In response to a threefold increase in osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF) at our institution over the past decade and the subsequent development of new fractures within a year in a third of cases, we evaluated the effectiveness of STIR MRI scans in conjunction with CT scans for initial OVF diagnosis. This study, conducted over five months, involved full spine sagittal STIR MRI scans alongside CT scans for patients over 50 with minor injury-related vertebral fractures. The independent assessments by radiologists and neurosurgeons of 64 patients revealed that while CT scans identified 161 fresh fractures, of which only 68 were previously reported, MRI detected 266 fractures, 1.65 times more than CT. CT scans showed single fractures in 27% of patients and multiple fractures in 73%, whereas MRI identified single fractures in 9% and multiple fractures in 91% of patients. Additionally, MRI demonstrated a 1.5-fold increase in adjacent fracture detection. The use of MRI influenced treatment plans in 67% of cases. Given these findings, we advocate for including a STIR MRI of the entire spine alongside CT scans in OVF cases, as it significantly enhances fracture detection and can alter treatment strategies.

Social distancing, washing hands and good hygiene are essential and currently the most potent methods available to curb down the unprecedented speed by which the new coronavirus is spreading across the globe. Even under lockdown, which is necessary to significantly reduce the number of people that get infected by an ill person, are there additional measures that each of us can embrace to even further reduce the risk of infection and the severity of the COVID-19 disease? Given the lack of licensed drugs that target SARS-CoV-2 specifically, we have to look into additional non-specific defense mechanisms that animals and humans evolved to protect themselves from pathogen invasions. The goal of this article is to describe how various of our non-specific defense mechanisms work, which actually precede the inflammatory response, and to discuss whether we can exploit the unique features of the coronavirus envelope and the self-cleaning machinery of the human respiratory tract to strengthen our self-defense. The challenge is to actively interfere with supportive measures during the short time window between getting exposed and before an inflammatory response gets initiated.

The post-hoc analysis presented here aimed to address the influence of endogenous vitamin D in the immunological mechanism underlying effective mite allergoid-immunotherapy (AIT). Previously, we have shown that one subpopulation of T regulatory cells results in phenotypically identifiable as functionally potentiated and memory cells in allergic children after 12 months of this immunoactive treatment. Indeed, AIT is the only known treatment able to reshape the detrimental immune response against the allergen into a not noxious one. Besides, VD is widely considered an immunoregulatory molecule endogenously produced and exogenously provided with foods and supplements that might interact with AIT mechanism and affect its outcome. Therefore, a post-hoc analysis of the clinical and immunological data of three different cohorts of allergic patients was performed. One cohort (N=70) was on standard symptoms-controlling pharmacological treatment while the other two (N=60 and N=35, respectively) were treated with AIT for 12 months. Among the first were observed a lower mean endogenous VD level (<22 ng/ml) along with worse symptoms and higher use of medications. Remarkably, the comparison between two sub-cohorts of patients with serum VD above (N=32) or below (N=28) a cut-off value set at mean value (27 ng/ml) revealed that optimal improvement of all clinical and immune parameters was achieved (as expected by effective AIT), irrespective of the VD level. Notably, the third analysis, carried out on one cohort of AIT patients also taking concomitantly VD3 as food supplement (N=19), was distinguished by uppermost overall treatment outcome (amelioration of symptoms, lowest medications requirement, and reduction of total and allergen-specific IgE) as well as the increase of allergen-specific tolerogenic memory T regulatory cells. These findings suggest that endogenous VD level affects allergy severity and allergen immunotherapy effectiveness. Also, VD3 might be investigated as an add-on supplement to get the best out of immunotherapy in VD deficient/insufficient allergic patients. The immunogenic but low-allergenic mite allergoid used as bioactive agent might have contributed to minimize allergic and highlight immunological effects described here.

This study aims to investigate the Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange (STE) events and ozone trends over Irene (25.5°S, 28.1°E). Twelve years of ozonesondes data (2000–2007, 2012–2015) from Irene station operating in the framework of the Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesodes (SHADOZ) was used to study the troposphere (0–16 km) and stratosphere (17– 28 km) ozone (O₃) vertical profiles. Ozone profiles were grouped into three categories (2000–2003, 2004–2007 and 2012–2015) and average composites were calculated for each category. Fifteen O₃ enhancement events were identified over the study period. These events were observed in all seasons (one event in summer, four events in autumn, five events in winter and five events in spring), however, they predominantly occur in winter and spring. The STE events presented here are observed to be influenced by the Southern Hemisphere polar vortex. During the STE events, the advected potential vorticity maps assimilated using Modélisation Isentrope du transport Méso–échelle de l’Ozone Stratosphérique par Advection (MIMOSA) model for the 350 K (~12–13 km) isentropic level indicated a transport of high latitude air masses which seems to be responsible for the reduction of the O₃ mole fractions at the lower stratosphere over Irene which takes place at the same time with the enhancement of ozone in the upper troposphere. In general, the stratosphere is dominated by higher Modern Retrospective Analysis for Research Application (MERRA-2) potential vorticity (PV) values compared to the troposphere. However, during the STE events, higher PV values from the stratosphere were observed to intrude the troposphere. Ozone decline was observed from 12 km to 24 km with highest decline occurring from 14 km to 18 km. An average decrease of 6.0 and 9.1% was calculated from 12 to 24 km in 2004–2007 and 2012–2015 respectively. The observed decline occurred in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere with winter and spring showing more decline compared with summer and autumn.

E-commerce has gained increased popularity over the last decade. To date, there is an open debate as to whether e-commerce or brick-and-mortar shopping is environmentally less sustainable, especially due to the growing mobility resources needed for e-commerce distribution. The analysis at hand compares the CO2-equivalent emissions of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shopping of pharmaceutical products considering spatial aspects and the typical transport modal mix of consumers when doing online and offline shopping. The object of analysis is a retailer of pharmaceutical products, more precisely medicines, which offers, both, brick-and-mortar shop and online shopping possibilities. The results show that spatial aspects concerning the residential location of consumers, the vehicles used for shopping trips, the shopping basked size, and trip-chaining effects have a crucial impact on the mobility demand and CO2-equivalent emissions of the two commerce forms. In general, for rural and sub-urban areas, e-commerce results in lower CO2-equivalent emissions, while in urban areas, brick-and-mortar shopping is the favourable solution, if the consumers walk or cycle to the next pharmacy.

Context: Anomaly detection in a data center is a challenging task, having to consider different services on various resources. Current literature shows the application of artificial intelligence techniques to either log files or monitoring data: the former created by services at run time, while the latter produced by specific sensors directly on the physical or virtual machine. Objectives: We propose a model that exploits information both in log files and monitoring data to identify patterns and detect anomalies over time. Methods: The key idea is to use on one side natural language processing solutions to detect problems at service level, extracting words that represent anomalies. Clustering and topic modeling techniques have been used to identify patterns and group them with respect to topics. On the other side time series anomaly detection technique has been applied to sensors data in order to combine problems found in the log files with problems stored in the monitoring data. Results: We have tested our approach on a real data center equipped with log files and monitoring data that can characterize the behaviour of physical and virtual resources in production. We have observed a correspondence between anomalies in log files and monitoring data, e.g. an increase in memory usage or machine load. The results are extremely promising. Conclusion: Our model requires to integrate site administrators' expertise in order to consider all critical scenario in the data center and understand results properly.

With the introduction of more and more monoclonal antibodies selectively targeting various mediators of the immune-system, together with Janus-Kinase (JAK)-inhibitors with variable affinities towards different JAK subtypes, the available therapeutic options for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) have undergone an acceleration in the last five years. On the other hand, the prevalence of IBD patients over 65-years of age is steadily increasing and, with this, there is a large population of patients that presents more comorbidities, polypharmacy, and, more frequently, frailty compared to younger patients, exposing them to potentially major risks for adverse events deriving from newer therapies, e.g. infections, cardiovascular risks, and malignancies. Unfortunately, pivotal trials for the commercialization of new therapies rarely include older IBD patients and those with serious comorbidities are virtually excluded. In the present review, we focus on existing literature from pivotal trials and real-world studies, analyzing data on efficacy/effectiveness and safety of newer therapies in older IBD patients with special emphasis on comorbidities and frailty, two distinct but intercorrelated aspects of the older population since age by itself seems to be of minor importance.

Spinal metastatic tumors are common and often cause debilitating symptoms. Image-guided percutaneous thermal ablation (IPTA) has gained significant recognition in managing spinal column tumors due to its exceptional precision and effectiveness. Conventional guidance modalities, including computed tomography, fluoroscopy, and ultrasound, have been important in targeting spinal column tumors while minimizing harm to adjacent critical structures. This study presents a novel approach utilizing a fusion of Cone Beam Computed Tomography with Magnetic Resonance Imaging to guide percutaneous thermal ablation for four patients with secondary spinal column tumors. The visual analog scale (VAS) evaluated procedure effectiveness during an 18-month follow-up. Percutaneous vertebroplasty was performed in two cases, and a thermostat was used during all procedures. Imaging was performed using the Stealth Station navigation system Spine 8 (SSS8) and a 1.5T MRI machine. The fusion of CBCT with MRI allowed precise tumor localization and guidance for thermal ablation. Initial results indicate successful tumor ablation and symptom reduction, emphasizing the potential of CBCT-MRI fusion in spinal column tumor management. This innovative approach is promising in optimizing therapy for secondary spinal column tumors. Further studies are necessary to validate its efficacy and applicability.

In this research, the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of active films based on potato starch containing Viola odorata extract (VOE) were investigated both in vitro and in chicken fillets. The VOE was added to the starch film formulation at 0, 1, 2, and 3% (w/v). The results showed that by increasing the extract level, the total phenol content and antioxidant and antibacterial activity of the films against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhimurium improved remarkability. The results of meat tests indicated significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of active films containing different levels of VOE in chicken fillets, and a direct relationship was observed between the concentration of the extract and the functional activity of the films, so with the increase in the concentration of the extract in the films, the rate of lipid oxidation and growth of microorganisms in chicken fillets decreased significantly during the storage period, and less volatile nitrogen bases, metmyoglobin, and oxidation products were produced in the fillets. In general, the results of this research demonstrated that active film based on potato starch containing VOE (especially 2 and 3% levels) has the ability to extend the oxidative and microbiological shelf life of chicken fillets during cold storage for at least eight days.

Background: By 2025, road traffic injuries are projected to rank third in the global burden of disease, posing a significant challenge that affects health, social well-being, and economic aspects. According to data from the Romanian Police National Statistics Center, there has been an average of 342 traffic accidents per year involving pediatric patients over the past 10 years. Materials and Methods: A retrospective research study was conducted, encompassing 358 cases of road traffic accidents identified for the study. Data collection was conducted at "St. Mary’s" Emergency Hospital for Children in Iasi, Romania, from January 2015 to December 2022. To facilitate statistical analyses, participants were categorized into three specific age groups, correlating between the anatomical region affected and different types of accidents was examined, and the classification of injury types was determined based on the characteristics of the harm inflicted. Results: An oscillating trend is observed from 2015 to 2020, with its lowest value recorded in 2017 at around 6.8% and its peak in 2019 at 20.1%. Notably, post-pandemic (Covid-19), the cases underwent a substantial decline of approximately 50%. At least 78.7% of those who did not undergo orthopedic reduction required surgery, whereas among those who underwent orthopedic reduction, only 23.4% needed surgery. Regarding the frequency of complications 7,9% of the total cases experienced complications. Conclusion: The increased frequency of pediatric traffic accidents is attributed to the extensive services provided by "St. Mary’s" Emergency Hospital for Children, Iasi, to a significant number of patients from both rural and urban areas across the seven counties of the Moldova, Romania.

In recent years, change in behaviour towards the environment has gained prominence as a policy tool to influence positive environmental value. Simultaneously, the role played by social identity in promoting pro-environmental action is gaining recognition. Within this work, the intersection between collective group identity and environmental behaviour has received very little attention. Group norms are considered a strong predictor of pro-environmental behaviour, yet the influence of social identity and collective action on environmental action has not been adequately investigated in a multi-ethnic setting. Within this context, this study examines the affective component of social identity influence on pro-environmental action. More succinctly, this study demonstrates how outgroups and in-groups’ relations and broader socio-cultural structures, values, interest, and norms impact environmental and sustainability transitions behaviours. Through interviews with participants across the four dominant social groups in South Africa, this study provides compelling evidence that country wide expressions of social identity and in-group dynamics shapes the individual behaviour regarding environmental and sustainability concerns and further strengthen the individual’s perspective for social environmental transformation. This study advances the need for a social-identity centred approach to foster pro-environmental and sustainability outcomes.

