Male breast cancers are uncommon, as men account for less than 1 percent of all breast carcinomas. Among the predisposing risk factors for male breast cancer, the following appear to be significant: a) breast/chest radiation exposure, b) estrogen use, diseases associated with hyper-estrogenism, such as cirrhosis or Klinefelter syndrome, and c) family health history. Furthermore, there are clear familial tendencies, with a higher incidence among men who have a large number of female relatives with breast cancer and d) major inheritance susceptibility. Moreover, in families with BRCA mutations, there is an increased risk of male breast cancer, although the risk appears to be greater with inherited BRCA2 mutations than with inherited BRCA1 mutations. Due to diagnostic delays, male breast cancer is more likely to present at an advanced stage. A core biopsy or a fine needle aspiration must be performed to confirm suspicious findings. Infiltrating ductal cancer is the most prevalent form of male breast cancer, while invasive lobular carcinoma is extremely uncommon. Male breast cancer is almost always positive for hormone receptors. A worse prognosis is associated with a more advanced stage at diagnosis for men with breast cancer. And randomized controlled trials which recruit both female and male patients should be developed in order to gain more consistent data on the optimal clinical approach.

Salivarian trypanosomes are extracellular parasites causing anthroponotic and zoonotic infections. Anti-parasite vaccination in considered the only sustainable method for global trypanosomosis control. Unfortunately, not a single field applicable vaccine solution has been successful so far. Active destruction of the host’s adaptive immune system by trypanosomes is believed to contribute to this problem. Here we show Trypanosome brucei brucei infection results in the lasting obliteration of immunological memory, including vaccine-induced memory against non-related pathogens. Using the well-established DTPa vaccine model in combination with a T. b. brucei infection and diminazene diaceturate anti-parasite treatment scheme, our result demonstrate that while the latter ensured the full recovery from the T. b. brucei infection, it failed to restore an efficacious anti-pertussis vaccine recall response. DTPa vaccine failure coincided with a shift in the IgG1/IgG2a anti-pertussis antibody ratio in favor of the latter, and a striking impact on all spleen immune cell populations. Interestingly, an increased plasma IFNy level in DTPa vaccinated trypanosome infected mice did result in a temporary antibody-independent improvement of early-stage trypanosomosis control. In conclusion, our results are the first to show that trypanosome inflicted immune damage is permanent, and is not restored by successful anti-parasite treatment.

Randomized clinical trials represent the gold standard in therapeutic research. Nevertheless, observational cohorts of patients treated for multidrug-resistant (MDR) or rifampin-resistant (RR) tuberculosis (TB) also play an important role in generating evidence to guide MDR/RR TB Generally, summary exposure classifications (e.g., ‘ever versus never’, ‘exposed at baseline’) have been used to characterize drug exposure, in the absence of detailed longitudinal data on MDR-TB regimen These summary classifications, along with an absence of data on covariates that change throughout the course of treatment, constrain researchers’ ability to answer the most relevant questions while accounting for known This paper highlights the importance of regimen changes in improving inference from observational studies of longer MDR-TB treatment regimens and offers an overview of the data and analytic strategies required to do

BACKGROUND: From March to April 2020, Spain was the center of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, particularly Madrid with approximately 30% of the cases in Spain. The aim of this study is to report the suspected serious adverse drug reactions (SADRs) in COVID-19 patients versus non-COVID-19 patients detected by the prospective pharmacovigilance program based on automatic laboratory signals (ALSs) in the hospital (PPLSH) during that period. We also compared the results with the suspected SADRs detected during the same period for 2019. METHODS: All ALSs that reflected potential SADRs (including neutropenia, pancytopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, eosinophilia, leukocytes in cerebrospinal fluid, hepatitis, pancreatitis, acute kidney injury, rhabdomyolysis and hyponatremia were prospectively monitored in hospitalized patients during the study periods. We analyzed the incidence and the distribution of causative drugs for the COVID-19 patients. RESULTS: The incidence rate of SADRs detected in the COVID-19 patients was 760.63 (95% CI 707.89–816.01) per 10,000 patients, 4.75-fold higher than the SADR rate for non-COVID-19 patients (160.15 per 10,000 patients,95% CI 137.09–186.80), and 5.84-fold higher than the SADR rate detected for the same period in 2019 (130.19 per 10,000 patients, 95% CI 109.53–154.36). The most frequently related drugs were tocilizumab (59.84%), dexketoprofen (13.93%), azithromycin (8.43%), lopinavir-ritonavir (7.35%), dexamethasone (7.62%), and chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (6.91%). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rate of SADRs detected by the PPSLH in patients with COVID-19 was 4.75-fold higher than that of the non-COVID-19 patients. Caution is recommended when using medications for COVID-19 patients, especially drugs that are hepatotoxic, myotoxic, and those that induce thromboembolic events.

This preprint is focused in the presence of plastics and microplastics in food. We will discuss how many we eat, and how they arrive to the food, and why. We will treat many other things, such as the waste treatment in Europe and in Spain, with updated data; how much plastic waste is generated; what are microplastics and how they are analyzed, I will tell about the experience we have at the University of Alicante (UA); how they can be removed and we will estimate how many we eat over the course of a year.

According to current literature and preliminary data, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) seems potentially effective in the treatment of patients with Covid-19 pneumonia. The concentrations of HCQ in lungs might be well above that of plasma. Most likely, this property of HCQ provides effective drug concentrations in lungs. HCQ has a gradual onset of action in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. This could be valid for the treatment of Covid-19 pneumonia. It was suggested that regular HCQ administration in animals for a certain time might result in gradual accumulation of HCQ in tissues. Reduced perfusion, somewhat distorted architecture of lung tissue, edema and, suggested gradual accumulation of HCQ in lung tissue might cause reduced HCQ concentrations in pneumonic areas of the lungs in Covid-19 pneumonia. Patients with Covid-19 pneumonia and extensive lung involvement might have less HCQ concentrations in their lungs than patients having limited lung involvement. Furthermore, patients with Covid-19 pneumonia and extensive lung involvement might have more viral load than patients having limited lung involvement. That’s why treatment of patients with advanced Covid-19 pneumonia using HCQ might result in treatment failure, however HCQ might be effective in the treatment of patients with mild and moderate Covid-19 pneumonia. Using HCQ in Covid-19 pneumonia prophylaxis seems logical since providing enough accumulation of HCQ in the healthy lungs, before the arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, might prevent Covid-19 pneumonia. However, the purpose of this paper is not to recommend using or not using HCQ for the treatment or for the prophylaxis of Covid-19 pneumonia. The purpose of this paper is only to try to bring a new perspective on the role of HCQ in the treatment or in the prophylaxis of Covid-19 pneumonia. This paper proposes only hypotheses, which need further researches to be confirmed.

Background and Objective: China has managed to control the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with confinement measurements and treatment strategies, while other countries are struggling to contain the spread. This study discusses the guidelines related to COVID-19 in China in order to provide important references for other countries in the fight against COVID-19. Methods: Chinese guidelines relevant to COVID-19 were systematically searched via the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, YiMaiTong database, and World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 database on March 20^th, 2020. Guideline information was extracted, including date of publication, source, objectives and the target population. Guidelines specific to the pharmacological treatment of COVID-19 were further investigated to identify the types of antivirus drugs recommended and to report on how treatment recommendations for COVID-19 have evolved overtime. Results: A total of 114 guidelines were identified, of which 87 were national guidelines and 27 were regional guidelines. The scope of included guidelines consisted of: the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, the management of hospital departments and specific diseases during the outbreak of COVID-19. Sixty-four of the included guidelines targeted all COVID-19 patients, while the remaining guidelines concentrated on special patient populations (i.e., geriatric population, pediatric population, and pregnant population) or patients with coexisting diseases. Twenty-three guidelines focused on the pharmacological treatments for all COVID-19 patients. Interferon, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Ribavirin, Chloroquine, and Umifenovir represented the most recommended antivirus drugs. With the emergence of encouraging results from preclinical and preliminary clinical studies, Chloroquine Phosphate was recommended in the national Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (6^th version) on February 19^th, 2020. Thereafter, more detailed guidelines regarding the adjustment of dosage regimens and the monitoring of adverse events of Chloroquine Phosphate were published. To date, 8 Chinese guidelines have recommended Chloroquine Phosphate or Hydroxychloroquine as mainstream antivirus drug for the treatment of COVID-19. Conclusions: China has generated a plethora of guidelines covering almost all aspects of COVID-19. Chloroquine, as one widely affordable treatment, holds great potential to become the gold standard choice as more clinical evidence is shared by researchers from China as well as other countries.

Background: Activation of the immune-inflammatory response system (IRS) and the compensatory immune-regulatory system (CIRS) play a key role in SCZ and treatment resistant SCZ. There are only few data on immune and endogenous opioid system (EOS) interactions in SCZ and treatment resistant SCZ.Aim of the study: We examined serum β-endorphin, endomorphin-2 (EM2), mu-opioid (MOR) and kappa-opioid (KOR) receptors, and interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 in 60 non responders to treatment (NRTT), 55 partial RTT (PRTT) and 43 normal controls.Results: Serum EM2, KOR, MOR, IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly increased in SCZ as compared with controls. β-endorphin, EM2, MOR and IL-6 were significantly higher in NRTT than in PRTT. There were significant correlations between IL-6, on the one hand, and β-endorphin, EM2, KOR, and MOR, on the other, while IL-10 was significantly correlated with MOR only. A large part of the variance in negative symptoms, psychosis, hostility, excitation, mannerism, psychomotor retardation and formal thought disorders was explained by the combined effects of EM2 and MOR with or without IL-6 while increased KOR was significantly associated with all symptom dimensions. Increased MOR, KOR, EM2 and IL-6 were also associated with neurocognitive impairments including in episodic, semantic and working memory and executive functions.Conclusion: The EOS contributes to SCZ symptomatology, neurocognitive impairments and a non-response to treatment. In SCZ, EOS peptides/receptors may exert CIRS functions, whereas increased KOR levels may contribute to the pathophysiology of SCZ and EM2 and KOR to a non-response to treatment.

Implementation of waterflood is with injected pressured water to reservoir to escalation oil production. Produced water is the dominated result from oil and gas mechanism in this world meanwhile 65% of water is injected back to the well for pressure maintenance, 30% for discharge aquifier condition and surface. For shaly sand, produced water usually bring coarse and suspended sand to the surface. Therefore, this sand level is needed to declining to avoid plugging in injection well until certain economic condition.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory condition of the pancreas and is one of the most common ailments of the gastrointestinal system that results in significant morbidity and mortality. The main etiologic causes of AP are alcohol consumption, gallstones, hypertriglyceridemia, and biliary stones. The clinical signs and symptoms, and diagnostic criteria of AP are well established in the literature and multiple studies. Multiple scoring systems have been used to predict the severity, prognosis, and mortality associated with AP. The present review of the literature brings to light the significant and recent contributions in the etiology, risk factors, epidemiology, diagnosis, complications, prognosis and newest modalities in treatment that could be beneficial in the management of AP.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the mostly seen mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal system and mostly seen at the stomach. We report a case of giant gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the stomach in a 71-year-old woman. The physical examination and radiological findings revealed that a giant mass occupied most of the abdominal cavity. The patient underwent an en-block resection of this giant mass with partial resection of the distal stomach and transverse colon and, reconstruction with gastro-jejunostomy and end-to end colo-colic anatomoses. The histopathologic diagnosis was revealed as gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the stomach. We suggest that complete surgical resection is the only effective radical treatment approach for giant gastrointestinal stromal tumors of the stomach.

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) representing a promising technology for the extract of energy and resources through wastewater and it also offer an economic solution to the problem of environment effluent and energy crisis in near future. The advance device is rather appealing, due its potential benefits, its practical application is, however hindered by several drawbacks, such an internally competing microbial reaction, and low power generation. This report is an endeavor to address various design connected to the MFCs application to wastewater treatment, in particular cost effective bioelectricity from waste water are reviewed and discussed with a multidisciplinary approach. The conclusions drawn herein can be of practical interest to all new researchers dealing with effluent wastewater treatment using MFCs.

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease with a high morbidity burden. Incidence of this disease is rising due to the increasing number of antibiotic-resistant strains. Neisseria gonorrhoeae has shown an extraordinary ability to develop resistance to all antimicrobials introduced for its treatment. In fact, it was recently classified as a “Priority 2” microorganism in the WHO Global Priority List of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Guide Research, Discovery and Development of New Antibiotics. Seeing as there is no gonococcal vaccine, control of the disease relies entirely on prevention, diagnosis and, especially, antibiotic treatment. Different health organizations worldwide have established treatment guidelines against gonorrhea, mostly consisting in dual therapy with a single oral or intramuscular dose. However, gonococci continue to develop resistances to all antibiotics introduced for treatment. In fact, the first strain of super-resistant N. gonorrhoeae was recently detected in the United Kingdom, which was resistant to ceftriaxone and azithromycin. This increasing detection of resistant gonococcal strains may lead to a situation where gonorrhea becomes untreatable. Seeing as drug resistance appears to be unstoppable, new treatment options are necessary in order to control the disease. Three approaches are currently being followed for the development of new therapies against drug-resistant gonococci: (1) novel combinations of already existing antibiotics, (2) development of new antibiotics and (3) development of alternative therapies which might slow down the appearance of resistances. N. gonorrhoeae is a public health threat due to the increasing number of antibiotic-resistant strains. Current treatment guidelines are already being challenged by this Superbug. This has lead the scientific community to develop new antibiotics and alternative therapies in order to control this disease.

