bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GuREx-MIH Project: Impact of Molar-Incisor Hypomineralisation on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life, Dental Fear and Anxiety in Swedish Children - A Multicentre Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Hajdarević Adnan , Jälevik Birgitta , Čirgić Emina , Robertson Agneta , Sabel Nina
Published: December 2024

Objectives
This study aimed to analyse self-reported oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and dental fear and anxiety (DFA) in children after restorative treatment and extraction of first permanent molars (FPM) affected by severe Molar-Incisor Hypomineralisation (MIH). The research question focused on whether these treatment modalities lead to different outcomes in terms of DFA and OHRQoL over time.
Materials and Methods
A multicentre randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 83 children, aged 6–9 years, who was diagnosed with severe MIH in FPMs. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either restorative treatment with resin composite or extraction. Blinding was not possible due to the visible differences between restorative treatment and extraction. Patient comfort, was assessed through oral OHRQoL and DFA, was assessed using the Swedish version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11 − 14) for OHRQoL, and the Children’s Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) for DFA. Evaluations were carried out before treatment (T0) and at follow-up when participants were 11 years old (T1).
Results
Seventy-three patients completed the study, with 37 restorative, 36 extraction. OHRQoL scores improved overall, with a greater improvement in scores observed in the extraction group, although the difference between groups was not shown. Both groups showed reductions in DFA scores from T0 to T1, with no difference between treatment groups.
Conclusions
Restorative treatment and extraction of FPMs affected by MIH lead to similar impact in DFA and OHRQoL.
Clinical Relevance:
This study provides clinicians that both restorative and extraction treatments are comparable for managing severe MIH in children, considering patient comfort.
Opportunity Crop Indicators: Assessing the Climate Adaptation Potential of Opportunity Crops in Africa
Authors: Karl Kevin , Rosenzweig Cynthia , MacCarthy Dilys , Porciello Jaron , Neufeld Lynnette , Holmes Bridget , Grande Fernanda , Guarin Jose , Yang Meijian , Adiku Samuel , Freduah Bright , Narh Stephen , Wesley Gershom , Passarelli Simone , Rattehalli Vieshnavi , Kozlowski Natalie , Leal Elena Mendez , Contreras Erik Mencos , Jaegermeyr Jonas , Chimwaza Gracian , Sheikh Hafsa , Fredenberg Emily , Deynze Allen Van , Mumm Rita , Jamnadass Ramni , McMullin Stepha , Carducci Bianca , Fanzo Jessica , Valdivia Roberto , Ruane Alex , Fowler Cary
Published: December 2024

Global dependence on a few well-researched staple crops exacerbates systemic vulnerabilities to climate change and does not encourage bio- or dietary diversity. The Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils aims to strengthen African food systems by promoting nutritious and climate-resilient “opportunity crops”, also known as "orphan crops", alongside improved land management practices. Here, the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization, Havos.AI, and the African Orphan Crops Consortium, developed a set of 24 indicators for interdisciplinary evaluations of promising opportunity crops in Africa. We employ qualitative and quantitative evidence from climate-crop modeling, agronomy, plant breeding, nutrient composition and social sciences to assess and compare the development potential of 19 opportunity crops and five staple crops. Teff, finger millet, grass pea, pigeon pea, sesame seed, sweet potato, taro, African eggplant and okra are highlighted for their nutrient content and projected yields under climate change.
Carbonate platform margin evolution in a compressive tectonic setting: an example from the Cretaceous of the Pre-Karst Unit of the Internal Dinarides (Gacko, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Authors: Šamarija Robert , Lužar-Oberiter Borna , Kukoč Duje , Kocjančič Anja , Gobo Katarina , Petrinjak Krešimir , Bjelogrlić Marija
Published: December 2024

The Pre-Karst unit of the Dinarides represents a transitional paleogeographic domain between the Adriatic Carbonate Platform (AdCP) and the predominately deep-water environments of the subsided Adria margin. Exposures near Gacko in Bosnia and Herzegovina offer a glimpse into the evolution of the NE AdCP margin during the gradual closure of the Neotethys Ocean and early stages of the continental collision in the Dinarides. The base of the studied section is composed of poorly bedded to massive Barremian – Aptian carbonates and intraclastic breccias with a packstone–grainstone matrix comprising peloids, benthic foraminifera, and skeletal fragments of various shallow-marine organisms. This interval formed in a shallow-marine environment with laterally variable bathymetry. A 30 Myr stratigraphic hiatus separating these deposits from the overlying strata possibly represents forebulge uplift of the NE AdCP margin in response to orogenic activity in the Internal Dinarides. The Upper Cretaceous succession begins with a massive bioclastic floatstone–rudstone composed mainly of rudist bivalve shells. Upwards, the succession changes into a well-bedded alternation of calcilutites, calcarenites, and calcirudites containing pelagic foraminifera (indicating a Santonian age), skeletal fragments of shallow-marine organisms, and lithoclasts. These deposits formed in a slope apron setting characterized by fine-grained periplatform deposition, soft-sediment deformations and coarse-grained resedimented shallow-marine material resulting from episodic gravity flows. Frequent chert intercalations indicate continued deepening throughout the early Campanian. Significant subsidence, paired with continuous forebulge uplift and erosion, suggests that the platform margin was strongly influenced by the advancing Dinaric nappe stack during the Late Cretaceous.
Distribution of Snails species and its infectivity with Schistosomes at Mwanga District, North Eastern Tanzania.
Authors: Abdul Seif , Mlaki Ribson E. , Awe Emmanuel J. , Mzubwe Petty J. , Mosha Victor V. , Matowo Johnson , Msuya Sia E.
Published: December 2024