Fabry disease (FD) is a recessive monogenic inheritance disease linked to chromosome X, secondary to mutations in the GLA gene. Its prevalence is estimated between 1:8,454 and 1:117,000 among males and is probably underdiagnosed. Mutations in the GLA gene lead to the progressive accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3). Gb3 accumulates in lysosomes of different types of cells of the heart, kidneys, skin, eyes, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal system, and may lead to different clinical scenarios. The impairment of the nervous system, in addition to the acroparesthesias, is characterized by hypohidrosis and cerebrovascular accidents. Gb3-accumulation supports the hypothesis that Gb3 is not solely responsible for disease manifestation. Overloading of lysosomes with Gb3 may simply lead to the rupture of cytoplasma and in consequence to cell death .Secondary effects of Gb3 accumulation which might be responsible for disease pathology include also inflammatory processes. Perturbed leukocyte function in Fabry disease compared to healthy controls and abnormal numbers of different immune cells, including lymphocytes, monocytes, CD8+ cells, B cells and dendritic cells . Noteworthy other studies reported no correlation between CRP-levels as a global inflammatory marker and the Mainz-Severity-Score-Index (MSSI) as a marker for disease severity . Other authors reported on auto-immunological reactions in α-galactosidase A deficiency. Others researchers found higher expressions of neuronal apoptosis inhibiting protein as a key anti-apoptotic mediator in children with Fabry disease compared to healthy controls. Noteworthy, this upregulation did not change after institution of ERT, whereas apoptosis inducing factor appears to be upregulated under ERT. The authors were not able to explain their observations, but further research has to be directed on this topic. Gb3-accumulation has been reported to induce oxidative stress and/or the formation reactive oxygen species (ROS). Lipids and proteins may be oxidised and may be unable to function. Of note, ERT increased the generation of ROS in vitro, and up-regulated the intracellular adhesion molecule ICAM 1. The authors hypothesized that ERT may enhance endothelial damage, allowing to understand continuously occurring strokes in patients on treatment. Furthermore, Gb3-accumulation has been reported to induce oxidative stress and/or the formation reactive oxygen species (ROS). Lipids and proteins may be oxidised and may be unable to function. Of note, ERT increased the generation of ROS in vitro, and up-regulated the intracellular adhesion molecule ICAM 1. Another gateway into alteration of endothelial function may be given by the Nitric-Oxide-Synthase-3-genotypes. Endothelium-derived nitric oxide is a key regulator of vessel wall function and cardiovascular homeostasis. Thus, neurological complications seem to be linked to different pathogenetic molecular mechanisms.Progressive accumulation of GB3 represent a possible pathogenetic event of peripheral nerve involvement, whereas central nervous involvement in the clinical setting of cerebrovascular ischemic events seem to be due to the endotheliopathy of Anderson-Fabry Disease with lacunar lesions and white matter hyperintensities ( WMHs) . In this review manuscript we revised molecular mechanisms of peripheral and central neurological complications of Anderson-Fabry Disease.

This comprehensive review scrutinizes tissue culture and micropropagation methodologies in geophytes, focusing on bulbous plants. The examination encompasses key stages, including somatic embryogenesis, bulb growth, dormancy breaking, and planting. Studies underscore the pivotal role of plant growth regulators in plant regeneration and bulb growth. Bioreactor systems for healthy plant regeneration, rooting methods, acclimatization strategies, and considerations for ex vitro survival are elucidated. The review also delves into somaclonal variation dynamics and acknowledges the burgeoning field of genetic editing, particularly CRISPR studies, as a promising avenue for enhancing valuable compound content in geophytes. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of a multifaceted approach integrating biochemistry, physiology, and molecular biology to address existing challenges and propel tissue culture protocols for diverse geophyte species.

Osteoporotic spinal fractures represent an increasingly widespread health problem in our aging society. We aimed to investigate the treatment options for low-energy spinal fractures in the el-derly and their impact on mortality, focusing on surgical stabilization using minimally invasive and open techniques. We evaluated 1356 patients over 50 years of age with compression frac-tures sustained due to low energy trauma treated at a single trauma center. We compared the mortality of patients following stable and operated/non-operated unstable compression frac-tures and the eligibility to surgery using the open and minimally invasive approach. The pa-tients received surgical or conservative care according to severity and eligibility to surgery. The mortality hazard ratio of patients who underwent screw fixation was 1.02 (P > .91), of patients who refused surgery was 1.68 (P < .001) and that of patients with anesthesiological contraindica-tion was 1.57 (P = .08), compared to conservatively treated patients with stable fractures. The dif-ference in mortality between open and minimally invasive surgeries was not significant, but the number of patients eligible for surgery with the minimally invasive procedure was significantly higher (OR: 0.25; P < .001). Spinal stability after fractures may be an important predictor of sur-vival in patients with low-impact fractures.

Among young children, parents are a main factor of children's preferences for food served as they are responsible for purchasing and providing Functional Foods (FFs) and they are role models for them. This revies study conducted according PRISMA guidelines and aimed to review the recent data about the consumption of FC into families as part of a balanced diet. The literature search was conducted via online academic search engines PubMed, ResearchGate and Google Scholar. The search process was restricted to research papers published in English in reviewed journals from 2012 to 2023. Thirty six articles were ultimately included in the present review. The results showed that there is a correlation between several socio-demographic and a higher probability of buying FFs for children. There is a positive effect on purchasing frequencies of gender (female), higher household annual income and education level, together with higher levels of nutritional knowledge and trust in positive scientific evidence regarding FFs. Also, parents’ socio-demographic factors affect the children’s F/V consumption. The summary of evidence concludes on the point that parents are the role models about their children’s eating behavior and eating habits.

Cervical injuries from athletic activities are rare; they can have severe consequences if not diagnosed and managed promptly. The choice of diagnostic imaging modality is pivotal in ensuring timely and accurate diagnosis. We detail the case of a 19-year-old female athlete who sustained a C2 Durel Type II Subclass C fracture during a short-track speed skating championship. Initial evaluation using X-ray imaging at the athletic center medical facility did not detect the injury, allowing her to continue competing. Persistent pain led to further evaluation at our institution, where MRI and CT scans confirmed the fracture. Approximately 45 days post-injury, the patient underwent a successful surgical intervention utilizing O-arm CBCT navigation for C1-C2 dorsal fusion. Post-surgery, she embarked on a comprehensive rehabilitation program and fully recovered within 12 weeks. This case underscores the limitations of relying solely on X-ray imaging for diagnosing cervical fractures post-trauma. Our findings advocate prioritizing CT scans as a primary diagnostic tool in such scenarios, emphasizing the need for a robust diagnostic approach to ensure athlete safety and well.

Background and Objectives: In recent years, electric scooters have gained widespread popularity as an easy and affordable mode of transport in urban areas worldwide. Simultaneously, trauma centres have observed an increasing number of associated injuries to users. While injury patterns associated with other vehicles are now well-researched, electric scooter-related injuries are a new topic in the literature. Our study aims to investigate the disparities in injury patterns and other critical accident characteristics among bicycle, electric scooter, and scooter riders. Materials and Methods: In this one-year prospective observational study, we examined patients who sustained injuries while riding bicycles, electric scooters, or scooters between April 2021 and March 2022 at Hungary's largest trauma centre in Budapest. During this one-year period, we identified 1938 patients, 1378 cyclists, 370 electric scooters and 190 scooter users. We collected basic demographic information, recorded injury type and severity, time of day the injury occurred, and alcohol intoxication. Results: While 4.6% of cyclists and 5.8% of scooter riders had consumed alcohol, 26.8% of electric scooter riders were intoxicated at the time of their accident. 45.8% of electric scooter-related injuries occurred at night, compared to only 9.2% and 14.1% of bike and scooter-related injuries, respectively. Sober patients were more likely to suffer mild and severe limb injuries (Odds Ratio (OR): 3.85, P = .0001 and OR: 3.26, P = .0001), but less likely to experience mild and severe head injuries (OR: 0.1, P = .0001 and OR: 0.25, P = .0001) than intoxicated patients. Cyclists had significantly fewer cases of severe head trauma than those injured while using electric scooters (OR: 0.34, P = .0166). Conclusions: Severe craniofacial injuries are more common in intoxicated patients and in patients injured using electric scooters.

The agricultural sector is amidst an industrial revolution driven by the integration of sensing, communication, and artificial intelligence (AI). Within this context, the internet of things (IoT) takes center stage, particularly in facilitating remote livestock monitoring. Challenges persist, particularly in effective field communication, adequate coverage, and long-range data transmission. This study focuses on employing LoRa communication for livestock monitoring in mountainous pastures in the north-western Alps in Italy. The empirical assessment tackles the complexity of predicting LoRa path loss attributed to diverse land-cover types, highlighting the subtle difficulty of gateway deployment to ensure reliable coverage in real-world scenarios. Moreover, the high expense of densely deploying end devices makes it difficult to fully analyze LoRa link behavior, hindering a complete understanding of networking coverage in mountainous environments. This study aims to elucidate the stability of Lora link performance in spatial dimensions and ascertain theextent of reliable communication coverage achievable by gateways in mountainous environments. Additionally an innovative deep learning approach was proposed to accurately estimate path loss across challenging terrains. Remote sensing contributes to land-cover recognition, while Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) enhances the path loss model’s precision. Through rigorous implementation and comprehensive evaluation using collected experimental data, this deep learning approach significantly curtails estimation errors, outperforming established models. Our results demonstrate that our prediction model outperforms established models with a reduction in estimation error to less than 5dB, marking a 2X improvement over state-of-the-art models. Overall, this study signifies a substantial advancement in IoT-driven livestock monitoring, presenting robust communication and precise path loss prediction in rugged landscapes.

Background: Patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) have bothersome symptoms that may assess using the visual analog scale (VAS). Asthma frequently is associated with AR. The present study investigated the role of VAS in children with newly-diagnosed AR. Methods: Parameters were VAS for nasal and asthma symptoms, and doctor’s perception of these diseases, medication use, and asthma comorbidity. Results: 67% of AR children had asthma. Severity of perceived nasal symptoms was associated with more intense asthma symptoms and doctor’s perception of disease severity (p<0.001 and p=0.02, re-spectively. Conclusions: Allergic rhinitis frequently is associated with asthma in child-hood. Symptom perception assessment using VAS is a simple tool for assessing their intensity. Moreover, the severity of nasal symptoms is associated with asthma symptom severity. Therefore, asthma should be carefully considered in AR children and require appropriate symptom perception assessment.

In an era driven by technology and connectivity, where the sphere of learning goes beyond conventional classrooms, e-Service-Learning (e-SL) merges the possibilities of technology with the principles of experiential education in a powerful blend [1]. Service-learning (SL) is an educational proposal that has been cited by UNESCO [2] as an innovative educational tool through which to address the complex challenges of our society. The Sustainable Development Goals [3] provide a framework around which to structure the SL projects and thus develop the skills needed to act on the full range of goals. Embedding digital means open a debate on the intricate relationship between technology, education, and societal impact [4]. By analyzing two focus groups involving faculty, students and community partners, this contribution aims to explore the potential of combining SL and digital empowerment (DE). The focus group participants discussed the opportunities for innovation, the expected impact on them and the society at large, their needs and the pre-conditions needed to make SL and DE successful, and limitations. The results are presented according to the six principles of sustainability education in the university environment, highlighting the transformative potential of combining these principles within SL and DE.

Background: Effectiveness of Anastrozole and levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (LNG-IUD, Mirena®) in the treatment of endometriosis. Methods: Randomized clinical trial. Elegibility criteria: Endometriomas >3×4 cm, CA-125>35 U/mL and symptoms suggestive of endometriosis. Thirty-one women were randomized to anastrozole+Mirena®+Conservative Surgery(CS) (n=8), anastrozole+Mirena®+transvaginal ultrasound-guided puncture-aspiration(TUGPA) (n=7), Mirena®+CS (n=9), or Mirena®+TUGPA (n=7). Interventions: Anastrozole 1 mg/day and/or only Mirena® for 6 months. CS or TUGPA one month after starting medical treatment. Results: A significant improvement in symptoms during the treatment (difference of 43%, 95% CI 29.9-56.2) occurred, which was maintained at 1 and 2 years. It was more significant in patients treated with anastrozole. For CA-125, the most significant decrease was observed without anastrozole. After CS for endometriosis, a reduction of findings of endometriomas and long-term recurrences occurred, with or without anastrozole, although anastrozole seems to delay recurrences. At 4,2±1,7 years, 88% of the patients who underwent CS were asymptomatic, compared to only 21% if TUGPA was performed, with or without anastrozole (p=0.019). Conclusion: Dosing anastrozole for 6 months, starting one month before CS of endometriosis, reduces more significantly the painful symptoms and delays recurrences, but has no other significant advantages over the single insertion of LNG-IUD (Mirena®) during the same time.

The Infectious and Tropical Diseases Department of University of Brescia organized free rapid screening tests for HIV and HCV as part of the Fast Track City commitment. A cross-sectional study was conducted, consisting of an anonymous, multiple-choice questionnaire that was administered to individuals who underwent the screening or consultation. The study aimed to compare knowledge and attitudes towards HIV and HCV between age groups (18-40 vs. >40) and sexual orientations (heterosexual vs. LGBTQ+). Overall, 333 questionnaires were completed. Individuals over the age of 40 and those who identified as heterosexual had the lowest level of knowledge about HIV transmission (7.9% and 30% respectively), undetectable=untransmittable (19.7% and 39.4% respectively) and PrEP (9.2% and 18.2% respectively). They were also less willing to cohabit with people with HIV (PLHIV). Only 9.6% of the population demonstrated high levels of knowledge for both HIV and HCV. People over the age of 40 had the largest gaps in knowledge and would benefit the most from educational and prevention interventions.

In the realm of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) and teleoperation applications, haptic feedback plays a role in enhancing task performance. One of the main goals of this study is to simplify haptic device hardware while improving its capacity to provide various stimuli at different intensities. In response to these challenges, this research introduces the Pneumatic Unit Cell (PUC), a soft-pneumatically driven device—a hollow silicone cylinder with the ability to provide both static pressure and vibrotactile feedback. Furthermore, Pneumatic Unit Cell's design simplicity has the potential for scalability, modularity, and the flexibility to mount the device on any part of the human body. The focus of the current paper is to study PUCs as an actuator and lay the foundation for future perceptual studies. The characterization studies encompass fabrication and verification of fabrication accuracy through dimensional measurements, characterizing PUCs under static pressure conditions (measuring free deflection and blocking force), and frequency conditions (measuring free deflection). In the static pressure conditions, we applied pressures ranging from 0 to 40 KPa to measure free deflection and from 0 to 30 KPa to measure blocking force. In the frequency conditions, we applied pressures of 10, 20, and 30 KPa, with inflation/deflation rates varying between 0.5 Hz and 100 Hz. The measurements of free deflection under static pressure conditions revealed that 0.9 mm and 1.2 mm PUCs exhibit a linear increase of free deflection with increase in inflation pressure. The results of free deflection measurements under the frequency conditions indicate a direct relationship between free deflection magnitude and applied pressure. The results also demonstrate an inverse relationship to the frequency of inflation/deflation. The characterization results demonstrate a broad range of free deflection observed under both static pressure and frequency conditions, encouraging the potential application of Pneumatic Unit Cell actuators as haptic devices.