In this study, we evaluated the cold drawing workability of two kinds of modified 9Cr-2W steel containing different contents of boron and nitrogen, depending on the temperature and time of normalizing and tempering treatments. Using ring compression tests at room temperature, the effect of intermediate heat treatment condition on workability was investigated. It was found that the prior austenite grain size can be changed by the austenite transformation, and the grain size increases with increasing temperature during normalizing heat treatment. Alloy B and Alloy N showed different patterns after normalizing heat treatment. Alloy N had higher stress than Alloy B, and the reduction in alloy N increased, while the reduction in alloy B decreased. Alloy B showed a larger number of initially formed cracks and a larger average crack length than Alloy N. Crack length and number increased proportionally in Alloy B as the stress increased. Alloy B had lower crack resistance than Alloy N due to boron segregation.

In the clinical electrophysiologic practice, the reading and comparing electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings some times is insufficient and take to much time. That is why in the last years it has begun to introduce new methods of EEG analysis, that give a better and faster understanding of the EEG dynamics and allow a rapid intervention in the patient's treatment. Tools coming from the information theory or nonlinear system as an entropy and complexity have been shown to be a very good alternative to address this problem. In this work we introduce a novel method -the permutation Lempel-ziv complexity vs permutation entropy map. This method was applied to EEG of two patients with specific diagnosed pathologies during respective follow up processes of pharmacological changes in order to detect changes that are not evident with the usual inspection method. Our results show that the proposed method are useful for observing an evolutionary retrospective clinical effects of pharmacological interventions in both patients, and from these, to follow the clinical response to the proposed treatment.

The aim of the study was to identify factors associated with non-adherence to tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment among contacts with latent TB infection of new cases of pulmonary TB cases reported in Catalonia in 2019-2021. All contacts aged 18 years or older with a latent TB infection who received a TB preventive treatment were included in the study. The Chi square test and the odds ratios (OR) were used to assess the association between non-adherence to TB preventive treatment and the study variables, considering a p < 0.05 as statistically significant. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to detect the in-dependent factors associated with TB preventive treatment non-adherence, considering a p < 0.05 as statistically significant. The percentage of non-adherence to TB preventive treatment found in this study was 23.7%. A multivariable logistic regression analysis determined that the following factors were significantly associated with TB preventive treatment non-adherence among adult contacts: “exposure at school or workplace” (aOR = 3.34), “exposure to an index case without laboratory confirmation of TB” (aOR = 2.07), “immigrant contact” (aOR = 1.81), “male gender” (aOR = 1.75) and “exposure duration <6 hours per week or sporadic exposure” (aOR = 1.60). By contrast, the factor “short-term TB preventive treatment regimen” (aOR = 0.38) was significantly associated with a lower treatment non-adherence. Adherence to TB preventive treatment should be improved among adult contacts of TB pulmonary cases with latent TB infection by recommending short-term treatment regimens and by developing health education activities, with a greater focus on contacts with factors associated with treatment non-adherence.

Aluminium bronzes possess a unique combination of high strength and wear and corrosion resistance in aggressive environments; thus, these alloys find wide application in marine, shipbuilding, aviation, railway, offshore platform applications and other fields. Iron-aluminium bronzes (IABs) are the cheapest and most widely used. When the aluminium content is above 9.4 wt%, IAB is biphasic (i.e. it undergoes -transformation) and can be subjected to all heat-treatment types depending on the desired operating behaviour of the bronze component. This article presents correlations (mathematical models) between the primary mechanical characteristics (yield limit, tensile strength, elongation, hardness and impact toughness) and the ageing temperature and time of quench at 920°C in water Cu-11Al-6Fe bronze, obtained using the centrifugal casting method. The microstructure evolution was evaluated depending on the ageing temperature and time changes. Overall, the research was conducted in three successive inter-related stages: a one-factor-at-a-time study, planned experiment, and optimisations. Four optimisation tasks, which have the greatest importance for practice, were formulated and solved. The defined multiobjective optimisation tasks were solved by searching for the Pareto-optimal solution approach. The decisions were made through a nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) using QstatLab. The optimisation results were verified experimentally. Additional samples were made for this purpose, quenched at 920°C in water and subjected to subsequent ageing with the optimal values of the governing factors (ageing temperature and time) for the corresponding optimisation task. The comparison of the results for the mechanical characteristics with the theoretical optimisation results presents good agreement.

High-strength wastewaters from a variety of sources, including the food industry, domestic septage and landfill leachate, are often hauled to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for co-treatment. Due to their high organic loadings, these wastewaters can cause process upsets in both the WWTP’s liquid and solids treatment trains and consume organic treatment capacity, leaving less capacity available to service customers in the catchment area. A novel pre-treatment method, the Waste Activated Sludge-High Rate (WASHR) process, is proposed to optimize the co-treatment of high-strength wastewaters. The WASHR process combines the contact stabilization and sequencing batch reactor processes. It utilizes waste activated sludge from the municipal WWTP as its biomass source, allowing rapid start-up. Bench scale treatment trials of winery wastewater confirm the WASHR process can reduce loadings on the downstream WWTP’s liquid treatment and solids treatment trains. A case study approach is used to confirm the economic viability and environmental sustainability of the WASHR process compared to direct co-treatment using life cycle cost analyses and greenhouse gas emissions estimates.

Purpose: Post-pandemic management of COVID-19 infections and any emergent outbreaks is as an endemic disease remains a public health concern. Vaccine hesitancy may continue to hamper efforts to respond any new disease outbreaks and future epidemics. This qualitative study aimed to explore factors influencing covid-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in Kenya too gain deeper insights on this issue. Methods: The study was implemented in Western Kenya using key informant interviews. Fourteen (14) key informants were purposively selected for the study. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Interpretation of findings was done within the framework of the Health Belief Model. Key findings: Knowledge was a critical factor in combatting misinformation and fostering vaccine acceptance among participants in this study. Misinformation included rumors that the vaccine lowers immunity and was intended for population control. Cues to action included influence from political and opinion leaders and observing the loss of life among unvaccinated individuals. Perceived barriers to vaccine uptake included fear of vaccine safety, side effects, long waiting times at that time of our study, fear of contracting the COVID-19 at vaccination sites, family/spousal influence on vaccine uptake and fear of the unknown with the vaccine. Conclusion: Findings from this study provides insight into areas for targeted strategies for managing Covid-19 vaccinations and future pandemics. Within the framework of the Health Belief Model, this study identified salient barriers and facilitators of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy that may be helpful to inform future pandemic response.

Background: Scientific literature on COVID-19 is still limited about long-term impacts on the all-body systems and they treatments. The aim of the study was to create a safe protocol-based in-tervention to improve functional and equilibrium abilities in older adults impacted by COVID-19. Methods: The study completed 46 people (intervention group: n=26; control group: n=20). Re-sistance training (RT) was held twice a week, 60 min per session for 8 weeks. The postural stability and quality of life questionnaire (WHQOOL) were conducted during pre- and post-testing. Results: Results indicated significant differences in overall stability index (OSI) with eyes open (EO), ante-rior-posterior stability index (APSI) EO, fall risk index 6-2 (FRI6-2) values in males (p

Introduction: Hospitalization in a COVID-19 unit represents a significant source of stress and psychological distress for patients. Our study aims to determine the factors of psychological distress in the therapeutic and psychosocial management of patients hospitalized with a COVID-19 infection. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out over 8 months at the COVID-19 zone of the CHU HASSAN II of FES. 99 patients were evaluated within days of diagnosis by psychometric scales of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. In the course of this follow-up, we found the presence of psychological impacts in these patients, and we tried to find correlating factors between the occurrence of psychiatric disorders and the set of factors related to sociodemographic data, hospitalization course and treatments taken, as well as family support. Results: 35% of patients had scores in favor of post-traumatic stress disorder, 37% of the patients had definite depression and 50% had anxiety. Post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety were correlated with sociodemographic factors, hospitalization, treatments received, and length of stay. Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety-depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder was high in patients with COVID-19, hence the interest in providing psychological and psychosocial care in the emergency department.

A proportion of osteoarthritis (OA) patients are unsatisfied with post-operative outcomes following total joint replacement surgery (TJR), with insufficient pain relief or poor functional improvement. Predicting those will have poor outcomes would be beneficial for patients and clinicians. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between baseline anthropometric data and the concentration of pre-operative serum and peri-operative synovial fluid (SF) cytokines with 7-month post-operative outcomes in a cohort of knee and hip OA patients. 160 OA patients were recruited who were scheduled for TJR. The concentration of 24 cytokines were measured in blood and SF by multiplex assay. EQ5Dindex health status was assessed pre-operatively and at 7-months post-operatively. 13% of patients were identified as non-responders based on EQ5Dindex. Compared to responders, non-responders were of higher BMI, had greater waist and hip circumference and had higher levels of SF leptin but lower levels of SF Resistin (p&lt;0.05). Linear regression analysis found a significant relationship between pre-operative body weight and post-operative response (ΔEQ5Dindex; r=0.222, p=0.049). The combination of body weight with SF amphiregulin and SF IL-6 provided an improved predictive model of post-operative response (r=0.470, p=0.035).

This study aimed to investigate the effect of adding Mirror Visual Feedback Therapy (MFT) after Dry Needling (DDN) on sensitivity and motor performance in patients diagnosed with Post-Needling pain from Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrPs) in lateral elbow pain patients. A randomized, controlled, two-arm pilot trial following Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) was conducted at the European University of Madrid between February 1, 2023, and June 2, 2023. A total of 49 patients (F=23, M=26) were randomly assigned to the Experimental Group Deep Dry Needling, Ischemic Compression, Cold Spray, Stretching, and Mirror Therapy (n=25), and the others receiving the same interventions without Mirror Therapy (n=24). Pre- and post-treatment assessments encompassed Post-needling pain (VAS), pressure pain threshold (PPT), two-point discrimination threshold (TPDT), and maximum hand grip strength (MHGS). Post-needling pain intensity in the EG showed statistically significant reductions (MD = 0.400, SEM = 0.271, W = 137.00, p = 0.047) following the addition of MT to the DDN protocol. Similarly, PPT exhibited significant improvements (MD = 0.148 Kg/cm2, SEM = 0.271, W = 262.00, p < 0.001). However, TPDT and MHGS did not show significant differences between initial and post-treatment measurements. The addition of MFT to DDN for MTrPS in lateral elbow pain reduced Post-needling pain and influenced on sensory perception in lateral elbow pain patients with Myofascial Trigger Points. Despite observed clinical effects not reaching statistical significance, these findings offer valuable insights for future research considerations.

Past research suggests a continuity between perception and memory, as reflected in influences of orienting of spatial attention by cues presented after a visual target offset (post-target cues) on target perception. Conducting two experiments, we tested and confirmed this claim. Our study revealed an elevated reliance on post-target cues for target detection with diminishing target visibility, leading to better performance in validly versus invalidly cued trials, indicative for contrast gain. We demonstrated this post-target cueing impact on target perception without a postcue response prompt, meaning that our results truly reflected a continuity between perception and memory rather than a task-specific impact of having to memorize the target due to a response prompt. We further showed an influence of attention by the post-target cues with cues presented away from a clearly visible target, meaning that visual interactions at the target location provided no better explanation of our results. Our results generalize prior research with liminal targets and confirm the view of a perception-memory continuum, so that visual target processing is not shielded against visuospatial orienting of attention elicited by events following offset of the visual target.