Background: Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease caused by blood flukes, is still a public health problem in low-income countries like Tanzania. Of the 201 million people infected with schistosomiasis globally, 91% are in sub-Sahara Africa countries. In Tanzania, Mass Drug Administration (MDA) is one of the key interventions to control schistosomiasis, but rapid re-infection after treatment lead to persistent high prevalence of schistosomiasis in key groups like school-aged children. Snail control is an alternative, however there is limited information on epidemiology and interventions on snails that that transmit schistosomiasis in Tanzania.
Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted at Kileo ward in Mwanga District, from April-May 2019. The snails were collected manually using scooping technique and location where the snails were obtained was mapped by using Global Positioning System (GPS). Physico-chemical properties of water from each collection site were assessed using a multiparameter pH meter. The snails sampled at individual site were transferred to a laboratory for analysis within 4 hours of collection. The species and genus of snails were identified by shell morphology. Cercarial shedding was assessed over the first 48 hours after collection.
Results: A total of 300 snails were collected from four different sites where people come into contact with water. The species of snails identified were Bulinus africanus (208) and Bulinus forskali (92). Snails of genus Biomphalaria were not identified among the collected snails. No snail was found to shed cercaria of schistosomiasis after being exposed to light.
Conclusion: Finding of Bulinus spp support high occurrence of Schistosoma haematobium and in the area and the need for planning of snail control activities in this setting. There is a need to sample snails over a long period, in different seasons of the year, to map if there is season variability of snail species especially for those transmitting Schistosoma mansoni.
The incidence and risk factors of hypokalemia in hospitalized patients with heart failure
Authors: Chen Yongmei , Wu DI , Tao Ming , Chen Yu , Wu Hemei , Peng Xiaofeng
Published: December 2024

Background Potassium plays an important role in the occurrence and progression of heart failure patients,Hypokalemia is one of the most common electrolyte disorders in hospitalized patients with heart failure , which poses a significant threat to the prognosis of patients. Identifying risk factors for hypokalaemia is crucial.The primary aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors of hypokalemia in patients with heart failure within one week of admission, and to provide a reference for the prevention of hypokalemia.
MethodsA total of 535 patients with heart failure who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from 2019 to 2022 were retrospectively selected by convenience sampling method, and were divided into hypokalemia group (160 cases) and non-hypokalemia group (375 cases) according to whether hypokalemia occurred within one week of admission.To select most relevant variables, the Least Absolute Shrinkage Selection Operator(LASSO) was applied, and then multivariate logistic regression analysis was further used to identify the risk factors of hypokalemia within one week of admission
in patients with heart failure.
Results Among the 535 patients with heart failure, 160 patients developed hypokalemia within one week of admission, with an incidence rate of 29.90%. The results of LASSO regression analysis showed that gender, peripheral edema, baseline serum potassium, calcium, albumin, prealbumin, and furosemide dose on the day of admission were the most correlated with hypokalemia within one week of admission. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that female (OR: 2.171; 95%CI: 1.445~3.261), peripheral edema (OR: 1.692; 95%CI: 1.118~2.561), and furosemide dose on the day of admission (OR: 1.013; 95%CI: 1.005~1.021) were risk factors for hypokalemia within one week of admission, and the baseline serum potassium value was higher than that of normal low serum potassium (OR：0.355;95%CI: 0.217~0.581) was a protective factor for hypokalemia within one week of admission in patients with heart failure.
Conclusion Even if the serum potassium is at a normal value at the time of admission, the incidence of hypokalemia in patients with heart failure is still high within one week of admission, and gender, peripheral edema, furosemide dose on the day of admission, and baseline serum potassium are closely related to the occurrence of hypokalemia.
Investigating the expression patterns of Androgen Receptor in different grades of Oral Squamous Cell carcinoma
Authors: Khan Nousheen Faizullah , Amin Rafat , Baqai Neha , Iqbal Syeda Noureen , Ahmed Zeba , Fatima Tehseen
Published: December 2024

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignant tumor, in the head and neck region with a high incidence and prevalence rate globally. Oral cancer is one of the most deadly and common cancers among men in Asian nations including Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Certain viral infections, alcohol, betel quid, areca nut, and tobacco use have all been linked to the development of OSCC. Although the role of hormones and their receptors have been explored in many types of cancers, in OSCC it is still poorly explored. Previous studies have reported that sex hormone androgens and androgen receptors (AR) are involved in growth and progression of breast and prostate cancers. However their role in OSCC remains controversial.
The study aims to understand the expression patterns of the androgen receptor at the transcriptional and translational levels in various grades of patients with OSCC. Further to that the expression of AR changes in response to testosterone was also compared in OSCC parients in relation to healthy population.
After obtaining consent, the participants were divided into four categories: healthy, poorly differentiated (PD), moderately differentiated (MD), and well differentiated (WD) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). By creating an appropriate questionnaire, the patient's history was acquired. Samples of blood and tissue were obtained and processed, for testosterone level measurement using ELISA and RNA and protein estimation using commercially available kits, respectively. Tissue samples were visualized using H&E staining. We found that PDSCC group has highest expression levels of AR mRNA, followed by MDSCC and WDSCC. AR expression and serum testosterone levels were found to have moderately significant association in all subjects, determined by Spearman’s correlation. All groups showed full length AR expression while the splice variant AR-V7 was detected exclusively in MDSCC and PDSCC. This is suggestive of AR-V7 role in in OSCC progression. Higher levels of serum testosterone in OSCC patients than in healthy people provide an evidence for the carcinogenic potential of AR in OSCC.
Factors contributing to COVID-19 is rumour acceptance – results of CEDMO Study
Authors: Barták Miroslav , Moravec Václav , Hynek Nikola , Gabrhelík Roman , Lukavská Kateřina , Miovský Michal , Šťastná Lenka , Petruželka Benjamin
Published: December 2024

