bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Whistleblowing : des frontières fluctuantes
Authors: Junod Valérie
Published: April 2022

Dans son arrêt Halet c. Luxembourg , la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme a admis que l’intérêt de l’employeur l’emportait sur l’intérêt du whisteblower comme sur l’intérêt public à tenir un débat sur les pratiques fiscales licites, mais controversées. Elle a entériné l’appréciation des tribunaux nationaux qui exigeaient que les documents révélés par le whistleblower soient nouveaux et essentiels par rapport aux informations déjà publiquement disponibles. À notre avis, cette exigence pose davantage de problèmes pratiques qu’elle n’en résout. C’est avant tout à l’aune de l’intérêt public en cause et de la bonne foi des whistleblowers que les sanctions pénales qui leur sont infligées devraient être évaluées.
La Cour européenne des droits de l’homme face à la surveillance de masse
Authors: Dubuisson François
Published: April 2022

La présente contribution examine les implications de l’arrêt rendu par la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme dans l’affaire Big Brother Watch concernant la méthode d’évaluation de la compatibilité des régimes juridiques de surveillance de masse avec le droit à la vie privée et le droit à la liberté d’expression. Il est montré que la Grande Chambre de la Cour a pour la première fois pris en considération les caractéristiques spécifiques de l’interception de masse pour définir un régime de garanties, mais qu’elle a conservé une approche très flexible de ces garanties, laissant une large marge d’appréciation aux États dans le recours à la surveillance de masse et donnant un poids prépondérant aux considérations liées à la protection de la sécurité nationale.
Adolescents, Suicide, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Durante Julia C. , Lau May
Published: April 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has vastly disrupted the lives of youth. Stressors related to the pandemic and related lockdown measures have increased the prevalence of adolescent depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, with their mental and psychosocial development making them highly vulnerable to isolating restrictions. Research has demonstrated increased loneliness and decreased social support among adolescents during the pandemic. Increased social media usage has further affected depression among adolescents. Pandemic-related stressors such as fear of illness or life changes have negatively affected adolescent mental well-being. Health care use during the pandemic has involved disruption in primary care suicide screening, patterns of suicide-related presentations in emergency departments, and access to mental health services. Health care providers can support adolescent mental health through consistent screening, effectively coordinating referral for mental health evaluation, and providing family guidance on resiliency, pandemic-related mental health risks, and suicide prevention.

[
Pediatr Ann
. 2022;51(4):e144–e149.]
COVID-19 and Adolescent Eating Disorders
Authors: Khot Sharwin C. , Monge Maria C.
Published: April 2022

Eating disorders can have serious consequences for adolescent patients. Early detection and coordination of treatment can improve outcomes. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has negatively affected mental health, and eating disorders are no exception. The reported increase in eating disorder behaviors and referrals for treatment, combined with the shortage of treatment options, has underscored the role of the outpatient pediatrician. Detection of eating disorders in the primary care setting starts with analyzing vitals and weight trends. If suspecting an eating disorder, one should complete a thorough history with pertinent review of systems, physical examination, and an initial laboratory evaluation. Upon confirming a diagnosis, it is important for a pediatrician to decide on the level of care needed. Given long wait times for treatment centers, utilization of local resources is helpful for coordinating a multidisciplinary approach. Increased funding for eating disorder treatment initiatives could help alleviate the current strain on our health care system.

[
Pediatr Ann
. 2022;51(4):e150–e153.]
Representations of modified type 2 degenerate poly-Bernoulli polynomials
Authors: Kwon Jongkyum , Wongsason Patcharee , Kim Yunjae , Kim Dojin
Published: April 2022

Research on the degenerate versions of special polynomials provides a new area, introducing the $ \lambda $-analogue of special polynomials and numbers, such as $ \lambda $-Sheffer polynomials. In this paper, we propose a new variant of type 2 Bernoulli polynomials and numbers by modifying a generating function. Then we derive explicit expressions and their representations that provide connections among existing $ \lambda $-Sheffer polynomials. Also, we provide the explicit representations of the proposed polynomials in terms of the degenerate Lah-Bell polynomials and the higher-order degenerate derangement polynomials to confirm the presented identities.
Generalized $ (p, q) $-analogues of Dragomir-Agarwal's inequalities involving Raina's function and applications
Authors: Vivas-Cortez Miguel , Javed Muhammad Zakria , Awan Muhammad Uzair , Kashuri Artion , Noor Muhammad Aslam
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we introduce the class of generalized strongly convex functions using Raina's function. We derive two new general auxiliary results involving first and second order $ (p, q) $-differentiable functions and Raina's function. Essentially using these identities and the generalized strongly convexity property of the functions, we also found corresponding new generalized post-quantum analogues of Dragomir-Agarwal's inequalities. We discuss some special cases about generalized convex functions. To support our main results, we offer applications to special means, to hypergeometric functions, to Mittag-Leffler functions and also to $ (p, q) $-differentiable functions of first and second order that are bounded in absolute value.
Computation of eccentric topological indices of zero-divisor graphs based on their edges
Authors: Koam Ali N. A. , Ahmad Ali , Haider Azeem , Ansari Moin A.
Published: April 2022