One of the main challenges of the globalization became the increased destabilization and frequent economic crises. In general, managing an economic crisis is a particularly difficult task for any economy (developed or developing, and regardless the size). In the context of globalization, the process faces additional challenges. On the one hand, the world economy witnessed a shift from traditional purely economic instruments to more financial mechanisms of economic development. Indeed, the liberalization of the economy since the 1990s complicated the traditional trends of the world market development, resulting in significant fluctuation of the growth rates between different countries and regions. To respond to this evolution, governments and international organizations changed well-established strategies. For example, financial sector found itself given expanded role in economic development, with, different financial mechanisms used as key variables to evaluate an economic growth. On the other hand, the increased role of financial sector in a globilised world, increased financial relations among individual states and thus, interdependences. This “financial globalization” causes important fluctuations in the system and, as a result, causes instability in socio-economic development. Thus, an economic crisis of any important economy soon becomes a global issue (financial crisis of 2008, economic crisis of 2020).The recent global economic crisis due to the Covid-19 world pandemic, appeared to be unique for several reasons. First, it highlighted the transnational and origin-specific nature of the crisis. Second, it appeared to be the first case when non-economic factors caused a major economic crisis. As a result, this crisis turned out to be particularly difficult to predict and to manage. In this case, the main strategy of the global post-crisis rehabilitation became the restoration of the economy's predictability and ensuring its ability to obey the classical principles. According to the Organic Law on "Economic Freedom" of the European Union (2011), any factor which increases the equilibrium amount of output is reflected in the economic rehabilitation plan. Such exogenous factors are primarily fiscal mechanisms, i.e. - Reduction of taxes and increase of state expenditures. This crisis caused important structural problems with their effects on public expenditures (especially health expenditures, to the public expenditures, economic growth, price stability and budget balance) in both, developed and developing countries. Nearly every state declared an increase in public debt, inflation, and unemployment rates, while an important decrease was shown in growth rates and capital outflows. As the crisis due to the world pandemic was radically different from previous economic crises, it was difficult to manage it efficiently at the initial stage. It was complicated to forecast the scenarios of the unknown crisis with non-standard nature which was more linked to epidemiologic factors than objective economic law. The dynamics of crisis resolution depended on correct forecasting and effective implementation of global, but especially country-based reforms. More importantly, this crisis showed the important role of individual states to manage the global crisis. The traditional function of a government to ensure country’s socio-economic growth and security, increases in an extraordinary environment, such as sharp economic fluctuations and crises. In such contexts, the centralized management functions are sharply activated. The global pandemic processes have updated the economic essence of the state. The large scale of the latest economic crisis due to the world pandemic has determined the need for mutually coordinated development of anti-crisis plans of different countries. In today's dynamic landscape, modern global systems are redefining the standards and priorities of national economic policies. The economic status of countries is changing significantly as a result of their participation in these systems. As a result of these changes, today's global economy is marked by the proliferation of regionalism and the emergence of spatial economic frameworks. Thus, classical economic concepts are evolving, giving rise to a new model known as economic nationalism. This paradigm shift is generating new risks, which are increasing in severity and scope. The overriding objective of economic policy is now to ensure and predict stable development. Reflections are underway to meet the challenges of economic equilibrium and its social and institutional sustainability.In addition to the decentralization of the unified governance system, the global economy is characterized by the activation of centralized governance elements within individual countries. This requires the development of new norms for global cooperation and the careful balancing of national integration and development factors. The question of government's influence on the economy and the delegation of its powers becomes relevant once again. Effective coordination of public administration is based on the principle of decentralized government, which is a key element of a democratic model of society and facilitates the transfer of management tools to the public. The key objectives of this research are focused on the optimal distribution of state functions and the study of hierarchical principles of territorial organization within the country, fiscal mechanisms for the distribution of powers, as well as the particularities of the structuring of the spatial economy and its budgetary provisioning mechanisms.The example of the last two economic crisis showed that contemporary anti-crisis strategies should reflect several considerations. First, it becomes impossible to develop a single unified model of crisis management. Even in the context of important economic and financial globalization, the current decentralization and new spatial economic processes make it necessary to find a balance between the local priorities and global interests. Second, the role of non-economic crisis-causing factors increases compared to economic determinants. That is why international and country-based reforms should aim at not only economic rehabilitation, but also on the social, cultural and environmental restorations. Third, it becomes difficult to correctly predict the consequences of the crisis and thus, the effects of the anti-crisis strategy. Consequently, the success of the post-crisis rehabilitation of the countries' economies depends significantly not only on the effective realization of their own plan, but also, in general, on the specificities of the global economy and on the ability of the world markets to overcome the negative consequences of a crisis. In this context, the development of complex post-crisis platforms and state post-crisis strategies is the priority. The most effective component in the anti-crisis strategy is the monetary instruments of economic management. As for the determinant of successful functioning of economy, the priority should be given to the regulation of exchange rate, interest rate and inflationary processes. A state anti-crisis programs should reflect the crisis prevention strategy, which, on its turn, should differentiate the economic functions of the state and crisis management mechanisms according to the specific trends of given processes. It should aim at gaining stable development of the economy. Additionally, an anti-crisis plan should reflect the role of the society in the development process and its mental changes under crisis conditions. The state should be responsible for establishing and monitoring anti-crisis management mechanisms, financial recovery of the country and formation of correct relations. It is especially important to ensure economic security, to stabilize the development process and standard of living, to support the private sector and small entrepreneurship, to increase economic freedom, to ensure effective distribution of labor and capital, and others. All strategies of the anti-crisis platform should be focused on social results, as it should contribute to a fair distribution of income and to poverty reduction.

Knowledge of post-larval swordfish (Xiphias gladius) ecology in the world’s oceans is incomplete as they are rarely found in ichthyoplankton samplings or commercial catches and individuals are difficult to observe in the marine ecosystem. Analyses of stomach contents of apex predators can provide otherwise unobtainable ecological insights. Two well-preserved bills of post-larval swordfish were identified among the partially digested stomach contents of an adult male dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) caught in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea. The lower jaw to fork lengths of the two predated swordfish were estimated at respectively, 18 and 22 cm, corresponding to 81- and 99-day-old swordfish hatched in the 2022 spawning season. This analysis and recent information on the reproductive dynamics of swordfish in the same area reported in the literature shed light not only on the early stages of swordfish growth but also on dolphinfish ecology in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The two species share the same habitat and are both caught with commercial pelagic surface longlines. Environmental shifts associated with climate change could unpredictably modify the reproduction dynamics, growth, recruitment and distribution of both species. This knowledge is important for the sustainable management of regional fisheries.

The Hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) is an intensification process that combines membrane and absorption technologies, being a technology in expansion, so the dynamics of this process is crucial for an increase in industrial scale-up. In this manuscript a rigorous dynamic model of an HFMC is developed and simulated in Python software for the absorption of post-combustion CO2 using a monoethanolamine (MEA) solution, which was validated using available data in literature in steady state. Dynamic simulations were performed to analyze the model's capability to predict the effect of disturbances on the responses of CO2 capture ratio and loading. Four distinct experiments were conducted by step changes and pulse disturbances at the following variables: gas and liquid volumetric flow rates, CO2 composition in flue gases, and CO2 lean load. The gas phase showed a faster response compared to the liquid. The CO2 capture ratio and rich loading presented opposite responses when disturbing both liquid flows, and for the composition and lean loading variations, the capture ratio presented an inverse response characteristic, while the loading showed a delayed response. As the model proved to be capable of returning to the reference state, it can potentially be used for control studies purposes.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a profound shift to online education, impacting students across various educational levels. This research, drawing from a comprehensive survey of 1,000,000 students, delves into the surge in demand for online education during the pandemic and its potential enduring implications. The study scrutinizes factors steering this transition, the perceived effectiveness of online education, challenges encountered by students, and their anticipated preferences for the future. Results unveil nuanced perspectives among K-12, undergraduate, and postgraduate students, with safety, flexibility, and accessibility emerging as pivotal influencers. The findings offer valuable insights into challenges faced and future preferences, enlightening educational stakeholders about the dynamic needs of students and contributing to the ongoing evolution of the post-pandemic educational landscape.

Background. There are few studies about post myocardial infarction follow-up using telemedicine. We organized a post-discharge telemedicine service with a dedicated team. To do this, it was necessary that all stakeholders involved in the organization and use of the telemedicine service were properly educated and informed. Methods. We designed a theoretical-practical mini-course, to train healthcare personnel and increase skills, with excellent learning outcomes and satisfaction. Thereafter, we enrolled patients affected by acute myocardial infarction with ST elevation (STEMI), MINOCA (myocardial infarction with no obstructive coronary atherosclerosis), Takotsubo syndrome or spontaneous coronary dissection, and high-risk acute myocardial infarction without ST elevation (NSTEMI). At discharge, the cardiology technician performed counselling for the patient; using regional platforms, televisit at 1 and 4 months monitored major adverse cardiac events (MACE), heart failure, arrhythmias, unstable angina and non-cardiovascular events, therapy adherence, target therapy and customer satisfaction. Results. Between November 2021 and February 2023, we enrolled 110 patients: 72% affected by STEMI, 22% by NSTEMI. At the 1-month follow up, 12 patients did not reach pressure target and 23 patients did not reach LDL target. We observed three in hospital readmission, three in hospital visits for further investigation and one death. To date, a four months follow up was performed for 54 patients. No readmissions or deaths occurred. We detect a rate of 96% of customer satisfaction. Conclusion. A health coordination center with a dedicated team makes televisit safe as a follow-up for post myocardial infarction patients. Before, it is fundamental for healthcare professionals the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and updates and the acquisition of manual, technical and practical skills.

With the rapid growth of large language models (LLMs), there is increasing demand for memory and computation for LLMs. Recent efforts on post-training pruning of LLMs aim to reduce the model size and computation, yet the performance is still sub-optimal. In this paper, we present a plug-and-play solution for post-training pruning of LLMs. The proposed solution has two innovative components: 1) **Relative Importance and Activations** (RIA), a new pruning metric that jointly considers the weight and activations efficiently on LLMs; and 2) **Channel Permutation**, a new approach to maximally preserve important weights under N:M sparsity. The proposed two components can be readily combined to further enhance the N:M structuredly pruned LLMs. Our empirical experiments show that RIA alone can already surpass all existing post-training pruning methods on prevalent LLMs, e.g., LLaMA ranging from 7B to 65B. Furthermore, N:M structured pruning with channel permutation can even outperform the original LLaMA2 70B on zero-shot tasks, together with practical speed-up on specific hardware.

COVID-19 generated a scenario for global health with multiple systemic impairments. This retrospective study evaluated the clinical, radiological, and pulmonary functional evolution in 302 post-COVID-19 patients. Regarding post-COVID-19 pulmonary symptoms, dry cough, dyspnea, and chest pain were the most frequent. Of the associated comorbidities, asthma was more frequent (23.5%). Chest Tomography (CT) initially showed a mean pulmonary involvement of 69.7%, and the evaluation in the subsequent months showed an improvement in the evolutionary image, and with less than six months post-pathology, there was a commitment of 37 .7%, from six to twelve months, 20% and after 12 months, 9.9%. And as for most of the sample, 50.3% of the patients presented CT normalization in less than six months after infection, 23% normalized between six and twelve months, and 5.2% normalized the images after twelve months, with one remaining. Percentage of 17.3% who maintained post-COVID-19 pulmonary residual sequelae. Regarding spirometry, in less than six months after the pathology, 59.3% of the patients already showed a regular exam; 12.3% normalized their function within six to twelve months, and 6.3% concluded a normal exam after twelve months of post-pathology evaluation. Only 3.6% of the patients still showed some alteration in this period.

Our aim was to evaluate the immune response of healthcare workers included in the RIPOVAC study, after receiving a booster dose (third dose), in terms of intensity and persistence of induced antibodies. In the second phase of RIPOVAC study, between December 2021 and January 2022, eight months after the second dose, 389 voluntary, immunocompetent, non-pregnant healthcare workers received a booster dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and a serum sample was obtained. Two groups of patients were established: with and without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. In order to quantify anti-S1 IgG (AU/mL) we used CMIA (Abbott). All the health workers were anti-S IgG positive 8 months after receiving the booster dose of the vaccine, with a mean of 17040 AU/mL. In 53 patients without previous infection, antibody levels had increased by a mean of 10762 AU/mL. This figure is 7 times higher than the one produced after the second dose (1506 AU/mL). The booster dose produces a robust elevation of the antibody level, which persists at 8 months with levels up to values significantly higher than those reached after the second dose, that allow to predict a persistence of more than one year. The study demonstrates the efficacy of the booster dose of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

COVID-19, the fear it engendered, and the policy measures to manage its spread have disproportionately impacted the wellbeing of children and adolescents (CAs). We present an intensive critical realist case study of the impact of COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of CAs in Rwanda, seeing it as much a social and political crisis as a medical and public health one. To do this, we carried out interviews with a purposive sample of 25 leaders with a working knowledge of children and young people; they were more likely than the CAs themselves to observe changes across the CA population within their remit and more likely to be looking for general explanations rather than individual experiences. The findings show that CAs' responses to the changes wrought on their lives by Covid-19 were conditioned by their age, gender, social class and if they lived in urban or rural areas. However, Covid19 has not just revealed the structural weakness of the Rwandan health system but of education, social protection, child protection, employment, family, and financial systems. The pathway to (adverse) impacts of COVID-19 on CAs is conditioned by these institutions and their interactions together with structural socioeconomic inequalities both within Rwanda and globally.

Protein translational modifications (PTMs) generate an enormous, but as yet undetermined, expansion of the expressed proteoforms. In this Viewpoint, we firstly differentiate the concepts of proteoform and peptidoform by reviewing and discussing previous literature. We show that the current PTM biological investigation and annotation largely follow a PTM site-specific rather than proteoform-specific approach. We further illustrate a potentially useful matching strategy in which a particular “modified peptidoform” is matched to the corresponding “unmodified peptidoform” as a reference for the quantitative analysis between samples and conditions. We suggest this strategy could provide directly relevant information for learning the PTM site-specific biological functions. Accordingly, we advocate for the wider use of the nomenclature “peptidoform” in the future bottom-up proteomic studies.

Proteins are the primary effectors of function in biology, and thus complete knowledge of their structure and properties is fundamental to deciphering function in basic and translational research. The chemical diversity of proteins is expressed in their many proteoforms, which result from combinations of genetic polymorphisms, RNA splice variants and post-translational modifications. This knowledge is foundational for the biological complexes and networks that control biology, yet remains largely unknown. We propose here an ambitious initiative to define the human proteome; that is to generate a definitive reference set of the proteoforms produced from the genome. Several examples of the power and importance of proteoform-level knowledge in disease-based research are presented, along with a call for improved technologies in a two-pronged strategy to accomplish the Human Proteoform Project.

Leishmania infantum is causative of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), the most severe form of leishmaniasis, lethal if untreated. Few years ago, re-sequencing and de novo assembling of the L. infantum (strain JPCM5) genome was accomplished, and now we aimed to describe and characterize the experimental proteome of this species. In this work, we have performed a proteomic analysis from axenic cultured promastigotes and carried out a detailed comparison with other Leishmania experimental proteomes published to date. We identified 2,352 proteins based on the search of mass spectrometry data against a database built from the six-frame translated genome sequence of L. infantum. We have detected many proteins belonging to organelles such as glycosomes, mitochondria or flagellum, as well as many metabolic enzymes, and a large number of putative RNA binding proteins and molecular chaperones. Moreover, we listed the proteins presenting post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylations, acetylations and methylations, among others. On the other hand, the identification of peptides mapping to genomic regions previously annotated as non-coding has allowed to correct annotations, leading to N-terminal extension of protein sequences, and the uncovering of eight novel protein-coding genes. The alliance of proteomics, genomics and transcriptomics has resulted in a powerful combination for improving the L. infantum reference genome annotation.