The repeated application of herbicides has led to the development of herbicide resistance. Models are useful for identifying key processes and understanding the evolution of resistance. This study developed a spatially explicit model at a landscape scale to examine the dynamics of Lolium rigidum populations in dryland cereal crops and the evolution of herbicide resistance under var-ious management strategies. Resistance evolved rapidly under repeated herbicide use, driven by weed fecundity and herbicide efficacy. Although fitness costs associated with resistant plants re-duced resistance evolution, they did not affect the speed of spread. The most effective strategies to slow resistance involved diversifying cropping sequences (e.g., crop rotation) and the herbicide applications (e.g., rotating different herbicide modes of action). Pollen flow was the main disper-sal vector, with seed dispersal also contributing significantly. Strategies limiting seed dispersal effectively decreased resistance spread. However, the use of a seed-catching device at harvest could unintentionally enrich resistance in the area. It would be beneficial to optimise the move-ment of harvesters between fields. The model presented here is a useful tool that may assist in the exploration of novel management strategies within the context of site-specific weed management at the landscape scale, as well as in the advancement of our understanding of resistance dynamics.

Background: In healthy children, the frequency of anomalous persistence of primitive reflexes (PRs) and craniosacral blocks (CBs) are unknown, as well as their impact on neurodevelopment, behaviour disorders and related consequences. We aim to know the prevalence of anomalous PRs and CBs in apparently healthy children and its relationships with behavior and neurodevelopment anomalies. Methods: Participants (n=120) were evaluated through physical examination to detect PRs and CBs, an ad hoc parent survey to collect perinatal events, and children behavior assessment by teachers using Battelle score. Results: PRs were present in 89.5%. Moro (70.8%), cervical asymmetric (78.3%) and cervical symmetric PRs (67.5%) were the most frequent observed PRs. CBs were found in 83.2%, and the most frequent CBs were dura mater (77.5%) and sphenoid bone (70%) blocks. Moro, cervical asymmetric and cervical symmetric active primitive reflexes are significantly associated to cranial blocks of dura mater, parietal zones, and sphenoid bone sway. Gestational disorders or perinatal complications were associated to a higher frequency of PRs and CBs. The presence of PRs and CBs were associated with abnormal Battelle scores and neurobehavioral problems. Conclusion: Presence of PRs and CBs in children without diagnosed diseases are frequent and related with disturbances in childhood neurodevelopment.

Population concentration in cities brings new risks as an increase in pollution, which causes urban health problems. In order to address this problem, traffic reduction measures are being implemented, as pedestrianization areas and the definition of Low Emissions Zones (LEZ). When the effectiveness of these types of measures is in doubt, smart city tools provide data that can be used to scientifically asses their impact. This article analyzes the situation of Madrid Central (Spain), a LEZ subject to controversy. We apply statistical and regression analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of this measure to reduce air pollution and outdoor noise. According to the results, this LEZ was able to significantly reduce NO$_2$, PM$_{2.5}$, and PM$_{10}$ concentration locally, having the same positive impact in the rest of the city. In terms of noise, this measure is able to mitigate background noise levels generated by the road traffic.

Classifying spinal tumors can be challenging due to nonspecific clinical and radiological qualities, and a precise biopsy is crucial for an accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. This study aimed to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of spinal biopsies integrating Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities using an O-arm CT navigation system. Eighteen patients with diverse spinal lesions underwent 18 biopsies following the Stealth Station navigation system Spine 8 protocol. Preoperative MRI scans were merged with intraoperative CT navigation systems for continuous monitoring during the biopsy process. The combined imaging technique accurately identified the diseased lesion type in all biopsies, demonstrating 100% sensitivity and specificity. In conclusion, combining MRI and CT imaging modalities significantly improved spinal biopsy accuracy and efficiency, differentiating between pathological entities. However, large-scale studies are desired to validate these findings and investigate potential benefits in different clinical scenarios. Although this method requires general anesthesia, its potential profits in avoiding misdiagnosed lesions and decreasing the need for further invasive procedures make it a promising approach for improving spinal biopsy accuracy and efficiency.

Overweight/obesity is one of the most important health problem worldwide. Birth by cesarean section has been shown to influence long-term health outcome including obesity. The aim of this systematic review-meta-analysis is to examine whether cesarean section increases the risk of offspring’ s overweight/obesity. The study follows the PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. A systematic literature search was con-ducted on Scopus, PubMed, and WoS until December 2020. For inclusion, studies must have re-ported either (I) both Birth by cesarean section and adult (≥ 18 years) offspring BMI, (II) cohort or case–control study design and (III) a risk estimate. Heterogeneity testing was performed using Cochran's Q and I2 statistics. Publication bias was assessed by Egger’s test and Begg’s test. Me-ta-analysis was performed through a random effect model. Eleven studies with a combined population of 180.408 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The overall analysis (n = 18) yielded a combined risk estimate for overweight/obesity of 1.19 (95% CI 1.08-1.31) and the test of heterogeneity resulted Q=53,37 (I2 = 70,37 %, P≤0•0001). The risk of offspring obesity is 1.23 (95% CI 1.09-1.39) and the test of heterogeneity resulted Q=39.50 (I2= 72,15%, P≤0•0001). Children born by cesarean section have an increased risk of developing obesity in adulthood

Background: The importance of community health psychology in providing complex bio-psycho-social care is well-documented. We present a mixed-method study monitoring the efficacy of health psychology services in the Public Health Focused Model Program for Primary Care Development (2012-2017) in four disadvantaged micro-regions in North-East Hungary. Methods: Study 1 assessed the availability of the services using a sample of 17003 respondents. Study 2 applied a follow-up design to measure the efficacy of the health psychology services in a sample of 132 clients. In Study 3, we conducted focus group interviews to assess clients’ lived experiences. Results: More mental health issues and higher education predicted a higher probability of service use. Follow-up showed that individual and group-based psychological interventions resulted in lower depression and (marginally) higher well-being. Thematic analysis of the focus group interviews indicated that participants deemed topics like psychoeducation, a greater acceptance of psychological support, and heightened awareness of individual and community support important. Conclusions: The results of the monitoring studies demonstrate the important role health psychology services can play in primary health care in disadvantaged regions. Community health psychology can improve well-being, reduce inequality, support the population’s health awareness, and address unmet social needs in disadvantaged regions in Hungary.

This paper describes the physico-chemical study of the adsorption of dysprosium (Dy³⁺) in aqueous solution onto two types of activated carbons synthesized from spent coffee ground. KOH activated carbon is a microporous material with a specific BET surface area of 2330 m²·g^-1 and pores with a diameter of 3.2 nm. Carbon activated with water vapor and N₂ is a solid mesoporous, with pores of 5.7 nm in diameter and a specific surface of 982 m²·g^-1. A significant dependence of the adsorption capacity on the solution pH was found, while it does not depend significantly neither on the dysprosium concentration nor on the temperature. A maximum adsorption capacity of 31.26 mg·g^-1 and 33.52 mg·g^-1 for the chemically and physically activated carbons, respectively, were found. In both cases, the results obtained from adsorption isotherms and kinetic study were better fit to a Langmuir model and a pseudo-second-order kinetics. In addition, thermodynamic results indicate that dysprosium adsorption onto both activated carbons is an exothermic, spontaneous and favorable process.

A bioelectrochemical study of charge transfer in the biofilm/chalcopyrite interface was performed to investigate the effect of surficial sulfur reduced species (SRS), as non-stochiometric compounds or polysulfides (S_n^2-), and elemental sulfur (S⁰) on a biofilm structure during the earliest stages (1, 12 and 24 h) of chalcopyrite biooxidation by A. thiooxidans alone and adding Leptospirillum sp. The surface of massive chalcopyrite electrodes was exposed to the bacteria, which were analyzed electrochemically, spectroscopically, and microscopically. At the studied earlier times, charge transfer and significant differences in the biofilm structure were detected, depending on the presence of Leptospirillum sp. acting on A. thiooxidans biofilms. Such differences were a consequence of a continuous chalcopyrite pitting and promoting changes in biofilm hydropathy. A. thiooxidans modifies the reactive properties of SRS and favors an acidic dissolution, which shifts into ferric when Leptospirillum sp. is present. A. thiooxidans allows H⁺ and Fe³⁺ diffusion, and Leptospirillum sp. allows surpassing the charge transfer (reactivity) barrier between the mineral interface and the ions. The observed changes of hydropathy on the interface are associated to ions and electrons activity and transfer. Finally, a model of S⁰ biooxidation by A. thiooxidans alone or with Leptospirillum sp., is proposed.

This paper shows the results of applying high-resolution Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) photogrammetric surveying on a large landslide. A real case study, where permanently installing GCPs could be complex, where natural shaped and formed land pose severe limitations in deploying ground targets with optimal geometric configuration. We analysed performances in terms of survey accuracy obtained by performing photogrammetric surveys through the Zenmuse P1 DJI optical camera and Phantom 4 Pro 2. In combination with DJI Matrice 300 UAS, the P1 camera allows direct georeferencing through GNSS observations in RTK mode. Photogrammetric surveys, performed through different georeferencing methods, have been compared. Several targets have been permanently installed on the ground over the maximum vegetation height to guarantee long-lasting reference over the years in the area, which is characterised by a diffuse short vegetation coverage. Multitemporal UAS surveys have been then compared using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) algorithms, and deformation maps have been produced. Afterwards, DIC results were compared with observations made by the GNSS ground-based permanent receivers resulting in a standard deviation of 0,077 m. Through results analysis, good accordance between ground-based GNSS observations and DIC analysis on the photogrammetric surveys have been identified for the same time span. To conclude, this type of landslide presents a moderate deformation speed; in such a case, effective deformations monitoring could be achieved using pseudo-direct georeferencing, which permitted a 0.24 m accuracy on the whole tested area.

Attack on health has become a significant concern for non-belligerents of war, including healthcare personnel and facilities as witnessed in the ongoing Sudan conflict. About 1.5 billion people living in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS) have a heightened need for essential health services. Conflicts often lead to the disruption of building blocks of health systems, lack of access to health facilities, failure of essential medical supply chains, the collapse of political, social and economic systems, migration of health care workers, and upsurges in illness. While health indicators often decline in conflict, health can also bring peace and harmony among communities. Investment in health systems and health diplomacy is a neutral starting point for bringing peace and mitigating conflicts. The international commitment towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides the impetus to emphasize the relationship between health and peace with the amalgamation of SDG 3, SDG 16, and SDG 17. The inspection of how health should be used as a ‘tool for peace’ and not as leverage during the war must be reiterated by international institutions.

Calicotome villosa is a eurioic legume with broad distribution in the south of Europe. It can grow in almost any type of soils as well as in humid and dry and nutrient deficient ecosystems. The broad distribution and eurioic nature of C. villosa may be attributed to its ability to establish symbiotic associations with plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria housed in the nodules and rootless. This study examined legume-microbe symbiosis of C. villosa growing in two contrasted locations, hill top with high sun irradiance and drought; and a valley bottom, with low level or radiation and sufficient soil humidity for plant growth. Calicotome villosa adult plants established symbiotic in-teractions with bacteria in six genera, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Brevicacterium and Rhizobium as well as one uncultured bacteria. Plants growing in the hill top had associated lower bacterial richness than those grown at the valley bottom. All strains were drought tolerant and produced siderophores, IAA, HCN and NH3 that stimulated plant performance in both, C. villosa plants and other four legumes commonly present in the understory of the shrubs communities The legumes’ capacity to selectively host symbiotic bacteria that enhance plant survival in harsh conditions partly accounts for the diverse partnerships between C. villosa plants and their symbionts, ultimately explaining the wide distribution of this plant species.

Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that plays key roles in integration of cytoskeletal functions, and therefore in basic cellular processes such as cell division and migration. Consequently, vimentin has complex implications in pathophysiology. Vimentin is required for a proper immune response, but it can also act as an autoantigen in autoimmune diseases or as a damage signal. Although vimentin is a predominantly cytoplasmic protein, it can also appear at extracellular locations, either in a secreted form or at the surface of numerous cell types, often in relation to cell activation, inflammation, injury or senescence. Cell surface targeting of vimentin appears to associate with the occurrence of certain posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation and/or oxidative damage. At the cell surface, vimentin can act as a receptor for bacterial and viral pathogens. Indeed, vimentin has been shown to play important roles in virus attachment and entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV), dengue and encephalitis viruses, among others. Moreover, the presence of vimentin in specific virus-targeted cells and its induction by proinflammatory cytokines and tissue damage contribute to its implication in viral infection. Here, we recapitulate some of the pathophysiological implications of vimentin, including the involvement of cell surface vimentin in interaction with pathogens, with a special focus on its role as a cellular receptor or co-receptor for viruses. In addition, we provide a perspective on approaches to target vimentin, including antibodies or chemical agents that could modulate these interactions to potentially interfere with viral pathogenesis, which could be useful when multi-target antiviral strategies are needed .