The topological index of a graph gives its topological property that remains invariant up to graph automorphism. The topological indices which are based on the eccentricity of a chemical graph are molecular descriptors that remain constant in the whole molecular structure and therefore have a significant position in chemical graph theory. In recent years, various topological indices are intensively studied for a variety of graph structures. In this article, we will consider graph structures associated with zero-divisors of commutative rings, called zero-divisor graphs. We will compute the topological indices for a class of zero-divisor graphs of finite commutative rings that are based on their edge eccentricity. More precisely, we will compute the first and third index of Zagreb eccentricity, the eccentricity index of geometric arithmetic, the atomic bonding connectivity eccentricity index, and the eccentric harmonic index of the fourth type related to graphs constructed using zero-divisors of finite commutative rings $ \mathbb{Z}_{p^n}. $
Stationary patterns in bistable reaction-diffusion cellular automata
Authors: Špale Daniel , Stehlík Petr
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we study stationary patterns of bistable reaction-diffusion cellular automata, i.e., models with discrete time, space and state. We show the rich variability based on the interplay of the capacity and viability and the specific form of reaction functions. While stationary $ k $-periodic patterns occur naturally in many situations in large (exponential) numbers, there exist extreme situations for which there are no heterogeneous patterns. Moreover, nonmonotone dependence of the number of stationary patterns on the diffusion parameter is shown to be natural in the fully discrete setting.
A new hybrid ensemble machine-learning model for severity risk assessment and post-COVID prediction system
Authors: Shakhovska Natalya , Yakovyna Vitaliy , Chopyak Valentyna
Published: April 2022

Starting from December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has globally strained medical resources and caused significant mortality. It is commonly recognized that the severity of SARS-CoV-2 disease depends on both the comorbidity and the state of the patient's immune system, which is reflected in several biomarkers. The development of early diagnosis and disease severity prediction methods can reduce the burden on the health care system and increase the effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation of patients with severe cases. This study aims to develop and validate an ensemble machine-learning model based on clinical and immunological features for severity risk assessment and post-COVID rehabilitation duration for SARS-CoV-2 patients. The dataset consisting of 35 features and 122 instances was collected from Lviv regional rehabilitation center. The dataset contains age, gender, weight, height, BMI, CAT, 6-minute walking test, pulse, external respiration function, oxygen saturation, and 15 immunological markers used to predict the relationship between disease duration and biomarkers using the machine learning approach. The predictions are assessed through an area under the receiver-operating curve, classification accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score performance metrics. A new hybrid ensemble feature selection model for a post-COVID prediction system is proposed as an automatic feature cut-off rank identifier. A three-layer high accuracy stacking ensemble classification model for intelligent analysis of short medical datasets is presented. Together with weak predictors, the associative rules allowed improving the classification quality. The proposed ensemble allows using a random forest model as an aggregator for weak repressors' results generalization. The performance of the three-layer stacking ensemble classification model (AUC 0.978; CA 0.920; F1 score 0.921; precision 0.924; recall 0.920) was higher than five machine learning models, viz. tree algorithm with forward pruning; Naïve Bayes classifier; support vector machine with RBF kernel; logistic regression, and a calibrated learner with sigmoid function and decision threshold optimization. Aging-related biomarkers, viz. CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD22+ were examined to predict post-COVID rehabilitation duration. The best accuracy was reached in the case of the support vector machine with the linear kernel (MAPE = 0.0787) and random forest classifier (RMSE = 1.822). The proposed three-layer stacking ensemble classification model predicted SARS-CoV-2 disease severity based on the cytokines and physiological biomarkers. The results point out that changes in studied biomarkers associated with the severity of the disease can be used to monitor the severity and forecast the rehabilitation duration.
Entre littoral et arrière-pays, l’organisation des activités artisanales : le cas de Narbonne antique
Authors: Sanchez Corinne , Jézégou Marie-Pierre , Pagès Gaspard
Published: April 2022

Narbonne, colonie romaine et ville portuaire, est réputée pour le nombre de ses artisans notamment à travers les attestations lapidaires. Aussi, un essai de répartition spatiale des activités artisanales est proposé à partir des fouilles urbaines, mais également à partir des recherches sur les zones portuaires et rurales pour comprendre les relations qui unissent les différentes activités (céramique, métallurgie…) menées dans ces espaces. Ce travail bénéficie des premiers résultats des récentes opérations archéologiques conduites à Salauze (Laure-Minervois), mais également à Port-la-Nautique et au Grand Castélou dans le cadre du Programme Collectif de Recherche « Les ports antiques de Narbonne ». La lecture croisée proposée permet de dresser les premiers jalons d’une réflexion sur l’organisation du tissu économique et artisanal durant l’Antiquité à Narbonne et dans son territoire, entre littoral et contreforts montagneux.
The memory multiverse
Authors: ELLIOTT Denielle
Published: April 2022