COVID-19 has been associated with a number of rumours. Our research examined the level of agreement with the claim that COVID-19 was a rumour per se, two years after the pandemic, including investigation of socio-economic, psychological as well as political believes and media use characteristics that may help to explain why some people believe in this rumour. A voluntary observational study was conducted among a quasi-representative Czech population (n = 2453). The analysis was performed in r Studio. First, we performed a series of univariate ordinal logistic regression models, second, we performed multivariate models. We found that about 6% of respondents in 2023 believe that COVID-19 is a rumour, and another 6% are not sure. Respondents are more likely to consider COVID-19 a rumour if they are male, in younger age groups up to 54 years and less educated. Respondents who visit disinformation portals at least once a week and those who are very dissatisfied with democracy in terms of their political beliefs are more likely to agree with the statement that COVID-19 is a rumour than other population groups. Compared to other studies, visiting disinformation websites emerged as a risk factor, but so did dissatisfaction with democracy as such.
Evaluation of response to Targeted therapy and immunotherapy for advanced HCCs: A retrospective, controlled study
Authors: xiang tao , liu ding-kun , yang jian , ai dan-ni , yuan bing , li xiao-hui , dong jing-hui , zhu zhen-yu , Liu Jiangtao , Duan Feng
Published: December 2024

Background: To validate the correlation between radiomics extracted from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pathologic alterations in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with targeted therapy and immunotherapy, and to compare the accuracy of necrosis evaluation by radiologists and subtraction technology.
Methods: Thirty-five patients diagnosed unresectable HCCs (n = 39) who underwent curative resection at two centers after receiving combined treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors and programmed death ligand-1 antibodies were included. Using linear regression model to verify the consistency between investigator-based imaging evaluation and three-dimensional (3D) subtraction-based imaging analysis and their capability to distinguish major pathological response (MPR) and pathological complete remission (PCR) were compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis with pathological outcome as the gold standard.The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were compared.
Results: 3D subtraction-based imaging analysis suggested a strong correlation with histopathologic alteration (R2 = 0.81) and was superior in classifying MPR or PCR comparing to the use of investigator-based imaging evaluation (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve: MRP, 0.80 vs. 0.52; PCR, 0.69 vs. 0.54).
Conclusion: 3D subtraction-based imaging analysis based on tumor characteristics showed a stronger correlation with pathology, and 3D subtraction-based imaging analysis was significantly superior to investigator-based imaging evaluation in classifying MPR or PCR.
The Application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Archaeology: Methodological Challenges and a Case Study from Poland
Authors: Jakubczak Michał , Tyszkiewicz Michał J. , Leloch Michał
Published: December 2024

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in archaeology has rapidly gained momentum due to its potential to automate and enhance the efficiency of data analysis. This paper examines the application of neural networks for processing Digital Terrain Model (DTM) data to detect archaeological sites in Poland. The study focuses on identifying trenches, mounds, and charcoal kilns through automated image segmentation, utilizing a U-Net convolutional neural network. While the results demonstrate the promise of AI in improving archaeological site detection, various challenges are highlighted, including data quality, feature misclassification, and regional variability in model performance. Additionally, the research underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, as successful implementation requires expertise in archaeology, geospatial analysis, and programming. Despite AI’s potential for time-saving, significant effort is required to ensure accurate annotations and avoid over-reliance on the technology. The case study provides valuable insights into the complexities of applying AI to large-scale archaeological datasets and raises important questions about the limitations and future development of these methods. This paper concludes that while AI offers powerful tools for archaeological research, careful consideration must be given to its methodological challenges. Standardizing procedures and improving data quality will be critical to fully exploiting AI's potential in archaeology.
Dietary supplementation with lemon balm, Melissa officinalis, does not improve performance of juvenile barramundi (Lates calcarifer) held under chronic high temperature
Authors: Bowden Alyssa , English Chloe , Smullen Richard , Barnes Andrew C. , Franklin Craig E. , Cramp Rebecca L.
Published: December 2024

Increasing water temperatures are pushing aquaculture species to their thermal limits resulting in poor production performance. Additionally, animals in aquatic systems are often subject to concurrent stressors such as crowding, handling, and external influences such as disease and algal blooms. To ameliorate these effects, functional aquaculture feeds are a valuable area of research to pursue. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L., MOF), as a dietary supplement or a bath, has sedative, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties at optimal temperatures. However, the potential value of MOF in mitigating the effects of chronic thermal stress in fish is unknown. In this study, MOF was added into the diets of juvenile barramundi at concentrations of 0% (control), 0.2% (0.2% MOF), and 0.5% (0.5% MOF). Fish were acclimated to 30°C upon arrival, then underwent a thermal ramp up to 37°C where they were held for a minimum of 3 weeks prior to measurements. MOF at the experimental inclusion rates did not provide chronic stress relief (similar growth rates, feed conversion ratios, feeding rates, metabolic rates, scale cortisol content, and thermal tolerance values) in thermally challenged barramundi. In fact, fish fed MOF had significantly lower survival throughout the trial than those fed the control diet. Likewise, MOF provided no benefit to fish in responding to a secondary acute stressor (either a 2 h crowding event or a pathogen challenge with Streptococcus iniae). Therefore, we conclude that MOF in diets of juvenile barramundi does not mitigate the adverse effects of chronic thermal stress and concurrent acute stressors.
Association Between Pretreatment Emotional Distress and Survival Outcomes in Patients With Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: an individual patient data meta-analysis of 4632 patients in 7 trials
Authors: Zhou Jian-Guo , Li Xin , Li QiSha , Jin Su-Han , Chen Xiaofei , Shen Juanyan , Ma Hu
Published: December 2024

