Comparative Analysis of Chromatin-Delivered Biomarkers in the Monitoring of Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Pilot Study

2021

Sepsis management remains one of the most important challenges in modern clinical practice. Rapid progression from sepsis to septic shock is practically unpredictable, hence the critical need for sepsis biomarkers that can help clinicians in the management of patients to reduce the probability of a fatal outcome. Circulating nucleoproteins released during the inflammatory response to infection, including neutrophil extracellular traps, nucleosomes, and histones, and nuclear proteins like HMGB1, have been proposed as markers of disease progression since they are related to inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial damage, and impairment of the coagulation response, among other pathological…

Media intervention program for reducing unrealistic optimism bias: The link between unrealistic optimism, well-being, and health.

2021

Unrealistic optimism is the tendency to perceive oneself as safer than others in situations that equally threaten everybody. By reducing fear, this bias boosts one's well-being; however, it is also a deterrent to one's health. Three experiments were run in a mixed-design on 1831 participants to eliminate unrealistic optimism (measured by two items-probability of COVID-19 infection for oneself and for others; within-subjects) toward the probability of COVID-19 infection via articles/videos. A between-subject factor was created by manipulation. Ostensibly, daily newspaper articles describing other people diligently following medical recommendations (experiment 1) and videos showing people who…

Understanding the EU Urban Agenda from the margins of Europe: the case of Porto

2021

This research focuses on the EU regional policy and presents a critical analysis of its influence on the urban regeneration process of the Portuguese city of Porto. A particular attention is drawn to the historic centre area which in 1996 was formally recognised by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The old town's social, cultural and historic heritage has been dealing with a diverse range of challenges and consequently has been the stage of different urban interventions. Among the actions that have been implemented during the last 50 years to steer the area's development, two area-based interventions linked to the EU Cohesion Policy have notably contributed to the processes of urban chan…

Modeling Forest Tree Data Using Sequential Spatial Point Processes

2021

AbstractThe spatial structure of a forest stand is typically modeled by spatial point process models. Motivated by aerial forest inventories and forest dynamics in general, we propose a sequential spatial approach for modeling forest data. Such an approach is better justified than a static point process model in describing the long-term dependence among the spatial location of trees in a forest and the locations of detected trees in aerial forest inventories. Tree size can be used as a surrogate for the unknown tree age when determining the order in which trees have emerged or are observed on an aerial image. Sequential spatial point processes differ from spatial point processes in that the…

Climate variability, innovation and firm performance: evidence from the European agricultural sector

2021

Abstract It is generally accepted that adaptation to climate variability requires a technological advancement strategy. However, the innovation process has received little explicit consideration in this framework. We employ a panel endogenous switching regression model to explore whether and to what extent climate variability affects firm performance through the ability to induce the development of adaptation innovations in key resource-based sectors in Europe during the period 2007–2017. Our findings confirm that the knowledge generation process at the heart of climate change adaptation technologies enhances firm performance, especially for firms in the aquaculture and fishing sub-sectors …

The “Seili-index” For The Prediction of Chlorophyll-α Levels In The Archipelago Sea of The Northern Baltic Sea, Southwest Finland

2021

AbstractTo build a forecasting tool for the state of eutrophication in the Archipelago Sea, we fitted a Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) to marine environmental monitoring data, which were collected over the years 2011–2019 by an automated profiling buoy at the Seili ODAS-station. The resulting “Seili-index” can be used to predict the chlorophyll-α (chl-a) concentration in the seawater a number of days ahead by using the temperature forecast as a covariate. An array of test predictions with two separate models on the 2019 data set showed that the index is adept at predicting the amount of chl-a especially in the upper water layer. The visualization with 10 days of chl-a level predict…

Gender, Identities, and Material Culture in the Italic Peninsula: Burial Practices and Loom Weights in Perspective

2021

AbstractThis paper discusses the complex relationship between material culture and gender studies from a methodological point of view, with the aim of contributing to discussions in the field of Classical archaeology. First, we provide a few historiographical benchmarks for key epistemological developments, while evidencing the methodological difficulties inherent in the variability of our interpretations of burial practices and data. Then, in a second section, a case study focuses on simple objects of daily life. Discussing approaches inspired by gender studies, and considering the place of loom weights, we wish to tackle the presumption of textile work as an eminently female activity. The…

Understanding distortions of inorganic substructures in chloridobismuthates(III)