As an ethnographic experiment, this paper considers the texture of temporality, reflecting on how we know what is real, unreal, a hallucination, a memory, a confabulation. The paper explores unusual sensory experiences associated with traumatic brain injuries, the seemingly irrational imaginings by seemingly rational beings. Jamais vu and déjà vu – sensory experiences associated with neurological disorders resulting from either injury or epilepsy – are mnemonic experiences, when the organic and psychic are indistinguishable. They are experienced as memory disorders, involving the play of time, blurring fantasy and reality. Readers are introduced to two characters – our narrator and her other self – and the polytemporality of brain injury. Here we see how these disorders are experienced by the narrator and her other self, confusing the mind, subverting space and time. The paper brings the anthropology of time, the social study of neurosciences, and sensory ethnography into one conversation, an imaginative ethnography that traces the affects and intensities of an injured mind.
A Physical Simulation of Heat Affected Zone of Creep Resistant Steel: Microstructure and Mechanical Properties Analysis
Authors: Obiko Japheth , Lesley Chown , Whitefield David , Bodunrin Michael
Published: April 2022

The structural integrity of ASTM P92 steel welded joints is of concern due to the Type IV cracking associated with the heat-affected zone (HAZ). Two HAZ treatments were done on P92 steel using a Gleeble® 3500 thermo-mechanical simulator at 900°C (intercritical HAZ) and 950°C (fine-grained HAZ). Followed by post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) of the samples in two sets:: a conventional PWHT at 760°C for 2 hours followed by air cooling; or re-austenitisation at 1050°C for 40 minutes then air cooling, followed PWHT. After conventional PWHT, the HAZ simulated at 950°C had the lowest toughness (108J) than the base metal (130J). After the heat treatments, samples that underwent a 900°C HAZ simulation had higher Charpy toughness (improved from 130-208 ± 6J) and lower hardness (decreased from 234.4-222.3HV0.5) than those at 950°C. The microstructures had lath martensite with differing precipitate densities depending on the thermal treatment. Keywords: P92 steel, heat affected zone, post-weld heat treatment, precipitates
Adsorption Effect of Arachis hypogaea and Cocos nucifera Surfactant Inhibitors on 316L Steel in HCL Acid Solution
Authors: Fajobi Muyiwa Adedapo , Loto Roland Tolulope , Akande Godwin , Aworinde Abraham K. , Araoyinbo Alaba
Published: April 2022

Arachis hypogaea (AH) and Cocos nucifera (CN) surfactant were examined as corrosion inhibitor for 316L steel in 9 M HCl solution by weight loss (WL) method. Observation from the results showed that the presence of the active components and functional groups were actually the reasons for strong adsorption performance of AH and CN inhibitors as the corrosion rate was drastically retarded with increment in percentage inhibitor concentrations. Though AH inhibitor showed better efficiency than CN inhibitor due to more active components as revealed by the phytochemical analysis test. ATF-FITR test demonstrated all the potential functional groups accountable for the excellent inhibitions of AH and CN inhibitors. Keywords: Organic compound; Corrosion rate; Active components; Functional groups. ATF-FTIR spectroscopy.
Thermophysical Properties and Heat Transfer Characteristics of Nanorefrigerants: Some Existing Results and Areas for Further Researches
Authors: Ogbonnaya Mercy , Ajayi Oluseyi O. , Waheed Mufutau Akindoye , Salawu Enesi Y.
Published: April 2022

Refrigerants are commonly used as heat transfer fluid in refrigeration, heat pumps, and air conditioning systems. Nanorefrigerants are a special kind of nanofluid synthesized by dispersing nanoparticles into refrigerants or lubricant oil to improve its thermophysical and heat transfer characteristics. The optimization of the thermophysical properties of nanorefrigerant strongly depends on the successful synthesis procedures used for producing a stable suspension of nanoparticles in the refrigerants. In this study, a review was carried out to understand the synthesis of nanorefrigerant and the effect of nanoparticle size, type and concentration, temperature, base fluid type on the thermophysical properties of the nanorefrigerant. The effect of nanorefrigerant on the pressure drop and boiling heat transfer within the vapour compression refrigeration system (VCRS) was reviewed. From the review, the thermophysical properties of the nanorefrigerants affect the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of the vapour compression refrigeration system.
Development of Biodegradable Plastic Sheet from Blends of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Banana Peel Starch
Authors: Afolalu Sunday Adeniran , Ikumapayi Omolayo M. , Ogundipe Adebayo T. , Oloyede Olamilekan R. , Yusuf Omolola O.
Published: April 2022

The application of short-term packaging plastics that are biodegradable and possess the same or even greater mechanical properties as regular synthetic plastics is on the rise. These plastics, when disposed, are acted upon by microorganisms that are present naturally in soil and primarily release water and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In this study bioplastics was created using banana peel starch and LDPE coupled with plasticizers such as palm oil and glycerol, mechanical properties of the newly created bioplastic were studied. Furthermore, the characterization of the starch particles derived from renewable source were carried out using EDX and SEM. The biodegradation studies using glycerol as a plasticizer showed that 95%-LDPE breakdown occurred by 4.27% after 7 days, 17.7% after 14 days, and finally 25.77% after 28 days. However, when Palm Oil was used as a plasticizer, 95% -LDPE degradation occurred at 1.16% after 7 days, 2.57% after 14 days, and 5.15% after 28 days. This indicated that glycerol-plasticized LDPE-Starch sheets degraded at a quicker pace than palm oil-plasticized LDPE-Starch sheets. Finally, this study revealed that glycerol-plasticized LDPE-Starch sheets have better physiochemical properties (compressive and tensile stress) than palm oil-plasticized LDPE-Starch sheets. Keywords: Biodegradable; Plastic Sheet; Polyethylene (LDPE); Banana; Starch;
The Influence of Nanoparticle Additive on the Thermophysical Properties of Bionanolubricant Using Castor Oil
Authors: Ogbonnaya Mercy , Francis Onoroh , Ajayi Oluseyi O. , Daniel Achem , Samuel Agun Toluwalagbara
Published: April 2022

