Search

For years, cancer has been the second cause of death worldwide, preceded by cardiovascular diseases only. The number of research groups focusing on the discovery of new drugs to treat cancer is growing and the aim is to look for more effective compounds that cause less severe side effects and do not suffer from therapeutic resistance. The metal complexes cisplatin and carboplatin are widely used in the chemotherapeutic treatment of various types of cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Both compounds are essential in modern chemotherapy and continue to be the subject of research to optimize their therapeutic properties and minimize adverse effects. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) allows obtaining both quantitative data and information on the spatial distribution of elements in biological tissues and populations of single cells. In this work, the content of Pt and its distribution in TNBC MDA-MB-231 cells were determined via LA-ICP-MS analysis after incubation with different Pt-containing drugs. The quantitative analysis of single cells and the elemental maps revealing the distribution of Pt over and within the cells provide an enhanced insight into the potential mechanism of action of these Pt-containing drugs and their efficacy against TNBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes hydrometeorological data (1950–2023) to examine the signatures of El Niño and La Niña events and assess their impact on rainfall distribution in the Piura Region, Peru. Using data from 23 stations, high-resolution gridded rainfall datasets (PISCO), and oceanic–atmospheric indices we investigated the frequency, intensity, and spatial variability of these events in the Piura River Basin (PRB). Return periods for very strong El Niño and La Niña events are 25 and 19 years, respectively, compared to 2 years for neutral conditions. Over the past 30 years, the recurrence of Coastal El Niño has significantly increased. This increased frequency contributes to the global rise in El Niño events, reducing the return period for very strong events from 5.2 to 3.4 years. This rise correlates with an increase in maximum daily precipitation across the basin centered in the middle PRB during El Niño years. Future rainfall projections, based on 20 CMIP6 GCMs under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios, suggest continued intensification of rainfall events. These findings highlight the necessity of incorporating El Niño variability into infrastructure design, water resource management, and climate adaptation strategies to mitigate the impacts of these increasingly frequent and severe events in the PRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a bicentennial history, the interest in polyiodides and related systems still flourishes. The chemical puzzle provided by the intricate nature of chemical bonding in these polyanions remains challenging these days. The advent of the halogen bond and the spreading interest in supramolecular interactions of halogen-based systems promoted further recent interest. Research in the area of materials, where local bonding details eventually result in desired macroscopic properties, provided a further boost. Herein, we illustrate the consequences of contemplating a different bonding scheme for polyiodides, one making explicit use of electron-deficient multicenter bonds (EDMBs), an emerging concept in this area. We present a reinterpretation of polyiodide bonding using a revised approach to the Lewis dot formulas, leading to a clearer pen-and-paper understanding of their bonding. The model is general and can be applied to other related problems (here polyiodonium cations, and other homo- and hetero-polyhalides). Our alternative narrative has a few interesting consequences on several traditional and currently hot topics, including the nature of basic building blocks for polyiodides, hypervalency vs. hypercoordination, the distinction between covalent bonds and supramolecular interactions, and the nature of secondary and halogen bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rammed earth techniques have a long history and are widely used in the Mediterranean and China. These traditional techniques developed independently in the two regions, producing differences and similarities. Tools and materials as two essential aspects are compared in this paper. For ease of movement and secure fixing, formworks comprise forms, end-stops, and retaining devices. The latter determines how the formwork is used. The formwork size represents the main difference and influences various aspects. Although the choice of the earth for construction is similar, the different local soil components and materials constitute essential differences in reinforcing rammed earth in the two areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza can be associated with nonrespiratory disease presentation, but these are less well documented due to the lack of routine testing for influenza in the healthcare system, especially if patients do not present with influenza‐like illness (ILI). We aimed to measure the proportion of influenza cases seeking care at emergency department (ED) for a nontraumatic cause, to describe their clinical presentation and their ED‐discharge diagnosis. Methods: The study was conducted at seven hospitals in France, Spain, Italy and Germany during the 2019–20 influenza season, for a period of 10 weeks. Patients (≥ 18 years) consulting for nontraumatic causes at the ED were invited to participate. Consenting patients provided upper respiratory swab samples for influenza testing by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Clinical and demographic data were collected. Results: There were 8678 patients included, 50.7% were female and the median age was 57 years. Among them, 494 (5.7%) were laboratory‐confirmed influenza (LCI) cases. Nonetheless, only 24.3% of LCI cases had an ED‐discharge of influenza. Of all cases confirmed as influenza, 47.6% had a nonrespiratory discharge diagnosis, which frequency increased with age. ILI case definition from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control was the most frequently met among influenza cases (68.6%). Older patients (≥ 65 years) were less frequently identified based on any ILI signs/symptoms. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the impact of influenza among patients seeking care at the ED cannot be easily assessed based on clinical presentation and medical records alone. Preventing influenza among adult population may reduce healthcare utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of bibliographical sources, official governance documents, expert interviews and fieldwork on the phenomenon of depopulation in the United Kingdom, this text identifies the different geographical, historical, economic and political factors influencing different fields, including territory, agriculture, urbanism, rural settlements, traditional architecture, population and society. The set of factors and fields of action was recorded in a multifactor matrix that enabled the analysis of cases applied in the United Kingdom to identify strategies and actions aimed at guaranteeing the conservation of vernacular settlements and architecture. The study was subsequently expanded with detailed research in four areas: the regions of the Cotswolds (Oxfordshire) and Cornwall in England, Mid West Wales and the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The aim of this study, applied to the case of the United Kingdom, is to extract guidelines, strategies and actions that can be applied to other contexts where tangible and intangible vernacular heritage is to be safeguarded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexi-grid technology has revolutionized optical networking by enabling Elastic Optical Networks (EONs) that offer greater flexibility and dynamism compared to traditional fixed-grid systems. As data traffic continues to grow exponentially, the need for efficient and scalable solutions to the routing and spectrum assignment (RSA) problem in EONs becomes increasingly critical. The RSA problem, being NP-Hard, requires solutions that can simultaneously address both