Emotional distress (ED) associated with worse survival outcomes in patients with melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, several preclinical studies suggest the association between stress and cancer treatment extends beyond ICIs alone. Here we used an individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis of 4632 patients in 7 trials and a Kaplan-Meier analysis to verify broader connection between ED and survival outcomes in NSCLC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis show that compared with patients without ED, patients with ED had worse survival outcomes, regardless of ICIs or chemotherapy (hazard ratio (HR) of overall survival (OS), 1.21, p=0.01; hazard ratio of progression-free survival (PFS), 1.19, p=0.01). IPD meta-analysis also supported results above (HR of OS, 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07-1.30; HR of PFS, 1.15, 95% CI, 1.03-1.28). Our research suggest that ED is only a prognostic biomarker in NSCLC, rather than a predictive biomarker for ICIs.
QC-Net: A Hybird Quantum-Classical Neural Network Model for Medical Image Segmentation
Authors: Wang Aijuan , Li Xiangqi , Li Lusi , Li Tiehu
Published: December 2024

The U-Net architecture is widely recognized as one of the most prominent models for medicalimage segmentation, comprising an encoder and a decoder. The encoder is crucial for extractingimage features to enhance segmentation accuracy, typically incorporating convolutional and poolinglayers. However, standard encoder structures often miss some classical features and struggleto extract high-level features effectively. In this paper, a hybird Quantum-Classical Neural Network(QC-Net) model with a novel encoder is proposed, aiming to capture more representativefeatures. Our encoder features a Residual Convolutional Block (RCB) to primarily extract somemissed features, and then Efficient Channel Attention (ECA) is employed into the output featuremaps after the RCB and pooling operations to handle more complex and noisy information. Consequently,a two-qubit parameterized circuit is devised to capture the final output features of theencoder, aiming to further capture the hidden high-level features from the quantum dimension.The decoder incorporates a joint attention mechanism and deconvolution operations to recoverthe spatial resolution and detail information of the original input image. To validate its efficacy,we conduct skin lesion segmentation experiments utilizing the ISIC2018 dataset. Notably, ourQC-Net model outperforms both U-Net and CA-Net, achieving an average Dice coefficient of93.2%, indicating improvements of 5.43% and 1.12%, respectively. These results underscore theoutstanding performance of our proposed QC-Net model.
Prospective Evaluation of the Relationship Between Breast Cancer Tissue, Normal Breast Tissue, and Gut Microbiota in Turkish Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer
Authors: Özsaray Mehmet Fatih , Bozkurt Gürkan , Şimşek Turgay , Ergül Emel , Akkoyunlu Deniz Sünnetçi , Çine Naci , Cantürk Nuh Zafer
Published: December 2024

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between gut microbiota and breast cancer by analyzing cancerous breast tissue, normal breast tissue, and stool samples from patients diagnosed with breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving surgery.
Materials and Methods: Stool samples and per-operative cancerous and non-cancerous breast tissue samples were collected from patients diagnosed with breast cancer who were scheduled for breast-conserving surgery and met the specified criteria. Data on patients’ age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), history of additional diseases, allergy history, menopausal status, menstrual regularity, breastfeeding history, oral contraceptive use, previous surgeries, family history of breast cancer, recent antibiotic use, COVID-19 infection and vaccination history, histological subtype and stage of breast cancer, malignant/normal breast tissue samples, and stool samples were collected and analyzed by using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.
Results: The study included 22 female patients diagnosed with stage 1-2 breast cancer between 2022-2023 in a single center. The average age of the patients was 58.30±12.73 years, and mean BMI was 28.85±3.13 kg/m2. However, only 7 (31.8%) had a BMI below 30, and 15 patients (68.2%) had a BMI above 30. No significant differences were found between demographic and clinical characteristics and microbiota composition of the individual patients. Microbiota analysis revealed significant differences in the growth patterns of various genera, families, and species of bacteria in tumor and normal breast tissue samples. In particular, it was found that the genera Ruminococcus, Eubacterium, Actinobacter, and Stenotrophomonas were increased in tumor tissue compared to normal breast tissue, while the genera Lactobacillus, Staphylococcus, Bifidobacterium, Propionibacterium, Lactococcus, Proteobacteria, Burkholderia, Faecalibacterium, and Pelomonas were more abundant in normal breast tissue compared to tumor tissue.
Conclusion: Despite the small sample size and some limitations of the methods used in microbiota analysis., different growth patterns of bacterial genera, families, and species were identified in cancerous and non-cancerous breast tissue. Future studies with larger and more diverse populations will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between microbiota and breast cancer.
Diagnostic Accuracy of E-FAST Examination Performed by Newly Trained Emergency Physicians and Its Impact on Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Buyurgan Çağrı Safa , Yarkaç Akif , Bozkurt Seyran , Köse Ataman , Akar Gülhan Akverdi , Mete Ruken , Güldür Buğrahan , Oflas Selva , Kanevetçi Necmettin Kaan , Güldür Çiğdem Öncü , Koyuncu Rohad Sadık , Yüksek Hasan Hüsnü , Temel Gülhan Orekici
Published: December 2024