Lubricants are commonly used in machining and energy system to reduce friction and wear within moving parts and aid in the transfer of heat. The use of lubricants enhances the overall performance and operation life of systems. Synthetic lubricants commonly used are non-biodegradable and are harmful to aquatic and land habitats. To overcome these challenges, biolubricants from vegetable and animal sources were considered as an alternative to synthetic and mineral lubricants. In this study, the esterification and transesterification processes were used to produce biolubricant from castor oil. Methanol and sulphuric acid (H2SO4) were used as alcohol and catalyst respectively for the acid catalysed esterification while ethylene glycol and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were used for the transesterification process. The average biodiesel yield was 99.87%. The two-step method was deployed in the preparation of the castor nanobiolubricant. The nanobiolubricants were prepared using aluminium oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles of 20 – 30 nm nominal diameter. The volume concentrations of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.4% were used in the preparation of the nanobiolubricants. The results showed that the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles into the castor oil biodiesel altered the thermophysical properties (density, dynamic viscosity, pH, acidity, free fatty acid (FFA), flash point, and cold properties) of the biolubricants. The addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles reduced the acidity, flash point, and pH value of biolubricant while the cold flow property was improved. The dynamic viscosity decreased with an increase in temperature and increased as the nanoparticle concentration increased. The results were compared with the thermophysical properties of mineral oil, and from these analyses, Al2O3 nanobiolubricant can be successfully deployed as an alternative to synthetic and mineral lubricants in machining and energy systems. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-Vis analyses were conducted on the castor oil, its biolubricant, and nanobiolubricants.
Somatic Diversification of Rearranged Antibody Gene Segments by Intra- and Interchromosomal Templated Mutagenesis
Authors: Dale Gordon A , Wilkins Daniel J , Rowley Jordan , Scharer Christopher D , Tipton Christopher M , Hom Jennifer , Boss Jeremy M , Corces Victor , Sanz Ignacio , Jacob Joshy
Published: April 2022

The ability of the humoral immune system to generate Abs capable of specifically binding a myriad of Ags is critically dependent on the somatic hypermutation program. This program induces both templated mutations (i.e., gene conversion) and untemplated mutations. In humans, somatic hypermutation is widely believed to result in untemplated point mutations. In this study, we demonstrate detection of large-scale templated events that occur in human memory B cells and circulating plasmablasts. We find that such mutations are templated intrachromosomally from IGHV genes and interchromosomally from IGHV pseudogenes as well as other homologous regions unrelated to IGHV genes. These same donor regions are used in multiple individuals, and they predominantly originate from chromosomes 14, 15, and 16. In addition, we find that exogenous sequences placed at the IgH locus, such as LAIR1, undergo templated mutagenesis and that homology appears to be the major determinant for donor choice. Furthermore, we find that donor tracts originate from areas in proximity with open chromatin, which are transcriptionally active, and are found in spatial proximity with the IgH locus during the germinal center reaction. These donor sequences are inserted into the Ig gene segment in association with overlapping activation-induced cytidine deaminase hotspots. Taken together, these studies suggest that diversity generated during the germinal center response is driven by untemplated point mutations as well as templated mutagenesis using local and distant regions of the genome.
Report on mandibular remains of Notiomastodon platensis (Mammalia, Proboscidea) and review of its fossil record in the paleoecological context of Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Authors: Pelegrin Jonathan S. , Quijano Silvia A. , Belalcázar Leonardo , Benavides-Herrán Alberto , Escobar-Flórez Sebastián , Mothé Dimila , Avilla Leonardo dos Santos
Published: April 2022

The Proboscidea were very prominent in South American ecosystems during the Pleistocene and part of the Holocene. Specifically, in Valle del Cauca (Colombia), fossils of these large mammals have been found, reflecting an abundant presence in the region. In this work, a mandibular fragment with a complete last molar (m3) is reported, found near the bed of the Cauca River, in the Juanchito municipality of Santiago de Cali. According to the morphological features of the specimen, it is proposed that the remains belong to the proboscidean Notiomastodon platensis. This study emphasizes the large geographical distribution of this proboscidean in South America, including the Valle del Cauca, and provides new information on its presence in Colombia. In a paleoecological context, this work supports a generalist condition based on the use of food resources associated with the tropical dry forest during the processes of glacial and interglacial fluctuation that this type of ecosystem experienced during the Pleistocene epoch and that led to various changes in habitat aridity, fragmentation, and heterogeneity. Keywords: Notiomastodon, Quaternary, paleoecology, megafauna, South America.
An unexpected diagnosis of a lung mass with endobronchial involvement
Authors: Köhl Johanna , Bardaro Floriana , Stirpe Emanuele
Published: April 2022

