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Abstract Current diagnostic criteria for cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) rely on non-invasive imaging tools including positron emission tomography (PET-CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of discordant myocardial inflammation between PET-CT and CMR in patients with known cardiac sarcoidosis. We retrospectively identified patients with both 18F-FDG PET-CT and CMR who had histology-proven sarcoidosis (N = 148). Among these 25 (17%) had abnormal 18F-FDG metabolism with normal tissue characterization by CMR. Of these, 13 (9%) had the studies concomitantly within 180 days (median 5 days, IQR 1–31). During median follow up of 7 years, 3 (23%) deaths were documented. Although prospective studies are required to address the best imaging approach for cardiac inflammation, our observation that some patients with CS have evidence of disease activity on PET-CT, but not on limited CMR without mapping suggests that a negative limited CMR may not fully exclude CS.

Isac Rodrigues Comia,1– 3,&ast; Leonardo Manuel,1– 3,&ast; Regina Daniel Miambo,3,4 Awa Abdul Carimo,3,5 Percílio da Floca Manjate,3,5 Ana Edith Maholela,3,6 Lucas Raimundo Banze,2,3 Titos Paulo Buene,2,3 Noémia Nhancupe,2,3 Irina M Sousa,3,7 Constance A Benson,8 Robert T Schooley,9 Jahit Sacarlal,2 Emília Virgínia Noormahomed2,3,9 1Department of Research and Extension, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lúrio University, Nampula, Mozambique; 2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 3Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER), Maputo, Mozambique; 4Department of Para-Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 5Department of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 6Department of Medicine, Maputo Central Hospital, Maputo, Mozambique; 7Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 8Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 9Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Emília Virgínia Noormahomed, Av. Salvador Allende, 702, Maputo, Mozambique, Tel +258828810907, Fax +25821304684, Email enoormahomed@gmail.comIntroduction: This study aims to determine the baseline seroprevalence of leptospirosis, a zoonotic and neglected disease, in people living with HIV (PWH) in Maputo, Mozambique, and to evaluate the relationship between selected HIV-related factors that might influence risk of coinfection with leptospirosis, such as degree of immunosuppression, as assessed by CD4 cell count, World Health Organization (WHO) HIV/AIDS clinical stage and antiretroviral therapy (ART) intake.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional analysis of 157 PWH, aged over 18 years old, admitted to the Maputo Central Hospital, in Maputo, Mozambique, between March 2020 and October 2021. The study participants were recruited as a convenience sample regardless of the reasons for their admission. We collected sociodemographic and clinical data, including ART and WHO HIV/AIDS clinical stage, and blood for CD4 cell count and detection of Leptospira IgG antibodies using a commercial Kit ab247199 Leptospira IgG ELISA (www.abcam.com/ab247199) with sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 97.3%, respectively. Laboratory testing was performed at the Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University and Laboratory of Clinical Analysis, in Maputo.Results: Participants were aged 18 to 72 years (median age 39 years; SD ± 10.5), the majority were female 100 (63.7%), from urban areas 138 (87.9%), with secondary-level education 80 (51%). The overall seroprevalence of Leptospira IgG antibodies was 40.1%. The median CD4 cell count was 385 cells/μl (02 to 2297; SD ± 378.47). Higher seroprevalence of Leptospira antibodies was found among participants with CD4 cell counts < 250 cells/μl (54.8%), WHO HIV/AIDS stage IV (70.2%) and those on ART (92%), though there were no statistically significant differences between groups with and without Leptospira antibodies.Conclusion: Our study confirmed that Leptospira antibodies are highly prevalent in PWH in Maputo; however, Leptospira infection was not associated with the degree of immunosuppression, WHO HIV/AIDS clinical stage, or the use of ART. Our data support the need for routine screening for leptospirosis in PWH in Mozambique. Future studies are warranted to characterize the incidence and outcomes of symptomatic leptospirosis in this patient population and to identify circulating serovars and species in the country and region, as well as the implicated reservoirs.Keywords: leptospirosis, co-infection Leptospira and HIV, Leptospira IgG, Mozambique

We propose a method for fitting transition intensities to a sufficiently large set of trajectories of a continuous-time non-homogeneous Markov chain with a finite state space. Starting with simulated data computed with Gompertz–Makeham transition intensities, we apply the proposed method to fit piecewise linear intensities and then compare the transition probabilities corresponding to both the Gompertz–Makeham transition intensities and the fitted piecewise linear intensities; the main comparison result is that the order of magnitude of the average fitting error per unit time—chosen as a year—is always less than 1%, thus validating the methodology proposed.