spatial routing and spectrum allocation. This paper proposes a novel quantum-based approach to solving the RSA problem. By formulating the problem as a Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) model, we employ the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) to effectively solve it. Our approach is specifically designed to minimize end-to-end delay while satisfying the continuity and contiguity constraints of frequency slots. Simulations conducted using the Qiskit framework and IBM-QASM simulator validate the effectiveness of our method. We applied the QAOA-based RSA approach to small network topology, where the number of nodes and frequency slots was constrained by the limited qubit count on current quantum simulator. In this small network, the algorithm successfully converged to an optimal solution in less than 30 iterations, with a total runtime of approximately 10.7 s with an accuracy of 78.8 % . Additionally, we conducted a comparative analysis between QAOA, integer linear programming, and deep reinforcement learning methods to evaluate the performance of the quantum-based approach relative to classical techniques. This work lays the foundation for future exploration of quantum computing in solving large-scale RSA problems in EONs, with the prospect of achieving quantum advantage as quantum technology continues to advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ligand passivation is considered an attractive strategy to prepare high‐quality perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) with improved photophysical features in polar media. However, the long‐term stabilization of PNCs in these environments is still challenging, being pivotal to understanding the protection mechanism given by prominent surface ligands and avoiding material deterioration in polar solvents. In this work, how the nature of diverse alkylammonium bromides used during surface passivation influences the photophysical properties and quality of CsPbX3 PNCs fully dispersed in alcohol environments, exhibiting stability up to 10 months are investigated. By adding didodecyldimethylammonium benzyldodecyldimethylammonium and tetrabutylammonium bromides (DDAB, BDAB, and TBAB, respectively), DDAB and BDAB promote a suitable and partial surface coverage are observed, respectively, suppressing defect sites in the nanocrystals. Conversely, TBAB shows poor surface protection, decreasing the PL features of PNCs. The presence of DDAB and BDAB favors the fabrication of color converters, and efficient light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) with external quantum efficiencies (EQE) of ≈23%. Interestingly, significant device stability with BDAB capping shows an LED half‐life of 20‐fold longer than for DDAB. This contribution offers a promising approach for preparing highly luminescent and stable alcohol‐dispersed PNCs, useful for fabricating efficient optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) have a high prevalence of malnutrition, which is associated with a decrease in overall survival. In this study, we analyzed body composition using techniques such as BIVA, NU, HGS, and CT in a population with CRC and overweight and found that there is a high prevalence of sarcopenia in these patients. Early detection and treatment of sarcopenia will be essential to improving the prognosis of these patients. (1) Background: Accurate body composition assessment in CCR patients is crucial due to the high prevalence of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and cachexia affecting survival. This study evaluates the correlation between body composition assessed by CT imaging as a reference technique, BIVA, nutritional ultrasound, and handgrip strength in CCR patients. (2) Methods: This retrospective study included CCR patients assessed by the Endocrinology and Nutrition Services of Virgen de la Victoria in Malaga and Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona from October 2018 to July 2023. Assessments included anthropometry, BIVA, NU, HGS, and AI-assisted CT analysis at the L3 level for body composition. Pearson's analysis determined the correlation of CT-derived variables with BIVA, NU, and HGS. (3) Results: A total of 267 CCR patients (mean age 68.2 ± 10.9 years, 61.8% men) were studied. Significant gender differences were found in body composition and strength. CT-SMI showed strong correlations with body cell mass (r = 0.65), rectus femoris cross-sectional area (r = 0.56), and handgrip strength (r = 0.55), with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.789. CT-based adipose tissue measurements showed significant correlations with fat mass (r = 0.56), BMI (r = 0.78), A-SAT (r = 0.49), and L-SAT (r = 0.66). Regression analysis indicated a high predictive power for CT-SMI, explaining approximately 80% of its variance (R2 = 0.796). (4) Conclusions: Comprehensive screening of colorectal cancer patients through BIVA, NU, HGS, and CT optimizes the results of the evaluation. These methods complement each other in assessing muscle mass, fat distribution, and nutritional status in CCR. When CT is unavailable or bedside assessment is needed, HGS, BIVA, and NU provide an accurate assessment of body composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of the study was to compare the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment tools (qSOFA), and Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment-Lactate (LqSOFA) to detect pre-hospital sepsis among patients with or without suspicion of infection. Material and methods: Multicenter prospective cohort study in non-traumatic patients attended by Advanced Life Support in the prehospital environment and transferred to the hospital. We collected demographic, physiological, clinical, and analytical variables, main diagnosis, hospital admission and clinical diagnosis of sepsis. Primary outcome was the clinical diagnosis of sepsis in the hospital. Results: Between March 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019, we included in our study 1548 participants of whom 82 (5.3%) received a final hospital diagnosis of sepsis. The qSOFA presented an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) to detect sepsis in patients with suspicion and without suspicion of infection of 0.757 (95% CI: 0.65–0.81), compared to LqSOFA with an AUROC to detect sepsis of 0.784 (95% CI: 0.72–0.84). In the group of patients with suspected infection, the LqSOFA for a 2-point cut-off presented an AUROC of 0.773 (95% CI: 0.69–0.85), with an excellent sensitivity of 92.6% (95% CI: 83.9–96.8) and an odds ratio of 8.23 (95% CI: 3.09–21.92). Conclusions: An appropriate strategy for reducing the morbidity and mortality from sepsis must necessarily include the prompt identification of this time-dependent pathology by using all the tools at our disposal. The qSOFA and LqSOFA can be used in the prehospital environment and help the diagnosis of suspected sepsis in patients with medical pathology, highlighting the predictive capacity of LqSOFA in the group of patients with suspected infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of extreme wave events' deposits is of the main importance in the contexts of global warming and coastal geohazards. Specifically, improving the knowledge of this phenomenon is extremely relevant for high populated volcanic oceanic islands. In this paper, we analyse two extreme wave event deposits located on a coastal platform formed by lavas from the 1730–1736 Timanfaya eruption in Lanzarote Island (Spain). The first one consists of a boulder ridge parallel to the coast of approximately 750 m in length and 7 m asl in elevation. These are accumulations of non‐cemented large boulders and sands that extend about 150 m inland from the intertidal zone. The boulders are of basaltic composition, heterometric, sub‐rounded to angular, and they reach sizes up to 3 m of major axis. They are imbricated both inland and seaward, indicating a strong inundation and backwash. The second deposit is a small outcrop of boulders of equal composition and sizes up to 1 m of major axis, reaching an elevation up to 6 m asl, and has been correlated with the former deposit. Here, the boulders were also deposited