showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Analysis of Economic Activity of Foreign Direct Investors in Latvia
2022
The aim of this article is to investigate the activity of foreign direct investors in Latvia and find out the main source of financing for foreign investors - new investments or reinvested earnings. To achieve the set goal, the methodology of the Sixth Edition of the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual was used to define the types of foreign direct investment (FDI). This methodology was adapted to Latvian data. At the request of the author, Lursoft IT Ltd selected business data on all registered companies with foreign capital in Latvia since 2005 and aggregate data were used in the analysis. Foreign direct investment in Latvia flows…
Role of vitamin D supplementation in the management of musculoskeletal diseases: update from an European Society of Clinical and Economical Aspects o…
2022
© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds…
Kielellistä valkopyykkiäkö?
2022
Surgical treatment of endometrioid endometrial carcinoma - laparotomy versus laparoscopy.
2022
Objective: Recent publications have raised doubts about the oncological safety of a laparoscopic approach in the treatment of endometrial cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial aspects of laparoscopy versus laparotomy in patients with endometrial cancer, and present oncological outcomes. Material and methods: A retrospective study of patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of endometrioid endometrial cancer was performed. Surgical outcomes and complications in patients who were treated by laparoscopy or open surgery were compared. The patients were followed for 5-years. Patients' characteristics, tumor stage, complications rate and oncologic outcome were an…
Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) as prognostic and predictive biomarkers in patients with advanced Non-Small Cell L…
2022
Hypertension treatment in patients with sleep apnea from the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA) cohort - towards precision medicine.
2022
We recruited 5,970 patients with hypertension with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on current antihypertensive treatment from the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA) cohort. The group was subdivided into those receiving monotherapy (n = 3,594) and those receiving dual combined therapy (n = 2,376). We studied how major OSA confounders like age, gender, and body mass index as well as the degree of sleep apnea modified office systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Beta-blockers alone or in combination with a diuretic were compared with other antihypertensive drug classes. Monotherapy with beta-blocker was associated with lower systolic blood pressure, particularly in non-obese middle-aged male…
Student experiences of critical multilingual and intercultural communication competence assessment in higher education
2022
In this chapter, we present multilingual and intercultural communication competence (MICC) as a situational and contextual process. The aim of this qualitative, empirical study is to understand the students’ perceptions of assessing MICC as a holistic phenomenon that does not represent an ethnocentric world view and considers the role of language use in interaction. We look at assessing MICC as a process of giving and receiving feedback rather than as a summative assessment. The data consist of 74 texts on assessments written by university students. The understanding of the contextual and situational nature of MICC was enhanced through a process that the participants considered as ‘lengthy …
Metalloproteinases and Tissue Inhibitors in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis. A Preliminary Study
2022
Introduction: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) have recently been proposed as promising biomarkers in different immune-mediated disorders. We evaluated the plasma levels of MMP-9 and MMP-2 and their tissue inhibitors TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in a patients’ cohort with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods: Plasma concentrations of MMP-9, MMP-2, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were evaluated in 14 patients with generalized MG and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The severity of disease was assessed by the modified Osserman classification. Results: Compared to the healthy subjects, MG patients had increased plasma concentrations of MMP-9, but redu…
Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations in Caves Protected as Nature Reserves and Related Gas Hazard
2022
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations can reach high levels inside natural caves, representing a hazardous condition for both humans frequenting the underground environment and its safeguard due to the corrosion of speleothems induced by the acidification of atmospheric moisture. These issues are particularly critical for the eco-sustainable management of caves protected as nature reserves and undergoing touristic exploitation. In this paper we present the results of the C6 project, which was activated in 1999 for the monitoring of air quality inside three caves protected as nature reserves in Sicily (Italy). Near-real-time and spot measurements of air temperature and CO2 concentration have been c…
Ureteral stent encrustation: evaluation of available scores as predictors of a complex surgery
2022