In pursuit of a noncommutative spectrum functor, we argue that the Heyneman-Sweedler finite dual coalgebra can be viewed as a quantization of the maximal spectrum of a commutative affine algebra, integrating prior perspectives of Takeuchi, Batchelor, Kontsevich-Soibelman, and Le Bruyn. We introduce fully residually finite-dimensional algebras A as those with enough finite-dimensional representations to let A∘ act as an appropriate depiction of the noncommutative maximal spectrum of A; importantly, this class includes affine noetherian PI algebras. In the case of prime affine algebras that are module-finite over their center, we describe how the Azumaya locus is represented in the finite dual. This is used to describe the finite dual of quantum planes at roots of unity as an endeavor to visualize the noncommutative space on which these algebras act as functions. Finally, we discuss how a similar analysis can be carried out for other maximal orders over surfaces.

To mitigate climate change, CO2 sequestration from the atmosphere is being considered as a method to reduce its greenhouse effect and subsequently lower the Earth's surface temperature. A promising approach is the storage of CO2 in minerals, of which Olivine is a promising candidate due to its Earth abundance and high CO2 absorption capacity, which is of the order of 50 wt.%. A bottleneck for Olivine carbonation is the slow reaction rate at ambient conditions, which previously resulted in supplying CO2 at extreme pressures and temperatures to force carbonation. In this study, nanoscale Olivine particles are fabricated, which due to their high surface‐to‐volume ratio, reach a very high carbonation conversion at a time scale of minutes at ambient conditions. The carbonation is measured by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which yielded both the presence of carbonates as well as information on the Olivine oxidation state, in agreement with electron diffraction analysis. This work forms the basis for employing Olivine nanoparticles, as fabricated by the relatively simple method of magnetron sputtering, to capture CO2 from the atmosphere at economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing age of liver donors and transplant candidates, together with the growing prevalence of metabolic comorbidities, could impact the risk of vascular complications after liver transplantation. We enrolled a consecutive cohort of adult patients undergoing liver transplantation from 2012 to 2021 who had a blinded pathological assessment of atherosclerosis in the donor and recipient hepatic arteries (HA). Patients receiving partial or reduced grafts, retransplantation, or combined organ transplantation were excluded. The relationship between HA atherosclerosis and HA thrombosis after liver transplantation was evaluated using logistic regression in the whole study cohort and in a propensity score‐matched subpopulation. Among 443 eligible patients, 272 had a full pathological evaluation of the donor and recipient HA and were included in the study. HA atheroma was present in 51.5% of donors and in 11.4% of recipients. HA thrombosis occurred in 16 patients (5.9%), being more likely in patients who received a donor with HA atherosclerosis than in those without (10.7% vs. 0.8%; p < 0.001). Donor HA atherosclerosis was an independent risk factor of HA thrombosis (OR = 17.79; p = 0.008), and this finding was consistent in the propensity score‐matched analysis according to age, sex, complex arterial anastomosis, and alcoholic liver disease (OR = 19.29; p = 0.007). Atheromatous disease in the recipient had no influence on the risk of HA thrombosis (OR = 1.70; p = 0.55). In conclusion, patients receiving donors with HA atherosclerosis are at increased risk for HA thrombosis after liver transplantation. The evaluation of the donor graft vasculature could guide antiplatelet therapy in the postoperative period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the Mathematics 6 learning competency, teaching strategies, and challenges encountered by indigenous learners in the Balabac District, with the participation of Mathematics teachers. Employing a descriptive research design and utilizing a survey with close-ended questions, the study examines the demographic profiles of both teachers and students through frequency count and percentage analysis. Additionally, Pearson r Correlation is utilized to evaluate the relationship between student competency and perceived challenges, while ANOVA is employed to discern significant differences in student competency based on teaching strategies. Findings reveal that most pupil respondents are female students aged 11 and beneficiaries of the 4Ps program. Most teachers are married, aged between 20-29, and possess a bachelor's degree. Despite these demographics, students have not attained the expected proficiency levels in mathematical domains. Teachers predominantly employ interactive teaching strategies. Learners face challenges, including a lack of permanent housing and distant