The coronavirus pandemic will deeply affect the tourism and travel sector. It is already clear now that its economic impact would be more severe that in the case of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003. Although not as deadly as SARS, coronavirus infection has a longer incubation period and leaves about 85% of the infected without any (or with just mild) symptoms which makes it more difficult to track and to contain. Moreover, it appears to be much more contagious than its predecessor. The goods news is that most people recover from the disease and develop antibodies that can protect them from getting infected again (natural vaccination). Those cured might become the key element for the post-virus recovery strategies of tourism organisations. People with the acquired immunity to the virus would be capable of travelling freely without spreading the disease. Airlines, hotels and gastronomy should aim at this group offering them discounts and special offers. However, the problem is how to effectively ensure that everyone who claims to be cured from COVID-19 is telling the truth. Health tracking bracelets, apps, and other advanced technological solutions should be put in place. Recent best practices from Hong Kong, mainland China, or India might be applied.

In this study an adjusting post-processing approach is implemented for improving intra-hourly forecasts of solar power and ramp events of PV solar power systems at different locations in the United States. This study also serves as an out-of-sample test to evaluate the performance of the adjusting approach with different locations and timescales. Thus, various individual intra-hourly forecasts of solar power are combined and adjusted by applying the adjusting approach. Both point and probabilistic forecasts of solar power are included. After that, solar power ramp event forecasting by the adjusting approach is carried out.

We employ the solution concept of ex post Nash equilibrium to predict the interaction of a finite number of agents competing in a finite number of basic games simultaneously. The competition is called a multi-game. For each agent, a specific weight, considered as private information, is allocated to each basic game representing its investment in that game and the utility of each agent for any strategy profile is the weighted sum, i.e., convex combination, of its utilities in the basic games. Multi-games can model decision making in multi-environments in a variety of circumstances, including decision making in multi-markets and decision making when there are both material and social utilities for agents as, we propose, in the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Trust Game. Given a set of pure Nash equilibria, one for each basic game in a multi-game, we construct a pure Bayesian Nash equilibrium for the multi-game. We then focus on the class of so-called uniform multi-games in which each agent is constrained to play in all games the same strategy from an action set consisting of a best response per game. Uniform multi-games are equivalent to multi-dimensional Bayesian games where the type of each agent is a finite dimensional vector with non-negative components. A notion of pure type-regularity for uniform multi-games is developed and it is shown that a multi-game that is pure type-regular on the boundary of its type space has a pure ex post Nash equilibrium which is computed in constant time with respect to the number of the types and is independent of prior probability distributions. We then develop an algorithm, linear in the number of types of the agents, which tests if a multi-game is pure type-regular on the boundary of its type space in which case it returns a pure ex post Nash equilibrium for the multi-game.

An understanding of the mechanism underlying fruit ripening is critical for fruit quality improvement. Although post-harvest ethylene application is known to enhance the onset of fruit ripening, exact mechanisms remain unclear. To characterize the fruit ripening process and mechanism, we investigated the effects of exposing kiwifruit cultivars ‘Hayward’ and ‘Gamrok’ to exogenous ethylene treatment post-harvest using comprehensive proteomic analyses. Comparative two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that most of the proteins aggregated in ethylene-treated samples compared to the control (non-treated). We observed that among all ethylene treatments, 95 proteins from ‘Hayward’ and 106 from ‘Gamrok’ were differentially expressed. Interestingly, among the elicited protein successfully identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry, 50% from “Hayward’ and 60% from ‘Gamrok’ are associated with fruit ripening. Furthermore, 18% and 10% of proteins, respectively, are associated with defense response, whereas other major proteins are related to protein biosynthesis and photosynthesis/Calvin cycle. Interactions between identified proteins were demonstrated by bioinformatic analysis, providing insights into biological pathways and molecular functions in post-harvest kiwifruit ripening elicited by ethylene application. The present proteomic study in accordance with physiological analysis provides a quantitative evaluation of fruit ripening in response to exogenous ethylene in post-harvest kiwifruit.

If the world’s countries seriously tackle the climate targets agreed in Paris, their citizens are likely to experience substantial changes in production, consumption and employment. We present a long-run post-Keynesian model for studying the potential implications of a major transition on macroeconomic stability and employment. It is a demand-led model in which firms have considerable but not absolute freedom to administer prices, while household consumption exhibits inertia. Firms continually seek input-saving technological improvements that, in the aggregate, tie technological progress to firms' cost structure. Together with firm pricing strategies and wage setting, the productivities of different inputs determine the functional income distribution. Saving and investment, and production and purchase of consumption goods, are undertaken by different economic actors, driven by income and capacity utilization, with the possibility that productive capacity exceeds, or falls short of, effective demand. The model produces business cycles and long waves driven by technological change. We present results for a “downshifting” scenario in which households voluntarily withdraw labor and discuss the implications of downshifting for stability, growth, and employment. We contrast the downshifting scenario with ones in which households reduce consumption without withdrawing from the labor pool.

Traditional Medicine (TM) is a culturally-rooted healthcare practice, and its use, including for treating illnesses among children, has been reported in many countries. Despite the cultural significance of TM in managing children’s illnesses, evidence suggests that child mortality remains high in many settings. This indicates that the sole use of TM within families and communities might act as a barrier to using biomedical services, contributing to avoidable deaths. Globally, Indonesia is in the top 10 countries with the highest child mortality rates. In addition, Belu is a district in East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia that exhibits a high number of child deaths within the last three years. However, the use of TM for the treatment of illnesses among children in Indonesia has received minimal academic attention. This study aimed to understand parental beliefs, knowledge, views, and perceptions of TM and the impact on the use of TM and biomedical services in the treatment of illnesses among their children in Belu district, Indonesia. The participants (n=25) were parents with the real-life experiences of using TM for treating their children’s illnesses. They were recruited using the snowballing sampling technique. Data were collected using in-depth qualitative interviews. A thematic data analysis was performed and guided by a qualitative data analysis framework. The findings were grouped into four main themes: (i) parental beliefs, knowledge, views, and perceptions of TM, (ii) the influence of these factors on parental use of TM and biomedical services for the treatment of children’s illnesses, (iii) social and cultural influences on the use of TM and biomedical services among their children, and (iv) the impact of the sole use of TM or late medical diagnosis on the health condition and the death of children. The findings show that the use of TM is a common practice within families and communities in Belu, however evidence suggests that child mortality remains high in the setting, indicating less effectiveness of the sole use of TM. Thus, there is a need for the development of collaborative models of healthcare programs and service delivery fostering mutual respect and understanding between traditional healers and healthcare professionals, which could significantly contribute to improving parental use of biomedical services for the treatment of their children’s illnesses.

Semisolid casting of Aluminum alloys is growing. For magnesium alloys, Thixomoulding became the dominant process around the world. For aluminium processing, the situation is different as semisolid processing of aluminium is more technically challenging than for magnesium. Today three processes are leading the process implementation, The GISS method, the RheoMetal process and the SEED process. These processes have all strengths and weaknesses and will fit a particular range of applications. The current paper aims at looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the processes to identify product types and niche applications for each process based on current applications and development directions taken for these processes

Acne Vulgaris is a multifactorial skin disorder affecting many adolescents involving a complex array of factors. Previous extensive research has delved into the correlation between acne outbreaks and specific diet consumption, and while there have been a variety of treatment indications for decreasing acne in patients, many do not involve the significant impact a holistic approach can take. This case reports on the relationship between cystic acne and dietary habits, presenting a possible treatment approach for acne vulgaris by eliminating dairy consumption.

This review article explores the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on glaucoma care, focusing on advancements in diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment algorithms. AI technologies have revolutionized the field of ophthalmology by enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosing glaucoma. Furthermore, AI-powered monitoring systems enable continuous and personalized patient care, facilitating early detection of disease progression. Integrating AI algorithms in treatment protocols promises individualized and optimized therapeutic strategies for better management of glaucoma. This comprehensive review elucidates AI applications' current state and future directions in transforming glaucoma care, emphasizing the potential benefits of improving patient outcomes.

In recent decade water pollution by micropollutants is an increasing environmental concern. Since 2019, due to COVID-19 pandemic, increased stormwater pollution by chlorine based disinfectants has been determined. Research aimed to treat of chlorine contaminated stormwater after outdoors spaces disinfection are very limited. Runoff from disinfected areas and residual chlorine present in stormwater are transported to surface water bodies. Residual chlorine reacts with dissolved organic compounds in water and results the formation of environmentally toxic disinfection by-products. Studies present event low residual chlorine concentrations may pose a risk to aquatic flora and fauna. In this study the efficiency of different filter materials, including peat, wood chips, sawdust (column tests) and ceramzites Leca, Pollytag, Polski, Ceski (batch tests), in retaining residual chlorine were tested in laboratory scale batch and flow through experiment. The best efficiency to retain chlorine presented sawdust (96 %) and ceramzite Leca (76 %). The plants abilities to reduce pollution by chlorine was analyzed in raised garden bed. Research results will contribute to future studies aimed to retain various micropollutants in stormwater using remediation technologies.

With the ongoing amendment of the EU legislation on the treatment of urban wastewater, stricter requirements for the removal of pollutants are expected, which calls for the need for innovative wastewater treatment technologies. Biological systems are still the first choice. The survey of typical bioreactors applied in wastewater treatment is presented. Wastewater treatment objective, bio-chemical environment and microbial growth are selected as a main criterion for classification of these bioreactors. Hydraulic and kinetic aspects are considered, advantages and drawbacks of these bioreactors regarding the selection of appropriate type of the reactor as well as regarding operation of reactors are mentioned. The aim of this paper is to provide operators and designers with a brief overview of selected traditional and advanced processes, reactors, and technologies for nutrient removal from municipal wastewater. Another goal is to discuss the possibilities and limitations to comply with more strict effluent standards. From the evaluation of the published papers, it follows that the currently applied traditional methods of nutrients removal have the potential to convey also with the expected stricter limits.

Tick-borne diseases are among the most common vector-borne diseases. These include various infections caused by viruses, bacteria, rickettsiae, spirochetes and protozoa. The aim of our review is to present the relationship between the clinico-epidemiological aspect of some of the emergency tick-borne diseases and their diagnosis, treatment and prevention. We will review three diseases- anaplasmosis, babesiosis and ehrlichiosis. Anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis are caused by small gram-negative obligate intracellular alphaproteobacteria in the order Rickettsiales, family Anaplasmataceae. The prognosis of disease depends on early diagnosis and proper treatment. The symptoms of anaplasmosis largely overlap with those of ehrlichiosis. Babesiosis is a malaria-like disease that is caused by intraerythrocytic protozoa. Like malaria, the disease proceeds with hemolysis and its severity is determined by the parasitemia. Treatment of babesiosis involves the use of antimalarial agents and antibiotics, most commonly in a combination. Understanding the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory characteristics of tick-borne diseases is crucial for their prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the management of patients with immune mediated rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (imRMDs) in various ways. The goal of our systematic review was to determine the influence of the first period of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of imRMDs. Materials and Methods: Systematic literature search of PubMed, Cochrane and Embase databases, including studies with adult patients on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on management of imRMDs. There were no restrictions regarding to study-design except for systematic reviews and case reports that were excluded as well as articles on the disease outcomes in case of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Two reviewers screened the studies for inclusion, and, in case of disagreement, consensus was reached after discussion. Results: A total of 5969 potentially relevant studies were found, and, after title, abstract and full-text screening, 35 studies were included with data from 182’746 patients and 2018 rheumatologists. Non-availability of drugs, e.g., hydroxychloroquine and tocilizuab, was frequent (16–69% of patients). Further, medication non-adherence was reported among patients with different RMDs and between different drugs in 4–46% of patients. Changes to preexisting medication were reported in up to 33% of patients (e.g. reducing dose of steroids or cessation of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs). Physical in-office consultations and laboratory testing decreased and as a consequence newly implemented remote consultations increased greatly with an increase of up to 80%. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the management of imRMDs, especially at the beginning. Influences were wide-ranging, affecting availability of pharmacies, adherence to medication or medication changes, doctor visits and laboratory testing. New systems of care were set up, including virtual clinics and video consultations. These new forms of health care delivery should be spread and implemented worldwide to routine clinical practice to be ready for future pandemics.

Galectins play a role in lung cancer oncogenic pathways including apoptosis, t-cell immune responses, and tumor metastasis. Biomarkers that diagnose, prognose, and assist with treatment remain important, and galectins represent biomarkers that have the potential to impact lung cancer management through these pathways. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) we examined galectin-1, -3, and -9 levels from lung cancer patient serum. Through comprehensive chart review: patient demographics, staging information, tumor biology, treatment data, and outcomes including overall survival (OS) and metastasis were retrospectively collected. Galectin levels were then compared to these numerous factors. Galectin-1, -3, and -9 levels did not correlate with cancer stage, however galectin-3 levels were lower in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and squamous cell lung cancer than in adenocarcinoma. There was no correlation between galectin levels and previous treatment or future metastasis. Patients that had an abnormal galectin-1 level had decreased OS. Furthermore, patients with curative surgically resectable NSCLC with abnormal galectin-1 levels had decreased OS, but there was no difference in those with SCLC or that were non-resectable treated palliatively. These findings provide insight into galectin levels in various lung cancer histology and highlight the potential for galectin-1 to assist in prognosis of surgically resectable NSCLC.