on the Timanfaya lavas and later covered by lava flows extruded during the 1824 eruption. Therefore, both deposits could be related with a chronologically well‐contrasted event, between 1736 and 1824. The origin of these deposits could be interpreted as an extreme storm or a tsunami. There are no historical records of extreme storms in the Canary Islands for this period, but there is documentary evidence of the tsunamis of 1761 and 1755. Moreover, for the latter, there is documentation that indicates its impact on coastal infrastructures in the Canary Islands, including the western slope of Lanzarote, and therefore, we propose these deposits as the first sedimentary evidence of the 1755 tsunami in the Canary Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The use of medications by emergency medical services (EMS) is increasing. Conventional scores are time‐consuming and therefore difficult to use in an emergency setting. For early decision‐making, an easy‐to‐use score based on the medications administered by the EMS may have prognostic value. The primary objective of this study was to develop the prehospital drug‐derived score (PDDS) for 2‐day mortality. Methods: A prospective, multicenter, ambulance‐based cohort study was conducted in adults with undifferentiated acute diseases treated by EMS and transferred to the emergency department. Demographic data, prehospital diagnosis data, prehospital medication and variables for the calculation of the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2), Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS), and Rapid Acute Physiology Score (RAPS) were collected. The PDDS was developed and validated, establishing three levels of risk of 2‐day mortality. The predictive capability of each score was determined by the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and compared using the Delong's test (p‐value). Results: A total of 6401 patients were included. The PDDS included age and the use of norepinephrine, analgesics, neuromuscular blocking agents, diuretics, antihypertensive agents, tranexamic acid, and bicarbonate. The AUROC of PDDS was.86 (95% CI:.816–.903) versus NEWS2.866 (95% CI:.822–.911), p =.828; versus REMS.885 (95% CI:.845–.924), p =.311; versus RAPS.886 (95% CI:.846–.926), p =.335, respectively. Conclusion: The newly developed easy‐to‐use prehospital drug‐derived PDDS score has an excellent predictive value of early mortality. The PDDS score was comparable to the conventional risk scores and therefore might serve as an alternative score in the prehospital emergency setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Hip strength and range of motion have been compared in soccer players with and without hip and groin pain but only in male footballers or gender-combined samples. In female soccer players, the biomechanics contributing to this injury remain poorly understood compared to other sporting injuries. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether differences exist in adductor and abductor isometric test values and hip joint range of motion between elite female soccer players with longstanding groin pain and injury-free controls. Methods: Ten female elite soccer players with current longstanding hip and groin pain and twenty-five injury-free controls from the same teams were included in the study. Hip adductor and abductor isometric strength were evaluated with a hand-held dynamometer. A bent knee fall-out test was also utilized to examine the hip joint range of motion. Results: A significant difference in abductor isometric test values was observed between the control group (2.29 ± 0.53 N/Kg) and the hip and groin pain group (2.77 ± 0.48 N/Kg; p = 0.018). Furthermore, the injured group showed a decreased adductor/abductor ratio compared to the control group (1.00 ± 0.33 vs. 1.27 ± 0.26; p = 0.013). No differences were observed in the bent knee fall-out test (p = 0.285). Conclusions: Female elite soccer players with current longstanding hip and groin pain exhibited higher abductor isometric strength and lower adductor/abductor ratio compared to non-injured women players. There were no differences in the BKFO test between groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–CT (FDG-PET/CT) is useful for identifying infective endocarditis (IE) but also the detection of other concomitant septic foci. Previously, we found that FDG-PET/CT identified an osteoarthritic septic graft (OASG) in 19.1% of IE patients, frequently asymptomatic. These preliminary results encouraged us to extend our analyses to a larger population, including all patients initially explored for suspected IE, to assess the prevalence, characteristics, and OASG locations brought out by FDG-PET/CT and to identify predictive factors. Methods: From a single-center cohort of patients referred for a clinical and/or biological suspicion of IE, we included all patients who underwent FDG-PET/CT, mainly performed to confirm a prosthesis heart valve or a foreign cardiac device infection. We excluded those who did not meet the 2015 modified Duke Criteria and those for whom another infectious diagnosis was finally retained or for whom all bacterial samples were negative. Demographic, clinical, bacteriological, imaging, and therapeutic data were collected. FDG-PET/CT images were retrospectively analyzed by three blinded nuclear medicine specialists to identify OASGs. Results: We identified 72 distinct OASG locations by FDG-PET/CT in 48 of 174 patients (27.6%), mainly located in the spine (21 OASGs in 20 patients); 14 patients (8.0%) had several OASG locations. In total, 43.8% of OASG locations were asymptomatic. In multivariate analysis, the presence of OASGs was associated with musculoskeletal pain (p < 0.001) and tricuspid valve involvement (p = 0.002). Conclusions: FDG-PET/CT is useful for identifying OASGs in patients with suspected IE, especially those with tricuspid IE or musculoskeletal pain. The identification of OASGs could impact antibiotic therapy and would allow adapted orthopedic management to be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the motivations and behaviours behind the social phenomenon of foodstagramming. Qualitative interviews were carried out with Millennial and Gen Z participants who share food-related photographs on Instagram and foodstagramming was found to be an important and habitual part of the dining experience for these participants. The findings reveal some of the positive effects of foodstagramming, which include memory preservation, identity, belonging and connection. Some negative implications were also uncovered surrounding the pressure felt by foodstagrammers to document their food-related experiences, which sometimes detracted from the lived experience of that moment. Conclusions are drawn around the societal implications of foodstagramming, where the significance of visual culture and food-related aesthetics in the context of the hospitality sector are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sportis: Scientific Journal of School Sport, Physical Education & Psychomotricity is the property of Sportis: Scientific Journal of School Sport, Physical Education & Psychomotricity and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Body composition (BC) techniques, including bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIVA), nutritional ultrasound® (NU), and computed tomography (CT), can detect nutritional diagnoses such as sarcopenia (Sc). Sc in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with greater severity and lower survival. Our aim was to explore the correlation of BIVA, NU and functional parameters with BC at T12 level CT scans in patients with IPF but also its relationship with degree of Sc, malnutrition and mortality. Methods: This bicentric cross-sectional study included 60 IPF patients (85.2% male, 70.9 ± 7.8 years). Morphofunctional assessment (MFA) techniques included BIVA, NU, CT at T12 level (T12-CT), handgrip strength, and timed up and go. CT data were obtained using FocusedON®. Statistical analysis was conducted using JAMOVI version 2.3.22 to determine the cutoff points for Sc in T12-CT and to analyze correlations with other MFA techniques. Results: the cutoff for muscle