2021

The molar ratio variations of organic and inorganic reactants of chloridobismuthates(III) with N,N-dimethylethane-1,2-diammonium, [(CH3)2NH(CH2)2NH3]2+, and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylguanidinium, [NH2C{N(CH3)2}2]+, cations lead to the formation of four different products, namely, tris(N,N-dimethylethane-1,2-diammonium) bis[hexachloridobismuthate(III)], [(CH3)2NH(CH2)2NH3]3[BiCl6]2 (1), catena-poly[N,N-dimethylethane-1,2-diammonium [[tetrachloridobismuthate(III)]-μ-chlorido]], {[(CH3)2NH(CH2)2NH3][BiCl5]} n (2), tris(N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylguanidinium) tri-μ-chlorido-bis[trichloridobismuthate(III)], [NH2C{N(CH3)2}2]3[Bi2Cl9] (3), and catena-poly[N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylguanidinium [[dichloridobismutha…

La creación de un nuevo orden público europeo en materia de privacidad como presupuesto para su garantía integral

2021

espanolLa normativa reciente en materia de proteccion de datos asi como los pronunciamientos del Tribunal de Justicia de la Union Europea en la cuestion y del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos sobre el derecho a la vida privada, refuerzan la idea de la existencia de un orden publico europeo distinto del orden publico interno e internacional de cada Estado miembro. En este sentido, se ha venido conformando una estrategia comunitaria y un orden publico europeo en torno a la concepcion de la vida intima y familiar y, en particular, al propio concepto de privacidad, cuyo alcance y significacion difiere de la conceptualizacion que, sobre estos elementos, se ha venido realizando por la doctrin…

How do gender, Internet activity and learning beliefs predict sixth-grade students’ self-efficacy beliefs in and attitudes towards online inquiry?

2021

Today’s students search, evaluate and actively use Web information in their school assignments, that is, they conduct an online inquiry. This current survey study addresses sixth-grade students’ self-efficacy beliefs in and attitudes towards online inquiry, and to what extent free-time and school-related Internet activity, gender and learning beliefs explain these. The questionnaire was administered in 10 schools to 340 sixth-graders in Finland. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed three elements of self-efficacy beliefs: self-efficacy in Web searching, the evaluation of sources and synthesising information. Furthermore, attitudes towards online inquiry loaded into two fact…

Is immunohistochemistry more sensitive than hematoxylin-eosin staining for identifying perineural or lymphovascular invasion in oral squamous cell ca…

2021

This study aimed to analyze whether immunohistochemistry (IHC) is more sensitive than hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining for identifying perineural invasion (PNI) or lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In this systematic review and meta-analysis (Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews ? CRD 42021256515), data were obtained from six databases (PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, Web of Science, EBSCO, LIVIVO, Embase) and the grey literature. Cross-sectional observational studies of the diagnostic sensitivity of IHC for PNI and LVI were included. Studies were selected in two phases: first collection and reference retrieval. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy…

What Determines the Electrochemical Properties of Nitrogenated Amorphous Carbon Thin Films?

2021

Funding Information: We acknowledge the provision of facilities by RawMatters Finland Infrastructure (RAMI, no. 292884), Aalto University Bioeconomy, and OtaNano - Nanomicroscopy Center (Aalto-NMC). Use of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under contract no. DE-AC02-76SF00515. We acknowledge CSC – IT Center for Science, Finland, for computational resources. S.S. acknowledges funding from the Walter Ahlström Foundation. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skł…

Place affect interventions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

2021

The COVID-19 health and economic crisis has also brought a rise in people being unable to cope with their existing medical conditions and other issues such as domestic violence, drugs, and alcohol among others. Suicidal tendencies have been on the rise. Feelings of isolation causing emotional distress in place-confined settings have put additional pressure on the healthcare systems demanding that we find additional and complementary means of support for those in need. This is important not only in the current pandemic but also in the post-pandemic world. The goal is to collectively contribute and address the recurring calls for actions to maintain global well-being and public health. An imp…

ePTFE ‐based biomedical devices: An overview of surgical efficiency

2021

International audience; Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a ubiquitous material used for implants and medical devices in general because of its high biocompatibility and inertness: blood vessel, heart, table jawbone, nose, eyes, or abdominal wall can benefit from its properties in case of disease or injury. Its expanded version, ePTFE is an improved version of PTFE with better mechanical properties, which extends its medical applications. A material as frequently used as ePTFE with these exceptional properties deserves a review of its main uses, developments, and possibility of improvements. In this systematic review, we examined clinical trials related to ePTFE-based medical devices from t…