Mantle cell lymphoma is a subtype of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Most cases of the disease have extranodal involvement at the time of the initial diagnosis; however, endobronchial involvement is rare. A 51-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because a chest CT showed pathological tissue in the right hilum englobing the pulmonary artery, the left main bronchus and their main lobar branches appearing to be small in caliber, multiple lymphadenopathies up to 4 cm in size in the subcarinal region. A bronchoscopy revealed stenotic lumen with infiltrated hyperemic mucosa of the left upper lobar bronchus and the left lower lobar bronchus. She was diagnosed as having mantle cell lymphoma based on an endobronchial biopsy and transbronchial needle aspiration. The diagnosis was confirmed using immunohistochemical staining.
Evaluation of the Altered Tissue Expression of HSP60 and HSP70 Genes in Oral and Cutaneous Lichen Planus Compared to Normal Healthy Tissues
Authors: Mohtasham Nooshin , Shahabinejad Mehdi , Kafiroudi Somayeh , Mohajertehran Farnaz
Published: April 2022

Background:

Recent highlights have investigated the possible roles of molecular chaperons like heat shock proteins (HSPs) into Lichen Planus (LP)-onset and pathogenesis. This study for the first, determine the expression of both HSP60 and HSP70 genes in cutaneous LP (CLP) and oral LP (OLP) lesions compared to normal healthy cases and between different subtypes of OLP lesions by real-time (RT)-PCR.

Materials and Methods:

Paraffin blocks of LP lesions including 56 OLP and 56 CLP samples were selected from theMashhad University of Medical sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Also 56 biopsy samples of healthy normal participants were selected. The demographic and clinical characteristics were extracted from their medical records. The expression of HSP60 and HPS70 genes were evaluated using the real-time RT-PCR method.

Results:

The comparison of the expression of HSP60 and HSP70 genes among the patients with CLP and OLP showed a significant overexpression of HSP60 and HSP70 genes in both groups compared to the normal participants (P = 0.001). The expression of HSP60 and HSP70 genes was high in both the groups of CLP and OLP patients, but the amount was not significantly different between the two groups. Comparing the two mucosal subgroups of OLP lesions (non-erosive and erosive) showed that the expression of the HSP60 and HSP70 in erosive subtypes of OLP was significantly higher than the non-erosive subtypes of OLP (P = 0.001).

Conclusion:

Regarding the overexpression of HSP60 and HSP70 in the LP lesions compared to healthy biopsies, we conclude that HSP60 and HSP70 could have key roles in the etiopathogenesis of the OLP and CLP lesions. The overexpression of both HSP60 and HSP70 in the erosive OLP group compared to the non-erosive OLP group emphasized the possible roles of HSPs in the pathogenesis and premalignant changes of OLP lesions.
Can Dermoscopy and Ultrasonography be Considered a Prognostic Tool in Management of Psoriasis?
Authors: Muralidharan Elga , Malhotra Suresh K , Singh Arvinder
Published: April 2022

Background:

Dermoscopy can reliably predict the diagnosis of plaque psoriasis. Ultrasonography has been increasingly used in dermatology in inflammatory diseases like psoriasis as a tool for evaluation. Hence, this study was done to evaluate the role of dermoscopy and ultrasonography as prognostic aid in plaque psoriasis.

Aims and Objectives:

To study the sonographic and dermoscopic findings of clinically diagnosed psoriatic lesions and the changes in the psoriatic lesions if any, with the treatment. How these findings can be utilized to assess the prognosis in these patients.

Materials and Methods:

The present study comprised 50 patients with clinically diagnosed plaque psoriasis. Lesions were assessed with Dino-Lite digital microscope AM7515MZT, followed by ultrasonography using a 15 MHz probe, and findings were recorded. All the patients included in this study were given appropriate treatment (topical/systemic) for 6 weeks and were followed up twice i.e., at 3 weeks and 6 weeks after initiating treatment.

Results:

Whitish scales were the most common scale color seen in our study seen in 35/50 patients (70%). All the vascular structures were reddish, red dots and globules being the predominant type and with the improvement of the lesions, brown structures increased. A total of 28 (56%) patients had a regular pattern of vessel arrangement. Mean capillary size was 0.097 ± 0.012 mm that reduced to 0.075 ± 0.019 mm at the end of the third week and 0.027 ± 0.032 mm at the end of 6 weeks. In ultrasonographic assessment, mean epidermal thickness reduced from 0.1008 to 0.0764 cm at third week and 0.068 cm at the sixth week, and mean dermal thickness reduced from 0.2692cm to 0.1906cm at the third week and then to 0.1906cm 0.1806cm at the sixth week. In our study, clinical improvement preceded dermoscopic improvement. Newer structures identified in the study are a perifollicular arrangement of capillaries and the presence of lacunar structures in the healing lesions.