area in T12-CT was ≤77.44 cm2 (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.734, sensitivity = 41.7%, specificity = 100%). The skeletal muscle index (SMI_T12CT) cutoff was ≤24.5 cm2/m2 (AUC = 0.689, sensitivity = 66.7%, specificity = 66.7%). Low SMI_T12CT exhibited significantly reduced median survival and higher risk of mortality compared to those with normal muscle mass (SMI cut off ≥ 28.8 cm/m2). SMI_T12CT was highly correlated with body cell mass from BIVA (r = 0.681) and rectus femoris cross-sectional area (RF-CSA) from NU (r = 0.599). Cronbach's α for muscle parameters across different MFA techniques and CT was 0.735, confirming their validity for evaluating muscle composition. Conclusions: T12-CT scan is a reliable technique for measuring low muscle mass in patients with IPF, specifically when the L3 vertebrae are not captured. An SMI value of <28.8 is a good predictor of low lean mass and 12-month mortality in IPF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are living tissues that continue to respire after picking, and while this can be controlled by freezing, for the conservation of its components, maintaining its sensory quality. This review aims (i) to review the use of novel combined technologies used in the F&V freezing process, (ii) to evaluate its unconventional variants to obtain high-quality frozen products, including different aspects that influence this thermal process. The basic principles and uses of new technologies (i.e., ultrasound, magnetic fields, high pressure, microwaves, osmotic dehydration, isochoric freezing and cryogenic freezing and unconventional processes) are described. Moreover, was evaluated the impact of each technology on the control of the formation and growth of ice crystals, and its impact on the microstructure and quality characteristics of F&V, as well as their proposed mathematical models. It is concluded that new technologies combined with freezing have a positive and promising effect on process optimization, since their application can minimize the negative effects of traditional freezing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For past societies on the Iberian Peninsula, one of the most prolific architectures was earthen construction, with a wealth of typologies and solutions derived from the legacy of local construction and materials. However, its study within the field of archaeology has been limited. The challenges posed by conservation, archaeological identification and social recognition have traditionally limited the dissemination of this type of architecture. Its low profile is perceived as fragile once the original protections collapse. The ethnological information preserved and linked to past ways of life and societies is crucial to the interpretation of the cultural development handed down over generations by different communities and now transmitted to the general public through archaeological sites. This research aims to provide an overview of the main earthen vestiges from domestic, productive and funerary architecture dating from the prehistoric, protohistoric, Roman and medieval periods. For this, a bibliographical review and data collection through fieldwork were conducted for numerous case studies. These included the classification of materials, compositions and construction techniques, creating an integrated comprehensive database with information on geography, measurements and the general state of conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the near future, commercially accessible quantum computers are anticipated to revolutionize the world as we know it. These advanced machines are predicted to render traditional cryptographic security measures, deeply ingrained in contemporary communication, obsolete. While symmetric cryptography methods like AES can withstand quantum assaults if key sizes are doubled compared to current standards, asymmetric cryptographic techniques, such as RSA, are vulnerable to compromise. Consequently, there is a pressing need to transition towards post-quantum cryptography (PQC) principles in order to safeguard our privacy effectively. A challenge is to include PQC into existing protocols and thus into the existing communication structure. In this work, we report on the first experimental IPsec tunnel secured by the PQC algorithms Falcon, Dilithium, and Kyber. We deploy our IPsec tunnel in two scenarios. The first scenario represents a high-performance data center environment where many machines are interconnected via high-speed networks. We achieve an IPsec tunnel with an AES-256 GCM encrypted east–west throughput of 100 Gbit/s line rate. The second scenario shows an IPsec tunnel between a wireless NVIDIA Jetson and the cloud that achieves a 0.486 Gbit/s AES-256 GCM encrypted north–south throughput. This case represents a mobile device that communicates securely with applications running in the cloud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Door access control systems are important to protect the security and integrity of physical spaces. Accuracy and speed are important factors that govern their performance. In this paper, we investigate a novel approach to identify users by measuring patterns of their interactions with a doorknob via an embedded accelerometer and gyroscope and by applying deep-learning-based algorithms to these measurements. Our identification results obtained from 47 users show an accuracy of 90.2%. When the sex of the user is used as an input feature, the accuracy is 89.8% in the case of male individuals and 97.0% in the case of female individuals. We study how the accuracy is affected by the sample duration, finding that is its possible to identify users using a sample of 0.5 s with an accuracy of 68.5%. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using patterns of motor activity to provide access control, thus extending with it the set of alternatives to be considered for behavioral biometrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low back pain is a widespread public health concern owing to its high prevalence rates according to the Global Burden of Diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effect of exercise alone or in combination with manual therapy and kinesiotherapy on pain sensitivity, disability, kinesiophobia, self-efficacy, and catastrophizing in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). A total of 55 participants were enrolled and randomly allocated to one of three groups: (1) exercise alone group (ET; n = 19), (2) exercise + manual therapy group (ETManual therapy; n = 18), and (3) exercise + kinesio tape group (ETkinesiotape; n = 18). The interventions consisted of core stabilization exercises (ET group), prior spinal manipulation with core exercises (ETManual therapy group), and combined application of kinesiotape plus core stabilization exercises (ETkinesiotape group). The primary outcome was disability. The secondary outcomes were pain sensitization, kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, and self-efficacy. Assessments were performed at baseline and at weeks 3, 6, and 12. All therapies applied achieved significant improvements over time after 12 weeks in all parameters analyzed. ETmanualtherapy showed the greatest changes in all variables, with significant differences from the rest of the interventions in Oswestry (ODI) (3 and 6 weeks, respectively). A clinically significant cutoff point was achieved for the ETmanualtherapy group in the ODI parameter (−54.71%, −63.16% and −87.70% at 3, 6, and 12 weeks, respectively). Manual therapy prior to the core exercise technique was the most effective approach to improve health-related functionality compared with exercise alone or exercise combined with kinesiotape in patients with CLBP. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT05544890. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: The scarcity of data for training deep learning models in pediatrics has prompted questions about the feasibility of employing CNNs trained with adult images for pediatric populations. In this work, a pneumonia classification CNN was used as an exploratory example to showcase the adaptability and efficacy of such models in pediatric healthcare settings despite the inherent data constraints. Methods: To develop a curated training dataset with reduced biases, 46,947 chest X-ray images from various adult datasets were meticulously selected. Two preprocessing approaches were tried to assess the impact of thoracic segmentation on model attention outside the thoracic area. Evaluation of our approach was carried out on a dataset containing 5,856 chest X-rays of children from 1 to 5 years old. Results: An analysis of attention maps indicated that networks trained with thorax segmentation placed less attention on regions outside the thorax, thus eliminating potential bias. The ensuing network exhibited impressive performance when evaluated on an adult dataset, achieving a pneumonia discrimination AUC of 0.95. When tested on a pediatric dataset, the pneumonia discrimination AUC reached 0.82. Conclusions: The results of this study show that adult-trained CNNs can be effectively applied to pediatric populations. This could potentially shift focus towards validating adult models over pediatric population instead of training new CNNs with limited pediatric data. To ensure the generalizability of deep learning models, it is important to implement techniques aimed at minimizing biases, such as image segmentation or low-quality image exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-throughput technologies have generated vast amounts of omic data. It is a consensus that the integration of diverse omics sources improves predictive models and biomarker discovery. However, managing multiple omics data poses challenges such as data heterogeneity, noise, high-dimensionality and missing data, especially in block-wise patterns. This study addresses the challenges of high dimensionality and block-wise missing data through a regularization and constrained-based approach. The methodology is implemented in the R package bwm for binary and continuous response variables, and applied to breast cancer and exposome multi-omics datasets, achieving strong performance even in scenarios with missing data present in all omics. In binary classification task, our proposed model achieves accuracy in the range of 86% to 92%, and F1 in the range of 68% to 79%. And, in regression task the correlation between true and predicted responses is in the range of 72% to 76%. However, there is a slight decline in performance metrics as the percentage of missing data increases. In scenarios where block-wise missing data affects multiple omics, the model performance actually surpasses that of scenarios where missing data is present in only one omics. One possible explanation for this might be that the other scenarios introduce a greater diversity of observation profiles, leading to a more robust model. Depending on the specific omics being studied, there is greater consistency in feature selection when comparing block-wise missing data scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency medical services (EMSs) face critical situations that require patient risk classification based on analytical and vital signs. We aimed to establish clustering-derived phenotypes based on prehospital analytical and vital signs that allow risk stratification. This was a prospective, multicenter, EMS-delivered, ambulance-based cohort study considering six advanced life support units, 38 basic life support units, and four tertiary hospitals in Spain. Adults with unselected acute diseases managed by the EMS and evacuated with discharge priority to emergency departments were considered between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2023. Prehospital point-of-care testing and on-scene vital signs were used for the unsupervised machine learning method (clustering) to determine the phenotypes. Then phenotypes were compared with the primary outcome (cumulative mortality (all-cause) at 2, 7, and 30 days). A total of 7909 patients were included. The median (IQR) age was 64 (51–80) years, 41% were women, and 26% were living in rural areas. Three clusters were identified: alpha 16.2% (1281 patients), beta 28.8% (2279), and gamma 55% (4349). The mortality rates for alpha, beta and gamma at 2 days were 18.6%, 4.1%, and 0.8%, respectively; at 7 days, were 24.7%, 6.2%, and 1.7%; and at 30 days, were 33%, 10.2%, and 3.2%, respectively. Based on standard vital signs and blood test biomarkers in the prehospital scenario, three clusters were identified: alpha (high-risk), beta and gamma (medium- and low-risk, respectively). This permits the EMS system to quickly identify patients who are potentially compromised and to proactively implement the necessary interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In heavily urbanized world saturated with environmental pollutants, road traffic noise stands out as a significant factor contributing to widespread public health issues. It contributes in the development of a diverse range of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic dysregulation, cognitive impairment, and neurodegenerative disorders. Although the exact mechanisms behind these non-auditory health effects remain unclear, the noise reaction model centres on the stress response to noise. When exposed to noise, the body activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system, leading to the secretion of stress hormones like catecholamines and cortisol. Prolonged exposure to noise-induced stress results in chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. This review underscores the role of inflammation and oxidative stress in the progression of noise-induced vascular dysfunction, disruption of the circadian rhythm, accelerated aging, neuroinflammation, and changes in microbiome. Additionally, our focus is on understanding the interconnected nature of these health outcomes: These interconnected factors create a cascade effect, contributing to the accumulation of multiple risk factors that ultimately lead to severe adverse health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Echo state networks (ESNs) belong to the class of recurrent neural networks and have demonstrated robust performance in time series prediction tasks. In this study, we investigate the capability of different ESN architectures to capture spatial relationships in images without transforming them into temporal sequences. We begin with three pre-existing ESN-based architectures and enhance their design by incorporating multiple output layers, customising them for a classification task. Our investigation involves an examination of the behaviour of these modified networks, coupled with a comprehensive performance comparison against the baseline vanilla ESN architecture. Our experiments on the MNIST data set reveal that a network with multiple independent reservoirs working in parallel outperforms other ESN-based architectures for this task, achieving a classification accuracy of 98.43%. This improvement on the classical ESN architecture is accompanied by reduced training times. While the accuracy of ESN-based architectures lags behind that of convolutional neural network-based architectures, the significantly lower training times of ESNs with multiple reservoirs operating in parallel make them a compelling choice for learning spatial relationships in scenarios prioritising energy efficiency and rapid training. This multi-reservoir ESN architecture overcomes standard ESN limitations regarding memory requirements and training times for large networks, providing more accurate predictions than other ESN-based models. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential of ESNs as a tool for image classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yearly, the rates of Internet penetration are on the rise, surpassing 80% in developed nations. Despite this progress, over two billion individuals in rural and low-income regions face a complete absence of Internet access. This lack of connectivity hinders the implementation of vital services like remote healthcare, emergency assistance, distance learning, and personal communications. To bridge this gap and bring essential services to rural populations, this paper leverages Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The proposal introduces a UAV-based network architecture and an energy-efficient algorithm to deploy Internet of Things (IoT) applications. These applications are broken down into microservices, strategically distributed among a subset of UAVs. This approach addresses the limitations associated with running an entire IoT application on a single UAV, which could lead to suboptimal outcomes due to battery and computational constraints. Simulation results conducted in a realistic scenario underscore the effectiveness of the proposed solution. The evaluation includes assessing the percentage of IoT requests successfully served to users in the designated area and reducing the energy consumption required by UAVs during the handling of such requests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Opuntia Brava is the property of Universidad de Ciencias Pedagogicas de Las Tunas, Centro de Documentacion e Informacion Pedagogica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background In women, ovarian cancer is the eighth most frequent cancer in incidence and mortality. It is often diagnosed at advanced stages; relapses are frequent, with a poor prognosis. When platinum resistant, subsequent lines of chemotherapy are of limited effect and often poorly tolerated, leading to quality of life deterioration. Various studies suggest a hormonal role in ovarian carcinogenesis, with a rationale for endocrine therapy in these cancers. Patients and Methods This multicenter, retrospective study assessed the use of endocrine treatment for high-grade ovarian epithelial carcinomas treated between 2010 and 2020. Results Eighty-one patients with ovarian cancers were included. The median duration of platinum sensitivity was 29 months. We observed a 35% disease control rate with endocrine therapy, and 10% reported symptom improvement. For 19 patients (23.5%), the disease was stabilized for more than 6 months. Median overall survival from diagnosis was 62.6 months. Regarding endocrine therapy predictive factors of response, in a multivariate analysis, 3 factors were statistically significant in favoring progression-free survival: platinum sensitivity (P  = .021), an R0 surgical resection (P  = .020), and the indication for hormone therapy being maintenance therapy (P  = .002) Conclusion This study shows real-life data on endocrine therapy in ovarian cancer. As it is a low-cost treatment with many advantages such as its oral administration and its safety, it may be an option to consider. A perspective lies in the search for cofactors to aim as future therapeutic targets to improve the effectiveness of hormone treatment by means of combination therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 50 years ago, molecular biology opened the path to understand changes in forms, adaptations, complexity, or the basis of human diseases through myriads of reports on gene birth, gene duplication, gene expression regulation, and splicing regulation, among other relevant mechanisms behind gene function. Here, with the advent of big data and artificial intelligence (AI), we focus on an elusive and intriguing mechanism of gene function regulation, RNA editing, in which a single nucleotide from an RNA molecule is changed, with a remarkable impact in the increase of the complexity of the transcriptome and proteome. We present a new generation approach to assess the functional conservation of the RNA-editing targeting mechanism using two AI learning algorithms, random forest (RF) and bidirectional long short-term memory (biLSTM) neural networks with an attention layer. These algorithms, combined with RNA-editing data coming from databases and variant calling from same-individual RNA and DNA-seq experiments from different species, allowed us to predict RNA-editing events using both primary sequence and secondary structure. Then, we devised a method for assessing conservation or divergence in the molecular mechanisms of editing completely in silico : the cross-testing analysis. This novel method not only helps to understand the conservation of the editing mechanism through evolution but could set the basis for achieving a better understanding of the adenosine-targeting mechanism in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolphe Quételet, a 19th‐century Belgian sociologist and statistician, pioneered the incorporation of statistics into social sciences. He initiated the development of anthropometry since he was interested in identifying the proportions of the 'ideal man'. He devised a ratio between weight and height, originally termed the Quételet Index, and today widely known and used as the body mass index or BMI. In 1835, he demonstrated that a normal curve accommodates the distribution of human traits articulating his reasoning on human variance around the average. Quételet's long‐lasting legacy of the establishment of a simple measure to classify people's weight relative to an ideal for their height endures today with minor variations having dramatically influenced public health agendas. While being very useful, the limitations of the BMI are well known. Thus, revisiting the beyond BMI paradigm is a necessity in the era of precision medicine with morphofunctional assessment representing the way forward via incorporation of body composition and functionality appraisal. While healthcare systems were originally designed to address acute illnesses, today's demands require a radical rethinking together with an original reappraisal of our diagnosis and treatment approaches from a multidimensional perspective. Embracing new methodologies is the way forward to advance the field, gain a closer look at the underlying pathophysiology of excess weight, keep the spotlight on improving diagnostic performance and demonstrate its clinical validity. In order to provide every patient with the most accurate diagnosis together with the most appropriate management, a high degree of standardization and personalization is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study evaluates the diagnostic performance of high-sensitivity troponin using point-of-care testing (POCT) devices compared with main laboratory measurements for ruling out non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in emergency department (ED) patients presenting with non-traumatic chest pain. Methods: This multicenter, observational, prospective, non-interventional study was conducted in two Spanish hospitals from 1 June to 31 December 2023 and included adult patients presenting with non-traumatic chest pain admitted to the ED. High-sensitivity troponin levels were measured using both the Siemens Atellica® VTLi POCT device and main laboratory testing, with data collected on analytical results and measurement times. Results: Of the 201 patients who met the inclusion criteria, a significant correlation was observed between the POCT and laboratory assays. The area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC curve was consistently greater than 0.9, indicating a high diagnostic accuracy for ruling out NSTEMI. In addition, measurement times were significantly reduced using POCT compared to the core laboratory. Conclusion: These results suggest that high-sensitivity troponin POCT devices offer comparable diagnostic performance to traditional laboratory methods for the diagnosis of NSTEMI in the emergency department, potentially speeding up clinical decisions and optimizing resource utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Age is a critical factor for the assessment of patients attended by emergency medical services (EMSs). However, how age modifies early warning scores' (EWSs) predictive ability should be unveiled. Aim To determine how age influences the performance of EWS [National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2), VitalPAC-Early Warning Score (ViEWS), Rapid Acute Physiology Score (RAPS) and modified Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (mREMS)] to predict 2-day mortality. The secondary objective was to determine the performance of EWSs at different age ranges. Design A prospective, observational study performed between November 2019 and July 2023. Methods A multicenter, ambulance-based study, considering 38 basic life support