showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Self-Care and Sense of Coherence: A Salutogenic Model for Health and Care in Nursing Education
2022
Background: Effective advocacy on self-care and the enhancement of a sense of coherence among nurses don’t only benefit control over one’s health and personal performance, but it may have a direct impact on clinical care and on the entire healing system. In this regard, nursing curricula grounded on a salutogenic model of health (SMH) operate with strategies to engage students in self-care and contribute to improving their mental health and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between self-care agency and a sense of coherence as dependent variables and the age and self-reported academic performance as independent variables in nursing assistant studen…
Menopause modulates the circulating metabolome: evidence from a prospective cohort study
2022
Abstract Aims We studied the changes in the circulating metabolome and their relation to the menopausal hormonal shift in 17β-oestradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone levels among women transitioning from perimenopause to early postmenopause. Methods and results We analysed longitudinal data from 218 Finnish women, 35 of whom started menopausal hormone therapy during the study. The menopausal transition was monitored with menstrual diaries and serum hormone measurements. The median follow-up was 14 months (interquartile range: 8–20). Serum metabolites were quantified with targeted nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics. The model results were adjusted for age, follow-up duration, educat…
Effects of Cognitive and Mental Health Factors on the Outcomes Following Carpal Tunnel Release: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
2022
OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of the cognitive and mental health factors on the outcomes following carpal tunnel release (CTR). DATA SOURCES Embase, Pubmed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases from inception to August 14, 2021. STUDY SELECTION Randomized controlled trials and observational studies of patients with CTR were included. The included studies aimed to determine the effect of the cognitive (catastrophic thinking, kinesiophobia and self-efficacy) or mental health factors (symptoms of anxiety and depression) on the outcomes at least three months post-CTR. DATA EXTRACTION Two independent reviewers performed data e…
Longitudinal associations of high‐volume and vigorous‐intensity exercise with hip fracture risk in men
2022
Maintenance of vigorous exercise habits from young to old age is considered protective against hip fractures, but data on fracture risk in lifelong vigorous exercisers are lacking. This longitudinal cohort study examined the hazard of hip fractures in 1844 male former athletes and 1216 population controls and in relation to exercise volume and intensity in later years. Incident hip fractures after age 50 years were identified from hospital discharge register from 1972 to 2015. Exercise and covariate information was obtained from questionnaires administered in 1985, 1995, 2001, and 2008. Analyses were conducted using extended proportional hazards regression model for time-dependent exposures…
Mārtiņa Lapiņa fotografētais Aleksandra Zāmeļa portrets
2022
Godinot latviešu botāniķi un ģenētiķi Aleksandru Zāmeli 125 gadu jubilejā par mēneša priekšmetu Latvijas Universitātes Muzejs ir izvēlējies A. Zāmeļa portretu, ko fotografējis viens no 20. gadsimta pirmās puses izcilākajiem fotogrāfiem Mārtiņš Lapiņš. Raksts veltīts šai fotogrāfijai.
Ability of soil bacterial composition as an indicator of levels of soil erosion in a badland
2022
Calanchi (plural of calanco) are typical Italian badlands created by a combination of morphogenetic processes (rill and interrill erosion, gullying, piping, and mass movements) mainly originated by the effect of water. Calanchi are characterized by the sparse and patchy distribution of vegetation, and, in interplant areas, the soil surface is colonized by an association of organisms known as biological soil crust (BSC). A morphometric analysis of 45 basins in the studied calanchi area, based on a high-resolution digital elevation model, showed those basins are sediment removal systems characterized by rapid and relevant erosion processes. The goal of the current research is to evaluate the …
Extraction of lipids from microalgae using classical and innovative approaches
2022
Microalgae, as a photosynthetic autotrophic organism, contain a variety of bioactive compounds, including lipids, proteins, polysaccharides, which have been applied in food, medicine, and fuel industries, among others. Microalgae are considered a good source of marine lipids due to their high content in unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) and can be used as a supplement/replacement for fish-based oil. The high concentration of docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) in microalgae lipids, results in important physiological functions, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immune regulation, being also a prerequisite for its development and application. In this paper, a variety…
Production of CSSi013-A (9360) iPSC line from an asymptomatic subject carrying an heterozygous mutation in TDP-43 protein
2022
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease affecting both upper and lower motoneurons. The transactive response DNA binding protein (TARDBP) gene, encoding for TDP-43, is one of the most commonly mutated gene associated with familial cases of ALS (10%). We generated a human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line from the fibroblasts of an asymptomatic subject carrying the TARDBP p.G376D mutation. This mutation is very rare and was described in a large Apulian family, in which all ALS affected members are carriers of the mutation. The subject here described is the first identified asymptomatic carrier of the mutation.
