Euroregions as political actors: managing border policies in the time of Covid-19 in Polish borderlands

2022

The article examines the role of the Euroregions in the first Covid-19 pandemic wave in Europe. The beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 led to the closures of state borders. This complicated the situation of Polish cross-border commuters working in Germany and the Czech Republic. The border closure also showed the strength of Euroregions, able to react and transmit the demands of borderlanders to the Polish government. To analyse this question, we adapt the deliberative system theory. The actions taken by Euroregions, as institutions of public space, were considered as deliberative consequences of non-deliberative actions of government.

First-Line Treatments for Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Plus Chemotherapy: A Network Meta-Analysis and Cos…

2022

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) plus chemotherapy were unlikely to be considered cost-effective compared with chemotherapy as the first-line treatment of patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) in China due to its high costs. However, the cost-effectiveness of the comparison between the regimens of ICIs plus chemotherapy were remained unclear yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of ICIs plus chemotherapy as the first-line treatment for ES-SCLC from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system.MethodsA network meta-analysis (NMA) was conducted to indirect compare the clinical benefits between the ICIs plus che…

Longitudinal analysis of anti-SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD IgG antibodies before and after the third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine.

2022

AbstractImmunosurveillance by evaluating anti-spike protein receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) antibodies represents a useful tool to estimate the long immunity against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetics of antibody response in vaccine recipients. We measured anti-S-RBD IgG levels by indirect chemiluminescence immunoassay on Maglumi 800 (SNIBE, California) in 1013 healthy individuals naïve to SARS-CoV2 infection after two and three COVID-19 vaccine doses. We found that anti-S-RBD IgG levels are higher in females than males. Antibody levels gradually decrease to a steady state after four months since the pea…

Innovative technologies for packaging, preservation, shelf-life extension and traceability of the aquaculture and fishery products

2022

Cosmological forecasts on thermal axions, relic neutrinos and light elements

2022

One of the targets of future Cosmic Microwave Background and Baryon Acoustic Oscillation measurements is to improve the current accuracy in the neutrino sector and reach a much better sensitivity on extra dark radiation in the Early Universe. In this paper we study how these improvements can be translated into constraining power for well motivated extensions of the Standard Model of elementary particles that involve axions thermalized before the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase transition by scatterings with gluons. Assuming a fiducial $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model, we simulate future data for Stage-IV CMB-like and Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)-like surveys and analyze a m…

Scalable Constant pH Molecular Dynamics in GROMACS

2022

Molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations are used routinely to compute atomistic trajectories of complex systems. Systems are simulated in various ensembles, depending on the experimental conditions one aims to mimic. While constant energy, temperature, volume, and pressure are rather straightforward to model, pH, which is an equally important parameter in experiments, is more difficult to account for in simulations. Although a constant pH algorithm based on the λ-dynamics approach by Brooks and co-workers [Kong, X.; Brooks III, C. L. J. Chem. Phys.1996, 105, 2414–2423] was implemented in a fork of the GROMACS molecular dynamics program, uptake has been rather limited, presumably due to…

A Qualitative Exploration of Collective Collapse in a Norwegian Qualifying Premier League Soccer Match—The Successful Team's Perspective

2022

The current case study focused on a crucial match in the qualification for the Norwegian Premier League (Eliteserien). In the match, the participants of the study experienced a radical change in performance toward the end of the second half, from being behind by several goals to scoring 3 goals in 6 min and winning the qualifying game. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine the perceptions and reflections of players and coaches (sporting director) on what occurred within their own team and within the opposing team. The momentum shift in the opposition team can be described as a collective collapse. In the study, the theoretical collective collapse process model was used as a gui…

Electrochemical Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures on Flexible Substrate and Application as an Electrochemical Immunoglobulin-G Immunosensor

2022

Immunoglobulin G (IgG), a type of antibody, represents approximately 75% of serum antibodies in humans, and is the most common type of antibody found in blood circulation. Consequently, the development of simple, fast and reliable systems for IgG detection, which can be achieved using electrochemical sandwich-type immunosensors, is of considerable interest. In this study we have developed an immunosensor for human (H)-IgG using an inexpensive and very simple fabrication method based on ZnO nanorods (NRs) obtained through the electrodeposition of ZnO. The ZnO NRs were treated by electrodepositing a layer of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to ensure an easy immobilization of the antibodies. On I…

Dissecting the Phenotype and Genotype of PLA2G6-Related Parkinsonism.