Background: Stent Encrustation is an uncommon event (13%) with a significant impact in patients' management. Aim of our study was to evaluate the available grading systems for encrusted stents. Methods: A retrospective analysis of encrusted stents was performed in four Italian centers between 2006 and 2020. Encrusted stents were classified according to four classifications: the Forgotten Encrusted Calcificated (FECal) score, the Kidney Ureter Bladder (KUB) score, the Visual Grading for Ureteral Encrusted Stent Classification and the Encrustation Burden Score (EBS). Classifications were evaluated to predict complex surgery defined as: long operative time (>60min); need of more than one su…
Fight against cancer in Italy: What patients, caregivers and healthy citizens think about care delivery from National Health System
2022
Objective: This survey aimed to analyse healthy citizens (HC), cancer patients and their caregivers (CP&CG) perception about cancer care among six different Italian regions. Methods: The survey for HC was conducted by a multinational market research institute (IPSOS) through a computer-assisted web interviewing system, using a dataset of people who had consented to be interviewed for previous studies. CP&CG were interviewed by patient advocates using paper questionnaires. Results: HC completed 1831 questionnaires between May and June 2019; CP&CG filled 1779 questionnaires between May and October 2019. 55% of all interviewees felt they were adequately informed about cancer, with …
X-ray flares of the young planet host DS Tuc A
2022
Abridged. We observed the 40 Myr old star DS Tuc A with XMM-Newton and recorded two X-ray bright flares, with the second event occurring about 12 ks after the first one. Their duration from the rise to the end of the decay was of about 8-10 ks in soft X-rays (0.3-10 keV). The flares were also recorded in the band 200-300 nm with the UVM2 filter of the Optical Monitor. The duration of the flares in UV was about 3 ks. The observed delay between the peak in the UV band and in X-rays is a probe of the heating phase followed by the evaporation and increase of density and emission measure of the flaring loop. The coronal plasma temperature at the two flare peaks reached 54-55 MK. The diagnostics …
Nowe stanowisko Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius, 1787) (Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea: Oxycarenidae) na Górnym Śląsku / New record of Oxycarenus lavaterae …
2022
This note presents a new record of the invasive species Oxycarenus lavaterae in Upper Silesia, Poland.
Understanding prevention measures and tourist behavior in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-method approach
2022
This study investigates the adoption of prevention measures in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with tourist behavior. The research adopts a mixed-method approach as it examines both practitioners’ and tourists’ viewpoints. A qualitative study was conducted with eight destination service providers, while the quantitative study took place among 333 international tourists during their stay in the country. Results from the qualitative study show that the most frequently employed prevention measures are cleaning and disinfection of customer-use spaces, the use of hand sanitizers, mandatory face masks for employees and guests, and social distancing. Tourism service provi…
Trait Hedonism and the Distribution of Savoring and Positive Emotion States in Everyday Life.
2022
International audience; The present study aimed at (1) identifying the emotion regulation processes that can explain the trait hedonism positive emotions relationship, and (2) determining whether this relationship varies according to which part of the distribution of positive emotions is considered. To this end, the intensity of the positive emotions felt by 84 adult participants, and the intensity of their engagement in savoring, were assessed twice a day over a month period, using an Experience Sampling Method. Participants’ distributions of these variables were then related to their level of trait hedonism, assessed with a common questionnaire. Results suggested that, as expected, the tr…
Ion–Molecule Rate Constants for Reactions of Sulfuric Acid with Acetate and Nitrate Ions
2022
Atmospheric nucleation from precursor gases is a significant source of cloud condensation nuclei in the troposphere and thus can affect the Earth's radiative balance. Sulfuric acid, ammonia, and amines have been identified as key nucleation precursors in the atmosphere. Studies have also shown that atmospheric ions can react with sulfuric acid to form stable clusters in a process referred to as ion-induced nucleation (IIN). IIN follows similar reaction pathways as chemical ionization, which is used to detect and measure nucleation precursors via atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometers. The rate at which ions form clusters depends on the ion-molecule rate constant. Howeve…
Effect of Core–Shell Rubber Nanoparticles on the Mechanical Properties of Epoxy and Epoxy-Based CFRP
2022
This research was funded by M-Era.Net project MERF “Matrix for carbon reinforced epoxy laminates with reduced flammability” grant No. 1.1.1.5/ERANET/20/04 from the Latvian State Education Development Agency and M-Era.Net project “EPIC—European Partnership for Improved Composites“ funded by grant No. TH06020001. A.S., K.S. and A.Z. are grateful to funding received from the European Union Horizon 2020 Framework program H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2.