NAFLD/NASH
2022
OCT applications in contact lens fitting
2022
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive, high-speed, high-resolution imaging technology based in the Michaelson interferometry. A near-infrared light beam is used to register the intensity variations for the light backscattered on each sample layer. Due to the high repeatability on corneal measurements, spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) is the gold standard when talking about in vivo, non-invasive anterior segment imaging. Changes in the morphology of various ocular surfaces such as the cornea, conjunctiva, limbus or tear film with soft (SCL), rigid, corneal or scleral lens (SL) wear can be described by OCT measurements. For instance, evaluation of the corneoscleral region is essenti…
DEVELOPMENT OF LIQUID CRYSTAL LAYER THICKNESS AND REFRACTIVE INDEX MEASUREMENT METHODS FOR SCATTERING TYPE LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS
2022
The research has been supported by ERDF No.1.1.1.1/19/A/120 “Improvement of Electro-Optical Characteristics of Liquid Crystal Shutters”.
The min-max close-enough arc routing problem
2022
Abstract Here we introduce the Min-Max Close-Enough Arc Routing Problem, where a fleet of vehicles must serve a set of customers while trying to balance the length of the routes. The vehicles do not need to visit the customers, since they can serve them from a distance by traversing arcs that are “close enough” to the customers. We present two formulations of the problem and propose a branch-and-cut and a branch-and-price algorithm based on the respective formulations. A heuristic algorithm used to provide good upper bounds to the exact procedures is also presented. Extensive computational experiments to compare the performance of the algorithms are carried out.
Teachers' visual focus of attention in relation to students' basic academic skills and teachers' individual support for students: An eye-tracking stu…
2022
This study investigated how teachers' visual focus of attention is associated with students' basic academic skills and teachers' individual support for students in basic academic skills in authentic classroom settings. Teachers' (N = 46) visual focus of attention in the classroom was measured with mobile eye-tracking, and students' (N = 879) literacy and math skills were tested in Grade 1. The results revealed that teachers' visual focus of attention in terms of fixation counts correlated with students' basic academic skills and teachers' individual support for students in literacy and math. Two case studies showed that teachers' visual focus of attention varied among students with differen…
Short-term outcomes of colorectal cancer surgery in older patients : a novel nomogram predicting postoperative morbi-mortality
2022
Abstract Purpose To analyze short-term outcomes of curative-intent cancer surgery in all adult patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer undergoing surgery from January 2010 to December 2019 and determine risk factors for postoperative complications and mortality. Methods Retrospective study conducted at a single tertiary university institution. Patients were stratified by age into two groups: < 75 years and ≥ 75 years. Primary outcome was the influence of age on 30-day complications and mortality. Independent risk factors for postoperative adverse events or mortality were analyzed, and two novel nomograms were constructed. Results Of the 1486 patients included, 580 were older (≥ 75 year…
Sabella spallanzanii mucus bacterial agglutinating activity after arsenic exposure. The equilibrium between predation safety and immune response stab…
2022
We report the Sabella spallanzanii mucus bacterial agglutination response after inorganic arsenic (As) exposure. As is actively adsorbed from the surrounding environment and accumulated at high concentrations in tissues as an anti-predatory strategy. Here we investigated the effect of high As concentrations on its immunobiological response. It may act on mucus lectins and on its ability to agglutinate bacteria. We concluded that As at high concentrations leads to the inhibition of pathogen recognition. Nevertheless, although its biological activity is significant reduced in winter, responses to As concentrations are very similar, and below a certain threshold do not induce alterations, supp…
Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Adolescents Over 6 Months
2022
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES On June 4, 2021, Italy launched the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination of adolescents to slow down the COVID-19 spread. Although clinical trials have evaluated messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine effectiveness in adolescents, there is limited literature on its real-world effectiveness. Accordingly, this study aimed to estimate the effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and mild or severe COVID-19 in a cohort of Sicilian adolescents within a 6 month observation period. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was conducted with adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, residents o…