Freezing of Gait (FOG) is an impairment that affects the majority of patients in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). FOG can lead to sudden falls and injuries, negatively impacting the quality of life for the patients and their families. Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) can be used to help patients recover from FOG and resume normal gait. RAS might be ineffective due to the latency between the start of a FOG event, it’s detection and initialization of RAS. We propose a system capable of both FOG prediction and detection using signals from tri-axial accelerometer sensors that will be useful in initializing RAS with minimal latency. We compared the performance of several time frequency analysis techniques, including moving windows extracted from the signals, handcrafted features, Recurrence Plots (RP), Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT), Discreet Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Pseudo Wigner Ville Distribution (PWVD) with Deep Learning (DL) based Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). We also propose three Ensemble Network Architectures that combine all the time frequency representations and DL architectures. Experimental results show that our ensemble architectures significantly improve the performance compared with existing techniques. We also present the results of applying our method trained on publicly available dataset to data collected from patients using wearable sensors in collaboration with A.T. Still University.

In recent years, farmers and policymakers have faced ample challenges and have struggled to support the sustainability of the agricultural sector. Sustainable agriculture encompasses multiple concepts, and its performance produces extensive debate about data requirements, appropriate indicators, evaluation methods, and tools. Under the European Union (EU) financed project FLINT (Farm Level Indicators for New Topics in policy evaluation), detailed data have been collected at the farm level to provide broader coverage of sustainability indicators on a wide range of relevant topics to facilitate the assessment of sustainability performance. The approach has been applied in a pilot network of representative farms at the EU level, considering the heterogeneity of the EU farming sector to provide data infrastructure with up to date information for sustainability indicators. This study aims to assess sustainability performance at the farm level in Greece. Representative and dominant agricultural systems, such as permanent crops, olive trees, arable crops, and livestock (sheep) farms, comprise the Greek sample. It uses the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology and attempts to gain insights into the sustainability performance of agricultural systems. The outcome of the sustainability assessment reveals knowledge and develops support for strategic farm choices in order to support both farmers and policymakers towards more sustainable development plans. The results indicate that three typical Mediterranean farming systems, like permanent crops, olive trees, and extensive livestock systems (sheep farms), are more sustainable in contrast to intensive and arable crop farms.

Esterases are hydrolases that catalyze the hydrolysis of esters into the corresponding acids and alcohols. The development of fluorescent probes for detecting esterases is of great importance due to their wide spectrum of biological and industrial applications. These probes can provide a rapid and sensitive method for detecting the presence and activity of esterases in various samples, including biological fluids, food products, and environmental samples. Fluorescent probes can also be used for monitoring the effects of drugs and environmental toxins on esterase activity, as well as to study the functions and mechanisms of these enzymes in several biological systems. Additionally, fluorescent probes can be designed to selectively target specific types of esterases, such as those found in pathogenic bacteria or cancer cells. In this review, we summarize the recent fluorescent probes described for the visualization of cell viability and some applications for in vivo imaging. On the other hand, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a nuclear-based molecular imaging modality of great value to study the activity of enzymes in vivo. We provide some examples of PET probes for imaging acetylcholinesterases and butyrylcholinesterases in brain, which are valuable tools for diagnosing dementia and monitoring the effects of anticholinergic drugs on the central nervous system.

Preterm birth (PTB), a multi-causal syndrome, is one of the global epidemics. Maternal nutrition, but also neonatal and placental telomere length (TL), are among the factors affecting PTB risk. However, the exact relationship between these factors and the PTB outcome, remains obscure. The aim of this review, was to investigate the association between PTB, maternal nutrition and placental-infant TL. Observational studies were sought, with the keywords: maternal nutrition, placenta TL, newborn, TL, and PTB. No study was found that included all keywords simultaneously, and thus, the keywords, were searched in dyads, to reach assumptive conclusions. The findings show that maternal nutrition affects PTB risk, through its influence on maternal TL. On the other hand, maternal TL independently affects PTB risk, and at the same time PTB is a major determinant of offspring TL regulation. The strength of the associations and the extent of the influence from covariates, remains to be elucidated in future research. Furthermore, the question of whether maternal TL, is simply a biomarker of maternal nutritional status and PTB risk, or a causative factor of PTB, to date, remains to be answered.

Background: Chronic kidney disease and renal replacement therapy are associated with reduced physical activity, which may result in the presence of mineral-bone disorders and an increase in inflammation markers. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between the performance of daily physical activity, expressed in the number of steps performed by patients undergoing hemodialysis and the concentration of selected biochemical parameters (SCL, IL-6). Materials and Methods: The study involved 33 patients aged 59.8 ± 9.8 years from the dialysis station at the Department of Nephrology, Transplantology and Internal Medicine PUM. Group C consisted of 30 people aged 54.9 (9.37), with GFR over 60 mL/min/1.73m. The study group was divided into S-N and N-S. Participants of the S-N group were assigned the task of performing the appropriate daily number of steps, and the N-S group was to perform spontaneous physical activity. The tasks were replaced after the third month of the research project. Physical activity was measured with pedometers. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were assessed at baseline, after the third and sixth month of the study. Descriptive statistics, intergroup comparisons using Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman correlation analysis were performed. The level of significance was set at p≤0.005. Results: Patients from the S-N and N-S groups compared to group C performed significantly fewer steps in the 0-3 month and 4-6 month periods. In the S-N group, with an increase in steps performed in the period of 4-6 months, sclerostin levels dropped in the 6th month. In group C, the concentration of SCL and IL-6 decreased with the increase in the number of steps taken. Only in group C the waist circumference decreased with the increase of the number of steps performed. Conclusions: Patients receiving renal replacement therapy by hemodialysis showed significantly lower physical activity compared to people without kidney disease. Performing bigger number of steps can lower sclerostin levels in hemodialysis patients.

Since the 1960s Rare earths (REs) applications gradually have expanded to everyday life. REs have great strategic importance in industrial and technological development, so it is expected an increase in their demand. Among the REs the European Commission considered Cerium and Lanthanum as critical raw materials. This research article studies the adsorption of Ce and La onto two carbon nanomaterials, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and carboxylic functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT_ox). The latter has slightly more affinity for REs than MWCNT. The recovery percentage for Ce were 89 and 98% and in the case of for La were 99 and 92% using 0.8 g of MWCNT and 0.2 g of MWCNT_ox respectively. The adsorption process fits a pseudo second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm best represented the metal uptake.

Within the framework of theoretical developments in so-called participatory culture and the context of funds of identity, incorporated within what is known as the funds of knowledge approach, an innovative teaching methodology is implemented that allows students to actively participate in knowledge construction. The project translates into a proposal for educational contextualization and personalization based on the students’ funds of identity, that is, those resources (people, artifacts, places, activities, institutions) they consider to be most relevant and significant to define themselves. Once these have been identified through identity artifacts, such as collages or self-drawings, students link some of these funds of identity to curricular content of the subject and produce a video that shows the results of this academic work. The final product is shared on a YouTube channel containing the videos of all of the students in the class. The phases of the project are described and illustrated. We argue that the proposed teaching and learning project, which is cross-disciplinary in nature, allows for principles such as educational contextualization, funds of identity, and participatory culture to be incorporated into what we call here the funds of identity 2.0 approach, putting it into educational practice.

Cancers of the head and ne¬ck and their treatment can cause disfigurement and loss of functioning, with a profound negative impact on the person’s self-image and psychosocial wellbeing. This can lead to experiences of shame and stigma, which are important targets for psychosocial interventions. Accurate measurement and identification of these problems enables clinicians to offer appropriate interventions and monitor patients’ progress. This study aimed to validate the Canadian version of the Shame and Stigma Scale (SSS) among French and English speaking head and neck cancer patients. Data from 258 patients from two major Canadian hospitals was analysed. The existing 4-factor structure of the SSS was supported, with the following subscales: Shame with Appearance, Sense of Stigma, Regret, and Social/Speech Concerns. The Canadian SSS showed adequate convergent and divergent validity and test-retest reliability. Rasch analysis suggested scale improvement by removing two misfitting item and two items with differential functioning between French and English speaking patients. The final 16-item scale version had adequate fit to the Rasch model. The SSS provides more accurate measures for people with high levels of shame and stigma, and thus has utility in identifying patients with more severe symptoms who may be in need of psychosocial interventions.

Virtual human body models contribute to designing safe and user-friendly products through virtual prototyping. Anthropometric biomechanical models address different physiques using average dimensions. In designing personal protective equipment, biomechanical models with the correct geometry and shape shall play a role. The presented study shows the variations of subject-specific anthropometric dimensions from the average for the different population groups in the Czech Republic and China as a background for the need for personalized human body models. The study measures a set of clothing industry dimensions of Czech children, Czech teens, Czech adults and Chinese adults and compares them to the corresponding age average, which is represented by a scaled anthropometric human body model. The cumulative variation of clothing industry dimensions increases the farer is the population group from the average. It is smallest for the Czech adults 7.54% ± 6.63%, Czech teens report 7.93% ± 6.25% and Czech children differ 9.52% ± 6.08%. Chinese adults report 10.86% ± 11.11%. As the variations of the particular clothing industry dimensions from the average prove the necessity of having personalized subject-specific models, the personalization of particular body segments using the measured clothing industry dimensions leading to a subject-specific virtual model is addressed. The developed personalization algorithm results in the continuous body surface desired for contact applications for assessing body behavior and injury risk under impact loading.

This study examines the effectiveness of the peer-delivered, school-based intervention Healthy by Design (HbD). Data were collected in two cross-sectional surveys before and after invention implementation. In total 1,177 vocational students (before: 557, after: 620) participated in an online health behaviour survey. Multilevel logistic and multilevel linear models explored the effect of the intervention over time and the effect of the intervention dose received on (determinants of) dietary of physical activity behaviours. A significant positive effect over time was found for moderate intensity physical activity. A high intervention dose was positively associated with increased water, breakfast and fruit consumption and higher levels of moderate and vigorous physical activity compared to no intervention dose received. A moderate and high intervention dose was negatively associated with high calorie snacks consumption compared to no intervention dose received. Effects of HbD on the investigated dietary and physical activity behaviours over time are limited, but these effects may be hard to demonstrate and link to the intervention due to the nature of the intervention design and the natural school-setting of this quasi-experimental study. However, a higher intervention dose showed a strong relation with healthier dietary and physical activity behaviours.

The coordination polymer [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ exhibits the rare phenomenon of spin crossover in an attractive temperature range, i.e., somewhat above room temperature. Spin crossover in [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ is manifest by thermochromism, which is accompanied by a magnetic transition from diamagnetism to paramagnetism. However, [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ is brittle and difficult to process, which limits its use. In this study, we show that [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ can be co-processed with ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), which possesses outstanding mechanical properties, particularly when tensile drawn. Therefore, [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂–UHMWPE blends were gel-processed by extrusion, employing a relatively poor solvent, which has recently been shown to offer advantages compared to good solvents. Uniform and flexible films, ribbons and fibers with [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ fractions as high as 33.3% m/m were obtained that could be readily drawn. Spin crossover in the coordination polymer is retained in these materials, as evident from their thermochromism. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the blends exceed those of typical commodity polymers. Thus, the films, ribbons and fibers constitute a special class of multifunctional materials that combine the flexibility and excellent mechanical properties of drawn UHMWPE with the spin crossover behavior of [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂.

Background: Cognitive-behavioral alterations can occur after an acquired brain injury. It is a stressful situa-tion for patient and relatives. Objectives: To develop and evaluate a synchronous online training program on emotional intelligence (EI) for caregivers of adult patients with cognitive-behavioral impairment due to acquired brain injury. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was designed, a target population of ten caregivers attended to a one-month virtual synchronous course about EI. The emotional status of caregivers was registered one-month-previous and one-month-post program using comparative measures: The Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Results: Median age of the ten caregivers was 48 years, 80% of women with a median care-time of 6 years. 50% of them were spouses of the patients. 60% of the patients were affected by stroke (hemorrhagic or ischemic cause). The main cognitive impairment of the patients reported by relatives was memory deficit. After re-ceiving training, favorable changes were found regarding emotional affect measured with the PANAS, both positive (increase) and negative (decrease), as well as with the TMMS-24-mood-repair area (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Training in EI helps caregivers to make their mood more positive and improve aspects of their emotional intelligence such as emotional regulation.

This study analyses key aspects of the professional life of primary school teachers in a southern European context. In the social changes of last two decades profoundly impacted the well-being of teachers putting a strain on their ability to adapt to sometimes unfair working conditions. For this purpose twenty teachers (M = 38.85; DS = 9.17) were interviewed from different areas of Italy, data were analyzed using the Grounded Theory Method. Through data analysis were summa-rize and emphasize eight core themes. The results show the effects of a gradual impoverishment of the recognition of the role of teacher, highlighting the difficulty for teachers of renegotiating more flexible workload assessments and of reinforcing psycho-emotional skills for the development of a teaching methodology attentive to the psycho-emotional needs of pupils. Schools emerge as a rigid working context, in which a competent organizational function is often absent. Practical psychological implications are discussed.