Can you imagine? An imaginary of Finland's higher education as anti-oppressive, intersectional practice
2022
This chapter presents an imagined future scenario following a tweet by Minister of Interior Maria Ohisalo in June 2020 on Finland’s Government Action Plan for Gender Equality. In our counterfactual imaginary, the government resigns and new elections result in a victory of the Left and Green parties, which were leading the polls at the time. We examine how Finnish higher education (HE) could develop in response to calls for intersectional and anti-oppressive practice on the basis of existing research, the Government Action Plan for Gender Equality, and the Higher Education Accessibility plan. Our counterfactual framework critically examines historical processes and possible futures emerging …
Multi‑light photogrammetric survey applied to the complex documentation of engravings in Palaeolithic rock art: the Cova de les Meravelles (Gandia, V…
2022
AbstractThe new phase of study and revision of the Palaeolithic art of the Cova de les Meravelles, as well as the advances made in the field of 3D documentation in recent years, have motivated a new documentation campaign on the main panel full of tiny engraved motifs. The difficulties involved in acquiring and processing data executed using fine and thin engraving techniques indoors, have been solved through a multi-light photogrammetric survey, photographing the main panel surface with five lighting directions, and applying principal component analysis (PCA). This procedure has allowed us to obtain a large corpus of two and three-dimensional data and to improve the documentation base prod…
Dryland vegetation pattern dynamics driven by inertial effects and secondary seed dispersal
2022
This manuscript tackles the study of vegetation pattern dynamics driven by inertial effects and secondary seed dispersal. To achieve this goal, an hyperbolic extension of the classical parabolic Klausmeier model of vegetation, generally used to predict the formation of banded vegetation along the slopes of semiarid environments, has been here considered together with an additional advective term mimicking the downslope motion of seeds. Linear stability analyses have been carried out to inspect the dependence of the wave instability locus on the model parameters, with particular emphasis on the role played by inertial time and seed advection speed. Moreover, periodic travelling wave solution…
Participant characteristics associated with the effects of a physical and cognitive training program on executive functions
2022
Background: Physical and cognitive interventions have been shown to induce positive effects on older adults’ executive functioning. However, since participants with different background characteristics may respond differently to such interventions, we investigated whether training effects on executive functions were associated with sex, training compliance, and age. We also investigated if change in global cognition was associated with physical and cognitive training intervention-induced changes in executive functions. Methods: Exploratory data from a randomized controlled trial were analyzed. Participants were 70–85-year-old men and women who received a 12-month physical (PT) or physical a…
Ohjaajan vastaaminen opiskelijoiden esittämiin moitteisiin dialogisuuteen pyrkivän aikuiskoulutuksen vuorovaikutustilanteissa
2022
Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, miten dialogisuuteen pyrkivän aikuiskoulutuksen oppimisryhmissä käsitellään opiskelijoiden esittämiä moitteita, jotka kohdistuvat ohjaajan toimintaan tai hänen edustamaansa koulutukseen. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu Aikuiskouluttajan pedagogisten opintojen videoiduista oppimisryhmätilanteista (kaikkiaan 20 tuntia). Aineistossa opiskelijat aloittivat kahdeksan moitekeskustelua, jotka analysoitiin keskustelunanalyyttisesti. Tulokset osoittivat ohjaajan antavan moitetilanteissa opiskelijoille tilaa rakentaa ja esittää moitteensa. Moitteen esittämisen edetessä ohjaaja tuotti neljänlaisia vastauksia moitteisiin: uuden näkökulman tarjoaminen, selonteko, moi…
Attentional modulation of interhemispheric (a)symmetry in children with developmental language disorder
2022
Funding Information: The MEG recordings were conducted at Aalto University with the support of Grant #315553 from the Academy of Finland. This research was also supported by a personal grant to DH from the Jenni and Antti Wihuri Foundation and to RS from the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s). The nature of auditory processing problems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) is still poorly understood. Much research has been devoted to determining the extent to which DLD is associated with general auditory versus language-specific dysfunction. However, less emphasis has been given to the role of different task conditions in these dysfunctio…
High gain/bandwidth off-chip antenna loaded with metamaterial unit-cell impedance matching circuit for sub-terahertz near-field electronic systems
2022
An innovative of-chip antenna (OCA) is presented that exhibits high gain and efciency performance at the terahertz (THz) band and has a wide operational bandwidth. The proposed OCA is implemented on stacked silicon layers and consists of an open circuit meandering line. It is shown that by loading the antenna with an array of subwavelength circular dielectric slots and terminating it with a metamaterial unit cell, its impedance bandwidth is enhanced by a factor of two and its gain on average by about 4 dB. Unlike conventional antennas, where the energy is dissipated in a resistive load, the technique proposed here signifcantly reduces losses. The antenna is excited from underneath the anten…
Effect of 30 days of ketogenic Mediterranean diet with phytoextracts on athletes' gut microbiome composition.