schools. Interestingly, the study observes no significant relationship between student competency and perceived challenges, nor among competency levels based on teaching strategies. Consequently, the study recommends further exploration of additional factors influencing learners' Mathematics competency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to solve problems is a prerequisite in preparing mathematics preservice teachers. This study assessed preservice teachers' problem-solving difficulties and performance, particularly in worded problems on number sense, measurement, geometry, algebra, and probability. Also, academic profile differences in the preservice teacher's problem-solving performance and common errors were determined. A descriptive-comparative research design was employed with 158 random respondents. Data were gathered face-to-face during the first semester of the school year 2022-2023, and data were analyzed with the aid of jamovi software, ensuring ethical measures. Overall findings revealed that the preservice teachers experienced average difficulty in solving problems. The low performance of the preservice teachers on the given problems was also demonstrated. Further analysis revealed a significant difference between the preservice teachers' problem-solving performance based on their subject preference and program. Moreover, the error analysis revealed that the preservice teachers incurred comprehension errors in misrepresentation, misinterpretation, and miscalculation. These results will serve as a measure for policymakers and curriculum developers of the teacher education institution concerned to make relevant enhancements to the math courses offered in the elementary and secondary education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to healthcare data for secondary use in clinical research is often restricted due to privacy concerns or business interests, hindering comprehensive analysis across patient pathways. The Smart FOX project seeks to address this challenge by developing concepts, methods, and tools to facilitate citizen/patientdriven donations of health data for clinical research. Leveraging the groundwork, laid by the national Electronic Health Record implementation in Austria (called ELGA), Smart FOX aims to harness structured datasets from ELGA for research purposes through an opt-in approach. With funding secured from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, the project embarks on innovative solutions encompassing governance frameworks, community engagement, and technical infrastructure. The Smart FOX consortium, comprising key stakeholders across various healthcare-associated domains, will evaluate these efforts through demonstrators focusing on clinical registries, patient-generated data, and recruitment services. The project targets to accompany the development of future data donation infrastructure while ultimately advancing clinical research efficiency and bolstering Austria's preparedness for the European Health Data Space. This paper presents the first systematic evaluation of the technical concept and proposal for the federated system architecture of the Austrian Health Data Donation Space, which is the socio-technical goal of Smart FOX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although different social crises may eventually favor undemocratic and authoritarian forms of governance, at some point, such antidemocratic practices require the support of a significant part of the population to be implemented. The present research investigates how and whether the COVID‐19 pandemic might have favoured greater support for antidemocratic governmental practices, on the premise of regaining control and security. Using data from 17 countries (N = 4364) and national‐level indicators (i.e., real number of contagions and deaths, and sociopolitical indicators), we test how the risk of contagion and death from COVID‐19, along with personal orientations (i.e., social dominance orientation [SDO], right‐wing authoritarianism [RWA], and perceived anomie) motivate authoritarian and antidemocratic practices. Results from multilevel models indicate that risk perception and perceptions of political instability predict a wish for stronger leadership, agreement with martial law, and support for a controlling government especially when SDO and RWA are high, while more egalitarian and less conservative people agree less with these authoritarian measures in spite of the levels of risk perception. We discuss the implications for these findings for future research on similar but also dissimilar external events (natural disasters, war, or terror incidents) and the consequences for societies with higher authoritarian tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transoral laser microsurgery represents the primary surgical modality for early laryngeal cancers with oncologic outcomes equivalent to radiotherapy. Accurate tumor mapping and margin assessment can be difficult, however, particularly during piecemeal or ablative resections, and