This review delves into the significance of chemical communication in mammals, with an emphasis on the role of the vomeronasal system in sensing pheromone-mediated interactions. The vomeronasal system shapes a variety of social and sexual behaviors, including reproduction, hierarchy formation, maternal bonding, and species recognition. Intriguingly, this system presents a vast degree of evolutionary variability, more so than variations observed in the olfactory system. This adaptive diversity underscores the challenges in studying the vomeronasal system, emphasizing the need for detailed research into its neuroanatomy and functional morphology. This review traverses an array of topics central to our understanding of chemical communication in mammals. We begin with the foundational role and basic concepts of chemocommunication. This is followed by an in-depth exploration of the olfactory systems. Subsequently, the neuroanatomical underpinnings of the vomeronasal system are juxtaposed against those of the olfactory system. Our focus then shifts to an exhaustive study of the sensory element of the vomeronasal system, the vomeronasal organ, and the integrating center of this information, the accessory olfactory bulb. The discussion extends to secondary projections of both the olfactory and vomeronasal systems in the light of the dual olfactory hypothesis. The review culminates with a detailed look at four specific models of vomeronasal system organization belonging to four evolutionarily distinct mammalian families: rodents, marsupials, herpestids, and bovids. These have been meticulously analyzed by the authors, aiming to spotlight the significant morphofunctional differences stemming from the adaptive changes imprinted on the system.

In this paper, we present an experimental procedure to enhance the dimensional accuracy of fabrication via Stereolithography (SLA) of features at the micro-scale. Using a custom benchmark part, deviations in feature dimensions (micro-pores diameters and depths) were detected and measured by confocal microscopy. Samples characterization and experimental observations allowed the identification of inaccuracy sources, mainly due to the laser beam scanning strategy and to the incomplete removal of uncured liquid resin in post-processing (i.e., IPA washing). As a technology baseline, the measured dimensional errors on pores diameters were up to -46%. A compensation method of the nominal laser spot diameter (85m) was defined and implemented resulting in relevant improvements in dimensional accuracy of 9.8% and 11.3% on full-open pores diameter and depth, respectively. Further investigation was performed on a customized test part to adjust the calibration procedure. The measurements revealed that the estimate of the laser beam spot size is 968m. Measurements on micro-pores having different sizes revealed that a constant compensation parameter (i.e., C=85, 96, 120m) is not fully effective at the micro-scale, where average errors still remain at -24%, -18.8%, and -16% for compensations equals to 85, 96 and 120m, respectively. A further experimental campaign allowed the identification of an effective nonlinear compensation law where the compensation parameter depends on the micro-feature size C= f (D). Results show a sharp improvement in dimensional accuracy on micro-pore fabrication, with errors consistently below +8.2%. The proposed compensation method can be extended for the fabrication of any micro-features without restrictions on the specific technology implementation. Concerning the inaccuracy introduced by the laser path, experimentation with a customized part allowed the optimization of the part orientation to reduce the errors and their differences along the X and Y machine axes.

: This study was aimed at assessing adaptation and bonding of discontinuous (short) glass fiber-reinforced composite to intraradicular dentin EverX Flow (GC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), when used as intracanal composite filling and anchorage instead of traditional fiber posts. (2) Methods: Seventy intact extracted human teeth were endodontically treated and randomly divided into 6 groups (n=10), depending on the materials used in the post space. In Group 1, a 2-bottle universal adhesive G2 Bond Universal + EverX Flow were tested. In group 2, a single-component universal adhesive G-Premio Bond + EverX Flow were used. In groups 3 and 4 the same materials are tested, but after cleaning of the canal walls with 17% EDTA and final irrigation with 5.25% NaOCl Ultrasound Activated. In the last three Groups (5-7) traditional prefabricated GC Fiber Posts 1.6 mm silanized with G-Multi Primer for 1 minute are cemented with a dual-cured composite resin cement (GradiaCore), after ultrasonic irrigation in the groups 6 and 7. In each group, 1 mm-thick slices from each sample (n=10) were cut for light microscope and SEM inspection for study materials adaption to the dentin and for measuring push-out strength of post / cemement material to the dentin / prefabricated post. These results were statistically analyzed: as the data distribution was not normal, the Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Variance by Ranks had to be applied. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Push-out forces varied between 6.66-8.37 MPa. No statistically significant differences were recorded among the groups. Microscopic examination showed that ultrasonic irri-gation increased adaptation of the materials to the dentin surface. There was a trend of higher bond strength among the tested groups when EverX Flow was used. Also, the type of failure was more often cohesive when ultrasonic irrigation and two-step adhesive system were used. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this in vitro study, it may be concluded that when EverX Flow was used for intracanal anchorage in the post-endodontic recon-struction, similar push-out retentive forces and strength to those of traditional fiber posts cemented with particulate filler resin composite cements were achieved. Although further studies are necessary, EverX Flow represents an effective alternative to traditional fiber post adhesion in particular when used in combination with the two-step adhesive system and ultrasonic activation.

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are widespread worldwide as the most popular pets. This medium-sized carnivore have well-known negative effects on biodiversity, but there is still need to better understand the proximate causes of its predation. Based on a citizen science project, we assessed the role of spatiotemporal (i.e., latitude, longitude and seasons), climatic (i.e., rainfall), anthropogenic (i.e., human footprint, HFI) and individual (i.e., sex and age) variables on the number of preys returned home by cats in metropolitan France. Over the 5 048 cats monitored between 2015 and 2022, prey from 12 different classes (n= 36 568) were returned, being 68% mammals, 21% birds and 8% squamates. Shrews brought home by cats peaked during summer, while rodents were recorded during summer-autumn. Birds brought home by cats peaked in spring-summer and in autumn, and lizards in spring and in late summer. Lower HFI was associated with more voles and mice brought home and the opposite trend was observed for lizards and birds. Younger cats were more prone to bring home shrews, birds and reptiles. Although environmental factors play a minor role in prey brought home by cats, some geographical characteristics of prey species distribution partly explains the hunting behaviour of cats.

According to their nutritional value, their ability to adapt to the various environmental conditions, and their versatility, cereals are among the most cultivated plants in the world. However, the ongoing climate changes subject crops to important environmental stress that for some varieties leads to high production losses. Therefore, selection of species and varieties more versatile and adaptable to different environmental conditions can be important. However, the characteristics of some cereals are not completely known, this is a priority before to improve their cultivation. The aim of this study is to characterize select species of potential suitable for local environmental conditions, nutritional value.

: Responsible consumption is defined in environmental, cultural, economic, ethical, and social terms. The subject has been studied for at least 50 years. Currently, the description of the responsible consumer is relevant, given the climatic complications that humanity is facing. Having an instrument to identify responsible food consumption in the adolescent population will make a significant contribution to both the scientific field and group interventions. The objective of this research was to design and validate a scale to measure responsible food consumption in adolescents (Escala de Consumo Responsable de Alimentos en Adolescentes ECRAA) using a sample of 288 junior high school students. The scale has 23 items distributed in four dimensions—knowledge, attitudes, emotions, and practice—and was designed and validated with a cross-sectional study. Aiken's V coefficient was used to validate the content of the scale, a confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the construct validity, and reliability was measured by calculating Cronbach's alpha. The ECRAA was found to have adequate properties. All 23 items received a positive evaluation from experts. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the structure with favorable goodness-of-fit indices, and the reliability of the data was found to be acceptable. Thus, the ECRAA is valid and reliable for measuring responsible food consumption in adolescents.

Responsible innovation combines philanthropic and economic aspects and it is common to refer to entrepreneurs who lead it as "social entrepreneurs". The present study of 100 Mexican SMEs, provides knowledge of exploratory nature about what the models of organization are conducive to SMEs in the generation and development of responsible innovations. Through the statistical technique of cluster analysis, this study identified and characterized four models of organization according to the level of social entrepreneurship reached: (1) “The techno-scientific organization”, (2) “The techno-social organization”, (3) “The capitalist-social organization” and (4) “The capitalist organization”. While in Europe the dominant discourse about responsible innovation focuses on the control of the risk of social rejection of the advance of science and technology; in contexts such as the Mexican, the phenomenon is configured as the mechanism through which entrepreneurs articulate its technological and scientific capabilities to solve priority and specific problems of the society, however, the social impact does not crucially affect their business initiatives. The techno-scientific organization (50% of studied SMEs) is proposed as the model of organization with greater viability for Mexican entrepreneurs.

Introdução: Os fatores de risco vasculares são decisivos na evolução da doença aterosclerótica e a ecografia Doppler carotídea e vertebral permite acompanhar o seu aparecimento e evolução. A medida do espessamento da parede arterial permite o diagnóstico precoce da doença potencializando seu tratamento e controle dos fatores de risco vasculares. Objetivo: Analisar a presença de doença ateromatosa em indivíduos com idade > 65 anos e compreender sua transformação com fatores de risco vascular. Materiais e Métodos: Estudo observacional transversal, em indivíduos com idade > 65 anos manifestados ao ecoDoppler carotídeo entre 1º de janeiro de 2012 e 31 de dezembro de 2021. Foi calculado o índice médio-intimal, a presença de placas ateromatosas, sua repercussão hemodinâmica e fatores de risco vascular foram registrados. Resultados: Obteve-se uma amostra de 5885 indivíduos, sendo 41,8% do sexo feminino e 58,2% do sexo masculino. A média de idade foi de 76,59 anos, variando entre 65 e 98 anos (+6,69). A hipertensão arterial foi a mais prevalente 81,3%. Houve relação positiva significativa entre índice médio-intimal, idade e história pessoal de doenças cardiovasculares e cerebrovasculares (p=0,001). Na presença de placas, sexo masculino, hipertensão arterial, diabetes, dislipidemia, tabagismo e história pessoal de doenças cardiovasculares e cerebrovasculares apresentadas de forma positiva. Conclusões: Nesta amostra, fatores de risco vascular não modificáveis ​​parecem ser determinantes na presença de aumento da espessura da parede arterial. Na presença de sinais de um estágio mais avançado da doença aterosclerótica, os fatores de risco vascular modificáveis ​​​​são decisivos,

We examined whether the ambient illuminance during extended wakefulness modulates the homeostatic increase in human deep sleep [i.e. slow wave sleep (SWS) and electroencephalographic (EEG) slow-wave activity (SWA)] in healthy young and older volunteers. Thirty-eight young and older participants underwent 40 hours of extended wakefulness [i.e. sleep deprivation (SD)] once under dim light (DL: 8 lux, 2800K), and once under either white light (WL: 250 lux, 2800K) or blue-enriched white light (BL: 250 lux, 9000K) exposure. Subjective sleepiness was assessed hourly and polysomnography was quantified during the baseline night prior to the 40-h SD and during the subsequent recovery night. Both the young and older participants responded with a higher homeostatic sleep response to 40-h SD after WL and BL than after DL. This was indexed by a significantly faster intra-night accumulation of SWS and a significantly higher response in relative EEG SWA during the recovery night after WL and BL than after DL for both age groups. No significant differences were observed between the WL and BL condition for these two particular SWS and SWA measures. Subjective sleepiness ratings during the 40-h SD were significantly reduced under both WL and BL compared to DL, but were not significantly associated with markers of sleep homeostasis in both age groups. Our data indicate that not only the duration of prior wakefulness, but also the experienced illuminance during wakefulness affects homeostatic sleep regulation in humans. Thus, working extended hours under low illuminance may negatively impact subsequent sleep intensity in humans.

Legumes are a diverse and important group of plants that play a vital role in agriculture, food security, and environmental sustainability. Rhizobia are symbiotic bacteria that form nitrogen-fixing nodules on legume roots, providing the plant with a valuable source of nitrogen. Phenolic acids are a group of secondary metabolites produced by plants that have a wide range of biological functions, including defense against pests and diseases, tolerance to abiotic stresses, and nutrient uptake. In the context of climate change and the imperative for sustainable agriculture, this study delves into the dynamic responses of legume species to varying light intensities and their intricate interactions with soil microorganisms. We investigated the impact of light intensity and rhizobial inoculation on the biomass, nitrate reductase, acid phosphatase, and production of phenolic acids in the roots of four legume species, Trifolium repens, Vicia sativa, Ornithopus compressus, and Coronilla juncea. Plants were grown under three light intensity regimes (low, medium, and high) and inoculated with either rhizobia or a non-inoculated control. The results highlights that shaded-light-adapted species, T. repens and V. sativa, increased root exudate production when exposed to high light intensity. This response aligns with their mining strategy, effectively allocating resources to optimize nutrient acquisition under varying conditions. In contrast, species hailing from well- illuminated environments, O. compressus and C. juncea, displayed distinct strategies by significantly increasing biomass under high irradiance, capitalizing on the available light and nutrients. The mining strategy of legumes emerged as a central theme, influencing biomass production, nitrogen dynamics, and enzymatic activities. The strong correlations between biomass and total nitrogen accumulation underscore the role of the mining strategy in efficient nutrient acquisition. Inoculated plants, which rely more on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), exhibited lower δ15N values, indicative of a successful mining strategy to acquire and utilize atmospheric nitrogen. Enzymatic activities and phenolic acids exhibited significant interspecies variations, reflecting the adaptability of legumes to different light conditions. The findings of this study could be used to develop new strategies for improving legume stress tolerance, nutrient uptake capacity, and rhizosphere health.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a severe personality disorder whose neural bases are still unclear. Indeed, previous studies reported inconsistent findings concerning alterations in cortical and subcortical areas. In the present study we applied for the first time an unsupervised machine learning approach known as mCCA+jICA, in combination with a supervised machine learning approach known as Random Forest, to possibly find covarying GM-WM circuits that separate BPD from controls and that are also predictive of this diagnosis. To this aim, we analyzed the structural images of patients with BPD and matched HCs. Results showed that two GM-WM covarying circuits, including basal ganglia, amygdala, and portions of the temporal lobes and of the orbitofrontal cortex, correctly classified BPD against HC. Notably, these circuits are affected by specific child traumatic experiences (emotional and physical neglect, and physical abuse) and predict symptoms severity in the interpersonal and impulsivity domains. These results support that BPD is characterized by anomalies in GM and WM circuits related to early traumatic experiences and specific symptoms.