BACKGROUND: E-FAST is considered a critical assessment tool for patients with trauma. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the E-FAST examination performed by newly trained emergency medicine residents and its effect on clinical outcomes.
METHODS: Patients presented to the adult emergency department of a tertiary university hospital with multiple traumas were prospectively evaluated. Ultrasonography examinations were performed by emergency medicine residents specifically trained in E-FAST. The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography was determined by sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values (NPVs and PPVs), using computed tomography (CT) results as the golden standard. Clinical outcomes were defined as the need for emergency surgery, and chest tube placement, hospitalization, and need for surgery in patients with false negative (FN) E-FAST assessment.
RESULTS: A total of 158 patients were included in the study. For hemoperitoneum, sensitivity was 81.25%, specificity 100%, PPV 100%, NPV 95.45%, accuracy 96.2%, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) 0.91; for hemothorax, sensitivity was 35.71%, specificity 100%, PPV 100%, NPV 94.12%, accuracy 94.3%, and AUC 0.68; and for pneumothorax, sensitivity was 59.38%, specificity 100%, PPV 100%, NPV 90.65%, accuracy 91.77%, and AUC 0.80. None of the six hemoperitoneum patients assessed as FN required a treatment plan for this reason. Chest tubes were placed in 5 of the 9 hemothorax patients assessed as FN due to the subsequent development of hemodynamic instability, and in 4 of the 13 pneumothorax patients due to the need for mechanical ventilation. E-FAST assessment was positive in 7 of the 8 patients requiring emergency surgery.
CONCLUSION: In trauma patients with positive E-FAST findings requiring emergency surgery, attempts to detect additional organ injuries using CT scans should not delay the need for surgery. Serial E-FAST assessments can enhance diagnostic accuracy and contribute to patient management in trauma cases.
Recombinant ISRAA ameliorates imiquimod-induced psoriasis and knocking out Israa delays its onset
Authors: Alsabbagh Manahel Mahmood , Aljishi Muna , Sultan Ameera , Marwani Amar Muhsin , Althaf Nasneen , Bakhiet Moiz , Taha Safa
Published: December 2024

Psoriasis, an inflammatory disease, is largely mediated by T-helper 17 cytokines. We have previously identified the immune system-released activating agent (Israa) as a novel gene that connects the nervous and immune systems. This research aims to investigate the role of the Israa gene in psoriasis in vivo using the imiquimod-induced psoriasis model. We established the model in C57BL/6 wildtype mice, which were then treated with 200 pg/mouse, 400 pg/mouse, or 800 pg/mouse of recombinant ISRAA compared to methotrexate. Subsequently, we also induced psoriasis in Israa-knockout mice to confirm the effect of Israa. Results consistently showed improvement in psoriasis in all groups receiving recombinant ISRAA. The 200 pg/mouse dose eliminated the disease, reduced the cutaneous release of IL-17 to one-third and TNF-α to one-sixth, increased IL-10 release to over 500 pg, completely resolved parakeratosis, decreased epidermal thickness to one-half, and reduced the expression of CD4 and neutrophil elastase in the skin (all p < 0.05). Israa-knockout mice exhibited less severe psoriasis in all scoring, biochemical, and histological parameters compared to wild-type mice (p < 0.05). This study highlights Israa as a crucial molecule in psoriasis and confirms its immunomodulatory role in inflammatory diseases.
A Novel Multi-Input Neural Network Model for MicroRNA Target-Site Detection
Authors: Mohebbi Mohammad , Bennett Ethan , Williams Phillip
Published: December 2024

Purpose: MicroRNAs are tiny non-coding RNA sequences that regulate gene expressions and play crucial roles in controlling cell activities. They function by binding to their target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and suppressing protein synthesis. Detecting the binding location of a microRNA is an important step towards discovering microRNA functions. Given the many possibilities that a microRNA can bind to an mRNA, microRNA target-site detection is a challenging task in vivo and in vitro; from time and cost limitations of experimental methods to high false positive rates of computational methods.
Methods: In this paper, we propose a multi-input neural network-based algorithm that yields high recall and precision results simultaneously. Moreover, we designed a Dynamic Programming(DP) algorithm to predict the duplex structure of microRNA target-site, specific to the context of these sequences. The predicted duplex structures, substructures resulting from the DP algorithm, minimum free energy (MFE) of the substructures, and a probabilistic image of possible base pairs in the duplex are all fed in parallel into our algorithm to learn a comprehensive and precise model.
Results and Conclusions: Our method on an experimentally validated test set, detects target-sites with AUPRC of 0.9373, Precision of 0.8725, Recall of 0.8703, and outperforms several commonly used computational methods of microRNA target predictions. In addition, using the duplex structure, MFE, and binding probabilities, rather than the nucleotide sequences of the microRNA and targetsites, enables our model to generalize beyond specific sequence contexts and perform well on sequentially distant samples. The source code for our algorithm and the accompanying datasets are freely accessible on Github at: https://github.com/mohebbimg/minn.git
Status epilepticus bei Patienten mit primären Hirntumoren und zerebralen Metastasen : eine multizentrische Kohortenstudie von 208 Patienten und ein Literatur-Review
Authors:   , Rickel Johanna
Published: December 2024