Bowel intussusception is a rare cause of acute or subacute abdomen in adults. The frequency, etiology, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of the disease differ significantly in comparison to the pediatric population. In adult patients, the cause of the intussusception in the majority of the cases is an underlying intestinal tumor (benign or malign), leading in a complete or incomplete mechanical ileus with corresponding symptoms. Diagnosis via imaging modalities may be challenging and is sometimes set only after exploratory laparotomy. Surgical treatment in adult patients is most of the times mandatory, because it aims not only to reverse the intussusception but also to treat the underlying cause of the disease. We present 4 cases of adult intussusception that were treated surgically and discuss the crucial points in the management of this disease through a review of the literature.

(1) Background: It is crucial to provide safe and knowledgeable healthcare practices because no research has been done on the knowledge and usage patterns of NSAIDs among the Hail population. (2) Method: Structured questionnaires were utilized to gather data from 399 individuals in Hail, Saudi Arabia for the cross-sectional analysis. The study assessed participants' knowledge regarding NSAIDs, patterns of use, reasons for use, and awareness of potential side effects. (3) Results: In the study, the gender distribution indicated that 170 participants (42.61%) were male, while 229 (57.39%) were female. Gender, occupation, and marital status showed non-significant associations (p>0.01), except for menstrual cycle and joint pain, where marital status displayed significant associations. Age had significant associations with muscle pain, menstrual cycle, and joint pain (p<0.01). Education and monthly income exhibited non-significant associations for all the reasons. The regression analysis demonstrated that gender played a significant role, with females having higher odds of knowledge (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.10-2.88) than males. Age also had a notable impact, with individuals aged 50-59 (AOR = 0.21, 95% CI 0.07-0.66) exhibiting lower odds of knowledge. Education holding a Ph.D (AOR = 3.50, 95% CI 0.54-22.51) and business as an occupation (AOR = 6.12, 95% CI 1.10-35.10) had significantly higher odds of knowledge while housewives (AOR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.25-2.27) had lower odds. Meanwhile, >50% of the participants had knowledge of adverse events related to the use of NSAIDs while 25% had no knowledge. Moreover, 59 (25.766%) participants reported discomfort with the use of NSAIDs. In addition, 50% and >75% of participants’ considered NSAIDs can cause peptic ulcers and damage kidneys, respectively (4) Conclusions: This study shed light on the knowledge and patterns of NSAIDs use in the population of Hail, Saudi Arabia. While NSAIDs are commonly utilized for pain management, there exists a need for improved public awareness regarding potential risks and safe usage practices. Healthcare providers and policymakers should consider these insights to develop targeted educational initiatives and healthcare interventions to promote safe and informed NSAID utilization in the region.

Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus) is associated with mastitis in dairy cows, this study investigates the therapeutic effect of maggot antimicrobial peptides on S. aureus induced mastitis in mice. The maggot AMP was isolated and purified, tested for antimicrobial activity, and used to treat a pathological model of rat mastitis. The concentration of 1.5mg/（Kg. BW）AMP was selected as intramammary treatment in S. aureus-induced mastitis in mice. The mice were divided into four groups of 30 mice each: group I (healthy control), group II (disease control), group III (AMP), and group IV (ciprofloxacin). To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of maggot AMP in mastitis induced by S. aureus based on clinical presentation, mammary gland structure, bacterial load, histopathology, and cure. During the 7-day treatment period, all the mice in Group II died in the afternoon of the fifth day, and the clinical signs of the mice in Group III began to improve on the third day, as evidenced by the gradual recovery of the mice's mental status, dietary intake, and water intake. During the treatment period, the bacterial load count of Group III was significantly lower than that of Group II but higher than that of Group IV, while the bacterial load count of Group III gradually decreased and approached that of Group IV from the fifth to the seventh day. The levels of TNF-α in groups III and IV were significantly lower than those in group II, suggesting that maggot AMP has a certain inhibitory effect on TNF-α. Treatment with AMP@ 1.5 mg/(Kg. BW) showed restoration of clinical signs, reduced bacterial load, and lower TNF-α levels in mice, leading to significant improvement in histopathological changes as compared to disease controls. The final cure rate was 40% for mice in Group III compared to 70% for mice in Group IV, compared to all mice in Group II that died. From this study, it can be concluded that maggot AMP can be used as a potential alternative treatment option to antibiotics for the treatment of bovine mastitis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs more frequently in women than in men, and the studies that have addressed clinical and prognostic differences between sexes are scarce and have contradictory results and methodological problems. The present work aims to evaluate sex and gender-related differences in the clinical expression and prognosis of RA as well as the impact on psychosocial variables, coping behavior, and healthcare use and access. By identifying between-sex differences and gender-related outcomes in RA, it may be possible to design tailored therapeutic strategies that consider the differences and unmet needs. Being sex, together with age, the most relevant biomarker and health determinant, a so-called personalized medicine approach to RA must include clear guidance on what to do in case of differences.

Telemonitoring and telerehabilitation have shown promise in delivering individualized healthcare remotely. We introduce STASISM, a Sensor-Based Telerehabilitation and Telemonitoring System, in this work. This platform has been created to facilitate individualized telerehabilitation and telemonitoring for those who need rehabilitation or ongoing monitoring. To gather and analyze pertinent and validated physiological, kinematic, and environmental data, the system combines a variety of sensors and data analytic methodologies. The platform facilitates customized rehabilitation activities based on individual needs, allows for remote monitoring of patients' progress, and offers real-time feedback. To protect the security of patient data and to safeguard patient privacy, STASISM also provides secure data transmission and storage. The platform has the potential to significantly improve the accessibility and efficacy of telerehabilitation and telemonitoring programs, enhancing patients' quality of life and allowing healthcare professionals to provide individualized care outside of traditional clinical settings/

(1) Background: Spontaneous isolated intramural hematoma of the superior mesenteric artery (SIHSMA) is a rare entity often considered as a subset of spontaneous isolated dissection of the superior mesenteric artery (SIDSMA). It is characterized by a completely thrombosed false lumen with or without ulcer-like projection with computed tomography (CT) imaging. The recent literature describes few reports with a relatively short-term follow-up. The natural course, prognosis, and treatment options for SIHSMA still lack consensus. We present two cases of acute abdominal pain in a young man due to IMH of the superior mesenteric artery with an extensive literature review. (2) Case report: A 46-year-old male patient was submitted to an urgent CTA for acute abdominal pain, showing the presence of an isolated dissection of the superior mesenteric artery, determining significant stenosis of the vessel with collateral vessel patency. The patient referred to a recent COVID-19 infection, whose course was paucisymptomatic. He was treated conservatively with antiplatelet therapy and corticosteroid treatments, and, after a few days, the symptomatology completely regressed; also, 2-month- control CTA showed the complete IMH regression and the absence of any signs of residual stenosis. The second patient is a 61-year-old male patient who was submitted to an urgent CTA for acute abdominal pain, showing the presence of an isolated dissection of the superior mesenteric artery, not determining significant vessel stenosis. He was treated conservatively with antiplatelet therapy and corticosteroid treatment, and after a few days, the symptomatology completely regressed, and the radiological control showed a complete dissection regression. (3) Conclusion: SISHSMA is a rare entity of vascular pathology, and conservative management represents the best medical strategy. We propose corticosteroid treatment as one of the most appropriate tools in the conservative treatment of SISHSMA.

(1) Background: Melanoma is the most aggressive tumor located at the skin level and the man-agement of this pathology requires a correct staging as well as a modern oncological treatment, adapted to each patient. The main objective of the study is to determine the variability of lymphatic drainage in the case of melanomas located on the trunk; (2) Methods: This retrospective study in-cluded 62 cases of melanoma located on the trunk operated between July 2019 and March 2023 in which SLNB was performed and a total of 84 lymph node were excised; (3) Results: Patients had an average age of 54.5 years old, while melanomas had a mean Breslow index of 2.3 mm. The distri-bution of trunk melanomas was: upper trunk 54 cases, lower trunk 30 cases (64.3 % vs. 35.7%). The type of anesthesia chosen was general anesthesia in 53 cases, respectively spinal anesthesia in 9 cases (85.5% vs. 14.5%, p<0.001). The number of sentinel lymph nodes was 54 for melanomas lo-cated on the upper trunk, 8 cervical and 46 axillary, respectively 30 sentinel lymph nodes in cases of melanomas of the lower trunk, 16 at the axillary level and 14 at the inguinal level; (4) Conclusions: Lymph node involvement in melanoma represents an important prognostic factor and the different lymphatic drainage pathways in relation to the location of the primary tumor represents an im-portant objective in the management of this pathology.

Titanium (Ti) and Ti-based alloys are commonly used in dental implants, and surface modifications of dental implants are important for achieving osseointegration (i.e., direct connection between the implant surface and bone). This study investigated the effect of an eco-friendly etching solution—a hydrogen peroxide–sodium bicarbonate mixture—on the surface properties and contact angles of and osteoblast adhesion and proliferation on Ti surfaces. Disk-shaped Ti specimens were prepared using different surface treatments (machining, sandblasting, and sandblasting/acid-etching), and they were immersed in the etching solution and then ultrasonically cleaned. Surface characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy, digital microscopy, contact angle analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. MG-63 osteoblasts were cultured on the specimens, and their adhesion to the specimen surface and their proliferation were examined using staining and the MTT assay, respectively. Additional etching with the etching solution caused the formation of nano/micro hierarchical structures, increased the surface roughness, and enhanced the hydrophilicity. Osteoblast adhesion and proliferation were found to improve on the modified surfaces. The eco-friendly etching method has the potential to enhance the biological properties of Ti implant surfaces and to thereby improve the dental implant performance.

In the field of orthodontics, providing patients with accurate treatment time estimates is of utmost importance. As orthodontic practices continue to evolve and embrace new advancements, incorporating machine learning (ML) methods becomes increasingly valuable in improving orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. This study aimed to develop a novel ML model capable of predicting the orthodontic treatment duration based on essential pre-treatment variables. Patients who completed comprehensive orthodontic treatment at the Indiana University School of Dentistry were included in this retrospective study. Fifty-seven pre-treatment variables were collected and used to train and test 9 different ML models. The performance of each model was assessed using descriptive statistics, intraclass correlation coefficients, and one-way analysis of variance tests. Random Forest, Lasso, and Elastic Net were found to be the most accurate, with a mean absolute error of 7.27 months in predicting treatment duration. Extraction decision, COVID, intermaxillary relationship, lower incisor position, and additional appliances were identified as important predictors of treatment duration. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of ML in predicting orthodontic treatment duration using pre-treatment variables.

: Microbial fuel cell (MFCs) devices utilise the metabolic processes of bacteria to generate electricity from various organic substrates. Due to the enormous amount of energy that organic waste produces, scientists are highly interested in advanced MFCs. MFCs serve as a multidisciplinary research platform at the engineering and natural sciences intersection. MFCs have various uses besides being used as energy sources, such as sensing capabilities. Despite showing considerable promise, only a few marine sediment MFCs have been deployed in real-world applications to supply current for low-power devices. It is now required to maintain track of the work being done by research groups worldwide and regularly compile significant discoveries due to the rising quantity of research publications. Review papers are a traditional beginning point for a literature review for new scholars. This review is a fast reckoner that directs readers to pertinent reviews and research publications detailing significant advances in microbial fuel cell research during the previous two decades. An overview of key advances in MFC research over the past two decades is provided as a quick reference in this review article. In addition, the report identifies research gaps that, if filled, could bring this technology closer to real-world use.

Metal fabrications experience complex physical metallurgical processes during additive manufacturing, leading to residual stress and coarse microstructure with directional growth. It significantly affects the comprehensive performance of the fabrications, which limits the application of additive manufacturing. Ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT), as a strengthening means to assist additive manufacturing, can effectively improve the stress state and refine the microstructure and the comprehensive performance. This paper introduces the effect of UIT on AM metal fabrications on microstructure morphology, stress distribution, surface roughness, internal defects, and comprehensive performance to gain a deeper understanding of the role of UIT on additively manufactured metal fabrications, which is based on the working principle and effect of process parameters. In addition, the strengthening mechanism of UIT in additive manufacturing is described from the perspective of surface plastic deformation and substructure formation, providing support for the shape and property control of metal fabrications in the process of additive manufacturing assisted by UIT. Finally, the issues that need to be studied in depth on UIT in additive manufacturing are summarized, and an outlook on future research directions is taken.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to an invading pathogen such as multidrug-resistant bacteria. Despite recent advancements, sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, resulting in a significant global impact and burden. This condition affects all age groups, with clinical outcomes depending mainly on timely diagnosis and appropriate early therapeutic intervention. Because of the unique features of nanosized systems, there is a growing interest in developing and designing novel solutions. Nanoscale-engineered materials allow a targeted and controlled release of bioactive agents, resulting in improved efficacy with minimal side effects. Additionally, nanoparticle-based sensors provide a quicker and more reliable alternative to conventional diagnostic methods for identifying infection and organ dysfunction. Despite recent advancements, fundamental nanotechnology principles are often presented in technical formats that presuppose advanced chemistry, physics, and engineering knowledge. Consequently, clinicians may not grasp the underlying science, hindering interdisciplinary collaborations and successful translation from bench to bedside. In this review, we abridge some of the most recent and most promising nanotechnology-based solutions for sepsis diagnosis and management using an intelligible format to stimulate a seamless collaboration between engineers, scientists, and clinicians.