This study aims at providing a systematic and critical review on the state-of-the-art of life cycle applications from the circular economy point of view. In particular, the main objective is to un-derstand how researchers adapt life cycle approaches for the measurement of the empirical cir-cular pathways of agri-food systems along the overall lifespan. To perform the literature review, PRISMA protocol was considered to conduct a review by qualitative synthesis. Specifically, an evaluation matrix has been set up to gather and synthesize research evidence, by classifying pa-pers according to several integrated criteria. The literature search was carried out employing scientific databases. Findings evidence that the most common circularity topics are about closed-loop production systems, i.e. nutrient recovery for agricultural purposes, production of renewable energy, valorization of residues and wastes as fertilizers, food waste, and agro-wastes recycling for agriculture. To evaluate the benefits/impacts of CE strategies, Life Cycle Assess-ment (LCA) proved to be the most common methodology applied by authors, as it can help to meet the main CE requirements slowing and closing resource loops.

Background: Traditional omic analysis relies on p-value and fold change as selection criteria. There is an ongoing debate on their effectiveness in delivering systemic and robust interpretation, due to their dependence on assumptions of conformity with various parametric distributions.Here, we propose a threshold-free selection method based on robust, non-parametric statistics, ensuring independence from the statistical distribution properties and broad applicability. Such methods could adapt to different initial data distributions, contrary to statistical techniques based on fixed thresholds. Methods: Our work extends the Rank Products methodology with a neutral selection method of high information-extraction capacity. We introduce the calculation of the RP distribution’s entropy to isolate the features of interest by their contribution to the distribution’s information content. The aim is a methodology performing threshold-free identification of the differentially expressed features, which are highly informative about the phenomenon under scrutiny. Conclusions: Applying the proposed method on microarray (transcriptomic and DNA methylation) and RNAseq count data of varying sizes and noise presence, we observe robust convergence for the different parameterisations to stable cutoff points. Functional analysis through BioInfoMiner and EnrichR was used to evaluate the information potency of the resulting feature lists. Overall, the derived functional terms provide a systemic description highly compatible with the results of traditional statistical hypothesis testing techniques. The methodology behaves consistently across different data types. The feature lists are compact and information-rich, indicating phenotypic aspects specific to the tissue and biological phenomenon i nvestigated. Selection by information content measures efficiently addresses problems, emerging from arbitrary thresholding, thus facilitating the full automation of the analysis.

Diets that restrict the amount of carbohydrates positively affect markers related to metabolic syndrome (MS). However, completely carbohydrate-free diets have been studied in lesser extent, being their effect on biochemical and morphometric parameters in a rat model of MS the main objective of this study. MS was induced by a high-glucose diet for 20 weeks in male Wistar rats with a subsequent exposition to an essentially carbohydrate-free diet (CFD) for 20 weeks. Daily measurements of food consumption and monthly measurements of body weight were made. At week 40, glucose, insulin, lipid profile, ketone bodies, C-reactive protein (CRP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), urea, creatinine, liver and muscle glycogen, and serum, hepatic, renal and pancreatic malondialdehyde (MDA) were assessed. Exposition to CFD showed decrease in caloric intake and body weight. Likewise, the group showed normalization in liver and serum MDA parameters, insulin, lipid profile, ALT, liver glycogen, and creatinine. The CFD decreased glucose concentration and the inflammatory state, also, increased the concentration of ketone bodies and urea. The change towards CFD reverses the metabolic alterations generated with MS except for glycemia and uremia, probably due to the high rate of gluconeogenesis generated by the high protein content in the diet.

A selection of 36 commercial probiotic fermented dairy products from UK and Europe markets were evaluated for the numbers, types and viability of Lactobacillus strains against the stated information on their packages. A comparative study was carried out on selectivity of MRS-Clindamycin, MRS-Sorbitol and MRS-IM Maltose, to select the right medium for enumeration of probiotic Lactobacillus. Based on selectivity of medium for recovery of the targeted lactobacilli and also simplicity of preparation, MRS-Clindamycin was chosen as the best medium for enumeration of probiotic Lactobacillus in fermented milks. The results of enumeration of lactobacilli showed that 22 out of a total 36 tested products contained more than 106 colony forming units/g at the end of their shelf- life, which comply with the recommended minimum therapeutic level for probiotics. Rep-PCR using primer GTG-5 was applied for initial discrimination of isolated strains, and isolates, which presented different band profile, were placed in different groups. The isolated Lactobacillus spp. were identified mainly as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus paracasei by analysis of partial sequences of the 16S ribosomal RNA and rpoA genes. In conclusion, it is unknown to recommend the adequate number of probiotic bacteria to be consumed to ensure the beneficial properties.

Office workers often experience occupational musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of the current systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of workplace exercise intervention on the oldest age group of office workers who have been reported in the literature so far, in terms of workability and well-being. Randomized Controlled Trials were used and the methodological guidelines of PRISMA were followed. The keywords used were: office workers, older, exercise intervention, workplace, microbreaks, workability and well-being. The databases searched were: PubMed, PEDro, ResearchGate, CINAHL, PsychINFO and Science Direct. PROSPERO ID: CRD42022329656. Five studies (total number of participants: 1190, mean age: 46,4) met the inclu-sion criteria. Their quality was deemed to be moderate to high, according to PEDro and MPSER scales. Workplace interventions of gradually increased strengthening and moderate stretching exercises, isometric positioning and postural reminders, either with or without supervision, result in decreasing musculoskeletal pain, disability, sick-leave from work and in the improvement of quality of life and physical activity of the middle-aged office workers, without negative impact on their workability. Despite the worldwide aging workforce, there is a knowledge gap due to research absence in the field of microbreak exercise interventions in the group of older office workers.

The tri-trophic interactions between plants, insects, and insect predators and parasitoids are often mediated by chemical cues. The attraction to Herbivore-Infested Plant Volatiles (HIPVs) has been well documented for arthropod predators and parasitoids, and more recently for insectivorous birds. The attraction to plant volatiles induced by the exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA), a phytohormone typically produced in response to an attack of chewing herbivores, have provided controversial results, both in arthropod and avian predators. In this study, we aimed to examine whether potential differences in the composition of bouquets of volatiles produced by Herbivore-infested and MeJA-treated Pyrenean oak trees (Quercus pyrenaica) were related to differential avian attraction, as results from a previous study suggested. Results showed that the overall emission of volatiles produced by MeJA-treated and Herbivore-infested trees did not differ, and were higher than emissions of Control trees, although MeJA treatment showed more significant reaction and released several specific compounds in contrast to Herbivore-induced trees. These slight differences in the volatile composition may explain why avian predators were not so attracted to MeJA-treated trees as observed in a previous study in this plant-herbivore system. Unfortunately, the lack of avian visits to the experimental trees in the current study does not allow us to confirm this result and points out the need to perform more robust predator studies.

This paper contributes to the current debate about Benefit Corporations, presenting the development of this organisational model in Italy, the first country to introduce this hybrid form after the US. Grounded on an institutional logic perspective, it provides a picture of the institutional dynamics that have characterised the rise of this new entrepreneurial form outside the US. The analysis provides an in-depth foundational study of the Italian case and highlights the relevant influence of different institutional pressures in explaining the rise of and constraints in the diffusion of Benefit Corporations. Empirically, it combines secondary data, available from different public sources, and primary data collected through interviews with a series of knowledgeable informants. Based upon the analysis, two aspects appear peculiar for the development of Benefit Corporations in Italy: the interplay between the Benefit Corporation legal form and the certified B Corp model, and the rise of tensions between social entrepreneurship and the third sector ecosystem. This paper concludes that the peculiar institutional pressures leading to the birth of Benefit Corporations in Italy may be source of permanent tensions and of concern for the diffusion of the model.

Sustainable development is inconceivable without healthy real estate market. A housing project can be regarded as sustainable only when all the dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) are dealt with. There has been an increased interest in using sustainability indicators for evaluating the impacts of the new development projects. Past and recent experiences have shown that sustainability indicators can be useful tools for measuring the outcomes of new construction, when used appropriately and adequately. The aim of this article is to propose an integrated, hierarchically structured system of sustainability indicators to be used for assessment of the new housing development projects in the Baltic States. This aim is achieved through accomplishing three objectives. First, based on a review of literature related to assessing building project performance and sustainable development in construction, the paper proposes a hierarchically structured system of sustainability indicators. Second, based on a survey of experts from the Baltic States, significances of criteria are estimated by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Finally, paper proposes recommendations to government authorities and real estate developers as to how to enhance the performance of new residential projects according to the principles of sustainability.

Beef dry aging consist in a selection of unpackaged primal cuts that are placed in a refrigerator room with controlled environment for several weeks. The goals are the concentration of flavor, like nutty and beefy and tenderness improvement. In this study it was intended verify the microbiological and physicochemical behavior and the meat sensorial perception during a process example of meat dry aging. Twelve beef loins were selected for 90 days of dry aging and placed in a refrigerator room with average temperature, relative humidity and forced air 3.17 ± 0.68 °C, 60.65 ± 4.23 % and 0.5-2 m/s, respectively. On 1, 14, 21, 35, 60 and 90 days of dry aging, were taken two samples, crust and lean meat for microbiological counts, pH, aw, color L*a*b* and sensorial analysis. During drying, there weren´t any pathogenic bacteria counts and the average counts were higher for the crust. The aw and pH had an average of 0.98 ± 0.02 and 5.77± 0.015, with a slightly decrease and increase respectively (P&lt;0.05) along aging days. The dry aging process practices, with room refrigeration at RH&lt;65.00% and temperature &lt;4.00 °C can be the reason for aw&lt;0.98 and meat pH&lt;6.00 and therefore for the absence of pathogenic bacteria. The lower microbial counts on the lean meat and the overall acceptability assessed by the sensory panel confirm the importance of the good trimming and storage practices for the dry aged beef.

Women are at higher risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) after menopause when the estrous cycle becomes irregular and begins to taper off. Numerous studies have shown that estrogen deficiency, especially estradiol (E2), has been shown to play a key role in this phenomenon. Recently, a novel polymeric drug, hyaluronic acid-17β-Estradiol conjugate (HA-E2), has been developed which has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), facilitate a longer E2 release profile and lower risk of estrogen supplement related side effects. In this study, we used an ovariohysterectomy (OHE) rat model of postmenopausal cognitive deficits and explore whether HA-E2 treatment can improve the cholinergic septo-hippocampal innervation system, synaptic transmission in the hippocampal pyramidal neuron and cognitive impairment. Our results show that OHE rats after HA-E2 administration have increased expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in the medial septal nucleus (MS nucleus) and the hippocampus, increased spine density in hippocampal pyramidal neurons, and improved spatial learning and memory. Therefore, HA-E2 has great potential as a new novel class of drugs for estrogen-deficiency-induced cognitive impairment and AD.

In the last three decades the presence of phospholipids in the nucleus has been shown and thoroughly investigated. A great interest raised about nuclear inositol lipids mainly because of their role in signalling acting. Here we review the main issues of nuclear phospholipid localization and the role of nuclear inositol lipids and their related enzymes in cellular signaling both in physiological and pathological conditions.

The behaviour of oxidized and non-oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes in the adsorption of lanthanum(III) from aqueous solutions is described. Metal uptake is studied as a function of several variables such as the stirring speed of the system, pH of the aqueous solution and metal and nanomaterial concentrations. The experimental results are fitted to various kinetics and isotherm models, being the rate law fitted to the film diffusion and particle diffusion models, when the non-oxidized and the oxidized nanomaterials are used to remove lanthanum from the solution, respectively. Sulphuric acid solutions seem to be appropriate to recover the metal from La-loaded nanomaterials.

Protein oligomerzation is key to countless physiological processes, but also to abnormal amyloid conformations implicated in over 25 mortal human diseases. Angiogenin (h-ANG), a ribonuclease A family member, produces RNA fragments that regulate ribosome formation, the creation of new blood vessels and stress granule function. Too little h-ANG activity leads abnormal protein oligomerization resulting in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Parkinson’s disease. While a score of disease linked h-ANG mutants has been studied by X-ray diffraction, some elude crystallization. There is also debate regarding the structure that RNA fragments adopt after cleavage by h-ANG. Here, to better understand the beginning of the process that leads to aberrant protein oligomerization, the solution secondary structure and residue-level dynamics of WT h-ANG and two mutants: H13A and R121C, are characterized by multidimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy under near physiological conditions. All three variants are found to adopt well folded and highly rigid structures in solution, although the elements of secondary structure are somewhat shorter than those observed in cystallography studies. R121C alters the environment of nearby residues only. By constrast, the mutation H13A affects local residues as well as nearby active site residues residues K41 and H119. The conformation characterization by CD and 1D 1H NMR spectroscopies of tRNAAla before and after h-ANG cleavage reveals a retention of most duplex structure and little or no G-quadruplex formation.

A definitive transcriptome atlas for the non-coding expressed elements of pathogenic mycobacteria does not exist. Incomplete lists of non-coding transcripts can be obtained for some of the reference genomes (e.g. Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv) but to what extent these transcripts have homologues in closely related species or even strains is not clear. This has implications for the analysis of transcriptomic data; non-coding parts of the transcriptome are often ignored in the absence of formal, reliable annotation. Here, we review the state of our knowledge of non-coding RNAs in pathogenic mycobacteria, emphasising the disparities in the information included in commonly used databases. We then proceed to review ways of combining computational solutions for predicting the non- coding transcriptome with experiments that can help refine and confirm these predictions.