Single-channel speech enhancement using implicit Wiener filter for high-quality speech communication
2022
AbstractSpeech enables easy human-to-human communication as well as human-to-machine interaction. However, the quality of speech degrades due to background noise in the environment, such as drone noise embedded in speech during search and rescue operations. Similarly, helicopter noise, airplane noise, and station noise reduce the quality of speech. Speech enhancement algorithms reduce background noise, resulting in a crystal clear and noise-free conversation. For many applications, it is also necessary to process these noisy speech signals at the edge node level. Thus, we propose implicit Wiener filter-based algorithm for speech enhancement using edge computing system. In the proposed algor…
Agile Enterprise Transformations : Surveying the Many Facets of Agility for the Hybrid Era
2022
Agile companies are not uniform. Consequently, agile transformations are conceived broadly, ranging from adopting agile methods and practices in software development teams or functions to building all-encompassing enterprise agility. Moreover, the targeted effects of agility may vary, and the success of transformations and the attainment of agility are measured in various ways. In this paper, based on a recent industrial survey study, we scrutinize holistically why companies want to transform, what types of agility they are aiming at, and how they gauge transformations. The survey data was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Most of the respondents were in large or very large co…
Time-dependent stability of monocyte distribution width (MDW)
2022
Prognostic significance of spatial and density analysis of T lymphocytes in colorectal cancer.
2022
Abstract Background Although high T cell density is a strong favourable prognostic factor in colorectal cancer, the significance of the spatial distribution of T cells is incompletely understood. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of tumour cell-T cell co-localisation and T cell densities. Methods We analysed CD3 and CD8 immunohistochemistry in a study cohort of 983 colorectal cancer patients and a validation cohort (N = 246). Individual immune and tumour cells were identified to calculate T cell densities (to derive T cell density score) and G-cross function values, estimating the likelihood of tumour cells being co-located with T cells within 20 µm radius (to derive T cell p…
The PolarLITIS Dataset: Road Scenes Under Fog
2022
Road scene analysis is a fundamental task for both autonomous vehicles and ADAS systems. Nowadays, one can find autonomous vehicles that are able to properly detect objects in the scene in good weather conditions; however, some improvements still need to be done when the visibility is altered. People claim that using some non-conventional sensors such as, infra-red or Lidar, combined with classical vision, enhances road scene analysis in optimal weather conditions. In this work, we present the improvements achieved using polarimetric imaging in the complex situation of some adverse weather conditions. This rich modality is known for its ability to describe an object not only by its intensit…
Nectar-Inhabiting Bacteria Affect Olfactory Responses of an Insect Parasitoid by Altering Nectar Odors
2022
AbstractFloral nectar is ubiquitously colonized by a variety of microorganisms among which yeasts and bacteria are the most common. Microorganisms inhabiting floral nectar can alter several nectar traits, including nectar odor by producing microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Evidence showing that mVOCs can affect the foraging behavior of insect pollinators is increasing in the literature, whereas the role of mVOCs in altering the foraging behavior of third-trophic level organisms such as insect parasitoids is largely overlooked. Parasitoids are frequent visitors of flowers and are well known to feed on nectar. In this study, we isolated bacteria inhabiting floral nectar of buckwhe…
Cargo-Cult Containerization : A Critical View of Containers in Modern Software Development
2022
Software is increasingly developed and deployed using containers. While the concept of a container is conceptually straightforward, there are various issues to be considered while using them, ranging from technical details inside containers to the orchestration of containers that jointly form a meaningful application. In recent years, the use of containers has become so prevalent that developers have a tendency to resort to cargo-cult containerization - ritual adherence to the use of containers just because so many others are doing the same thing. In this paper, we study advantages and downsides of containers in modern-day software development. We foresee the use of containers to spread int…