Hintergrund: Status epilepticus (SE), welche sekundär bei primären Hirntumoren und zerebralen Metastasen auftreten, machen etwa 10% aller SE-Fälle aus. Wir beschreiben systematisch die klinischen Charakteristika, die Behandlung sowie das Kurz- und Langzeit-Outcome in dieser spezifischen Population.
Methodik: Diese retrospektive, multizentrische Kohortenstudie analysierte alle Hirntumor-Patienten, die im Zeitraum von 2011-2017 aufgrund eines SE in den Universitätskliniken Frankfurt und Marburg behandelt wurden.
Ergebnisse: Insgesamt 208 Patienten (Mittelwert 61,5 ± 14,7 Jahre; 51% männlich) wurden mit diffusen Gliomen vom adulten Typ (55,8%), zerebralen metastatischen Entitäten (25,5%), intrakraniellen extraduralen Tumoren (14,4%) and anderen Tumoren (4,3%) diagnostiziert. Davon zeigten 128 (61,5%)
Patienten radiologische Hinweise einer Tumorprogression, bei 57 (27,4%) Patienten wurde der Tumor bei Aufnahme erstmalig diagnostiziert und 113 (54,3%) erlitten einen refraktären SE. Die mittlere Verweildauer (VWD) im Krankenhaus betrug 14,8 Tage (Median 12,0, Spannweite 1-57). Insgesamt 171 Patienten (82,2%) benötigten intensivmedizinische Betreuung (mittlere VWD 8,9
Tage, Median 5, Spannweite 1-46) and 44 Patienten (21,2%) mechanische Ventilation. Eine signifikante Verminderung des funktionellen Status nach SE (quantifiziert anhand der modifizierten Rankin Skala) wurde zum Zeitpunkt der Entlassung beobachtet (p<0,001). Die Gesamtmortalität bei Entlassung lag bei
17,3% (n=36), wobei sich die höchste Mortalität bei Patienten mit Hirnmetastasen (26,4%, p=0,031) und mit radiologischen Zeichen einer Tumorprogression (25%, p<0,001) ergab. Die Langzeitmortalität nach einem Jahr betrug 65,9%. Diese war am höchsten bei denjenigen Patienten mit diffusen Gliomen vom adulten Typ (68,1%) und zerebralen metastatischen Entitäten (79,2%). Die Kaplan-Meier Kurven zeigten das geringste Überleben bei der Gruppe der Patienten, die einen refraktären Status epilepticus (RSE) erlitten, verglichen mit Patienten mit nicht-refraktärem SE (Log-Rang p-Wert=0,02) und mit radiologischem Hinweis eines Tumorprogresses (Log-Rang p-Wert=0,001).
Schlussfolgerung: Das Auftreten eines SE trägt zu einer Verschlechterung des funktionellen Status bei, unabhängig von Tumorentität, Vorliegen von Tumorprogressionszeichen und ungeachtet der Refraktärität der SE Episoden (RSE oder NRSE). Hingegen ist die Langzeitmortalität bei denjenigen Patienten
mit malignen Tumorentitäten, Tumorprogression und refraktärem SE am höchsten. Die Prävention eines SE kann dazu beitragen, den funktionellen Status bei Patienten mit Hirntumoren zu erhalten und eine Verbesserung der Überlebensraten zu erzielen.
الحماية الجنائية للخنثى في نطاق الجرائم المخلة بالاخلاق والاداب العامة
Authors: حميد اسماعيل مسعود , فارق محمد فيان
Published: December 2024

حسب الفطرة السليمة يوجد صنفين متمايزين من البشر، فيتحدد جنسه لما ظهر من حاله، باعتباره المعيار الأساسي في تحديد جنس الانسان: إما ذكر، وإما أنثى، أنثوية، ويتميز كل صنف بخصائص خلقية ونفسية تميزه عن الآخر. غير أنه قد تجتمع خصائص كلا الصنفين في مخلوق واحد، فلا نلحقه بالرجال، ولا بالنساء، وكأن تكون له عضو الذكورة وعضو الأنوثة أو تنعدم لديه كلا الآلتين، وهو ما يُطلق عليه الفقهاء والقانونيون مصطلح "الخنثى". والتشريع العراقي عموما، والجنائي منه بشكل خاص، لا يتضمن نصا يعالج فيه مسألة كيفية التعامل مع الخنثى ولاسيما عند تعرض هذا الاخير لجريمة من الجرائم المخلة بالاخلاق والاداب العامة، لأن المنظمومة التشريعية العراقية لا يعترف بغير جنسين فقط وهما الذكر والأنثى. عليه فان بحث الحماية الجنائية للخنثى تبقى من المسائل المعقدة والشائكة، ويحتاج الى تدخل تشريعي من قبل المشرع العراقي لتقرير حماية لهذه الفئة بإيجاد نصوص قانونية تعالج المشاكل التي يعاني منه الخنثي وتضمن حماية جنائية له عند تعرضه لاحد الجرائم الماسة بالاخلاق والاداب العامة.
Tunable second harmonic generation in 2D materials: Comparison of different strategies
Authors: Grillo Simone , Cannuccia Elena , Palummo Maurizia , Pulci Olivia , Attaccalite Claudio
Published: December 2024

Nonlinear optical frequency conversion, where optical fields interact with a nonlinear medium to generate new frequencies, is a key phenomenon in modern photonic systems. However, a major challenge with these techniques lies in the difficulty of tuning the nonlinear electrical susceptibilities that drive such effects in a given material. As a result, dynamic control of optical nonlinearities has remained largely confined to research laboratories, limiting its practical use as a spectroscopic tool. In this work, we aim to advance the development of devices with tunable nonlinear responses by exploring two potential mechanisms for electrically manipulating second-order optical nonlinearity in two-dimensional materials. Specifically, we consider two configurations: in the first, the material does not inherently exhibit second-harmonic generation (SHG), but this response is induced by an external field; in the second, an external field induces doping in a material that already exhibits SHG, altering the intensity of the nonlinear signal. In this work, we have studied these two configurations using a real-time ab-initio approach under an out-of-plane external field and including the effects of doping-induced variations in the screened electron-electron interaction. We then discuss the limitations of current computational methods and compare our results with experimental measurements.
Impact of advertising and sales promotion expenses on the sales performance of Jordanian companies: The moderating role of firm size
Authors: Fawzi Shubita Mohammad , Mansour Marwan , W.A. Saleh Mohammed , Lutfi Abdalwali , Saad Mohamed , Shubita Dua’a
Published: December 2024