2022
BackgroundRecent research suggest that gut microbiome may play a fundamental role in athlete's health and performance. Interestingly, nutrition can affect athletic performance by influencing the gut microbiome composition. Among different dietary patterns, ketogenic diet represents an efficient nutritional approach to get adequate body composition in athletes, however, some concerns have been raised about its potential detrimental effect on gut microbiome. To the best of our knowledge, only one study investigated the effect of ketogenic diet on the gut microbiome in athletes (elite race walkers), whilst no studies are available in a model of mixed endurance/power sport such as soccer. This …
Liikuntaa opettavien opettajien ja kouluterveydenhoitajien yhteistyö oppilaiden toimintakyvyn edistämisessä ja Move!-järjestelmän hyödyntämisessä
2022
Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tutkia liikuntaa opettavien opettajien ja kouluterveydenhoitajien käsityksiä moniammatillisesta yhteistyöstä toimintakyvyn edistämiseen ja Move!-mittauksiin liittyen. Kummatkin toimijat ovat keskeisiä oppilaiden toimintakyvyn edistämisessä sekä perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelmaan sisältyvän Move!-järjestelmän hyödyntämisessä. Tutkimus toteutettiin kyselytutkimuksena erikseen kouluterveydenhoitajille (N=192) ja liikuntaa opettaville opettajille (N=359). Määrällisten kysymysten analysoinnissa hyödynnettiin t-testiä sekä yksisuuntaista varianssianalyysiä ja laadullisen aineiston analyysissä teoriaohjaavaa sisällönanalyysiä. Tulosten mukaan korkeintaan noin puo…
Validation of glycated albumin reference interval in healthy Caucasian pregnant women
2022
No abstract available
Untargeted Metabolomics Used to Describe the Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Effects of Extracts from Pleurotus spp. Mycelium Gro…
2022
Pleurotus species isolated in vitro were studied to determine the effect of different media on their production of secondary metabolites, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activity. The different metabolites among Pleurotus samples covered a total of 58 pathways. Comparisons were made between the metabolic profiles of Pleurotus spp. mycelia grown in two substrates: Potato-dextrose-agar-PDA, used as control (S1), and PDA enriched with 0.5 % of wheat straw (S2). The main finding was that the metabolic pathways are strongly influenced by the chemical composition of the growth substrate. The antibacterial effects were particularly evident against Escherichia coli, whereas Arthroderma curreyi (CCF …
MiR-146b-5p regulates IL-23 receptor complex expression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells
2022
Abstract Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells express the interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) chain, but the expression of the complementary IL-12Rβ1 chain requires cell stimulation via surface CD40 molecules (and not via the B-cell receptor [BCR]). This stimulation induces the expression of a heterodimeric functional IL-23R complex and the secretion of IL-23, initiating an autocrine loop that drives leukemic cell expansion. Based on the observation in 224 untreated Binet stage A patients that the cases with the lowest miR-146b-5p concentrations had the shortest time to first treatment (TTFT), we hypothesized that miR-146b-5p could negatively regulate IL-12Rβ1 side chain expression and clo…
Efficacy and safety of dolutegravir and doravirine dual therapy in the context of antiretroviral therapy switch: 48 weeks analysis.