2022

Background Complex parkinsonism is the commonest phenotype in late-onset PLA2G6-associated neurodegeneration. Objectives The aim of this study was to deeply characterize phenogenotypically PLA2G6-related parkinsonism in the largest cohort ever reported. Methods We report 14 new cases of PLA2G6-related parkinsonism and perform a systematic literature review. Results PLA2G6-related parkinsonism shows a fairly distinct phenotype based on 86 cases from 68 pedigrees. Young onset (median age, 23.0 years) with parkinsonism/dystonia, gait/balance, and/or psychiatric/cognitive symptoms were common presenting features. Dystonia occurred in 69.4%, pyramidal signs in 77.2%, myoclonus in 65.2%, and cere…

Evolution of anticipatory effects mediated by epigenetic changes.

2022

Abstract Anticipatory effects mediated by epigenetic changes occur when parents modify the phenotype of their offspring by making epigenetic changes in their gametes guided by information from an environmental cue. To investigate when do anticipatory effects mediated by epigenetic changes evolve in a fluctuating environment, I use an individual based simulation model with explicit genetic architecture. The model allows for the population to respond to environmental changes by evolving within generation plasticity, bet-hedging, or track the environment with genetic adaptation, in addition to the evolution of anticipatory effects. The results show that anticipatory effects evolve when the env…

Households' Balance Sheets and the Effect of Fiscal Policy

2022

Using households' balance-sheet composition in the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics, we identify six household types. Since 1999, there has been a decline in the share of patient households and an increase in the share of impatient households with negative wealth. Using a six-agent New Keynesian model with search and matching frictions, we explore how changes in households' shares affect the transmission of government spending shocks. We show that the relative share of households in the left tail of the wealth distribution plays a key role in the aggregate marginal propensity to consume, the magnitude of fiscal multipliers, and the distributional consequences of government spending shocks. W…

Oxidative Stress in the Pathogenesis of Aorta Diseases as a Source of Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets, with a Particular Focus on Ascend…

2022

Aorta diseases, such as ascending aorta aneurysm (AsAA), are complex pathologies, currently defined as inflammatory diseases with a strong genetic susceptibility. They are difficult to manage, being insidious and silent pathologies whose diagnosis is based only on imaging data. No diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers or markers of outcome have been known until now. Thus, their identification is imperative. Certainly, a deep understanding of the mechanisms and pathways involved in their pathogenesis might help in such research. Recently, the key role of oxidative stress (OS) on the pathophysiology of aorta disease has emerged. Here, we describe and discuss these aspects by revealing some OS …

Introduction. Des agents publics, des usagers et des réformes Lorsque la rationalisation gestionnaire conduit au tri des bénéficiaires

2022

Ce dossier examine l'influence de la « nouvelle gestion publique » sur le travail de sélection des usagers dans les services publics. Les contributions réunies et la présente introduction traitent cet enjeu sous l'angle de la sociologie des groupes professionnels, afin de répondre à l'interrogation suivante : dans quelle mesure les réactions individuelles et collectives des agents des services publics participent-elles à une éviction de certains usagers ? Nous souhaitons explorer dans ce numéro cet aspect particulier des effets de la nouvelle gestion publique (NGP) en tenant de front l'analyse des effets sur le travail des agents et les conséquences sur les usagers. Pour cela, nous nous att…

Effect of Standard Disk Plough on Soil Translocation in Sloping Sicilian Vineyards

2022

Tillage is the main force of soil redistribution in agricultural land use and has been seen as more critical than water erosion. This study aims to evaluate the effect of tillage with standard disk in vineyards. A representative study area with grapevines was selected, and 39 inter-rows were selected to test the effect of slope and forward speed. In each inter-row, a strip of soil was collected, and mixed with 2 kg of coloured sand used as a tracer, then replaced in the strip, and shallow soil tillage was performed by means of a standard disk plough. Three soil subsamples were collected along the slope every 0.30 m from the coloured strip and the sand tracer was separated from the soil and …

RESIST-HCV Criteria to Monitor Progression of Low-Risk Esophageal Varices in Patients With Compensated Cirrhosis After HCV Eradication: The SIMPLE St…

2022

Noninvasive criteria to predict the progression of low-risk esophageal varices (EV) in patients with compensated hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis after sustained virological response (SVR) by direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are lacking. Our aim was to assess the diagnostic performance of Rete Sicilia Selezione Terapia-HCV (RESIST-HCV) criteria for EV progression compared with elastography-based criteria (Baveno VI, Expanded Baveno VI, and Baveno VII-HCV criteria).All consecutive patients observed at 3 referral centers with compensated HCV cirrhosis with or without F1 EV who achieved sustained virological response by DAAs were classified at last esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) as RESIST-H…