Using optical clock transitions in Cu II and Yb III for time-keeping and search for new physics

2021

We study the $^1$S$_0 - ^3$D$_2$ and $^1$S$_0 - ^3$D$_3$ transitions in Cu II and the $^1$S$_0 - ^3$P$^{\rm o}_2$ transition in Yb III as possible candidates for the optical clock transitions. A recently developed version of the configuration (CI) method, designed for a large number of electrons above closed-shell core, is used to carry out the calculation. We calculate excitation energies, transition rates, lifetimes, scalar static polarizabilities of the ground and clock states, and blackbody radiation shift. We demonstrate that the considered transitions have all features of the clock transition leading to prospects of highly accurate measurements. Search for new physics, such as time va…

Realtà, verità, impegno letterario. Wirklichkeitsentwürfe der italienischen Nachkriegsliteratur bei Carlo Emilio Gadda, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Elsa Mor…

2021

Low Frequency of Human Papillomavirus in Strictly Site-Coded Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas, Using the Latest NHI/SEER-ICD Systems: A Pilot Observatio…

2021

Simple Summary The incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCCs) has increased in the last decades, and this seems to be correlated to the infectious epidemiological trend of human papillomavirus (HPV). The prevalence of HPV-positive OPSCCs is approximately 70%, with involvement mainly of the tonsillar area. On the role of HPV in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), very few studies have investigated the prevalence of HPV in strictly site-codified OSCC, excluding the base of the tongue as distinct oropharyngeal entity. As a result, an inappropriate estimation of HPV infection in OSCC has been observed. We investigated HPV status, using a combination of detection methods, in a…

Predicting physical activity change in cancer survivors: an application of the Health Action Process Approach

2021

Green Extraction Strategies for Sea Urchin Waste Valorization

2021

Commonly known as “purple sea urchin,” Paracentrotus lividus occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. This species is a highly appreciated food resource and Italy is the main consumer among the European countries. Gonads are the edible part of the animal but they represent only a small fraction (10–30%) of the entire sea urchin mass, therefore, the majority ends up as waste. Recently, an innovative methodology was successfully developed to obtain high-value collagen from sea urchin by-products to be used for tissue engineering. However, tissues used for the collagen extraction are still a small portion of the sea urchin waste (<20%) and the remaining part, main…

Eltrombopag treatment for severe immune thrombocytopenia during pregnancy: a case report

2021

Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by isolated thrombocytopenia (platelet count <100 × 109/l) in the absence of other causes or disorders associated. The incidence of ITP in pregnancy is one to two cases per 1000 gestations. ITP could be diagnosed before or during pregnancy; sometimes a relapse of a previously diagnosed ITP can occur. Intravenous immune globulins (IVIg) and corticosteroids are the standard frontline therapy because of their well known safety profile either for the mother or for the neonate. Treatments for refractory patients are limited by potential fetal risk. We report the case of a patient with ITP along pregnancy, refractory…

Analysis of the Peripapillary and Macular Regions Using OCT Angiography in Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

2021

Purpose: To measure RNFL and vasculature around the optic disc and in the macula in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods: 24 eyes of patients with SZ and 16 eyes of patients with BD as well as 30 eyes of healthy subjects were examined with OCTA. The radiant peripapillary capillary (RPC) density and RNFL thickness were measured in the peripapillary area. Moreover, macular thickness and vessel density were measured in both superficial and deep layers. Results: Significantly decreased values of vessel density in the macular deep vascular complex were found in the eyes of patients with SZ, compared to BD and th…

Socio-Ecological Correlates of Physical Activity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study in Spain

2021

This study aims to analyse the Physical Activity(PA) levels of a group of children with ASD and explore certain socio-ecological variables that may be correlated with these levels. The participants of this cross-sectional study were 20 boys and 5girls with ASD, aged between 4 and 14 years. A socio-demographic questionnaire was designed expressly to obtain socio-demographic data, and PA levels were measured with a triaxial accelerometer (ActiGraph, wGT3X-BT).After performing a descriptive analysis, we analysed the relationship between the variables through Spearman correlations and performed the Kruskal Wallis test to compare the results of moderate, vigorous and very vigorous PA according t…