units and six advanced life support units referring to four tertiary care hospitals. Eligible patients were adults recruited from among all phone requests for emergency assistance who were later evacuated to emergency departments. The primary outcome was 2-day in-hospital mortality (includes all-cause mortality). The main measures were demographical and vital signs needed for EWS calculation. Results and discussion A total of 8028 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria, with 7654 survivors and 374 non-survivors. Among age ranges, the 2-day mortality was 2.8% for the ≤44 years, 3.3% for the 45–64 years, 4.1% for the 65–74 years and 6.7% for the ≥75-year age group. The inclusion of age significantly improved the Area Under the Curve (AUC) in all the scores (P  = 0.006 for non-age-adjusted mREMS, P  = 0.001 for NEWS2, P  = 0.002 for ViEWS, P  = 0.028 for RAPS, all compared with their counterparts with age). Conclusion Our results demonstrated that the incorporation of age into the EWS improved the performance of the scores. These results will allow the EMS to improve patient management and resource optimization by including an easy-to-obtain variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The common language behind vernacular architecture only seems to be maintained in societies that preserve a traditional way of life. Changes in these societies can threaten their cultural heritage, while research may be a tool for its conservation and enhancement. In this paper, the habitat of a Mossi community is therefore studied as a first stage in analysing the possibilities of its maintenance. Design/methodology/approach: After a previous study, data collection from a stay in Baasneere (Burkina Faso) and the analysis of 32 traditional residential units were completed. The research showed some common features which, when compared against the bibliography reviewed, could be defined as characteristic of the traditional architecture of this culture. Findings: The home for a family unit consisted in an enclosure formed by the grouping of adobe constructions around a courtyard. As the family grew so did the compound, in a relationship directly linking the scales of architecture and the levels of kinship. The main daily activities took place in the courtyards while the individual interior spaces were understood as private shelters. Other typologies such as granaries, kitchens, warehouses and sheds were also analysed. Originality/value: Some features of Mossi architecture already described in the existing bibliography were verified in the Baasneere case studies, showing that this tradition is still preserved. With a multidisciplinary approach, the house was examined not so much from the perspective of construction, but of its cultural configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes temperature and precipitation trends in the two National Parks located in the two highest mountain ranges on the Iberian Peninsula: the Sierra Nevada (Sierra Nevada National Park, SN) and the Pyrenees (Aigüestortes i Sant Maurici National Park, ASM). Special focus is placed on analysing disparities between the lowlands and the highlands, as well as the agreement between observational data and grid data (IBERIA01 and E‐OBS). For this purpose, a quality‐controlled and homogeneity‐adjusted database of the daily maximum temperature, minimum temperature and precipitation (SMADS database) has been generated. Regional trends in mean temperature indicate that warming in ASM (0.17°C·decade−1) was greater than in the Sierra Nevada (SN) (0.13°C·decade−1) in the longest joint period, 1930–2020. For annual precipitation, the trends over the past nine decades were negative, although not significantly. Only the summer in SN showed a significant negative trend, which has intensified in recent decades to −13.4%·decade−1 for 1975–2020. A parallel evolution was observed in the annual mean temperature of the highlands (>1500 m) and lowlands (<1500 m) of ASM, with a common trend of 0.17°C·decade−1, while in SN negative elevation‐dependent warming was detected. Differences between lowlands and highlands were also noted in precipitation trends in both mountain ranges: a positive trend in precipitation was found in the lowlands while in the highlands practically null trends (ASM) or decreasing precipitation trends (SN) were detected. The comparison of the Spanish Mountain Adjusted Daily Series (SMADS) results with the IBERIA01 and E‐OBS grid series yielded differences no greater than ±0.2°C·decade−1. No notable differences were detected between the regional trends calculated with observational series or with grid series. These results worsened when the differences in the trends detected in the individual observed temperature series were compared against the corresponding grid series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Health & Addictions / Salud y Drogas is the property of Health & Addictions / Salud y Drogas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the last few years, a controversy has been raised regarding the nature of the chemical bonding present in phase change materials (PCMs), many of which are minerals such as galena (PbS), clausthalite (PbSe), and altaite (PbTe). Two opposite bonding models have claimed to be able to explain the extraordinary properties of PCMs in the last decade: the hypervalent (electron-rich multicenter) bonding model and the metavalent (electron-deficient) bonding model. In this context, a third bonding model, the electron-deficient multicenter bonding model, has been recently added. In this work, we comment on the pros and cons of the hypervalent and metavalent bonding models and briefly review the three approaches. We suggest that both hypervalent and metavalent bonding models can be reconciled with the third way, which considers that PCMs are governed by electron-deficient multicenter bonds. To help supporters of the metavalent and hypervalent bonding model to change their minds, we have commented on the chemical bonding in GeSe and SnSe under pressure and in several polyiodides with different sizes and geometries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, special attention has been paid to the lessons in sustainability offered by traditional and vernacular architecture, especially with regards to the promotion of both material and technical production in earthen construction. However, these systems were already widely found in past societies, whose legacy in terms of construction is presented through the complex cultural framework of archaeological sites, which require highly variable work that lacks professional consensus, usually transcending the adaptive and sustainable nature originally observed. This dual nature aids the social operation of these scenarios and can prematurely hinder earthen construction's life cycle and didactic quality, cementing its status as a necessary reflection for the identification and prevention of future problems. In terms of sustainability, the aim of this study is to analyze the spectrum of architectural interventions used for the preservation of earthen structures in archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula, in natural, social, and economic terms, while examining their capacity to adapt in the face of adverse phenomena. For this reason, following bibliographical review and fieldwork collection, a database was established combining a series of architectural characteristics and a history of interventions in 85 selected archaeological sites conserved in situ. Following reflection on these sites, maps were drawn up to show the geographical scope of these principles and offer a general overview of perspectives, highlighting the aspects deserving of varying levels of attention, as well as proposing strategies for sustainable preservation which will allow its transmission over time for the scientific and cultural enjoyment of coming generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The development of predictive models for patients treated by emergency medical services (EMS) is on the rise in the emergency field. However, how these models evolve over time has not been studied. The objective of the present work is