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), caused by the feline coronavirus (FCoV), is a devastating dis-ease in cats. Based on its antigenicity, FCoV can be divided into two serotypes: FCoV-I and FCoV-II. Furthermore, according to its pathogenicity, FCoV can be divided into feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) and feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). There are numerous factors that affect the pathogenesis of FIP, among which host immunity and viral genetics can play an es-sential role in the development of FIP. Owing to the lack of specific symptoms, existing individual diagnostic methods can only support the suspicion of FIP, and multiple diagnostic methods and test data need to be combined to make a diagnosis. Although there are still no effective FIPV vaccines or commercial drugs available in the market, various studies have shown that some compounds can be used for treatment. Therefore, FIP is no longer incurable in cats

Neonicotinoids (NEOs) have become the most widely used insecticides in the world since the mid-1990s. According to Chinese dietary habits, rice and water are usually heated before being consumed, but the information about the alteration through the heat treatment process is very limited. In this study, the parents of NEOs (p-NEOs) accounted for >99% of the total NEOs mass (∑NEOs) in both uncooked (median: 66.8 ng/g) and cooked (median: 41.4 ng/g) rice samples from Guangdong Province, China, while the metabolites of NEOs (m-NEOs) involved in this study accounted for less than 1%. We aimed to reveal the concentration changes of NEOs through heat treatment process, thus, several groups of rice and water samples from Guangdong were cooked and boiled, respectively. Significant (p < 0.05) reductions in acetamiprid, imidacloprid (IMI), thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam (THM) have been observed after the heat treatment of the rice samples. In water samples, the concentrations of THM and dinotefuran decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after the heat treatment. These results indicate the degradation of p-NEOs and m-NEOs during the heat treatment process. However, the concentrations of IMI increased significantly in tap water samples (p < 0.05) after heat treatment process, which might be caused by the potential IMI precursors in those industrial pesticide products. The concentrations of NEOs in rice and water can be shifted by the heat treatment process, so this process should be considered in relevant human exposure studies.

The cavovarus deformity is characterized by a pathologic longitudinal arch elevation caused by a severe hindfoot varus and forefoot equinus deformity. This disorder includes multiple anomalies and therapies and affects 25% of the population. Cavus feet usually indicate neurologic illness, which affects sensory and motor nerves. Clinical and radiological evaluations are needed to establish each patient's optimum therapy. Failure to identify a neurologic illness may lead to inappropriate surgical treatment, recurrence, and reconstructive failure. In progressive anomalies, surgical procedures must be performed quickly in a phased protocol to prevent the malalignment from worsening. Soft tissue surgeries, osteotomies, and arthrodesis are surgical options for patients. To aid and lead practitioners in selecting the most appropriate therapy for their patients daily, we have included the most common therapeutic options currently available in this article.

White adipose tissue (WAT) represents an endocrinologically and immunologically active tissue that’s primary role is energy storage and homeostasis. Breast WAT is involved in the secretion of hormones and proinflammatory molecules that are associated with breast cancer development and progression. The role of adiposity and systemic inflammation in immune responses and resistance to anti-cancer treatment in breast cancer (BC) patients is still not clear. This review aims to evaluate the emerging evidence on the crosstalk between adiposity and the immune-tumour microenvironment in BC, its progression and treatment resistance. Adiposity, and by extension subclinical inflammation, are associated with metabolic dysfunction and changes in the immune-tumour microenvironment in BC. In oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast tumours, it is proposed that these changes are mediated via a paracrine interaction between macrophages and preadipocytes leading to elevated aromatase expression and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and adipokines in the breast tissue in patients who are obese or overweight. In HER2+ breast tumours, WAT inflammation has been shown to be associated with resistance to trastuzumab mediated via MAPK or PI3K pathways. Furthermore, adipose tissue in patients with obesity is associated with upregulation of immune checkpoints on T-cells that is partially mediated via immunomodulatory effects of leptin and has been paradoxically associated with improved responses to immunotherapy in several cancers. In conclusion, evidence suggests that body composition and metabolic status are associated with patient outcomes. To optimise patient stratification and personalisation of treatment, prospective studies are required to evaluate the role of body composition and metabolic parameters in metabolic immune reprogramming with and without immunotherapy in patients with BC.

Coagulation is the most sensitive step in drinking water treatment. Underdosing may not yield the required water quality, whereas overdosing may result in higher costs and excess sludge. Traditionally, the coagulant dosage is set based on bath experiments performed manually. Therefore, this test does not allow real-time dosing control, and its accuracy is subject to operator experience. Alternatively, solutions based on machine-learning (ML) have been evaluated as a computer-aided alternative. Despite these advances, there is open debate on the most suitable ML method applied to the coagulation process, capable of the most highly accurate prediction. This study addresses this gap, where a comparative analysis between ML methods was performed. As a research hypothesis, a novel data-driven fuzzy inference system (FIS) should provide the best performance due to its ability to deal with uncertainties inherent to complex processes. Although ML methods have been widely investigated, only a few studies report hybrid neuro-fuzzy systems applied to coagulation. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study thus far to address the accuracy of this novel data-driven FIS for such application. The novel FIS provided the smallest error (0.86), indicating a promising alternative tool for real-time and highly accurate coagulant dosing in drinking water treatment.

The COVID-19 pandemic initiated a race to determine the best measures to control the disease and to save as many people as possible. Efforts to implement social distancing, the use of masks, and massive vaccination programs turned out to be essential in reducing the devastating effects of the pandemic. Nevertheless, the high mutation rates of SARS-CoV-2 challenge the vaccination strategy and maintain the threat of new outbreaks due to the risk of infection surges and even lethal variations able to resist the effects of vaccines and upset the balance. Most of the new therapies tested against SARS-CoV-2 came from already available formulations developed to treat other diseases, so they were not specifically developed for SARS-CoV-2. In parallel, the knowledge produced regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in this disease was vast due to massive efforts worldwide. Taking advantage of such a vast molecular understanding of virus genomes and disease mechanisms, a targeted molecular therapy based on siRNA specifically developed to reach exclusive SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences was tested in a non-transformed human cell model. Since coronavirus can escape from siRNA by producing siRNA inhibitors, a complex strategy to simultaneously strike both the viral infectious mechanism and the capability of evading siRNA therapy was developed. The combined administration of the chosen produced siRNA proved to be highly effective in successfully reducing viral load and keeping virus replication under control, even after many days of treatment, unlike the combinations of siRNAs lacking this anti-anti-siRNA capability. Additionally, the developed therapy did not harm the normal cells, which was demonstrated because, instead of testing the siRNA in nonhuman cells or in transformed human cells, a non-transformed human thyroid cell was specifically chosen for the experiment. The proposed siRNA combination deeply reduced the viral load throughout the experiment and allowed cellular recovery, thus representing a potential innovation, to be considered as an additional weapon for therapy of COVID-19 and even other infectious diseases.

As the scarcity of potable water increases, recycling of treated wastewater is increasing. Small-scale, decentralized treatment can be implemented to serve local populations by keeping water within their boundaries and within reach for reuse, particularly in less dense, non-urban communities. Availability of cellular networks and high-speed internet connectivity, along with significant reduction in cost, allows ongoing monitoring of decentralized treatment systems at a central location. In this paper a decentralized treatment system using micro nanobubble aeration, moving media and membranes is able to produce reusable water with low energy consumption, thereby allowing the use of solar energy in places with unreliable electrical supply. The treatment system, which uses no external chemicals, is able to operate unattended and deliver clear, disinfected water with non-detect suspended solids, BOD5 less than 10 mg/L and nutrients below 5 mg/L.

The spray drying process causes the buildup of an unspecified and unique pattern of wall deposits on the wall. The powder recovery of fruit juice by spray dryer is associated with stickiness problems because of the nature of food which contains low molecular weight sugars and organic acids, which have a low glass transition temperature (T_g). The surface properties of oxygen plasma treated-PTFE substrate were evaluated by using the different parameters of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) prior to spray drying analysis. In this study, the fabrication method of nearly perfect superhydrophobic surfaces through plasma treatment with oxygen gas was generated and utilized. The plasma-treated PTFE were deposited from a fixed flow rate of oxygen gas with 30 cm³/min by varying the deposition time from 1 to 15 minutes to induce the hydrophobic surface of the PTFE substrate. The characterization techniques used to determine the morphology and chemical bonding of the substrate are field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The hydrophobicity of the glass samples was determined by the water droplet contact angle. Sample prepared at radio frequency (RF) power of 90W for 15 minutes duration of treatment time showed porous and spongy like microstructure which correlates with the best performance of a good contact angle which creates the superhydrophobicity regime (171^o). Surface morphology analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed changes in its roughness in the surface-treated glass substrate. The success of this method produced a huge potential for solving most of the food processing issues which relate to biofouling (e.g., powder stickiness) that would otherwise struggle to improve high productivity and recovery.

As the problem of traction injuries to brachial plexus is a common one and of high socio-economic significance, the analysis of the surgical outcomes in patients with this pathology is significant for neurosurgery, neurology, traumatology-orthopedics, and rehabilitation. The aim of the research is to compare the short-term outcomes of using various surgical methods for managing patients with closed traction injuries of brachial plexus. Material and methods. The research involved 61 patients with closed traction injury of brachial plexus divided into two groups homogeneous in sex, age and severity of their neurological deficit: Group I – 33 patients who underwent microsurgical neurolysis, Group II – 28 patients who underwent microsurgical neurolysis combined with one-level electrostimulation. The dynamic assessment of clinical and functional status of upper limbs was performed using scale methods and electrophysiological monitoring. Results. The research revealed a more evident recovery of the upper limb function in Group II patients suggesting the method of microsurgical neurolysis combined with electrostimulation to be preferable in case of closed traction injuries to brachial plexus. Conclusion. The combination of microsurgical neurolysis with one-level electrostimulation improves the short-term outcomes of surgical treatment in patients with closed traction injuries of brachial plexus due to a sooner decrease in pain in postoperative period, and positive dynamics of clinical and electrophysiological parameters.

Background The spread of COVID-19 continues, the mutation of SARS-COV-2 is still difficult to control, and the need for antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19 remains urgent. The use of arbidol in the treatment of COVID-19 is limited and controversial. Methods To clarify the efficacy of arbidol on COVID-19, we collected 25 cases and 178 related studies. We analyzed the treatment information of arbidol based on the obtained cases, expanded the scope of the study, and collected current studies on the treatment of COVID-19 in various databases for in-depth analysis. Results History analysis showed that arbidol was effective (76% cure rate) compared with other drugs. However, compared with other antiviral drugs or standard therapy, the arbidol group had no significant advantage in reducing the time to negative virus transformation, length of hospital stays, or improvement in CT (MD=0.22, 95%CI -0.29-0.73; MD = 0.61, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.67; RR=1.15, 95%CI 0.88-1.50); Analysis of adverse events showed no significant difference between the arbidol group and the other groups (RR=0.82, 95%CI 0.25-2.71). Conclusion Our study showed that arbidol had no significant effect on COVID-19, but showed a slight advantage in CT improvement and adverse events. Our study objectively evaluated the efficacy of arbidol in the treatment of COVID-19 and provided some guidance for arbidol in the treatment of COVID-19.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV), the most common cause of vaginal discharge, is characterized by a shift in the vaginal microbiota from lactobacillus dominance to a diverse array of facultative and strict anaerobic bacteria which form a multi-species biofilm on vaginal epithelial cells. The rate of recurrence after therapy is high, often >60%. While the BV biofilm itself likely contributes to recurrent and/or refractory disease after treatment by reducing antimicrobial penetration, antimicrobial resistance in BV-associated bacteria including those, both within the biofilm and the vaginal canal, may be the result of independent, unrelated bacterial properties which are discussed in this paper. Our current recommendations for the treatment of refractory and recurrent BV are also provided.

This paper deals with investigation of changes in geopolymer wettability with increasing mass fraction of high-carbon fly ash and surface treatment by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). In this study, multiple samples of geopolymers were prepared, including those with 5% and 10% of high-carbon fly ash from coal-fired power station. Wettability of samples was then measured before and after plasma treatment, both on surface and cut surface. While addition of fly ash only had low effect on the wettability, as in most cases, it only lowered the initial contact angle without speeding up the speed of soaking for compact geopolymer and actually slowed the soaking for foamed geopolymer, plasma treatment had significant impact and made the geopolymer hydrophobic.

The granulomatous cheilitis (GC) presents a heterogeneous group of disorders characterised by a granulomatous inflammation/reaction of the lips to various stimuli. Numerous etiologies have been proposed, including genetic, immunologic, allergic and infectious. Among the secondary causes of GC, a distant infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis should be considered. The GC could be the clinical presentation of a tuberculide resulting from a hypersensitivity reaction to an underlying focus of active or latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). This communication describes a woman diagnosed with GC related to LTBI, who responded well to antituberculosis treatment.

Children with leukaemia experience difficulties adapting to medical procedures and to the chemotherapy’s adverse effects. Study’s objectives were to identify which coping strategies could be associated with the treatments’ factors and with the dosage of sedation analgesic drugs during bone marrow aspirates. 125 patients (M = 6.79 years; SD = 3.40), majority with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (90.4%) and their parents received, one month after diagnosis, the PPCI. Data on the severe treatment effects and on the dosage of drugs in sedation-analgesia were also collected. An ANCOVA model (R2=0.25) showed that, weighing the age factor (F=3.47; df=3; p=0.02), the number of episodes of fever (F=4.78; df=1; p=0.03), nausea (F=4.71; df=1; p=0.03) and mucositis (F=5.81; df=1; p=0.02) influenced the use of distraction. Cognitive self-instructions (R2=0.22) were influenced by the number of hospitalizations (F=5.14; df=1; p=0.03) and mucositis (F=8.48; df=3; p=0.004) and by child’s age (F=3.76; df=3; p=0.01). Children who sought parental support more frequently (F=9.7; df=2; p=0.0001) and who tended not to succumb to a catastrophic attitude (F=13.33; df=2; p=0.001) during the induction treatment phase required lower drug dosages, especially propofol. The clinical application of these results could be to encourage the use of cognitive self-instructions and search for social support.