Conclusion:

The scale distribution, capillary number, and capillary size in dermoscopic assessment, and epidermal and dermal thickness in ultrasonography showed statistically significant changes with treatment and thus may be taken as the prognostic indicators. Thus, both these noninvasive modalities may be useful in the therapeutic monitoring of plaque psoriasis.
MicroRNA-31 Overexpression may Aggravate the Formation of Psoriasis-like Lesions by STAT3/p53 Pathway
Authors: Wang Qiang , Wang Chunfang , Zhao Xincheng , Li Xiao , Li Junqin , Hou Ruixia , Yin Guohua , Zhang Kaiming
Published: April 2022

Background:

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with an unknown pathogenesis. Recently, miR-31 have been shown to play an important role in psoriasis. Moreover, STAT3/p53 pathway has been used in tumor studies, but rarely in psoriasis studies.

Aims:

The present study aimed to investigate the role of STAT3/p53 pathway in psoriasis-like lesions in a mouse model of miR-31 overexpression.

Methods:

All mice (n = 44) were divided into four groups: normal mice treated with Vaseline® (NV; n = 10), normal mice treated with imiquimod (NI; n = 12), miR-31-overexpressing mice treated with Vaseline® (MV; n = 10), and miR-31-overexpressing mice treated with imiquimod (MI; n = 12). Then, we assayed the expression of STAT3 and p53.

Results:

Our results showed that at the protein level (P < 0.01) and gene level (4.45 times), the expression of STAT3 in the MV group was higher than that in the NV group, and at the protein level (P < 0.01) and gene level (11.43 times), the expression of STAT3 in the MI group was higher than that in the NI group. At the protein level, the expression of p53 in MV group was higher than that in the NV group (P < 0.05), and the expression of p53 in MI group was higher than that in the NI group (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that overexpression of miR-31 causes upregulation of STAT3, which further brings about upregulation of p53, and eventually leads to serious psoriasis skin lesion.
Folliculosebaceous Cystic Hamartoma Mimicking Preauricular Sinus Cyst
Authors: Subasi Bugra , Inceoglu Ozgun Ozan , Sertkaya Cagdas
Published: April 2022

Folliculosebaceous cystic hamartoma (FSCH) is a rare cutaneous hamartoma that consists of follicular, sebaceous, and mesenchymal elements. These lesions are mostly seen on the central face and scalp of adults and mostly present as single 0.5-1.5 cm papules or exophytic nodules. A 17-year-old female patient presented at our clinic with the complaint of swelling, pain and discharge in front of the left ear, which had been recurrent since childhood. The lesion was clinically suspected to be an infected preauriculer sinus cyst. After the medical treatment, the patient was operated on with a pre-diagnosis of preauricular sinus cyst. Histopathological findings revealed FSCH. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of FSCH originating from the preauricular region, located subcutaneously.
HLA-Cw6 Status and Treatment Responses Between Psoriasis Patients
Authors: Temel Berkay , Adisen Esra , Gonen Sevim
Published: April 2022

Background

The number of treatment options in psoriasis has increased considerably, so biomarkers should be searched to assist in the selection of the optimal treatment agent. The most common of these biomarkers is HLA-Cw6.

Objective:

The aim was to determine whether there is a relationship between HLA-Cw6-positivity (HLA-Cw6-POS) and the response of treatment agents in psoriasis.

Methods:

Blood samples of 124 patients were subjected to genetic study for HLA-Cw6.

Results:

Psoriasis area severity index (PASI) score of more than 75% (PASI75) response was received in 34 (73.9%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS methotrexate-treated patients, 30 (78.9%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS cyclosporine-treated patients, and 8 (37.5%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS acitretin-treated patients. The differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.634-0.071-0.409). PASI75 response was received in 73 (68.2%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS patients in patients treated with conventional agents. In adalimumab-treated patients, PASI75 response was received in 8 (53.3%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS patients, 6 (75%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS infliximab-treated patients, and 4 (57.1%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS ustekinumab-treated patients. The differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.245-1.00-0.322). PASI75 response was received in 24 (64.9%) of the HLA-Cw6-POS and 33 (84.6%) of HLA-Cw6 negative (HLA-Cw6-NEG) patients with biological agents. The biological agent response was statistically significantly lower in HLA-Cw6-POS.

Conclusion:

None of the agents were affected by HLA-Cw6. When biological agents were evaluated collectively, the treatment response of HLA-Cw6-POS patients was lower.
Iron Deficiency and Pruritus
Authors: Saini Shivani , Jain Akshay K , Agarwal Shail , Yadav Devendra
Published: April 2022

Background:

As generalized pruritus can be a symptom of a systemic disease, iron deficiency may be the underlying internal cause of its symptoms. Because data on the relationship between iron deficiency and generalized chronic pruritus are limited, more research is needed to ensure proper diagnosis and management.

Aims:

To evaluate the prevalence of iron deficiency in patients with generalized chronic pruritus in the southeast region of Rajasthan and to assess the correlation of serum ferritin with iron deficiency variables.

Materials and Methods:

An observational, analytical study was conducted among a total of 200 patients complaining of itching all across the body without any skin lesions for more than 6 weeks and enrolled in the outdoor and indoor Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprology departments of the Government Medical College, Kota. The duration of the study experiment was 1 year from June 2018 to May 2019.