to compare the characteristics of patients who present mortality in the short, medium and long term, and to derive and validate a predictive model for each mortality time. Methods: A prospective multicenter study was conducted, which included adult patients with unselected acute illness who were treated by EMS. The primary outcome was noncumulative mortality from all causes by time windows including 30-day mortality, 31- to 180-day mortality, and 181- to 365-day mortality. Prehospital predictors included demographic variables, standard vital signs, prehospital laboratory tests, and comorbidities. Results: A total of 4830 patients were enrolled. The noncumulative mortalities at 30, 180, and 365 days were 10.8%, 6.6%, and 3.5%, respectively. The best predictive value was shown for 30-day mortality (AUC = 0.930; 95% CI: 0.919–0.940), followed by 180-day (AUC = 0.852; 95% CI: 0.832–0.871) and 365-day (AUC = 0.806; 95% CI: 0.778–0.833) mortality. Discussion: Rapid characterization of patients at risk of short-, medium-, or long-term mortality could help EMS to improve the treatment of patients suffering from acute illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the natural course of degenerative changes in the spine in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) over a 10-year period. The study used radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess structural lesions in the spine. The results showed a high prevalence of degenerative changes in the spine, with the number of changes increasing over the 10-year period. The most frequent degenerative changes observed were loss of disk height, osteophytes, facet joint osteoarthritis, disk degeneration, high-intensity zone, Schmorl's node without edema, and disk protrusion. This study provides valuable insights into the progression of degenerative changes in the spine in axSpA patients. [Extracted from the article]

Mauli ola, optimal health and wellbeing from a Hawaiian perspective, is achieved by being pono, or morally just and upright, and maintaining an intricate balance physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally through one's relations. Cultural practices, including practices that foster a connection to the water, land, ocean, and natural environment, may serve as protective and resilience factors, thereby promoting health and wellbeing. This paper starts by sharing the genealogical foundations of cultural practices in Hawai'i as the foundations of Native Hawaiian lifestyles and ways of knowing. The paper proceeds with data analyses that aim to better understand the role of cultural practices in relation to connectedness to 'Āina (the land, nature, and the environment, which nourish our bodies) and Native Hawaiian health based on cross-sectional correlations and qualitative data. The findings demonstrate the importance of cultural practices, specifically 'Āina practices, and identify 'Āina protection, restoration, and conservation as major health priorities. The correlations demonstrate statistically significant relationships between cultural practices; a physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional connection to 'Āina; and health outcomes. These findings continue to support literature and other declarations that support healthcare and medicine that are culturally grounded in Indigenous values and traditional systems of medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Appendiceal mucinous lesions' classification and nomenclature has been modified several times along the last decades, reflecting their great heterogeneity and making difficult to compare results and draw conclusions. Despite its nearby origin, appendiceal mucinous lesions have a distinctive behaviour compared to colorectal cancer, including their molecular and genetic markers. Due to their low frequency, their management is not well standardised. However, surgery is considered the cornerstone of treatment. Their indolent behaviour has encouraged surgeons to apply more aggressive treatments, such as cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), that may extend overall survival. Chemotherapy is reserved for unresectable and/or disseminated disease and could play a role in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant setting. Pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) is recently emerging as a possible alternative for treatment in advanced disease although its results in long-term survival are lacking Hereby, we review the available evidence in the management of appendiceal mucinous lesions, including localised and disseminated disease, with a special emphasis on the oncological perspective, focusing on the lights and shadows of the systemic treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era dominated by Internet of Things (IoT) devices, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, and rapid advances in cloud and edge computing, the demand for efficient and lightweight models suitable for resource-constrained devices such as data processing units (DPUs) has surged. Traditional deep learning models, such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs), pose significant computational and memory challenges, limiting their use in resource-constrained environments. Echo State Networks (ESNs), based on reservoir computing principles, offer a promising alternative with reduced computational complexity and shorter training times. This study explores the applicability of ESN-based architectures in image classification and weather forecasting tasks, using benchmarks such as the MNIST, FashionMnist, and CloudCast datasets. Through comprehensive evaluations, the Multi-Reservoir ESN (MRESN) architecture emerges as a standout performer, demonstrating its potential for deployment on DPUs or home stations. In exploiting the dynamic adaptability of MRESN to changing input signals, such as weather forecasts, continuous on-device training becomes feasible, eliminating the need for static pre-trained models. Our results highlight the importance of lightweight models such as MRESN in cloud and edge computing applications where efficiency and sustainability are paramount. This study contributes to the advancement of efficient computing practices by providing novel insights into the performance and versatility of MRESN architectures. By facilitating the adoption of lightweight models in resource-constrained environments, our research provides a viable alternative for improved efficiency and scalability in modern computing paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge on the state of conservation and vulnerability of traditional techniques when faced with the most common degradation phenomena is vital in order to propose the most suitable conservation and maintenance actions. This article presents the systematic review of 1218 half-timbered walls found throughout Spain, enabling the identification of a total of 27 material lesions, classified by atmospheric, biological or anthropic origin, and 9 structural lesions due to stress or excessive deformation. Their qualitative and quantitative analysis has focused on the frequency of the individual lesions and the possible correlation with different constructive characteristics, such as the materials used, the geometry of the framework and the presence of plinths, eaves and protective rendering. Almost the entire sample presents some degree of material degradation, mostly atmospheric lesions of limited severity, such as superficial atmospheric erosion and chromatic alteration and dehydration of the timber. In terms of structural lesions, half-timbered walls are seen to be more vulnerable to this type of deformation. Considering the risk of loss affecting all traditional architecture, it becomes particularly important to promote the continued maintenance of half-timbered walls in order to reduce the influence of material lesions caused by atmospheric agents. Subsequently, suitable criteria for intervention are established in order to reduce the effect of anthropic lesions and structural degradation phenomena, particularly linked to a lack of maintenance and modifications of anthropic origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]