Purpose: To determine whether pre-surgical treatment using long-acting somatostatin analogues (SSAs) may improve surgical outcomes in acromegaly. Methods: Retrospective study of 48 patients with acromegaly operated by endoscopic transsphenoidal approach and for first time. Surgical remission was evaluated based on the 2010 criteria. Results: Most patients, 83.3% (n=40), harboured macroadenomas and 31.3% (n=15) invasive pitu-itary adenomas. Fourteen patients were treated with lanreotide LAR and 6 with octreotide LAR, median monthly doses of 97.5 [range 60-120] and 20 [range 20-30] mg, respectively, for at least 3 months preoperatively. Presurgical variables were comparable between pre-treated and un-treatred patients (P>0.05). Surgical remission was more frequent in those pre-treated with monthly doses ≥90 mg of lanre-otide or ≥30 mg of octreotide than in untreated or pre-treated with lower doses (OR=4.64, P=0.025). However, no differences were found between pre-treated and untreated patients when lower doses were included or between those treated for longer than 6 months compared to those untreated or pre-treated for shorter than 6 months. Similarly, no differences were found either in terms of surgical or endocrine complications (OR=0.65, P=0.570)), independently of the doses and the duration of SSA treatment (P>0.05). Conclusions: The dose of SSAs is a key factor during pre-surgical treatment, since the beneficial effects in surgical remission were observed with monthly doses equal or higher than 90 mg of lanreotide and 30 mg of octreotide, but not with lower doses.

Abstract: As a risk factor, obesity is a threat to human well-being and related metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. adipogenesis is defined as the proliferation and maturation of adipocyte predecessor cells to adipocyte. As the adipogenesis process decides adipocyte production, it may be considered a therapeutic target for obesity and obesity-related disorders. White adipose tissue abnormal expansion increases the size and number of adipocytes. For that reason, this review aims to spot the molecular mechanisms implicated in adipogenesis that lead to application in the therapeutic targets. Keywords: adipogenesis, signaling pathways, anti-obesity treatment, obesity

The mechanical engineering requires heat treatment after rough machining to reach the mechanical strength, but the heat treatment can induce workpiece deformation, so that the workpiece cannot be reworked. In this study, the plasma was integrated with a lathe, and the on line heat treatment was performed to achieve the mechanical strength and hardness, so as to reduce the machining process and handling. However, for on line heat treatment, it is important to study the machine and plasma parameters of the lathe and plasma, and the research method is used eventually to optimize the process, reduce the machining cost and machining error. The variable factors in surface on line real-time heat treatment are revolution, feed rate and current, the objective function is the hardness of mechanical properties. In the screening experiment, the interaction of factors was discussed using full factorial experiment. The Central Composite Design was combined with the Lack-of-Fit test for optimization experiment, the R2 coefficient was used to determine whether the regression model is appropriate. The optimum parameters were derived from the contour diagram and response surface diagram. The experimental results show that the significant factors include revolution, feed rate and current, the optimum parameters include revolution 168rpm, feed rate 0.068mm/rev and current 86A. The experimental results of optimum parameters show that the surface hardness is increased from 306HLD to 806HLD, the surface hardening effect is enhanced by 163%, so the on line real-time heat treatment equipment has a best hardening effect.

The article discusses the results of investigations performed during a thermo-mechanical treatment of forgings made of chromium-molybdenum 42CrMo4 grade steel. The treatment was realized during a regular series production. The forging process was combined with a heat treatment carried out directly after forging on a specially adapted station. Such a production technology will make it possible to eliminate the step of repeated heating of the forgings. On the example of an element of a steering gear, it was demonstrated how it is possible to perform an isothermal annealing process starting from the temperature at which the trimming of the forgings ends. During the cooling of the forgings, it is enough to maintain the temperature at the proper level in order for the exothermal phase transformation of austenite into pearlite to take place. With an appropriate design of the processing line, the heat released during the transformation could be used to maintain the applied temperature, thus limiting the consumption of energy needed to power the devices. The test results show that, with the properly selected temperature of isothermal annealing, it is possible to obtain an equilibrial ferritic-pearlitic structure in the required hardness scope. Introducing such a solution into the industrial practice would allow significant savings of the energy used for the heat treatment.

Control of Theileria equi, the primary cause of equine theileriosis, is largely reliant on acaracide use and chemosterilization with imidocarb dipropionate (ID). However, it is currently unknown if ID is effective against Theileria haneyi, the recently identified second causative agent of equine theileriosis, or if the drug maintains effectiveness against T. equi in the presence of T. haneyi co-infection. The purpose of this study was address these questions using ID treatment of the following three groups of horses: 1. Five T. haneyi infected horses; 2. Three T. haneyi-T. equi infected horses; and 3. Three T. equi-T. haneyi infected horses. Clearance was first evaluated using nPCR for each Theileria sp. on peripheral blood samples. ID failed to clear T. haneyi in all three groups of horses, and failed to clear T. equi in 2/3 horses in group two. For definitive confirmation of infection status, horses in groups two and three underwent splenectomy post-treatment. The T. equi-nPCR-positive horses in group two developed severe clinical signs and were euthanized. Remaining horses exhibited moderate signs consistent with T. haneyi. Our results demonstrate that ID therapy lacks efficacy against T. haneyi, and T. haneyi-T. equi co-infection may interfere with ID clearance of T. equi.

Control of Theileria equi, the primary cause of equine theileriosis, is largely reliant on acaracide use and chemosterilization with imidocarb dipropionate (ID). However, it is currently unknown if ID is effective against Theileria haneyi, the recently identified second causative agent of equine theileriosis, or if the drug maintains effectiveness against T. equi in the presence of T. haneyi co-infection. The purpose of this study was address these questions using ID treatment of the following three groups of horses: 1. Five T. haneyi infected horses; 2. Three T. haneyi-T. equi infected horses; and 3. Three T. equi-T. haneyi infected horses. Clearance was first evaluated using nPCR for each Theileria sp. on peripheral blood samples. ID failed to clear T. haneyi in all three groups of horses, and failed to clear T. equi in 2/3 horses in group two. For definitive confirmation of infection status, horses in groups two and three underwent splenectomy post-treatment. The T. equi-nPCR-positive horses in group two developed severe clinical signs and were euthanized. Remaining horses exhibited moderate signs consistent with T. haneyi. Our results demonstrate that ID therapy lacks efficacy against T. haneyi, and T. haneyi-T. equi co-infection may interfere with ID clearance of T. equi.

Mycobacterium abscessus is a non-tuberculous mycobacteria notoriously known for causing severe, chronic infections. Treatment of these infections is challenging due to either intrinsic or acquired resistance of M. abscessus to multiple antibiotics. Despite prolonged poly-antimicrobial therapy, treatment of M. abscessus infections often fails, leading to progressive morbidity and eventual mortality. Great research efforts are invested in finding new therapeutic options for M. abscessus. Clofazimine and rifabutin are known anti-mycobacterial antibiotics, repurposed for use against M. abscessus. Novel antimicrobials active against M. abscessus include delamanid, pretomanid and PIPD1 and the recently approved beta-lactamase inhibitors avibactam, relebactam and vaborbactam. Previously unused antimicrobial combinations e.g. vancomycin-clarithromycin and dual beta-lactam therapy have been shown to have synergistic effect against M. abscessus in experimental models, suggesting their possible use in multiple-drug regimens. Finally, engineered phage therapy has been reported to be clinically successful in a severe case of disseminated M. abscessus infection. While many of these experimental therapeutics have shown activity against M. abscessus in vitro, as well as intracellular and/or animal models, most have little if any evidence of effect in humans infections. Clinical studies of M. abscesssus treatments are needed in order to reliably determine the value of their incorporation in therapeutic regimens.

The management of carbapenem-resistant infections is often based on colistin, tigecycline, aminoglycosides and their combinations. However, in a recent systematic review we found that Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) co-resistant to carbapanems, aminoglycosides, colistin and tigecycline (CACT-resistant) are increasingly being reported worldwide. Clinical data to guide the treatment of CACT-resistant GNB are scarce and based exclusively on few case reports and small case series but seem to indicate that appropriate (in vitro active) antimicrobial regimens, including newer antibiotics and synergistic combinations, may be associated with lower mortality. In this review we consolidate the available literature to inform clinicians dealing with CACT-resistant GNB about treatment options by considering the mechanisms of resistance to carbapenems. In combination with rapid diagnostic methods that allow fast detection of carbapenemase production, the approach proposed in this review may guide a timely and targeted treatment of patients with infections by CACT-resistant GNB. Specifically, we focus on the three most problematic species, namely Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. Several treatment options are currently available for CACT-resistant K. pneumonia. Newer β-lactam-β-lactamase combinations, including the combination of ceftazidime/avibactam with aztreonam against metallo-β-lactamase-producing isolates, appear to be more effective compared to combinations of older agents. Options for P. aeruginosa (especially metallo-β-lactamase-producing strains) and A. baumannii remain limited. Synergistic combination of older agents (e.g. colistin- or fosfomycin-based synergistic combinations) may represent a last resort option but their use against CACT-resistant GNB requires further study.

Background: Although no specific treatment for COVID 19 has been proven effective yet, some drugs with in vitro potential against SARS-CoV-2 virus have been proposed for clinical use. Hydroxychloroquine has in vitro anti-viral and immunomodulatory activity, but there is no current clinical evidence of its effectiveness on the outcome of the disease. Methods: We enrolled all 18-85 years old inpatients from Central Defense Hospital, Madrid, Spain, who were hospitalised due to COVID-19 and had a definitive outcome (either dead or discharged). We used a statistical survival analysis. Results: We analysed 220 medical records. 166 patients met the inclusion criteria. 48,8 % of patients not treated with HCQ died, versus 22% in the group of hydroxychloroquine (p=0,002). According to clinical picture at admission, hydroxychloroquine increased the mean cumulative survival in all groups from 1,4 to 1,8 times. This difference was statistically significant in the mild group. Conclusions: in a cohort of 166 patients between 18 to 85 years hospitalised with COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine treatment with an initial loading dose of 800mg improved patient survival when admitted in early stages of the disease. There was a non-statistically significant trend towards survival in all groups, which will need to be clarified in subsequent studies.

Plastics are naturally hydrophobic materials so, in order to employ flotation for the separation of plastic mixtures, the use of appropriate wetting agents is mandatory. In this work, the effect of pretreatment with alkaline solutions of sodium hydroxide on the floatability of four plastics (PET, PS, PMMA and PVC) was studied. The influence of NaOH concentration, treatment time and temperature of the alkaline solution, and influence of particle size was analyzed. Results showed that alkaline treatment had a strong effect on PET floatability, some effect on floatability of PMMA and PVC and no effect on floatability of PS. Plastics floatability decreased with the increase of NaOH concentration, temperature and treatment time of the alkaline solution. Based on flotation behavior of simple plastics, flotation separation after alkaline treatment of bi-component mixtures of PET with PS and PVC was achieved efficiently. The best separation was obtained for PET/PS mixture, a floated with a grade of 98% in PS and a sunk with a grade of 100% in PET. PET/PMMA mixture led to the worst separation. For PET/PMMA and PET/PVC mixtures, flotation separation improved with the decrease of the particles size.

The shortage of donor organs is a major global concern. Organ failure requires the transplantation of functional organs. Organ donors are preserved in warm or cold ischemia. Ischemia and reperfusion damage the organs, due to the lack of oxygen during the ischemia step and the oxidative stress during the reperfusion step. Different methodologies were developed to prevent or diminish the level of injuries. Preservation solutions were first developed, followed by the addition of chemical compounds. In addition of inhibitors of mitogen activated protein kinase, inhibitors of the proteasome, mesenchymal stem cells started to be used 13 years ago to prevent or diminish the organ’s injuries. Mesenchymal stem cells (e.g bone marrow stem cells, adipose derived stem cells) have proven to be powerful tools in repairing damaged organs. This review will focus on the use of some bone marrow stem cells, adipose derived stem cells and umbilical cord stem cells on preventing or decreasing the injuries due to ischemia-reperfusion.

In 2014, the outbreak of adenoviral pneumonia occurred in Korean military training center. However, there is limited data on characteristics of fever and its response to antipyretics therapy in immunocompetent adults with adenoviral positive community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Medical records of patients who were admitted to Armed Forces Chuncheon Hospital for treatment of CAP between January 2014 and December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. We evaluated demographics, clinico-laboratory findings and radiologic findings at admission were compared between adenovirus positive (Adv) group and adenovirus negative (non-Adv) group. Out of 251 military personnel with CAP during the study periods, 67 were classified into Adv group while 184 were Non-Adv group. Patients with Adv group had a longer duration of fever after admission and symptom onset. Adv group patients had a higher mean temperature at admission and more observed over 40 and 39 to 40℃. Adv group patients had more commonly observed no response to antipyretic treatment and adverse events after antipyretics use. Length of hospital stay had no significant difference between two groups and no patient died in both groups. In our study, Adv positive CAP in patients with immunocompetent military personnel had distinct characteristics of fever and response to antipyretic treatment.