The emerging whitefly-transmitted crinivirus Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) causes substantial economic losses by inducing yellow leaf disorder in tomato crops. This study explores potential resistance mechanisms by examining early-stage molecular responses to ToCV. A time-course transcriptome analysis compared naïve, mock and ToCV-infected plants at 2, 7, and 14 days post-infection (dpi). Gene expression changes were most notable at 2 and 14 dpi, likely corresponding to whitefly feeding and viral infection. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses revealed key genes and pathways associated with ToCV infection, including those related to plant immunity, flavonoids and steroids biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and hormone signalling. Additionally, virus-derived small interfering RNAs (vsRNAs) originating from ToCV predominantly came from RNA2 and were 22 nucleotides in lengt. To confirm these findings, two genes involved in plant immunity, Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90) and its co-chaperone Sgt1 (suppressor of the G2 allele of Skp1) were targeted through viral-induced gene silencing (VIGS), showing potential contribution to basal resistance against viral infections since their reduction correlated with increased ToCV accumulation. This study provides insights into tomato plants responses to ToCV, with potential implications for developing effective disease control strategies.

Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is a highly aggressive subtype of prostate cancer (PC) that commonly emerges through a transdifferentiation process from prostate adenocarcinoma and evades conventional therapies. Extensive molecular research has revealed factors that drive lineage plasticity, uncovering novel therapeutic targets to be explored. A diverse array of targeting agents is currently under evaluation in pre-clinical and clinical studies with promising results in suppressing or reversing the neuroendocrine phenotype and inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis. This new knowledge has the potential to contribute to development of novel therapeutic approaches that may enhance clinical management and prognosis of this lethal disease.

This article presents the copper ions adsorption process using an activated carbon from winemaking wastes. The pH, temperature, activated carbon amount and initial copper concentration were varied based on a full factorial 2^k experimental design. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies were also carried out. The adsorption kinetics was found follow a pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption data fit better to the Langmuir isotherm. The ANOVA demonstrated that both pH of the solution and activated carbon dosage had the greatest influence on copper adsorption. The activation energy was -32 kJ·mol^-1 suggesting that the copper adsorption is a physic-sorption process. The best fit to a linear correlation was the moving boundary equation that controls the kinetics for the adsorption copper ions onto the activated carbon. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results reveal the existence of different copper species (Cu²⁺, Cu⁺ and or Cu⁰) on the surface of the carbonaceous adsorbent after the adsorption, which could suggest a simultaneous reduction process.

This paper focuses on the characterization approach to evaluate the decay state of Pietra Serena of historic buildings in Florence (Italy). Pietra Serena is a Florentine sandstone largely used in the city especially during the Renaissance; it is a symbol of cultural heritage of Florence and constitutes a large part of the city center, which was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Unfortunately, many environmental factors negatively affect the stone, increasing damage and the danger of falling material. Any detachment of stone fragments, in addition to constitute a loss in cultural heritage, can be dangerous for citizens and the many tourists that visit the city. The use of Non-Destructive Techniques (NDTs) as ultrasonic and Schmidt hammer tests can quantitatively define some mechanical properties and help to monitor the decay degree of building stone. In this study, the NDTs were combined with mineralogical, petrographical, chemical and physical analyses to investigate the stone materials, in order to correlate their features with the characteristics of the different artefacts in Pietra Serena. Correlations between the NDTs results and the compositional characteristics of the on-site stone were carried out; such discussion allows to identify zones of weakness and dangerous unstable elements.

Oxygen is a limiting factor both in the environment and production systems, so reduction may become a stressor. Diel cyclic hypoxia occurs with varying frequency and duration in freshwater habitats. Under a stressful situation fish activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis (HPI) which triggers the release of cortisol that induces secondary and tertiary responses. The recovery of individuals depends on their ability to modulate physiological, and biochemical responses to maintain homeostasis. The aim of this study is to determine the hematological and physiological responses of rainbow trout under repeated hypoxic stress in different time points. The methodology of the experiment consisted of dividing the fish in 5 different treatment groups, 2 control groups and 3 hypoxia groups. Every exposure consisted in decrease the dissolved oxygen concentration from 8mg O2/L to 2mg O2/L for 1 hour. After the exposure the fish went to a recovery tank until the sampling procedure. Hematological and physiological results show a habituation of the fish to different parameters such as hematocrit, hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume among others. Overall, our results indicate an ability of rainbow trout to resist this type of hypoxic exposures and a habituation of fish to repeated hypoxia as observed in the different measured parameters.

Retroviruses perpetuate their survival by incorporating a copy of their genome into the host cell, a critical step catalyzed by the virally encoded integrase. The viral capsid plays an important role during the viral life-cycle, including nuclear importation in case of lentiviruses and integration targeting events, hence, targeting the integrase and the viral capsid is a favorable therapeutic strategy. While integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are recommended as first-line regimens given their high efficacy and tolerability, lenacapavir is the first capsid inhibitor and the newest addition to the HIV treatment arsenal. These inhibitors are however designed for treatment of HIV-1 infection, and their efficacy against HIV-2 remains widely understudied and inconclusive, supported only by few limited phenotypic susceptibility studies. We therefore carried out inhibition profiling of a panel of second-generation INSTIs and lenacapavir against HIV-2 in cell culture, utilizing pseudovirion inhibition profiling assays. Our results show that the tested INSTIs and lenacapavir exerted excellent efficacy against ROD-based HIV-2 integrase, and interestingly, raltegravir also showed modest antiviral activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in antiviral assays carried out in Vero E6 cells.

Healthy diet interventions have been shown to improve depressive symptoms, but there is a need for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that are double-blind and investigate biological mechanisms. The primary objectives of this randomized controlled pilot trial were to test the palatability of the meals and acceptability of the intervention in preparation for a future 8-week RCT which will investigate whether a healthy Nordic diet improves depressive symptoms in individuals with major depressive disorder, and associated biological mechanisms. Depressed (n=10) and non-depressed (n=6) women and men were randomized to receive either a healthy Nordic diet (ND) or a control diet (CD) for 8 days. Participants were blinded to diet allocation and study hypotheses. Health questionnaires were completed before and after the intervention, and, throughout the study, questionnaires assessed ratings of liking and sensory properties of the meals, adherence, and open-ended feedback. In the ND group, 75% of participants consumed no non-study foods, compared to 50% of CD participants. The meals of both diets, on average, received good ratings for liking and sensory properties, though the ND ratings were somewhat higher. Overall, results were positive and informative, indicating that the planned RCT will be feasible and well-accepted, with some proposed modifications.

Metals are indispensable in the life of all organisms, in fact, their dysregulation causes various disorders caused by an interruption of their homeostasis. Nowadays different transition metals are incorporated into pharmaceutical products as diagnostic and therapeutic agents because of their electronic structure which gives them versatility in terms of tuning molecule properties, differently from organic molecules. Hence the interest in the study of metal-drug complexes from different points of view was born and many approaches were developed for the characterization, activation, delivery and molecular mechanisms clarification. The integration of these different approaches starting from chemoproteomics passing through nanoparticle systems to different activation strategies allows the understanding of the cellular responses of metallic drugs, which can be the basis for the design of new drugs and/or modification of drugs currently in use. This review aims to briefly summarize the recent advances in this area by describing the technological platforms and their possible applications to identify protein targets for discovering the mechanisms of action of metallodrugs, and to improve their efficiency in terms of administration.

Repeated air pollution exposure is one of the major threats to skin health. Air pollution causes skin damage and accelerates skin ageing mainly through oxidative stress mechanisms. Since it is difficult to minimize skin exposure from air pollutants, especially in urban areas, strategies to protect the skin are needed. On the other hand, plant phenolic compounds have been found to be effective in attenuating cellular oxidative stress and inflammation induced by different air pollutants. Therefore, we conducted a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind study to assess the efficacy of a polyphenol-enriched dietary supplement (comprised of olive leaf, lemon verbena, rosemary and Sophora japonica extracts) in reducing pollution-induced oxidative stress and in improving different skin parameters related to skin ageing of Caucasian and Asian volunteers living in a polluted urban European area (Milan). One hundred healthy women were recruited and randomized in the placebo or in the test dietary supplement treatment arms. To assess the efficacy of the dietary supplement, the total antioxidant capacity on saliva (FRAP) was determined, as well as the oxidative damage on skin (lipoperoxides content), the skin moisture (corneometry), the trans-epidermal water loss (Tewameter), the skin radiance and the skin colour, (spectrophotometry), the skin elasticity (cutometry), the skin sebum content (sebumeter), and the skin roughness (image analysis). As a result, both inter-group and intra-group analysis proved that the dietary supplement improved all clinical and biochemical monitored parameters, in both Caucasian and Asian individuals. In conclusion, the results of the study indicate a reduced oxidative stress-induced skin damage in both Asian and Caucasian women living in a polluted urban area.

Large datasets play a crucial role in the progression of surgical robotics, facilitating advancements in the fields of surgical task recognition and automation. Moreover, public datasets enable the comparative analysis of various algorithms and methodologies, thereby assessing their effectiveness and performance. The ROSMA (Robotics Surgical Maneuvers) dataset provides 206 trials of common surgical training tasks performed with the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK). In this work, we extend ROSMA dataset with two annotated subsets: ROSMAT24, which contains bounding box annotations for instrument detection, and ROSMAG40, which contains high and low level gesture annotations. We propose an annotation method that provides independent labels for the right-handed tool and the left-handed tool. For instrument identification, we validate our proposal with a YOLOv4 model in two experimental scenarios. We demonstrate the generalization capabilities of the network to detect instruments in unseen scenarios. For gesture segmentation, we propose two label categories: high-level annotations that describe gestures at a maneuvers level, and low-level annotations that describe gestures at a fine-grain level. To validate this proposal, we have designed a recurrent neural network based on a bidirectional long-short term memory layer. We present results for four cross-validation experimental setups, reaching up to a 77.35% mAP.

Immune surveillance and adaptive immune responses, involving continuously circulating and tissue-resident T-lymphocytes, provide host defense against infectious agents and possible malignant transformation while avoiding autoimmune tissue damage. Activation, migration, and deployment of T-cells to affected tissue sites are crucial for mounting an adaptive immune response. An effective adaptive immune defense depends on the ability of T-cells to dynamically reprogram their metabolic requirements in response to environmental cues. Inability of the T-cells to adapt to specific metabolic demands may skew cells to become either hyporesponsive creating immunocompromised conditions or hyperactive causing autoimmune tissue destruction. Here, we review maladaptive T-cell metabolic fitness that can cause autoimmune diseases and discuss how T-cell metabolic programs can potentially be modulated to achieve therapeutic benefits.

Choline kinase inhibitors are an important class of cytotoxic compounds useful for the treatment of different forms of cancer since aberrant choline metabolism is a feature of neoplastic cells. Here we present the characterization and the structure activity relationship of a series of non-symmetrical choline kinase inhibitors characterized by a 3-aminophenol moiety, bound to 4-(dimethylamino)- or 4-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pyridinium cationic heads through several linkers. These derivatives were evaluated both for their inhibitory activity on the enzyme and for their antiproliferative activity in a panel of six human tumor cell lines. The compounds with the best inhibitory results were those connected to the linker by the N-atom (4a-h) and these results are supported by docking studies. The compounds with the best antiproliferative results were those connected to the linker by the O-atom (3a-h). On the other hand, as was predictable in both families, the inhibitory effect on the enzyme is greater the shorter the length of the linker, while in tumor cells, lipophilicity and choline uptake inhibition could play a decisive role. Interestingly compounds 3c and 4f, selected for both their ability to inhibit the enzyme and good antiproliferative activity, are endowed with a low toxicity in non-tumoral cells (e.g human peripheral lymphocytes) respect to cancer cells. These compounds were also able to induce to induce apoptosis in Jurkat leukemic cells without causing significative variations of cell cycle. It is worth to mention that these derivatives, beside their inhibitory effect on choline kinase, displayed a modest ability to inhibit choline uptake thus suggesting that this mechanism may also contribute to the observed cytotoxicity.

Low back pain (LBP) is a health problem that affects 70-80% of the population in Western countries. Because of the biomechanical relationship between the lumbar region and the hip, it is thought that strengthening the muscles of this joint could improve the symptoms of people with LBP. The objective of the study is to evaluate the current evidence on the efficacy of hip strengthening exercises to reduce pain and disability in people with LBP. Clinical trials were collected from PubMed, PEDro, and Scopus databases published up to September 2022. Based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and using CASpe and PEDro tools for methodological quality assessment, we selected studies that included hip strengthening exercises as part of LBP treatment and measured pain and/or disability parameters. Among the 966 records identified in the search, a total of 7 studies met the established selection criteria. Overall, participants who performed hip strengthening exercises had significantly improved in pain and disability. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed as “good”. In conclusion, the addition of hip muscle strengthening exercises iterating LBP effectively improving pain and disability.

This article aims to detect lung cavitations using lung ultrasound (LUS) in a cohort of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and correlate the findings with chest computed tomography (CT) and chest x-ray (CXR) to obtain LUS diagnostic sensitivity. Patients with suspected TB were enrolled after being evaluated with CXR and chest CT. A blinded radiologist performed LUS within 3 days after the admission at the Infectious Diseases Department. Finally, 82 patients were enrolled in the study. BAL confirmed TB in 58/82 (71%). Chest CT showed pulmonary cavitations in 38/82 (43.6%; 32 TB patients and 6 non-TB ones), LUS in 15/82 (18.3%; 11 TB patients and 4 non-TB ones) and CXR in 27/82 (33%; 23 TB patients and 4 non-TB ones). Patients with multiple cavitations were 12 detected at CT and only 1 at LUS. LUS sensitivity was 39.5%, specificity 100%, PPV 100%, NPV 65.7%. CXR sensitivity was 68.4% and specificity 97.8%. No false positive cases were found. LUS sensitivity is rather low as many cavitated consolidations do not reach the pleural surface. Aerated cavitations could be detected with LUS with relative confidence, highlighting a thin air-crescent sign towards the pleural surface within a hypoechoic area of consolidation, easily distinguishable from dynamic or static air-bronchogram.