2022
Dual therapy in HIV represents an attractive opportunity for HIV infected people in virologic suppression Dual therapy regimens should achieve and maintain viral suppression and immunologic control while minimizing short and long term AEs, improve adherence and convenience and reduce drug drug interactions and costs To date, there are few clinical data to support a dual regimen with dolutegravir and doravirine 1 The individual efficacy of both doravirine and dolutegravir suggests that concomitant administration of these two molecules as part of an NRTI sparing regimen could be a viable option, although to date there are no studies in the HIV infected population The aim of our study is to in…
Friction-based beam-to-column connection for low-damage RC frames with hybrid trussed beams
2022
Hybrid Steel-Trussed Concrete Beam (HSTCB) is structural typology suitable for light industrialization. HSTCBs usually cover long span with small depths, which lead to significant amount of longitudinal rebars. The latter make beam-column joints more prone to damage due to earthquake-induced cyclic actions. This phenomenon can be avoided using friction-based BCCs. Friction devices at Beam-to-Column Connections (BCCs) have become promising solutions to reduce the damage experienced by structural members during severe earthquakes. Few solutions have been developed for cast-in-place Reinforced Concrete (RC) and steel-concrete composite Moment Resisting Frames (MRFs), because of the difficulty …
Efficacy of Hydrogen Purification and Cosmetic Acids in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris: A Preliminary Report
2022
Acne and skin lesions that appear in its course deteriorate the quality of life of patients, cause depression and the emergence of suicidal thoughts. Cosmetic treatments can have a positive effect on improving skin condition by cleaning up skin eruptions, thus improving the well-being of affected people. Hydrogen purification is a treatment that uses alkaline water generated by a device, which reduces sebum from the surface of the epidermis. This is a novel treatment that has recently been introduced to beauty salons. On the other hand, cosmetic acids have been used for many years for treating people with acne vulgaris and give spectacular results in terms of improving the skin condition. I…
Cardiorespiratory Fitness Estimation Based on Heart Rate and Body Acceleration in Adults With Cardiovascular Risk Factors : Validation Study
2022
Publisher Copyright: © Antti-Pekka E Rissanen, Mirva Rottensteiner, Urho M Kujala, Jari L O Kurkela, Jan Wikgren, Jari A Laukkanen. Originally published in JMIR Cardio (https://cardio.jmir.org), 25.10.2022. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Cardio, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://cardio.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. Background: C…
The failures of Valencia and its implication in the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
2022
M. Pilar Martínez Agut – Universitat de València - 0000-0001-9130-6213
Weather impacts on interactions between nesting birds, nest-dwelling ectoparasites and ants.
2022
AbstractWeather has a dominant impact on organisms, including their life histories and interspecific interactions. Yet, for nesting birds, and the arthropods inhabiting bird nests, the direct and cascading effects of weather are poorly known. We explored the influence of ambient temperatures and rainfall on the cohabitation of dome-shaped bird nests by Wood Warblers Phylloscopus sibilatrix, their blowfly Protocalliphora azurea ectoparasites, and predatory Myrmica and Lasius ants that may provide nest sanitation. We sampled blowflies and ants in 129 nests, and measured warbler nestlings during 2018–2020 in the primeval Białowieża Forest, eastern Poland. The probability of ectoparasites occur…
Simultaneous field-free molecular orientation and planar delocalization by THz laser pulses
2022
This study shows the unexpected and counter-intuitive possibility of simultaneously orienting a molecule while delocalizing its molecular axis in a plane in field-free conditions. The corresponding quantum states are characterized and different control strategies using shaped THz laser pulses are proposed to reach such states at zero and nonzero temperatures. The robustness against temperature effects of a simple control procedure combining a laser and a THz pulse is shown. Such control strategies can be applied not only to linear molecules but also to symmetric top molecules.