In this investigation steel P355NH has been successfully cladded with Inconel 625 through the method of explosive welding. Explosively welded bimetal clad-plate was subjected to the two separated post weld heat treatment processes: stress relief annealing (at 620oC for 90 minutes) and normalizing (at 910oC for 30 minutes). In order to analyze the microstructure of the joint in the as-welded state and to investigate the influence of the post weld heat treatment on it, the light and scanning electron microscope observations and microhardness analysis have been performed. The examination of the diffusion zone microstructure has been performed by using the scanning transmission electron microscope. It was stated that obtained joint has characteristic wavy-shape geometry with the presence of the melted zones and severe deformed grains of both joined materials. Strain hardening of the materials in joint zone was established with microhardness analysis. In both of the heat treatments the changes in the grain structure have been observed. The normalizing heat treatment has the most significant impact on the microstructure of the joint as well as the concentration of the chemical elements in the joint zone. It was reported that due to normalizing the diffusion zone has been formed together with precipitates in the joint zone. The analysis of the diffusion zone images leads to the conclusion that the diffusion of alloying elements from Inconel 625 to steel P355NH takes place along the grain boundaries with additional formation of the voids in this area. The precipitates in Inconel 625 in the joint zone are two type of carbides – chromium-rich and molybdenum-rich. Scanning transmission electron microscope observation of the grain microstructure in the diffusion zone shows that this area consists of equiaxed grains (from the side of Inconel 625 alloy) and columnar grains (from the side of steel P355NH).

The fatigue strength of the hot work steel depends on various factors, including the mechanical, properties and behavior and bulk and the surface under layer, the microstructural features as well as heat treatments. The influence of a series of heat treatments on the fatigue strength of H13 hot work steel was investigated. Different preheating, quenching and tempering treatments were applied to four sets of specimens and fatigue tests were conducted at room temperature using a rotating bending test machine. All heat treatments resulted in a certain improvement of the fatigue strength. Highest fatigue strength obtained by applying a double tempering heat treatment (first tempering at 550 °C for two hours and second tempering at 610 °C for two hours) after initial preheating and quenching. One tempering treatment (550 °C for two hours after preheating and quenching) did not significantly improve the fatigue strength.

Development of carbon nanomaterials for adsorption thus removal of organic pollutants from water is a progressive research subject. In this regard, carbon nanomaterials with bifunctionality towards polar and non-polar or even amphiphilic undesired materials is indeed attractive for further study and implementation. Here, we created carbon buckypaper adsorbents comprising amphiphilic (oxygenated amorphous carbon (a-COx)/graphite (G)) nanofilaments that can dynamically adsorb organic biomolecules (i.e. urease enzyme) and thus purify the wastewaters of relevant industries. Given the dynamic conditions of the test, the adsorbent was highly efficient in adsorption of the enzyme (88%) while permeable to water (2382 L.h-1.m-2), thus holds a great promise for further development and upscaling. A subsequent citric acid functionalization declined selectivity of the membrane to urease, implying the biomolecules adsorb mostly via graphitic domains rather than oxidized, polar amorphous carbon ones. The devised platform i.e. the urease functionalized buckypaper is optimally conductive (13 S.cm-1) and can be further employed as a biosensor. Accordingly, water treatment can be linked to biosensing via a nanostructured membrane.

Natural spa springs are diffused all over the world and their use in pools is known since ancient times. This review underlines the cultural and social spa context focusing on hygiene issues, public health guidelines and emerging concerns regarding water management in wellness or recreational settings. The question of the "untouchability" of therapeutic natural waters and their incompatibility with traditional disinfection processes is addressed considering the demand for effective treatments that would respect the natural properties. Available strategies and innovative treatments are reviewed, highlighting potentials and limits for a sustainable management. Alternative approaches comprise nanotechnologies, photocatalysis systems, advanced filtration. State of the art and promising perspectives are reported considering the chemical-physical component and the biological natural complexity of the spa water microbiota.

Several common and functional genes are known to contribute to responsiveness to blood pressure (BP) therapy. BP therapy is typically guided by algorithms that do not include a patient’s genetic information. This study aimed to determine the impact of a multi-organ genetic panel on BP response to pharmacotherapy. Eighty-six patients completed one study visit consisting of a buccal swab collection, measurement of office BP, and a medical chart review for BP history. Genes analyzed included those that encode for one drug metabolizing enzyme, renal Na+ handling, vascular, and cardiac function. Relationships between genotype and control of BP (<140/<90), ∆ systolic BP, ∆ diastolic BP, and ∆ mean arterial BP were assessed. SLC12A3 resulted in a significant association between the target drug and the functional genotype for BP control (<140/<90 cut off) (p<0.05). Conversely, three of five renal genotypes were associated with BP control using 120/80 as a cut-off (p<0.05). Three of four cardiac genotypes were associated with the BP control at <140/<90, with one being statistically significant (position 49 of ADRB1). Only one vascular genotype was predictive of blood pressure control at <140/<90. We found a significant drop in mean BP from baseline in six genes, three important in the diuretic response and three in β-blockade (p<0.05 on target drug vs. not). These results demonstrate that a multi-gene panel for renal Na+ handling, vascular function, and cardiac output may influence the BP response to therapy, but larger studies with more statistical power are needed.

This study explored the effects of cryogenic treatment on the microstructure, hardness, and wear-resistance of diamond-like carbon (DLC) by cryogenically treating NAK 80 mold steel coated with DLC. Raman spectroscopy analyzed the structure of the DLC film. Nanoindenter analyzed the hardness and Young’s modulus of the film, and their relationship determined the wear resistance. Wear test assessed the wear rate and friction coefficient of the DLC film. The results showed that cryogenic treatment increased the rate of carbide precipitation and refined the grain structure. Raman spectroscopy indicated that the Raman intensity rate (I_D/I_G) of treated DLC films was smaller than those without cryogenic treatment. When the sp3 bond increased, the hardness and wear-resistance of the DLC film also increased.

Proper Post-Activation Performance Enhancement helps to improve athletic performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two different velocity loss (VL), 10%VL and 20%VL, on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) in 20m sprint performance among sprint athletes. Twenty-four male sprint athletes (100m sprint time: 10.96±0.15 s) were recruited. A randomized crossover experimental design was used for traditional group (TG), 10%VL, and 20%VL interventions. Sprint tests were conducted at the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th minutes after the intervention. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed an interaction effect between group and time on 20m sprint performance (F=2.817, p=0.037, partial η²=0.585). Simple effect analyses showed significant differences compared to baseline at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (P&lt;0.05). Cohen's d values indicated improvement in 10m sprint times at the 8th minute of the rest interval for all three intervention groups (TG: ES=-0.270, 10%VL: ES=-0.038, 20%VL: ES=-0.279). Improvement in 20m sprint times was observed at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (ES=-0.296) and at the 16th minute for the 10%VL group (ES=-0.276). Compared to traditional PAPE schemes based on 1RM, PAPE schemes based on velocity loss (20%VL) can better induce PAPE effects in sprint athletes.

Memory and emotion are highly vulnerable to psychiatric disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which has been linked to serotonin (5-HT) metabolism disruptions. In fact, over 90% of the 5-HT precursor tryptophan (Trp) is metabolized via the Trp-kynurenine (KYN) meta-bolic pathway, producing a variety of bioactive molecules. The aadat (kat2) gene encodes mito-chondrial kynurenine aminotransferase (KAT) isotype 2, responsible for kynurenic acid (KYNA) production. Little is known about its role in behavior. In CRISPR/Cas9-induced aadat knockout (kat2−/−) mice, we examined the effects on emotion, memory, motor function, Trp and its metabolite levels, enzyme activities in the plasma and the urine of 8-week-old males compared to wild-type mice. Transgenic mice showed more depressive-like behaviors in the forced swim test, but not in the tail suspension, anxiety, or memory tests. They also had fewer center field and corner entries, shorter walking distances, and fewer jumping counts in the open field test. Plasma metabolite levels are generally consistent with those of urine: KYN, antioxidant KYNs, 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid, and indole-3-acetic acid levels are lower; enzyme activities in KATs, kynureninase, and monoamine oxidase/aldehyde dehydrogenase are lower, but kynurenine 3-monooxygenase is higher; and ox-idative stress and excitotoxicity indices are higher. Transgenic mice show depression-like behavior in a learned helplessness model, emotional indifference, and motor deficits, coupled with a decrease in KYNA, a shift of Trp metabolism toward the KYN-3-HK pathway, and a partial decrease in the gut microbial Trp-indole pathway metabolite. This is the first evidence that deleting the aadat gene causes depression-like behaviors that are unique to despair experience, which appears to be linked to excitatory neurotoxic and oxidative stresses. This may lead to the development of a double-hit preclinical model in experience-based depression, better understanding of these complex condi-tions, and more effective therapeutic strategies by elucidating the relationship between Trp me-tabolism and PTSD pathogenesis.

Environmental preservation presents numerous challenges, particularly in capturing carbon di-oxide. Despite multiple studies on this topic, there remains a need for additional capture plants, particularly in the energy sector. The power industry emits flue gas during its post-combustion process, and capturing carbon dioxide from this gas would make power plants more environ-mentally friendly while aiding the preservation of the planet. The work conducted in This study aimed to investigate the gap in knowledge to contribute to the development of a better world without harming it. The identified research gap reveals no established optimal monoethanola-mine (MEA) solvent concentration for the process. A simulation was performed using Aspen Hysys to analyze the absorption efficiency at higher solvent concentrations and address this is-sue. The input data was obtained from a flue gas capture plant in the UK. The results obtained from discrete increments indicate an optimal solid result for an MEA concentration of 36 wt.%. Further analysis of temperature and pressure revealed that other solvents, such as diethanola-mine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA), are more stable at higher concentrations and that DEA and TEA at the same concentration as MEA consumed significantly less energy to capture carbon dioxide.

Purpose To investigate the effects of intra-articular glenohumeral joint triamcinolone injection in treating secondary adhesive capsulitis after breast cancer surgery.Methods This study prospectively enrolled 37 participants, 22 of the breast cancer surgery group and 15 of the idiopathic group. All participants received intra-articular glenohumeral joint injection in the affected shoulder joint and received physiotherapy for 12 week. The clinical assessment evaluated before, and 1, 3, and 6 months after the intervention. The primary outcome was the change in the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI).Results The total SPADI(%) in both groups showed significant decrease from baseline to 1, 3, and 6 months after the intervention. There was no significant difference in the differences of the total SPADI from baseline to 1, 3, and 6 months between two groups. However, the improvement in the SPADI pain subscale and the PROM of abduction at 3 and 6 months post-injection in the breast cancer group were inferior to the idiopathic group.Conclusion Intra-articular triamcinolone injection for adhesive capsulitis after breast cancer surgery significantly improved in significant improvements of pain, shoulder function and the PROM. The effects were similar to idiopathic adhesive capsulitis, but in the breast cancer surgery group, appropriate pain and ROM management and monitoring are required even 3 months after injection. With a standardized injection protocol, intra-articular triamcinolone injection could be an effective and safe treatment option for secondary adhesive capsulitis after breast cancer surgery.

Stroke survivors often face diverse unmet needs, highlighting the significance of identifying and addressing these needs to enhance rehabilitation outcomes and overall quality of life. This study aimed to validate the modified Needs Assessment Questionnaire (mNAQ) as a reliable and valid tool for assessing the needs of stroke patients in the Greek context. Additionally, the research sought to identify potential differences in the assessment of stroke patients' needs based on their stroke phase and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores. A sample of 71 adult stroke survivors, adhering to World Health Organization guidelines and providing autonomous consent, participated in the study. The mNAQ, comprising 141 items across 12 domains, was uti-lized to evaluate stroke patients' needs. The NIHSS and Barthel Index (BI) were employed for functional independence and mobility assessment. Data analysis incorporated confirmatory fac-tor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and Cronbach's reliability analysis to establish con-struct validity and internal consistency. Concurrent and known-groups validity analyses were conducted, and Spearman’s rho correlation explored the relationship between mNAQ and BI scores. Non-parametric analyses were applied to identify differences based on stroke phase and NIHSS scores. The study revealed that the mNAQ initially lacked satisfactory psychometric properties in the Greek context. Subsequent modifications, guided by confirmatory and explora-tory factor analyses, resulted in a refined three-factor scale encompassing 31 items in the domains of communication, mobility, and social functioning needs. This adapted measure effectively dif-ferentiated between acute and chronic stroke patients and those with minor and moderate strokes. In conclusion, the validated 31-item Greek mNAQ emerges as a crucial tool for compre-hensively assessing the needs of stroke patients. Its application holds promise for optimizing post-stroke care, improving functional outcomes, and ultimately enhancing the overall well-being and quality of life for stroke survivors.

The primary objective of this current study is to conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature that discusses research on post and core restorations, covering aspects such as their composition, manufacturing methods, and clinical effectiveness. The methodology employed in this review encompasses the implementation of a well-defined search strategy, the establishment of criteria for inclusion and exclusion, and the selection of relevant studies to summarize their findings. To gather relevant literature published between 1993 and 2023, the research team conducted separate searches on PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases. In total, 165 titles were initially retrieved from these electronic databases. By applying the predefined exclusion criteria, the researchers identified 73 articles that specifically address the conventional and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technologies employed in post and core restorations. These restorations are frequently utilized procedures for repairing teeth that have undergone endodontic treatment and subsequently lost dental structure. The development of computerized technology for the creation of customized posts and cores has emerged as a straightforward and efficient alternative to traditional methods. The review encompasses a synthesis of papers discussing the various techniques and materials employed in constructing post and cores using CAD/CAM technology. Notably, different strategies for restoring endodontically treated teeth through CAD/CAM post and cores have been documented, revealing both direct and indirect approaches. The most mentioned materials for these restorations include zirconia, composite resin, and hybrid ceramics. While the available literature on CAD/CAM post and core procedures is somewhat limited, the review underscores the need for further research to explore the long-term outcomes and efficacy of this treatment approach.