Results:

Females (108; 54%) were more than males (92; 46%) with a ratio of 1.17:1. The mean age of the patients was 37.35 ± 13.56. S. ferritin was found to be below 15 g/L in 58 (29%) patients. Significant correlation was found between S. ferritin and hemoglobin, MCV, MCH, and MCHC, and the P value was <0.05. Maximum number of patients (70; 35%) achieved visual analog scale (VAS) scores between 4 and 9, followed by 50 (25%) patients obtaining scores >9. Similarly, a correlation was found between the VAS score and hemoglobin, MCV, MCH, and MCHC and a statistically significant P value was obtained.

Limitations:

The sample size was small in the study. The overall levels of iron and serum transferrin were not checked, keeping patients' compliance in mind.

Conclusion:

Although statistically significant results were found, limitations were also present in our study; so, further studies for proper diagnosis and management should be conducted in greater depth.
Female Patient with Two Simultaneous Giants Facial Basal Cell Carcinomas Demonstrates a Positive Response to Vismodegib as a Monotherapy
Authors: Theotokoglou Sofia , Sgouros Dimitrios , Theodoropoulos Konstantinos , Syrmali Anna , Polyderas George , Katoulis Alexander C.
Published: April 2022

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent histological type of cancer in the world and accounts for approximately 80% of all skin cancers. In the majority of cases, they are slow-growing, low metastatic potential tumors, easy to cure by surgical or nonsurgical procedures. Giant BCC (GBCC) is a rare variant of BCC and according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer, this includes lesions with a diameter larger than 5 cm. GBCC's incidence has been reported to be less than 1%, and it displays a more aggressive behavior with both local invasion and higher metastatic potential. Archodaki et al. specifically reported that metastasis was present in 17.6% of GBCC patients during the primary examination. Patients with GBCC who are not suitable for either surgery or radiotherapy since 2012 seem to have another therapeutic option. Vismodegib is an oral small-molecule inhibitor of the Hedgehog pathway (HPI) that was approved for treating metastatic or locally advanced BCC in patients who are poor candidates for surgery or radiotherapy. In this case, we present a woman with two simultaneous facial GBCCs who was treated successfully using vismodegib as a monotherapy.
Clinical-Dermoscopic-Histopathological Correlations in Collision Skin Tumours
Authors: Fikrle Tomas , Divisova Barbora , Pizinger Karel
Published: April 2022

Objectives:

Collision tumours are rare situations characterised by the coincidence of two different skin neoplasms in the same lesion.

Methods:

We have analyzed 41 collision skin tumours from one department in the clinical-dermoscopic-histopathologic correlations.

Results:

We present 41 collisions tumours. The mean age of our patients was 67.9 years, the mean diameter of the lesion was 11.6 mm. The most frequent locations were trunk (27 lesions) and head/neck (11 lesions). The collisions were classified as benign/benign (13 cases), benign/malignant (25 cases) and malignant/malignant (3 cases). The most frequent participants were seborrheic keratosis (24 cases), malignant melanoma (17 cases), melanocytic nevus (14 cases), basal cell carcinoma (12 cases) and heamangioma (10 cases). Thirty cases were of “dominant/minor” type and 11 cases of “half to half” type. Malignant tumours were a part of 28 collisions; these lesions were larger, patients were older and the malignant part was dominant in most cases. More than half of the collisions were unexpected by the initial clinical examination. Six collisions were missed by the initial histopathological examination.

Conclusions:

Collision tumours can be missed by clinical or even histopathological examination. Dermoscopy is very helpful in the recognizing of difficult cases and cooperating with the histopathologist.
Assessment of the quality of randomized controlled trials in surgery using Jadad score: Where do we stand?
Authors: Mohsina S , Gurushankari B , Niranjan R , Sureshkumar S , Sreenath GS , Kate V
Published: April 2022

Introduction:

Quality assessment of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is important to prevent clinical application of erroneous results.

Materials and Methods:

This was an assessment of published RCTs in surgical subspecialties during 2011–2018 based on MEDLINE and EMBASE search. The primary objective of the present study was to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the RCTs published from India based on year of publication, geographical distribution, and subspecialty using the modified Jadad score (high quality if score is ≥3; or ≥2 if blinded design was not feasible). Its secondary objective was to identify factors affecting the quality of RCTs.

Results:

Among 1304 trials identified, 162 were analyzed. Of these 96 (59%) had a score of ≥3; and 104 (64.2%) were of high quality (score ≥2). Year-wise there was no significant quantitative (P = 0.329) or qualitative (P = 0.255) variation. Geographic regions had similar quantity (P = 0.206) and quality (P = 0.068). The RCTs among subspecialties too were comparable in quantity and quality. Higher impact factor of journal (P = 0.013) and assessment by Institute Review Board (IRB) (P = 0.004) were significantly associated with a better study quality. Type of institution, number of authors, centricity, assistance by a statistician, and source of funding did not affect the quality of RCTs.