for tumors with a wider geographic footprint. Tumor‐targeted fluorescence‐guided surgery in patients with head and neck cancer has empirically improved tumor and margin identification; this case details, for the first time, a fluorescence‐guided surgical resection of a T2N0M0 transglottic tumor using panitumumab‐IRDye800, an epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody covalently linked to near‐infrared (NIR) dye. Laryngoscope, 134:1837–1841, 2024 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration can be understood as a breach in life experience, creating a transition, and identity narratives as a strategy to repair this breach. Our study focuses on how two classical dilemmas that characterize this process are navigated in the narrative of migration of the participant (An Ecuadorian migrant woman in Andalusia): self versus others, and continuity of the self over time, despite changes. A semi-structured interview was conducted to achieve the objectives of the study. The interview was transcribed and analyzed on three axes: 1) Migration settings, identifying the dominant spaces of interaction where the migration narrative takes place; 2) Migration I-positions and voices, identifying the I-positions and voices involved in the narrative; and 3) Continuities and discontinuities in the identity narrative. The results demonstrated that the main settings and positions in the narrative were related to nationality, gender, and religion in relation to the dilemmas of self versus others and continuity versus change. These positions help the participant negotiate self-continuity in front of the changes associated with migration and the resistance against xenophobic discourses and positions in the host country. Results support the analysis of the transition processes associated to migration based on the concept of proculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method for fitting transition intensities to a sufficiently large set of trajectories of a continuous-time non-homogeneous Markov chain with a finite state space. Starting with simulated data computed with Gompertz–Makeham transition intensities, we apply the proposed method to fit piecewise linear intensities and then compare the transition probabilities corresponding to both the Gompertz–Makeham transition intensities and the fitted piecewise linear intensities; the main comparison result is that the order of magnitude of the average fitting error per unit time—chosen as a year—is always less than 1%, thus validating the methodology proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El estudio tenía por objetivos (a) determinar la exigencia condicional de carga externa en función de los periodos de intensidad submáxima (PISubM) durante el microciclo competitivo, (b) comparar el número y la duración de los eventos PISubM exigidos en las diferentes sesiones realizadas en el microciclo competitivo y, además, (c) comparar esta exigencia en función del PISubM en función de la posición específica ocupada por los futbolistas durante el microciclo competitivo. Se analizó un total de 77 sesiones de entrenamiento durante 15 microciclos competitivos y 15 partidos oficiales de liga durante la temporada 2019-20 (Liga Premier de Azerbaiyán) en las cuales se obtuvo un total de 1,037 registros individuales de 22 jugadores. Los datos se recogieron mediante dispositivos GPS. Para determinar el porcentaje del número de eventos PISubM diarios respecto a los encontrados en la competición, estos eventos también se relativizaron en función del perfil individual mostrado por jugador en competición. Los principales resultados del estudio fueron la existencia de diferencias significativas (p ≤ .05) en cada una de las variables entre los días de entrenamiento/competición y las posiciones en función del PISubM. Algunos indicadores, como la distancia a velocidad superior a 19.8 km/h (CAV), la distancia a velocidad superior a 25.2 km/h (Esprint), la densidad de aceleración (DensAc) y la distancia a alta intensidad metabólica superior a 25.5 W/kg (DCMA), acumularon valores de más del 50 % del número de eventos de PISubM en ciertos días del microciclo. Sin embargo, otros indicadores mostraron intervalos mucho más bajos (menos del 15 %) respecto a la competición en cuanto al número de pruebas y el tiempo por encima del umbral establecido en las variables “metros por minuto” (Mmin) y “potencia metabólica media” (PotMet). Estos nuevos resultados sugieren la conveniencia de plantear nuevas alternativas para el control de la carga en los deportes de equipo.

El artículo tiene por objetivo caracterizar la evolución histórica de la formación permanente de los directivos de las escuelas pedagógicas en Cuba y su gestión. Para ello se establecieron las siguientes etapas: la primera desde 1959- 1974, la segunda de 1975– 2009 y la tercera del 2010 hasta la actualidad. Además, para en análisis del mencionado proceso, se plantean indicadores homogéneos que permitieron describir su comportamiento en cada uno de las etapas establecidas.