Intermittent Fasting and the Possible Benefits in Obesity, Diabetes, and Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

2021

Intermittent fasting has become popular in recent years and is controversially presented as a possible therapeutic adjunct. A bibliographic review of the literature on intermittent fasting and obesity, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis was carried out. The scientific quality of the methodology and the results obtained were evaluated in pairs. Intermittent fasting has beneficial effects on the lipid profile, and it is associated with weight loss and a modification of the distribution of abdominal fat in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes as well as an improvement in the control of glycemic levels. In patients with multiple sclerosis, the data available are too scarce to draw any firm con…

Tales of saviours and iconoclasts. On the provenance of "the Dead Sea Scrolls of Buddhism"

2021

Academic research on newly discovered ancient Buddhist manuscripts is largely based on objects that come from the antiquities market and to a much lesser degree on objects coming from documented and controlled archaeological excavations. Despite their being unprovenanced, collectors and scholars often present such objects with narratives mimicking provenance. The use of the label "Dead Sea Scrolls" attached to archaeological material without connections to Judaism or early Christianity is a prevalent example of this scholarly praxis. In this article, we deconstruct provenance narratives associated with the undocumented Buddhist manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection and discuss their implica…

Disegnare il non costruito: la Caserma-Teatro G.I.L. di Luigi Moretti a Piacenza

2021

Come si misura la distanza che intercorre tra noi e un edificio rimasto sulla carta? Questa domanda apparentemente pretestuosa può esserci utile per incardinare delle riflessioni sull’uso del Disegno nello studio dell’architettura non realizzata, soprattutto quella del primo ‘900. Non a caso, nell’approfondire un progetto rimasto tale di Luigi Moretti per la città di Piacenza (la locale “Caserma-Teatro G.I.L.”) si è voluto prioritariamente verificare un metodo che prevede l’applicazione di alcuni degli strumenti propri della Scienza della Rappresentazione. I culmini di questo processo lento di decodifica e successiva esegesi sono stati certamente l’analisi grafica (che ha permesso di discre…

The Impact of Diet and Physical Activity on Bone Health in Children and Adolescents.

2021

There is growing recognition of the role of diet and physical activity in modulating bone mineral density, bone mineral content, and remodeling, which in turn can impact bone health later in life. Adequate nutrient composition could influence bone health and help to maximize peak bone mass. Therefore, children’s nutrition may have lifelong consequences. Also, physical activity, adequate in volume or intensity, may have positive consequences on bone mineral content and density and may preserve bone loss in adulthood. Most of the literature that exists for children, about diet and physical activity on bone health, has been translated from studies conducted in adults. Thus, there are still man…

La presenza femminile nell'istituzione della 'proxenia'

2021

Placenta Accreta Spectrum Disorder in a Patient with Six Previous Caesarean Deliveries: Step by Step Management

2021

The definition placenta accreta spectrum disorders (PAS) introduced by FIGO (International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics) indicates an abnormal, pathological adherence or invasion of the placenta. The growing worldwide incidence of this pathological entity, and the possible serious correlated surgical risks, has caused a significant increase in attention among the scientific community. Previous caesarean delivery and presence of placenta previa are the main risk factors for the onset of PAS. Here, we present the intriguing case of a 39-year-old woman, at the 33rd week of gestation, with six previous caesarean sections and with a diagnosis of placenta previa accreta. At our referr…

Oxygenated Cembrene Diterpenes from Sarcophyton convolutum: Cytotoxic Sarcoconvolutum A–E

2021

The soft coral genus Sarcophyton contains the enzymatic machinery to synthesize a multitude of cembrene-type diterpenes. Herein, highly oxygenated cembrenoids, sarcoconvolutum A–E (1–5) were purified and characterized from an ethyl acetate extract of the red sea soft coral, Sarcophyton convolutum. Compounds were assemblies according to spectroscopic methods including FTIR, 1D- and 2D-NMR as well as HRMS. Metabolite cytotoxicity was tested against lung adenocarcinoma, cervical cancer, and oral-cavity carcinoma (A549, HeLa and HSC-2, respectively). The most cytotoxic compound, (4) was observed to be active against cell lines A549 and HSC-2 with IC50 values of 49.70 and 53.17 μM, respectively.