Inhibition of Microbiota-dependent Trimethylamine N-Oxide Production Ameliorates High Salt Diet-Induced Sympathetic Excitation and Hypertension in Ra…

2022

Excessive dietary salt intake induces neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in the brain, which lead to sympathetic excitation, contributing to hypertension. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Accumulating evidence reveals that trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-derived metabolite, is implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple cardiovascular diseases. The present study sought to determine whether central TMAO is elevated and associated with neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in the brain after long-term high salt (HS) diet intake and, if so, whether inhibition of TMAO generation ameliorates HS-induced sympathetic excitation and hypertension. Sprague–Dawley …

Chemical Composition and Evaluation of Insecticidal Activity of Calendula incana subsp. maritima and Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum Essential Oils …

2022

The problems of the environment and human health related to the use of synthetic and broad-spectrum insecticides have increasingly motivated scientific research on different alternatives and among these, the use of green systems, such as essential oils, have been explored. Several species of the Apiaceae and Asteraceae families, aromatic herbs rich in secondary bioactive metabolites, are used in the industrial field for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food purposes. Different essential oils extracted from some species of these families have shown acute toxicity and attractive and/or repellent effects towards different insects. In our work, we investigated the toxic potential of Calendula inca…

Switching to Fully Online Teaching and Learning of Mathematics: The Case of Norwegian Mathematics Lecturers and University Students During the Covid-…

2022

AbstractTowards the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, was detected and quickly spread worldwide. The resulting pandemic led many countries to lockdown and teaching and learning switched to fully online provision. This study explores how Norwegian higher education lecturers and students of mathematics experienced online provision following this switch in March 2020 when the national lockdown was imposed. Data are generated and analysed using an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach that first entailed interviews with ten mathematics lecturers and six undergraduate students as the foundation for developing a survey instrument. The instrument was designed to explore …

DEFINITION OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR MONITORING IMPACT AND BIOREMEDIATION INTERVENTIONS ON MARINE AQUACULTURE

2022

RNA-seq transcriptome analysis provides candidate genes for resistance to Tomato leaf cur New Delhi virus in melon

2022

[EN] Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) emerged in the Mediterranean Basin in 2012 as the first DNA bipartite begomovirus (Geminiviridae family), causing severe yield and economic losses in cucurbit crops. A major resistance locus was identified in the wild melon accession WM-7 (Cucumis melo kachri group), but the mechanisms involved in the resistant response remained unknown. In this work, we used RNA-sequencing to identify disease-associated genes that are differentially expressed in the course of ToLCNDV infection and could contribute to resistance. Transcriptomes of the resistant WM-7 genotype and the susceptible cultivar Piñonet Piel de Sapo (PS)(C. melo ibericus group) in ToLC…

A nationwide school fruit and vegetable policy and childhood and adolescent overweight: A quasi-natural experimental study

2022

Background School free fruit and vegetable (FFV) policies are used to promote healthy dietary habits and tackle obesity; however, our understanding of their effects on weight outcomes is limited. We assess the effect of a nationwide FFV policy on childhood and adolescent weight status and explore heterogeneity by sex and socioeconomic position. Methods and findings This study used a quasi-natural experimental design. Between 2007 and 2014, Norwegian combined schools (grades 1–10, age 6 to 16 years) were obligated to provide FFVs while elementary schools (grades 1–7) were not. We used 4 nationwide studies (n = 11,215 children) from the Norwegian Growth Cohort with longitudinal or cross-secti…

Content of blood cell components, inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in autologous platelet-rich plasma obtained by various methods.