Abstract The placenta plays a crucial role in protecting the fetus from environmental harm and supports the development of its brain. In fact, compromised placental function could predispose an individual to neurodevelopmental disorders. Placental epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, could be considered a proxy of placental function and thus plausible mediators of the association between intrauterine environmental exposures and genetics, and childhood and adult mental health. Although neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder have been investigated in relation to placenta DNA methylation, no studies have addressed the association between placenta DNA methylation and child’s cognitive functions. Thus, our goal here was to investigate whether the placental DNA methylation profile measured using the Illumina EPIC array is associated with three different cognitive domains (namely verbal score, perceptive performance score, and general cognitive score) assessed by the McCarthy Scales of Children’s functions in childhood at age 4. To this end, we conducted epigenome-wide association analyses, including data from 255 mother-child pairs within the INMA project, and performed a follow-up functional analysis to help the interpretation of the findings. After multiple-testing correction, we found that methylation at 4 CpGs (cg1548200, cg02986379, cg00866476, and cg14113931) was significantly associated with the general cognitive score, and 2 distinct differentially methylated regions (DMRs) (including 27 CpGs) were significantly associated with each cognitive dimension. Interestingly, the genes annotated to these CpGs, such as DAB2, CEP76, PSMG2, or MECOM, are involved in placenta, fetal, and brain development. Moreover, functional enrichment analyses of suggestive CpGs (p

Environmental DNA (eDNA) includes a set of rapidly emerging technologies that have the potential to support environmental monitoring and biodiversity conservation through novel, non-invasive, cost-effective and democratic methods and tools. Meanwhile, eDNA researchers are developing international standards for eDNA technologies, methods and data outputs. For eDNA technologies to be accessible, useful and appropriate, we must ensure that any standards developed include a broad conception of users from around the world, a diversity of ecological contexts and locations and, most importantly, a realistic outlook on research capacities and infrastructure. In this article, we assemble perspectives on international standardisation of eDNA from a diverse and global group of users and experts from Africa, South America and the Pacific Islands. The authors of this article collaborated by answering and discussing a set of open-ended questions aimed at eliciting hopes, concerns and experiences regarding eDNA standards. The result is a set of emergent themes and a generative consensus to highlight the need for the creation of adaptable standards, the development of regional capacity, increased sensitising to data sovereignty and the viewing of standardisation as a global capacity-building activity.

Abstract BRAF serves as a gatekeeper of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, which plays a crucial role in homeostasis. Since aberrant signalling of this axis contributes to cancer and other diseases, it is tightly regulated by crosstalk with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and ERK mediated feedback loops. For example, ERK limits BRAF signalling through phosphorylation of multiple residues. One of these, T401, is widely considered as an ERK substrate following acute pathway activation by growth factors. Here, we demonstrate that prominent T401 phosphorylation (pT401) of endogenous BRAF is already observed in the absence of acute stimulation in various cell lines of murine and human origin. Importantly, the BRAF/RAF1 inhibitor naporafenib, the MEK inhibitor trametinib and the ERK inhibitor ulixertinib failed to reduce pT401 levels in these settings, supporting an alternative ERK-independent pathway to T401 phosphorylation. In contrast, the mTOR inhibitor torin1 and the dual-specific PI3K/mTOR inhibitor dactolisib significantly suppressed pT401 levels in all investigated cell types, in both a time and concentration dependent manner. Conversely, genetic mTOR pathway activation by oncogenic RHEB (Q64L) and mTOR (S2215Y and R2505P) mutants substantially increased pT401, an effect that was reverted by dactolisib and torin1 but not by trametinib. We also show that shRNAmir mediated depletion of the mTORC1 complex subunit Raptor significantly enhanced the suppression of T401 phosphorylation by a low torin1 dose, while knockdown of the mTORC2 complex subunit Rictor was less effective. Using mass spectrometry, we provide further evidence that torin1 suppresses the phosphorylation of T401, S405 and S409 but not of other important regulatory phosphorylation sites such as S446, S729 and S750. In summary, our data identify the mTOR axis and its inhibitors of (pre)clinical relevance as novel modulators of BRAF phosphorylation at T401.