardization of manufacturing protocols of tissue-engineered grafts is a critical first step towards the ultimate goal of whole organ engineering. Although various challenges and uncertainties are present in applying cellular and tissue engineering therapies, these fields’ prospect remains promising for customized patient-specific treatments. Here we will review novel regenerative medicine applications involving cellular therapies, EVs, and tissue-engineered constructs currently investigated in the clinic to mitigate diseases and possible use of cellular therapeutics for solid organ transplantation. We will discuss how these strategies may help advance the therapeutic potential of regenerative and transplant medicine.
A prognostic model for patients with primary extramedullary multiple myeloma
Authors: Zhang Limei , Chen Shuzhao , Wang Weida , Wang Yun , Liang Yang
Published: November 2022

Background: Extramedullary disease is a manifestation of multiple myeloma, the prognosis of which remains poor even in the era of novel drugs. Therefore, we aimed to develop a predictive model for patients with primary extramedullary multiple myeloma (EMM).

Methods: Clinical and laboratory data of patients diagnosed with primary EMM between July 2007 and July 2021 were collected and analyzed. Univariate and least absolute shrinkage and selection operation Cox regression analyses (LASSO) were used to select prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) to establish a nomogram prognostic model. The performance of the model was evaluated using concordance index which was internally validated by bootstraps with 1,000 resample, area under the curve (AUCs), and calibration curves.

Results: 217 patients were included in this retrospective study. Patients with EMM had a higher rate of belonging to the male sex, age >50 years, advanced Durie–Salmon stage III, hypercalcemia, and low hemoglobin level. Compared with patients with bone-related extramedullary disease, those with extraosseous-related extramedullary disease had a higher frequency of advanced Durie–Salmon stage III, lower rate of hypercalcemia, and elevated prothrombin time. The OS and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with bone-related extramedullary disease were significantly higher than those of patients with extraosseous-related extramedullary disease. After the univariate and LASSO analyses, six prognostic factors, including performance status, number of extramedullary involved sites, β2-microglobulin, lactate dehydrogenase, monocyte–lymphocyte ratio, and prothrombin time, were integrated to establish a nomogram. The model showed robust discrimination with a concordance index (C-index) of 0.775 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.713–0.836), internally validated with the corrected C-index of 0.756, and excellent performance in time-dependent AUCs compared with other staging systems. The AUCs for 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS were 0.814, 0.744, and 0.832, respectively. The calibration curves exhibited good consistency between the observed and nomogram-predicted OS. The 5-year OS of patients in the high-risk group (23.3%; 95% CI, 13.9%–39.3%) was much worse than that in the low-risk group (73.0%; 95% CI, 62.5%–85.4%; p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The nomogram predictive model based on six clinical variables showed good prognostic performance and could better predict individual survival in patients with EMM.
The emerging role of DEAD/H-box helicases in hepatitis B virus infection
Authors: You Hongjuan , Ma Lihong , Wang Xing , Zhang Fulong , Han Yiran , Yao Jiaqi , Pan Xiucheng , Zheng Kuiyang , Kong Fanyun , Tang Renxian
Published: November 2022

DEAD/H-box helicases are an essential protein family with a conserved motif containing unique amino acid sequences (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp/His). Current evidence indicates that DEAD/H-box helicases regulate RNA metabolism and innate immune responses. In recent years, DEAD/H-box helicases have been reported to participate in the development of a variety of diseases, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, which is a significant risk factor for hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Furthermore, emerging evidence suggests that different DEAD/H-box helicases play vital roles in the regulation of viral replication, based on the interaction of DEAD/H-box helicases with HBV and the modulation of innate signaling pathways mediated by DEAD/H-box helicases. Besides these, HBV can alter the expression and activity of DEAD/H-box helicases to facilitate its biosynthesis. More importantly, current investigation suggests that targeting DEAD/H-box helicases with appropriate compounds is an attractive treatment strategy for the virus infection. In this review, we delineate recent advances in molecular mechanisms relevant to the interplay of DEAD/H-box helicase and HBV and the potential of targeting DEAD/H-box helicase to eliminate HBV infection.
Culture filtrate supplementation can be used to improve Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture positivity for spinal tuberculosis diagnosis
Authors: Beltran Caroline G. G. , Venter Rouxjeane , Mann Theresa N. , Davis Johan H. , Kana Bavesh D. , Walzl Gerhard
Published: November 2022

Culture remains the gold standard to diagnose spinal tuberculosis (STB) despite the paucibacillary nature of the disease. Current methods can take up to 42 days to yield a result, delaying the ability to rapidly detect drug resistance. Studies have demonstrated the use of supplementation with culture filtrate (CF) from an axenic culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) as a source of growth factors to improve culture rates. Our objective was to test a modified culture assay, utilizing CF supplemented media (CFSM), to improve culture positivity rates for suspected STB. Twelve patients with suspected STB were assessed by conventional culture (BACTEC™ MGIT 960), GeneXpert™ and standard histopathological examination. Spinal biopsies were taken from areas of diseased vertebral tissue or abscess, predetermined from MRI. Additional biopsies were obtained to assess CFSM for improved detection and faster culture of Mtb. All cases were diagnosed as STB and treated empirically for tuberculosis based on either bacteriological evidence (GeneXpert™, MGIT and/or CFSM positive), or based on clinical presentation. 5 specimens (45.45%) were positive for Mtb DNA as detected by GeneXpert™ and 1 specimen (8.33%) was cultured using MGIT (time to detection; 18 days). CFSM was able to culture 7 specimens (58.3%), with all CFSM positive specimens yielding a culture within 14 days. Two samples were positive only using the CFSM assay pointing to additional yield for diagnostic workup. Modification of standard culture can improve detection of Mtb and reduce time to positivity in individuals with STB where culture material is a requirement.
Global prevalence and risk factors of Cryptosporidium infection in Equus: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Li Xiao-Man , Geng Hong-Li , Wei Yong-Jie , Yan Wei-Lan , Liu Jing , Wei Xin-Yu , Zhang Miao , Wang Xiang-Yu , Zhang Xiao-Xuan , Liu Gang
Published: November 2022

Intoduction

Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Cryptosporidium infection with the main symptom of diarrhea. The present study performed a metaanalysis to determine the global prevalence of Cryptosporidium in Equus animals.

Methods

Data collection was carried out using Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Chinese journal database (VIP), WanFang Data, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases, with 35 articles published before 2021 being included in this systematic analysis. This study analyzed the research data through subgroup analysis and univariate regression analysis to reveal the factors leading to high prevalence. We applied a random effects model (REM) to the metadata.

Results

The total prevalence rate of Cryptosporidium in Equus was estimated to be 7.59% from the selected articles. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium in female Equus was 2.60%. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium in Equus under 1-year-old was 11.06%, which was higher than that of Equus over 1-year-old (2.52%). In the experimental method groups, the positive rate detected by microscopy was the highest (10.52%). The highest Cryptosporidium prevalence was found in scale breeding Equus (7.86%). The horses had the lowest Cryptosporidium prevalence (7.32%) among host groups. C. muris was the most frequently detected genotype in the samples (53.55%). In the groups of geographical factors, the prevalence rate of Cryptosporidium in Equus was higher in regions with low altitude (6.88%), rainy (15.63%), humid (22.69%), and tropical climates (16.46%).

Discussion

The search strategy use of five databases might have caused the omission of some researches. This metaanalysis systematically presented the global prevalence and potential risk factors of Cryptosporidium infection in Equus. The farmers should strengthen the management of young and female Equus animals, improve water filtration systems, reduce stocking densities, and harmless treatment of livestock manure.