This study aimed at analyzing the effect of sales promotion and advertising expenses on sales performance, considering firm size as a likely moderating variable.This research conducted regression analyses on 474 Jordanian companies based on the firm’s advertising expenditure, gross margin, firm size, and sales performance. It tested two models: first, direct impact of advertising expenses on sales performance, and, second, firm size affecting the relationship between advertising expenses and sales performance.The findings show that advertising and sales promotion expenses do not have a significant effect on sales performance. Besides, firm size did not moderate this relationship, as referred by a non-significant t-value of –1.459 and a p-value of 0.145. The models explained only 4.1% and 0.5% of the variance in sales performance, respectively, suggesting that other factors play a more significant role.These results suggest that Jordanian firms have to reevaluate their advertising strategies and consider alternative approaches to enhance sales. The research contributes to more understanding of the limited role of advertising in sales performance within the Jordanian market.
AcknowledgementThis research was funded through the annual funding track by the Deanship of Scientific Research, from the vice presidency for graduate studies and scientific research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia [Grant no. KFU242402].
The course of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener’s granulomatosis) with late ocular and orbital manifestations (clinical observation)
Authors: Taradin G. G. , Yarovaya N. F. , Rakitskaya I. V. , Tsyba I. N. , Kononenko L. V. , Mogilevskaya K. E. , Seredenko E. V. , Kaluga A. A.
Published: December 2024

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a granulomatous necrotizing vasculitis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies. The clinical picture of GPA is characterized by a wide range of manifestations, including nonspecific symptoms, signs of damage to the upper and lower respiratory tract and glomerulonephritis. The article presents the observation of a patient for 12.5 years, who at the beginning of the disease, along with complaints of malaise, weakness, decreased appetite and weight loss, had a hemorrhagic rash, proteinuria, erythrocyturia, decreased glomerular filtration rate and increased creatinine and urea levels. After a positive result for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and the results of nephrobiopsy with evidences of glomerulonephritis with the development of glomerulosclerosis and fibrosis of the crescents (pauci-immune variant) with a moderately pronounced tubulointerstitial component, the patient was diagnosed with GPA and immunosuppressive therapy was initiated. Almost 8 years after the manifestation of GPA during continuous pathogenetic therapy, the patient complained of swelling of the left eye and its increase in volume, diplopia. Computed tomography of the head revealed a mass of the left orbit. Morphological examination of the excised mass revealed its inflammatory origin as consequence of vasculitis. The special aspect of the presented case is that ocular and orbital pathologies of GPA developed in the patient 8 years after the initial manifestation of the disease against the background of ongoing immunosuppressive therapy in conditions of laboratory remission of GPA.
SYSTEMATIC DESIGN OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE CO GAS SENSOR BASED ON QCM AND THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HUMIDITY
Authors: Wang Luyu , Ruan Chenghai , Yu Chunyang , Song Jia
Published: December 2024

The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensing platform detects a wide variety of gases, yet lacks a system designed specifically for carbon monoxide (CO) gas. Here, we utilized ceric dioxide (CeO2) nanorods as the sensing material and coated them onto the QCM surface to construct a novel QCM sensor. This sensor is capable of detecting CO concentrations as low as 500 ppb and exhibits satisfactory sensitivity, response speed, selectivity, repeatability, and long-term stability. The sensing mechanism and the influence of environmental humidity on this sensor were also explored. This work broadens the application scope of QCM sensing platform and provides an additional solution for detecting CO at room temperature.
Output Based Iterative Learning Control with Saturation
Authors:   Arzamas Polytechnic Institute of R.E. Alekseev Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University,, Emelianova Julia Pavlovna
Published: December 2024

The paper considers a linear discrete-time system operating in a repetitive mode to track a reference trajectory with a given accuracy. The system parameters are incompletely known and are described by the affine uncertainty model. A new iterative learning control design method based on information about the measured output signal is obtained; this method takes into account the saturation-type nonlinearity inherent in the actuators of robots and allows achieving the required accuracy. The problem statement is motivated by the development trends of high-precision smart and additive manufacturing as well as medical rehabilitation robots. An example illustrates the effectiveness of this method.
Obstrüktif uyku apne hastalarında kısa form-36 ve Dünya Sağlık Örgütü yaşam kalitesi ölçeklerinin karşılaştırılması
Authors: Manga Günaydın Filiz
Published: December 2024

Amaç: Bu çalışmada; Dünya Sağlık Örgütü Yaşam Kalitesi Ölçeği (WHOQOL –BREF) ve Kısa Form 36 (SF-36) anketlerinin obstrüktif uyku apne sendrom (OSAS)’lu hastalarda; yaşam kalitesini değerlendirmede güvenilirliğini ve etkinliğini karşılaştırmayı amaçladık.

Yöntemler: Bu çalışmaya Kocaeli Derince Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi nöroloji kliniği uyku ve uyku bozuklukları merkezinde 25.11.2023-05.01.2024 tarihleri arasında OSAS tanısı alan 50 hasta ve polisomnografisi (PSG) normal saptanan 20 kişi kontrol grubu olarak alındı. Sigara kullanımı, eşlik eden hastalıklar (diyabet, hipertansiyon, hiperlipidemi), PSG’de apne-hipopne indeksi (AHI), rapid eye movement (REM) evresi, non-REM Evre 1 (N-REM 1), non-REM Evre 2 (N-REM 2), non-REM Evre 3 (N-REM 3) oranları, ortalama oksijen (O2) saturasyonu not alındı. Hastalara WHOQOL –BREF ve SF-36 anketleri, Beck depresyon ölçeği (BDI), Epworth Uykululuk Skalası (ESS) uygulanarak; WHOQOL –BREF ve SF-36 anketlerinin güvenilirliği ve etkinliği karşılaştırıldı.