Conclusions:

The quantity and quality of surgical RCTs were stable and comparable over the years and across geographical regions and subspecialties. Higher impact factor of journal and review by IRB were significantly associated with a better study quality.
Mutation survey in Taiwanese patients with Stickler syndrome
Authors: Huang Faye , Wang Tzu-Jou , Cho Wan-Hua , Chen Yi-Hao , Wu Pei-Chang , Kuo Hsi-Kung
Published: April 2022

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study was to identify gene mutation and phenotype correlations in a cohort of Taiwanese patients with Stickler syndrome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Patients clinically diagnosed with Stickler syndrome or suspected Stickler syndrome were enrolled. DNA was extracted from venous blood samples. For the targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, specific primers were designed for all COL2A1, COL11A1, COL11A2, COL9A1, and COL9A2 exons and flanking intron sequences.

RESULTS:

Twenty-three patients from 12 families were enrolled in this study. The myopia power in these 23 cases (35 eyes) ranged from −4.625 to −25.625 D, with a median of −10.00 D. Four patients had retinal detachment. Fourteen patients had a cleft palate. These 23 patients and 13 healthy controls were enrolled in the NGS study. Three families had significant single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in COL2A1. The mutation rates in this survey were 25% (3/12 families) and 35% (8/23 cases). The SNV of family #1, located at exon 27, c.1753G >T, p. Gly585Val, was novel and has not yet been reported in the ClinVar database. Families #10 and #11 had the same SNV, located in exon 33, c.2101C >T, p. Arg701X. Both variants were classified as likely pathogenic according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines.

CONCLUSION:

Genetic mutations in COL2A1 were found in 25% of Taiwanese families with Stickler syndrome. One novel variant was identified using NGS, which expanded the COL2A1 mutation spectrum. Molecular genetic analysis is helpful to confirm the clinical diagnosis of patients with suspected Stickler syndrome.
Understanding required to consider AI applications to the field of ophthalmology
Authors: Tabuchi Hitoshi
Published: April 2022

Applications of artificial intelligence technology, especially deep learning, in ophthalmology research have started with the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy and have now expanded to all areas of ophthalmology, mainly in the identification of fundus diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. In addition to fundus photography, optical coherence tomography is often used as an imaging device. In addition to simple binary classification, region identification (segmentation model) is used as an identification method for interpretability. Furthermore, there have been AI applications in the area of regression estimation, which is different from diagnostic identification. While expectations for deep learning AI are rising, regulatory agencies have begun issuing guidance on the medical applications of AI. The reason behind this trend is that there are a number of existing issues regarding the application of AI that need to be considered, including, but not limited to, the handling of personal information by large technology companies, the black-box issue, the flaming issue, the theory of responsibility, and issues related to improving the performance of commercially available AI. Furthermore, researchers have reported that there are a plethora of issues that simply cannot be solved by the high performance of artificial intelligence models, such as educating users and securing the communication environment, which are just a few of the necessary steps toward the actual implementation process of an AI society. Multifaceted perspectives and efforts are needed to create better ophthalmology care through AI.
A survey on gait recognition in IoT applications
Authors: Yu Wang-Yang , Wang Shui-Hua , Zhang Yu-Dong
Published: April 2022

In IoT applications, identity recognition is a basic and critical requirement. In recent years, IoT technology has developed rapidly, and IoT devices such as wearable devices, environmental sensors, and WiFi devices have been popularized and developed. The unobtrusive, low-cost, continuous advanced identity recognition methods are needed in IoT applications. Gait recognition not only has high performance but also is not easy to be forged or hidden. It has excellent potential in IoT intelligent identity recognition. This review discusses the implementation of gait analysis, representative datasets, and algorithms. Finally, we also discussed the challenges of gait analysis in IoT applications.
Цикловая структура случайных подстановок на множестве двухцветных элементов. III
Authors: Viktorenkov V E
Published: April 2022

Продолжены исследования случайных равновероятных подстановок на множестве, элементы которого раскрашены в два цвета. В данной части основное внимание уделено сериям из последовательных одноцветных элементов в 2-цветных циклах.
Elicitation, Computational Representation, and Analysis of Mission and System Requirements
Authors: Masoudi Nafiseh , Rai Rahul , Ortiz Joshua , Sutton Meredith , Khade Vinayak , Acena Dane , Freeman Guo , Summers Joshua , Gorsich David , Rizzo Denise , Smereka Jonathon
Published: April 2022

Strategies for evaluating the impact of mission requirements on the design of mission-specific vehicles are needed to enable project managers to assess potential benefits and associated costs of changes in requirements. Top-level requirements that cause significant cascaded difficulties on lower-level requirements should be identified and presented to decision-makers. This paper aims to introduce formal methods and computational tools to enable the analysis and allocation of mission requirements. Initial results for three interrelated research problems are discussed: (1) understanding the current practices of interrelationships between requirements. the requirements elicitation and change management processes using a case study approach; (2) requirement elicitation using gamification strategies; and (3) computational representation of the technical requirements and identification The case study approach involves interviewing the stakeholders that participate in the requirements generation process to collect data on the current practices of requirements elicitation. Systematic requirements generation strategies, change management processes, limitations, and areas for improvement are the outcomes of this study. A gamification strategy is also deployed to study requirements elicitation and change management processes by incentivizing the users based on their performance on a set of metrics. Two surveys, one with and the other without gamification, are designed to study the impact of gamification methods on requirements elicitation. Lastly, text analytics tools are developed to extract requirements from textual descriptions and identify their inter-relationships to be stored in the requirement graph representation.