Critical Raw Materials and Supply Chain Disruption in the Energy Transition
2022
The energy transition towards efficient energy production, transport, and use, renewable energy (RE) technologies and innovative energy management brings benefits to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieving climate targets. The transition requires resources, minerals, metals, and materials for RE technologies themselves, for example, solar photovoltaics (PV), hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) as well as innovative supporting technologies for variable RE, for example, energy storage systems (ESSs). This requirement of resources and materials occurs over the whole supply chain of the technologies, from the extraction of resources, the manufacture of technology, and the deployme…
Patrimonio toponomastico di Sicilia. Una raccolta capillare per la toponimia orale e la sua cartografazione digitale
2022
Il progetto onomastico qui presentato rientra nel più ampio progetto dell’Atlante Linguistico della Sicilia. L’obiettivo è di documentare capillarmente l’intero patrimonio toponimico nella forma popolare (che affianca quella documentata e cartografata). La ricerca che si propone, di straordinaria ampiezza, costituirà una fondamentale chiave di lettura della storia linguistica della Sicilia e della sua complessa stratificazione. I primi sondaggi confermano che il patrimonio toponimico orale è a grave rischio di scomparsa. La possibilità di realizzare un portale interrogabile e interattivo è una opportunità di riconsegna al territorio non passiva e inerte, ma può sollecitare ulteriori attivit…
Supply chain collaboration and sustainable development goals (SDGs). Teamwork makes achieving SDGs dream work
2022
The global push towards sustainable development has led to an upsurge in academic literature at the juncture of supply chain collaboration (SCC) and sustainability. The present paper aims to map this growing literature to understand how SCC can contribute to the achievement of broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Via a systematic review of literature (SLR), the paper maps key themes at the intersection of SCC and sustainable development. Relying on nine key themes, the study presents novel insights into the domain of SCC for sustainable development. The results of the SLR reveal that collaborative innovation, collaborative process and product development are key mechanisms driving …
Crop type discrimination using Geo-Stat Endmember extraction and machine learning algorithms
2022
Spatiotemporal monitoring of the rare northern dragonhead (Dracocephalum ruyschiana, Lamiaceae) — SNP genotyping and environmental niche modeling her…
2022
The species we have studied the spatiotemporal genetic change in the northern dragonhead, a plant species that has experienced a drastic population decline and habitat loss in Europe. We have added a temporal perspective to the monitoring of northern dragonhead in Norway by genotyping herbarium specimens up to 200 years old. We have also assessed whether northern dragonhead has achieved its potential distribution in Norway. To obtain the genotype data from 130 herbarium specimens collected from 1820 to 2008, mainly from Norway (83) but also beyond (47), we applied a microfluidic array consisting of 96 SNP markers. To assess temporal genetic change, we compared our new genotype data with exi…
ScrumBut as an Indicator of Process Debt
2022
Technical debt analysis is used to detect problems in a codebase. Most technical debt indicators rely on measuring the quality of the code, as developers tend to induce recurring technical debt that emerges along with evolution cycles. This debt can emerge when project pressure leads to process deviations, for instance. In agile methods like Scrum, such deviations are commonly known as ScrumButs (like Scrum but …), which can be considered as a form of process debt. In this paper, we investigate two recurring signs of process debt (i.e. code smells and anti-patterns) caused by Scrumbuts. Our contribution investigates typical ScrumBut practices found in agile projects in one company and we re…
Feasibility of using more polishable aggregates in dense-graded asphalt surface mixture: Case study of dolomite
2022
This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using more dolomite aggregates in asphalt surface mixtures that are typically used by West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH). The laboratory test results indicated that increasing dolomite content in asphalt surface mixtures resulted in a faster deterioration rate at the early polishing stage. In addition, asphalt surface mixtures containing more than 50% dolomite coarse aggregates would significantly reduce roadway safety. The field test results validated that dolomite shall not exceed 50% of coarse aggregate in asphalt surface mixture if the projected traffic volume is greater than 3.0 million equivalent single axle loads (ESALs).