2022

BACKGROUND The evaluation of the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in clinical practice yields conflicting results and raises numerous controversies. This may be due to different concentrations of biologically active components in PRP obtained with the use of different methods of gravity separation. AIM To compare the content, repeatability and correlations between biologically active components in PRP obtained with four different commercial systems. METHODS From a whole blood sample of each of 12 healthy male volunteers, 4 PRP samples were prepared using 4 different commercial kits [Arthrex Autologous Conditioned Plasma (ACP), Mini GPS III, Xerthra, Dr. PRP] in accordance with the ins…

Advanced Techniques for Design and Manufacturing in Marine Engineering

2022

Modern engineering design processes are driven by the extensive use of numerical simulations, and naval architecture as well as ocean engineering are no exception. Structural design or fluid dynamic performance evaluation can only be carried out by means of several dedicated pieces of software. Classical naval design methodology can take advantage of the integration of these pieces of software, giving rise to more robust design in terms of shape, structural and hydrodynamic performances, and manufacturing processes. This Special Issue (SI) on “Advanced Techniques for Design and Manufacturing in Marine Engineering”, published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, aimed to invite …

Simulated poaching affects global connectivity and efficiency in social networks of African savanna elephants-An exemplar of how human disturbance im…

2022

Selective harvest, such as poaching, impacts group-living animals directly through mortality of individuals with desirable traits, and indirectly by altering the structure of their social networks. Understanding the relationship between disturbance-induced, structural network changes and group performance in wild animals remains an outstanding problem. To address this problem, we evaluated the immediate effect of disturbance on group sociality in African savanna elephants—an example, group-living species threatened by poaching. Drawing on static association data from ten free-ranging groups, we constructed one empirically based, population-wide network and 100 virtual networks; performed a …

Orobanche australis Moris ex Bertol. the correct name for O. thapsoides Lojac. (Orobanchaceae)

2022

The taxonomic relationships between Orobanche australis and O. thapsoides are analyzed through the study of the original material. These species are also compared with other morphologically similar ones occurring in the Mediterranean (O. canescens, O. pubescens, O. palaestina, O. amethystea). The lectotype of O. palaestina is designated. From the comparison of these taxa it is evident that O. australis and O. thapsoides refer to the same taxon, to which the name O. australis must be given by priority. The distribution of this species includes Sardinia, Sicily, Peninsular Italy and Southern France. It grows on pastures from the sea level to about 1000 m of altitude, host of Asteraceae. An id…

The varieties of bifocal Grassmann tensors

2022

AbstractGrassmann tensors arise from classical problems of scene reconstruction in computer vision. In particular, bifocal Grassmann tensors, related to a pair of projections from a projective space onto view spaces of varying dimensions, generalize the classical notion of fundamental matrices. In this paper, we study in full generality the variety of bifocal Grassmann tensors focusing on its birational geometry. To carry out this analysis, every object of multi-view geometry is described both from an algebraic and geometric point of view, e.g., the duality between the view spaces, and the space of rays is explicitly described via polarity. Next, we deal with the moduli of bifocal Grassmann…

The Application of CRISPR/Cas9 Technology for Cancer Immunotherapy: Current Status and Problems

2022

Cancer is one of the main causes of disease-related deaths in the world. Although cancer treatment strategies have been improved in recent years, the survival time of cancer patients is still far from satisfied. Cancer immunotherapy, such as Oncolytic virotherapy, Immune checkpoints inhibition, Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy, Chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cell therapy and macrophages genomic modification, has emerged as an effective therapeutic strategy for different kinds of cancer. However, many patients do not respond to the cancer immunotherapy which warrants further investigation to optimize this strategy. The clustered regularly interspaced short …

The Place of Energy Security in the National Security Framework: An Assessment Approach

2022

The term “energy security” is used almost everywhere in economic and political discussions related to energy supply. However, different authors use different meanings to express the concept of energy security. Quite often, this term is used to give more importance or relevance to issues that are often not inherently related to energy security. Attempts to define the essence of the concept of “energy security” have hitherto not been systematic and are characterized by a variety of approaches, and some insufficient justification especially in the aspect of state national security is notable. Our contribution to the discourse development is the consideration of energy s…

Knowledge Mapping of Optimal Taxation Studies: A Bibliometric Analysis and Network Visualization

2022

The problem of tax policy design has been an important concern over the years, involving comprehensive scientific research. In this study, our major goal was to examine and map the optimal taxation research thematic structure by using bibliometric analysis. The analysis was carried out with the CiteSpace software on publications indexed by Web of Science (WoS) between 1975 and 2021. This document offers an actual bibliometric analysis of the current research climate in terms of optimal taxation, based on the following aspects: (1) descriptive characteristics of publication outputs (distribution by years, authors, countries, journals); (2) collaboration analysis of authors, institutions, and…

Psychic income associated with Shanghai tennis masters and residents’ attitude

2022

Using Shanghai Tennis Masters as an example, this study seeks to explore the psychic income associated with major sports events hosting and whether the psychic income would predict the attitudes of local residents toward events hosting. In addition, the moderating effect of sport involvement on the relationship between psychic income and attitude is also tested. In this study, a questionnaire survey is adopted. The structured questionnaire was developed based on 4 parts, including the demographics of the residents, involvement in the sport event, psychic income from the sport event, and their attitudes toward the sports event, there were 47 items in total. Data were collected from the local…