Exploring Potential Benefits of Accumulated Multicomponent-Training in Non-Active Older Adults: From Physical Fitness to Mental Health

2021

The present study aimed to analyze the impact of a multicomponent training (MCT) program in a group of non-active older adults, comparing two different dose distributions. Twenty-four individuals, assigned to two groups, completed 15 weeks of MCT (2 days/week). The continuous group (CMCT

Does omitting the accent mark in a word affect sentence reading? Evidence from Spanish

2021

Lexical stress in multisyllabic words is consistent in some languages (e.g., first syllable in Finnish), but it is variable in others (e.g., Spanish, English). To help lexical processing in a transparent language like Spanish, scholars have proposed a set of rules specifying which words require an accent mark indicating lexical stress in writing. However, recent word recognition using that lexical decision showed that word identification times were not affected by the omission of a word’s accent mark in Spanish. To examine this question in a paradigm with greater ecological validity, we tested whether omitting the accent mark in a Spanish word had a deleterious effect during silent sentenc…

Histological and immunohistochemical findings in a fatal case of thrombotic thrombocytopenia after ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination

2021

This case report describes a fatal case of a young woman with superior sagittal, transverse and sigmoid sinus thrombosis after administration of the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination. Eleven days post-vaccination she was found unconscious and transferred to the Emergency Department. Blood parameters showed low platelets, and a CT scan showed an extensive left intracranial hemorrhage and the presence of an occlusive thrombus of the superior sagittal sinus. She under-went a craniectomy, but after the intervention, she remained in a comatose state. After a few days, her clinical conditions worsened, and she died. A complete autopsy was performed which showed a thrombosis of the cerebral venous distr…

Intermittent and Periodic Fasting, Hormones, and Cancer Prevention

2021

Simple Summary Hormonal and growth factor alterations, related to an elevated food consumption and excessive adiposity, affect the regulation of genes involved in cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation and DNA repair, allowing cells to survive and proliferate despite the accumulation of mutations which lead to malignant transformation. The growth hormone/insulin growth factor-1 (GH/IGF-1)/ insulin pathway and its downstream effectors, in fact, are known to promote aging and/or age-related diseases, including cancer, in many model organisms. The restriction of nutrients is established to have strong effects on levels of hormones and growth factors, delaying the incidence…

« Allianz-Arena, Orange Vélodrome & Co: zum Werbepotenzial kommerzieller Namen von Sportplätzen im deutsch-französischen Vergleich »

2021

International audience; Aktualität und Relevanz Der neueste Versuch, eine European Super-League einzuführen, verdeutlichte einmal mehr, dass Fußballfans meistens nur noch als bloße Konsumenten des Produkts Fußball betrachtet werden. Allerdings belegten die Reaktionen von Politikern (The Economist 2021) und von den Fans selbst, dass im europäischen Fußball andere Gesetzmäßigkeiten gelten als von Investoren angenommen. Gewinnmaximierung unter Ausschluss des sportlichen Wettbewerbs und ohne Berücksichtigung gewachsener Strukturen, Traditionen und Fankulturen scheint (noch) nicht vermittelbar (Mustroph 2021). Dass dennoch immer neue Geldquellen erschlossen werden, zeigt das wachsende Phänomen d…

Influence of Two Different Coating Application Methods on the Maintenance of the Nutritional Quality of Fresh-Cut Melon during Storage

2021

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of two coating application methods, spraying and dipping, on the quality of fresh-cut melons. An alginate-based coating containing both ascorbic and citric acid was applied at two concentrations (5% and 10%) with both methods on fresh-cut melon. The nutritional quality of the products was investigated during 11 days of storage at 10 °C. The suitability and adaptability of the applied coatings on the fruit were evaluated based on rheological and microstructural properties. Moisture, carotenoids, total polyphenols and ascorbic acid content were analyzed on melon samples during storage. Results showed that the coating solution applied by the dipping m…

Physical Activity and Exercise: Text Mining Analysis

2021

It is currently difficult to have a global state of the art vision of certain scientific topics. In the field of physical activity (PA) and exercise, this is due to information overload. The present study aims to provide a solution by analysing a large mass of scientific articles using text mining (TM). The purpose was to analyse what is being investigated in the PA health field on young people from primary, secondary and higher education. Titles and abstracts published in the Web of Science (WOS) database were analysed using TM on 24 November 2020, and after removing duplicates, 85,368 remained. The results show 9960 (unique) words and the most frequently used bi-grams and tri-grams. A co-…