The cellular cytoskeleton provides the cell with a mechanical rigidity which allows mechanical interaction between cells and the extracellular environment. The actin structure plays a key role in mechanical events like motility, or establishment of cell polarity. From the earliest stages of development, as represented by ex vivo expansion of naïve embryonic stem cells (ESCs), the critical mechanical role of the actin structure is becoming recognized as a vital cue for correct segregation and lineage control of cells and as a regulatory structure that controls several transcription factors. Naïve ESCs have a characteristic morphology and the ultrastructure that underlies this condition remains to be further investigated. Here, we investigate the 3D actin cytoskeleton of naïve mouse ESCs using super resolution optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM). We investigate the morphological, cytoskeletal and mechanical changes in cells cultured in 2i or Serum/LIF media reflecting a homogenous preimplantation cell state and a state that is closer to embarking on differentiation. STORM imaging showed that the peripheral actin structure undergoes a dramatic change between the two media conditions. We also detected micro-rheological differences in the cell periphery between the cells cultured in these two media correlating well with the observed nano-architecture of the ESCs in the two different culture conditions. These results pave the way for linking physical properties and cytoskeletal architecture to cell morphology during early development.

Maldivian coral reefs have been experiencing significant degradation due to a combination of global climate change and local anthropogenic pressures. To enforce the conservation of coral reefs worldwide, coral restoration is becoming a popular tool to restore ecosystems actively. In the Maldives, restoration interventions are performed only around touristic islands, where there are economic resources available to support these projects. Unfortunately, on local islands, coral restoration does not benefit from the same support and is rarely boosted. A challenging coral restoration intervention has been performed, for the first time, a on a local island of the Maldives affected by intense human pressures that caused the degradation of its reefs. A total of 242 coral fragments were collected from impacted colonies and transferred to the coral nursery of the island. Survival and growth rates of the fragments were monitored for 12 months. After one year, a survival rate of 70.2% was recorded. Although this rate might appear lower when compared to other restoration experiences, it is very promising considering the origin of the fragments and the poor quality of the environment where they have been transplanted. Some potential threats to the success of this restoration have also been identified, i.e., water temperature anomaly, diseases and parasites, the latter being the leading causes of coral mortality. The procedure presented here is comparatively less expensive than the typical relocation of entire coral colonies from donor healthy reefs to degraded reefs, thus providing an opportunity and a viable option also for local islands to restore their reefs and preserve local biodiversity.

Human Insulin (HI) is a well-characterized natural hormone which regulates glycose levels into the blood-stream and is widely used for diabetes treatment. Numerous studies have manifested that despite significant efforts devoted to structural characterization of this molecule and its complexes with organic compounds (ligands), there is still a rich diagram of phase transitions and novel crystalline forms to be discovered. Towards the improvement of drug delivery, identification of new insulin polymorphs from polycrystalline samples, simulating the commercially available drugs, is feasible today via macromolecular X- ray powder diffraction (XRPD). This approach has been developed and is considered as a respectable method, which can be employed in biosciences for various purposes such as observing phase transitions and characterizing bulk pharmaceuticals. An overview of structural studies on human insulin complexes performed over the past decade employing both synchrotron and laboratory sources for XRPD measurements, is reported herein. This review aims to assemble all recent advances in diabetes treatment field in terms of drug formulation, verifying in parallel the efficiency and applicability of protein XRPD for quick and accurate preliminary structural characterization in large scale.

Abstract: Autoimmune encephalitis is a complex and multifaceted pathology that involves the immune-mediated inflammation of the brain. It is characterized by the body's immune system mistakenly attacking the brain tissue, leading to a cascade of inflammatory processes. What makes autoimmune encephalitis vast is the wide range of causes, mechanisms, clinical presentations, and diagnostic challenges associated with the condition. The clinical presentations of autoimmune encephalitis are broad and can mimic other neurological disorders, making it a challenging differential diagnosis. This diverse clinical presentation can overlap with other conditions, making it crucial for healthcare professionals to maintain a high level of suspicion for autoimmune encephalitis when evaluating patients. The diagnostic challenges associated with autoimmune encephalitis further contribute to its vastness. Due to the variable nature of the condition, there is no definitive diagnostic test that can confirm autoimmune encephalitis in all cases. In this context, personalized patient management is crucial for achieving favorable outcomes. Each patient's treatment plan should be tailored to their specific clinical presentation, underlying cause, and immune response. Our objective is to raise awareness about the frequent yet under-diagnosed nature of autoimmune encephalitis by sharing five cases we encountered, along with a brief literature review.

The aim of the study was to examine the impact of moral resilience on quiet quitting, job burnout, and turnover intention among nurses. A cross-sectional study was implemented in Greece in November 2023. The revised Rushton Moral Resilience Scale was used to measure moral resilience among nurses, the Quiet Quitting Scale to measure levels of quiet quitting, and the single item burnout measure to measure job burnout. Moreover, a valid six-point Likert scale was used to measure turnover intention. All multivariable models were adjusted for the following confounders: gender, age, understaffed department, shift work, and work experience. The multivariable analysis identified a negative relationship between moral resilience and quiet quitting, job burnout, and turnover intention. In particular, we found that increased response to moral adversity and increased moral efficacy were associated with decreased detachment score, lack of initiative score, and lack of motivation score. Additionally, personal integrity was associated with reduced detachment score, while relational integrity was associated with reduced detachment score, and lack of initiative score. Moreover, response to moral adversity was associated with reduced job burnout. Also, increased levels of response to moral adversity were associated with lower probability of turnover intention. Moral resilience can be an essential protective factor against high levels of quiet quitting, job burnout, and turnover intention among nurses.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors, particularly due to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Today the characterization of this type of cells with an efficient, fast and low-cost method remains an issue. Hence, we have developed a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip based on dielectrophoresis (DEP) single cell electro-manipulation to measure the two crossover frequencies: f_x01 in low frequency range (below 500 kHz) and f_x02 in Ultra High Frequency range (UHF, above 50 MHz). First, in vitro conditions were investigated. U87-MG cell lines were cultured in different conditions in order to induce an undifferentiated phenotype. Then, ex vivo GBM cells from patients’ primary cell culture, were passed through the developed microfluidic system and characterized in order to reflect clinical conditions. This article demonstrates that the usual exploitation of low frequency range DEP does not allow the discrimination of the undifferentiated from the differentiated phenotypes of GBM cells. However, the presented study highlights the use of UHF-DEP as a relevant discriminant parameter. The proposed microfluidic lab-on-a-chip is able to follow the kinetic of U87-MG phenotype transformation in a CSC enrichment medium and their cancer stem cells phenotype acquirement.

: An innovative and stable probiotics-containing mucoadhesive gel (AL0020), integrated with botanical extracts, has been developed to rebalance the dysbiosis associated with periodontal diseases. Tau-Marin gel was tested against some pathogenic bacteria, belonging to the so-called "red complex", recognized as the most important pathogens in plaque specimens, adherent to the epithelial lining of periodontal pockets. A detailed physico-chemical profile of AL0020 and its in vitro efficacy in protecting activity against pathogenic bacteria as well as soothing or irritative effect on gingival epithelium were reported. Moreover, a clinical-dermatological trial on 20 volunteers using the product once a day for 30 days was also performed.

Monitoring the integrity of aeronautical structures is fundamental for safety. Structural Health Monitoring Systems (SHMS) perform real-time monitoring functions, but their performances must be carefully assessed. In this work the damage detection performances of a strain-based SHMS, were evaluated on a composite helicopter rotor blade root. The SHMS monitored the bonding between the central core and the surrounding antitorsional layer. A damage detection algorithm was trained through Finite Element analyses performed on the component. The effects of the loads variability and of damages were decoupled by including a load recognition step in the algorithm. Load recognition was accomplished in different ways: version#1 adopted an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) trained on blades in pristine condition; version#2 was trained also on damaged blades; version#3 adopted a calibration matrix method. Anomaly detection, damage assessment, and localization were performed by using an ANN. Results showed a higher load identification and anomaly detection accuracy for version#1 and version#2 compared to version#3. Gaussian noise reduced anomaly detection and damage assessment performances, and reduced damage localization accuracy for bigger damages. The damage detection performance were obtained for a fibre optic based-SHMS, including the trade-off between probability of detection and false alarm rate for different damage sizes.

Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the health care workers (HCWs) at the frontline have been largely exposed to infected patients, running an high risk of being infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study investigates the epidemiological, clinical and lifestyles characteristics that might play roles in the susceptibility of HCWs to COVID-19 in a hit Italian hospital. Methods:Demographic, lifestyle, work-related and comorbidities data of 1447 HCWs which underwent a nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 were retrospectively collected. For the 164 HCWs positive for SARS-CoV-2, data about safety in the workplace, symptoms and clinical course of COVID-19 were also collected. Cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was estimated. Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection were assessed using a multivariable Poisson regression. Results: The cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the screened HCWs was 11.33 (9.72-13.21). Working in a COVID-19 ward, being a former smoker (vs being a person who never smoked) and BMI were positively associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, whereas being a current smoker was negatively associated with this variable. Conclusions: Assuming an equal accessibility and proper use of PPE of all the HCWs of our Hospital, the great and more prolonged contact with COVID-19 patients remains the crucial risk factor for SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, increased and particular care needs to be focused specifically on the most exposed HCWs groups, which should be safeguarded. Furthermore, in order to limit the risk of asymptomatic spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the HCWs mild symptoms of COVID-19 should be considered when evaluating the potential benefits of universal staff testing

Abstract: Background: In 2021, two randomized controlled trials (RCTs), TheraP and VISION, demonstrated that 177Lu-PSMA-617 as monotherapy was more effective for enhancing the decline of PSA than the comparator third-line treatments. Methods: Our review summarizes new RCTs that add to the use of radioligand therapy (RLT) for patients with high-risk prostate cancer (PCa). Results: Five past and present RCTs include 1139 patients. A RCT, ENZA-p, studied first-line treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant PCa (mCRPC). A combination of enzalutamide (ENZA) and 177Lu-PSMA-617 gave longer progression-free survival than ENZA as monotherapy. Other RCTs of patients with mCRPC, including the PSMAfore, and SPLASH trials, showed 177Lu-PSMA-617 as second-line treatment gave better progression-free survival than androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (combined p value 6 x 10-8). Conclusion: Patients with PCa may gain if they are given PSMA-RLT early in the treatment of PCa and as part of combination therapies.

Socio-demographic factors are responsible of health inequalities also in vaccination. The aim of this study was to evaluate their role at population level through a population-based study performed on the whole population entitled to receive COVID-19 vaccines in Umbria Region, Italy, and registered to the Regional Healthcare Service as of February 28th, 2021. Socio-demographic characteristics and vaccination status in terms of uptake at least one dose of any available vaccine, completion of the primary vaccination cycle and uptake of the booster doses as of February 28th, 2022 were col-lected from the Umbria regional database. The percentage of eligible population who did not initiate the COVID-19 vaccination, complete the full vaccination cycle and get the booster dose was 11.8%, 1.2% and 21.5% respectively. A younger age, being a not-Italian citizen, and not holding an ex-emption for chronic disease/disability and a GP/FP were associated to all the endpoints. Females, as compared to males, were more likely to not initiate the vaccination but less likely to not receive the booster dose. On the contrary, results on the deprivation index were not conclusive. The findings, beyond confirming current knowledge at population level, provide new inputs for better tailoring vaccination campaigns.

Light alloys machining is a widely implemented process that have usually used in presence of cutting fluids to reduce the wear impact and increase tool life. However, current environmental protection policies require their elimination in order to improve process sustainability. This fact forces to work under aggressive cutting conditions, producing adhesion wear that affects the integrity of the part surface. This study describes cutting tool wear mechanisms in machining of UNS A92024 samples under dry cutting conditions. EDS analysis showed the different composition of the adhered layers, while roughness was also positively affected by the change of the cutting geometry produced in the tool.

The concept of intelligence has many applications, such as coatings and cyber security. Smart coatings have the ability to sense and/or response to external stimuli and generally interact with their environment. Self-healing coatings represent a significant advance in improving material durability and performance using microcapsules and nanocontainers loaded with self-healing agents, catalysts, corrosion inhibitors, and water-repellents. These smart coatings can repair damage on their own and restore mechanical properties without external intervention and are inspired by biological systems. Properties that are affected by either momentary or continuous external stimuli in smart coatings can be related to corrosion, fouling, fungal, self-healing, pie-zoelectric, microbiological, etc. These coating properties can be obtained via combinations of either organic or inorganic polymer phases, additives and pigments. In this article, a review on the advancements of micro/nanocapsules for self-healing coatings is reported from the aspect of ex-trinsic self-healing ability. The concept of extrinsic self-healing coatings is based on the use of capsules or multichannel vascular systems loaded with healing agents/inhibitors. The outcome is that self-healing coatings exhibit improved properties compared to traditional coatings. It is mentioned that self-healing anticorrosive coating not only has enhanced passive barrier function, but also realizes active defense. As a result, there is a significant improvement of the service life and overall performance of the coating. Future research should be devoted to refining self-healing mechanisms and developing cost-effective solutions for a wide range of industrial applications.