Correlations between Diabetes Mellitus Self-Care Activities and Glycaemic Control in the Adult Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

2022

Although it is well known that lifestyle changes can affect plasma glucose levels, there is little formal evidence for the sustained effectiveness of exercise and diet in diabetes mellitus (DM) management. Self-care in DM refers to the real-life application of the knowledge that the patient gained during the education programmes. The goals are to bring about changes in the patient’s behaviour, thus improving glycaemic control. We evaluated the influence of DM self-care activities (SCA) on glycaemic control in a total of 159 patients with DM. Plasma glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were used to monitor glycaemic control, while SCA were assessed using the standardised Diabetes Self-M…

Injury History and Perceived Knee Function as Risk Factors for Knee Injury in Youth Team-Sports Athletes

2022

Background: The identification of risk factors for sports injuries is essential before injury prevention strategies can be planned. Hypothesis: Previous acute knee injury and lower perceived knee function measured by Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) will increase the risk of acute knee injury in youth team-sports athletes. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: At baseline, youth (≤21 years old) male and female basketball and floorball athletes completed a questionnaire on previous acute knee injuries and perceived knee function (KOOS). A total of 211 male and 183 female athletes were followed for an acute knee injury up to 3 years. U…

HITS-CLIP analysis of human ALKBH8 points towards its role in tRNA and noncoding RNA regulation

2022

AbstractTransfer RNAs acquire a large plethora of chemical modifications. Among those, modifications of the anticodon loop play important roles in translational fidelity and tRNA stability. Four human wobble U containing tRNAs obtain 5-methoxycarbonylmethyluridine (mcm5U34) or 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2-thiouridine (mcm5s2U34), which play a role in decoding. This mark involves a cascade of enzymatic activities. The last step is mediated by Alkylation Repair Homolog 8 (ALKBH8). In this study, we performed a transcriptome-wide analysis of the repertoire of ALKBH8 RNA targets. Using a combination of HITS-CLIP-seq and RIP-seq analyses, we uncover ALKBH8-bound RNAs. It targets an additional wobbl…

The role of thermal contribution in the design of AA2024 friction stir welded butt and lap joints: mechanical properties and energy demand

2022

Although in recent times the use of solid-state welding processes as friction stir welding (FSW) has become increasingly widespread, for some joint morphologies, as lap joints, there are still signifcantly less data available on both process parameters optimization and energy consumption. In the present paper, the authors investigated the possibility of enhancing the joint quality in two diferent confgurations, i.e. lap and butt joints, taking into account specifc thermal contribution (STC) conferred to the weld. Strength, micro-hardness and microstructure were evaluated on the produced AA2024 aluminum alloys butt and lap joints. The surface response method (RSM) was used to investigate the…

Detoxification of Copper and Chromium via Dark Hydrogen Fermentation of Potato Waste by Clostridium butyricum Strain 92

2022

The accumulation of various types of waste containing both organic and inorganic metal-containing compounds is extremely hazardous for living organisms. The possibility of polymer degradation, biohydrogen synthesis, and metal detoxification via the dark fermentation of model potato waste was investigated. For this purpose, the strict anaerobic strain was isolated and identified as Clostridium butyricum. The high efficiency of dark hydrogen fermentation of potatoes with yield of hydrogen in 85.8 ± 15.3 L kg−1 VSpotato was observed. The copperand chromium salts solutions were added to the culture fluid to obtain the concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg L−1 Cu(II) and Cr(VI) in the active pha…

Identification of Copy Number Variations and Genetic Diversity in Italian Insular Sheep Breeds

2022

Simple Summary The aim of this work is to identify CNVs and perform a CNV-based population genetics analysis in five Italian sheep breeds (Barbaresca, Comisana, Pinzirita, Sarda, and Valle del Belìce). We identified 10,207 CNVs and 365 CNV regions (CNVRs). The different approaches used to disclose the genetic relationship showed that the five breeds tend to cluster in distinct groups. Gene enrichment was described for the 37 CNVRs selected considering the top 10%. Gene Ontology analysis showed that several of these genes are involved in lipid metabolism, immune response, and the olfactory pathway. CNVs represent valuable molecular resources to provide useful information for separating the p…