Bulgular: Çalışma; %35,7’si (n=25) kadın ve %64,3’ü (n=45) erkek olmak üzere toplam 70 olguyla yapıldı. Olguların %28,6’sı (n=20) kontrol ve %71,4’ü (n=50) hasta grubu olarak alındı. İstatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık göstermese de; OSAS grubunda Epworth Uykululuk Skalası ve Beck depresyon ölçeği skorları daha yüksek saptandı (p>0,05). Gruplara göre olguların WHOQOL-BREF Ölçeği skorları istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık göstermemekle beraber genel sağlık, fiziksek sağlık ve çevre skorları OSAS hastalarında daha düşük saptandı (p>0,05). SF-36 fiziksel fonksiyon skorları; istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olmasa da OSAS grubunda daha düşük saptandı. Erkeklerin SF-36 “Fiziksel fonksiyon” skoru kadınlardan istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olmamakla birlikte dikkat çekici düzeyde yüksek saptandı (p=0,054; p>0,05). Erkeklerin SF-36 “Fiziksel rol güçlüğü” skoru (p=0,009; p
Nadir bir orbital patoloji: Persistan hiperplastik primer vitreus
Authors: Deniz Muhammed Akif , Aslan Aydın
Published: December 2024

Amaç: Persistan hiperplastik primer vitreus (PHPV), embriyolojik primer vitreus ve hyaloid damar sisteminin gerilememesi nedeniyle ortaya çıkan konjenital bir anomalidir. Etkilenen gözlerde anatomik ve visual sonuç üzerinde önemli etkisi olabilir. Amacımız PHPV tanısı konulmuş hastaların Manyetik Rezonans Görüntüleme (MRG) özelliklerini sunmak ve literatürle karşılaştırmaktır.

Yöntemler: Çalışmamız retrospektif bir arşiv çalışması olup Ocak 2010-Ocak 2020 tarihleri arasında merkezimizde orbital MR çekimi yapılan ve görüntülemelerinde PHPV tanısı bulunan 9 hasta çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Hastalar yaş, cinsiyet, etkilenen orbita (sağ-sol, unilateral-bilateral), eşlik eden ek anomaliler açısından değerlendirildi.

Bulgular: Çalışmaya alınan 9 hastanın 8’i erkek 1’i kız idi. Hastaların yaş aralığı 3 ay-56 yaş olup yaş ortalaması 10,8 idi. Bilateral tutulum 2 (%22) hastada, unilateral tutulum 7 (%78) hastada (5 hastada sağ, 2 hastada sol) izlendi. Mikroftalmi 5 hastada, dismorfik orbita 2 hastada, retinal hemoraji-dekolman 3 hastada izlenmiştir. PHPV olgularına eşlik eden ek kranial patolojiler değerlendirildiğinde; 1 hastada lizensefali, 1 hastada porensefalik kavitasyon ve 2 hastada optik sinir periferinde sıvı artışı izlendi.

Sonuçlar: Sonuç olarak tek taraflı tutulum, mikroftalmi ve ön kamaranın kollabe olması PHPV ayırıcı tanısında en önemli klinik ipuçlarıdır. PHPV’den şüphelenildiğinde retrolental kitle ve huni şeklinde retina dekolmanı MR görüntülemede tanı koymada son derece önemli bulgulardır.
İlköğretim Öğrencilerinde Görme Problemlerinin Belirlenmesi
Authors: Tek Ayaz Suzan , Canleblebici Mehmet , Korkmaz Mehmet
Published: December 2024

Amaç: Bu çalışma ilköğretim birinci ve ikinci sınıf öğrencilerinde görme problemlerinin prevalansını belirlemek amacıyla yapıldı.
Yöntemler: Tanımlayıcı kesitsel tipteki çalışmaya 508 ilköğretim öğrencisi dahil edildi. Veriler, kişisel veri toplama formu ve görme muayenesi klinik notlarının kaydedildiği görme tarama formu ile toplandı. Şaşılık muayenesi örtme ve açma testi ile uzak ve yakında ölçüm yapılarak değerlendirildi. Renkli görme testi için ise Ishihara renk körlüğü test kitabı kullanıldı. Görme testi için Snellen eşeli kullanıldı. Refraksiyon ölçümleri Oto Ref/ Keratometre ARK-1 yapıldı. Görme seviyesi herhangi bir gözde 1.0 altında olduğunda ve otorefraktometre değerleri ile görme arasında uyumsuzluk izlenildiğinde sikloplejinli dilatasyon sonrası ölçümler tekrarlandı. Tanımlayıcı istatiksel araçlar ile nominal değerler için ki-kare testi kullanıldı.
Bulgular: Tarama sonrası çocukların %15.6’sında refraksiyon kusuru tespit edildi. Refraksiyon kusurları incelendiğinde sadece myopi %15.8, hipermetropi %10.7 ve astigmatizma ise %8.2 oranında idi. Şaşılık oranı % 2.3, amblyopi oranı %1.77, uzakta göz kısarak bakma oranı %9.4 iken yakında ise bu oran %12.0 olarak hesaplandı.
Sonuç: Görme problemlerinin erken dönemde tanılanması için kritik olan çocukluk çağında görme taramaların yapılması, potansiyel görme bozukluklarının erken tespitine, hızlı ve uygun müdahaleye olanak sağlayabilir. Görme bozukluklarını daha iyi duruma getirmeye yönelik mevcut politikaların gözden geçirilmesi, görme taramalarındaki işlerliğin önündeki engellerin belirlenmesi önerilmektedir.