Effect of the upper material of running shoes on muscle mechanical power transfer on lower limbs
2022
This study focuses on determining the effects of the upper material of running shoes on the mechanical power flows of the muscles of the lower limbs during the support phase of running. Two models of running shoes—differentiated only by the upper structure and material—have been used, being randomly assigned to 19 participants. Five measurements of each participant per shoe model were obtained at 3.3 m·s−1 to perform inverse dynamic analysis with the data obtained. Statistically significant differences have been found between the two models for the muscle power flow variables in the ankle, knee and hip joints, as well as at the ends of adjacent segments. The KNIT-upper model (model 2) pres…
Increasing intensity of deimatic behaviour in response to repeated simulated attacks: a case study on the mountain katydid (Acripeza reticulata)
2022
Abstract How and when deimatic behaviours are performed can change during encounters between predators and prey. Some predators attack repeatedly, investigating and manipulating prey, and in response, an individual’s deimatic behaviour may intensify or may diminish in favour of escaping. The presence of a resource can further force a trade-off between displaying and escaping. Here, we examined the intensity of the katydid’s deimatic behaviour, a visual display, the propensity of their escape response under repeated simulated attacks, and how these responses change in the presence of foraging resources. We found that display intensity increased with repeated simulated attacks and that femal…
MMSS: A storytelling simulation software to mitigate misinformation on social media
2022
This paper proposes a modular python implementation of a storytelling simulation. The software evaluates misinformation mitigation strategies over social media and visualizes the investigated scenarios’ potential outcomes. Our software integrates information diffusion and control models components. The control model mitigates users’ exposure to misinformation with social fairness awareness, while the diffusion model predicts the outcome from the control model. During the interaction of both models, a graph coloring algorithm traces the interaction within specific time intervals. Then, it generates meta-data to construct visuals of predicted near-future states of the social network to help s…
Nanocarrier based on halloysite and fluorescent probe for intracellular delivery of peptide nucleic acids
2022
The development of systems able to deliver genetic material into a target site is a challenge for modern medicine. Single-stranded peptide nucleic acids have attracted attention as promising therapeutic molecules for diagnostic and gene therapy. However, their poor cell membrane permeability represents a drawback for biomedical applications. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are emerging materials in drug delivery applications both for their ability to penetrate cell membranes and for enhancing the solubility of drugs in biological media. Herein, we report the first example of the use of a nanocarrier based on halloysite labelled with fluorescent switchable halochromic oxazine molecules, to deliv…
Selinexor in Advanced, Metastatic Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma: A Multinational, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
2022
PURPOSE Antitumor activity in preclinical models and a phase I study of patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DD-LPS) was observed with selinexor. We evaluated the clinical benefit of selinexor in patients with previously treated DD-LPS whose sarcoma progressed on approved agents. METHODS SEAL was a phase II-III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients age 12 years or older with advanced DD-LPS who had received two-five lines of therapy were randomly assigned (2:1) to selinexor (60 mg) or placebo twice weekly in 6-week cycles (crossover permitted). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Patients who received at least one dose of st…
A generalized stage-discharge relationship for sharp-crested power-law weirs by dimensional analysis and self-similarity
2022
Weirs are characterized by a stage-discharge relationship which mainly depends on the shape and dimensions of the hydraulic structure. A weir with symmetrical power-law sides is a versatile weir that can produce some known weir types (rectangular, triangular, parabolic) as special cases. In this paper, the outflow process of sharp-crested power-law weirs is investigated using the dimensional analysis and the incomplete self-similarity theory. A new generalized theoretical stage-discharge relationship is proposed, and its applicability is tested using measurements available in the literature for different weir types.