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Abstract In the injured brain, new neurons produced from endogenous neural stem cells form chains and migrate to injured areas and contribute to the regeneration of lost neurons. However, this endogenous regenerative capacity of the brain has not yet been leveraged for the treatment of brain injury. Here, we show that in healthy brain chains of migrating new neurons maintain unexpectedly large non-adherent areas between neighboring cells, allowing for efficient migration. In instances of brain injury, neuraminidase reduces polysialic acid levels, which negatively regulates adhesion, leading to increased cell–cell adhesion and reduced migration efficiency. The administration of zanamivir, a neuraminidase inhibitor used for influenza treatment, promotes neuronal migration toward damaged regions, fosters neuronal regeneration, and facilitates functional recovery. Together, these findings shed light on a new mechanism governing efficient neuronal migration in the adult brain under physiological conditions, pinpoint the disruption of this mechanism during brain injury, and propose a promising therapeutic avenue for brain injury through drug repositioning.

Abstract Codon optimality is a major determinant of mRNA translation and degradation rates. However, whether and through which mechanisms its effects are regulated remains poorly understood. Here we show that codon optimality associates with up to 2-fold change in mRNA stability variations between human tissues, and that its effect is attenuated in tissues with high energy metabolism and amplifies with age. Mathematical modeling and perturbation data through oxygen deprivation and ATP synthesis inhibition reveal that cellular energy variations non-uniformly alter the effect of codon usage. This new mode of codon effect regulation, independent of tRNA regulation, provides a fundamental mechanistic link between cellular energy metabolism and eukaryotic gene expression.

Abstract In recent years, as Internet use has become more widespread, the use of “beyond-GDP” measures have become increasingly important, bringing well-being analysis into a more prominent position within scientific research topics. At the same time, our society is going through a deep process of digital transformation, which is characterized by important digital inequalities, mainly rooted in traditional socio-economic divides between and within population groups. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between internet use and individuals’ perceived levels of well-being. Five dimensions of well-being are studied: happiness, life satisfaction, social meetings, personal connections and social life participation. The modelling strategy consists of a set of three-simultaneous equations, in which the first one explains individuals’ internet use; the second one, the intensity of usage (measured by the time spent on the internet) and the third one, focuses on the impact of such intensity on well-being. To estimate such models microdata from two rounds (2016 and 2018) of the European Social Survey (ESS) are collected for Spain. Results show that the effect of internet usage depends on the dimension of well-being considered, being negative for happiness, life satisfaction and meetings but positive as regards connections and participation. Furthermore, the relationship between individuals’ well-being and internet use depends, to a large extent, on the socio-economic and socio-demographic characteristics of the individuals.

Abstract Despite advances in women’s access to managerial positions, the glass ceiling still restricts women’s participation in corporate decision-making. Theoretical studies have examined the determining factors and career alternatives for women’s professional development to understand the roots of this problem. However, analysis aimed at establishing the causal relationships and exploring the implications of this phenomenon is missing from the literature. To fill this gap, this paper provides an overview of the determinants of the career development of women executives and explores how these factors influence their alternatives for professional development. A sample of Spanish women executives is examined using multicriteria decision techniques, and associations are established between factors and alternatives for women executives’ career development. This paper contributes to the topic of gender in management literature by enhancing the theoretical foundations and empirical validation surrounding the phenomenon of the glass ceiling. It has managerial implications in providing companies with an empirical basis for understanding the orientation of women’s career development.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), triggered a global emergency that exposed the urgent need for surveillance approaches to monitor the dynamics of viral transmission. Several epidemiological tools that may help anticipate outbreaks have been developed. Wastewater-based epidemiology is a non-invasive and population-wide methodology for tracking the epidemiological evolution of the virus. However, thorough evaluation and understanding of the limitations, robustness, and intricacies of wastewater-based epidemiology are still pending to effectively use this strategy. The aim of this study was to train highly accurate predictive models using SARS-CoV-2 virus concentrations in wastewater in a region consisting of several municipalities. The chosen region was Catalonia (Spain) given the availability of wastewater SARS-CoV-2 quantification from the Catalan surveillance network and healthcare data (clinical cases) from the regional government. By using various feature engineering and machine learning methods, we developed a model that can accurately predict and successfully generalize across the municipalities that make up Catalonia. Explainable Machine Learning frameworks were also used, which allowed us to understand the factors that influence decision-making. Our findings support wastewater-based epidemiology as a potential surveillance tool to assist public health authorities in anticipating and monitoring outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICC) in the onco-hematological patients may be associated with thrombosis or infections that may have short- to medium-term repercussions. Material and methods: Single-centre retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected cohort. Primary objective was to establish the PICC-thrombosis and infections incidence. Secondary objectives were to analyze profile of patients suffering from these complications and variables associated with an increased likelihood of developing these events. Results: 549 patients were recruited. 58.5% (n = 321) were oncology patients and 41.5% (n = 228) hematology patients. The incidence of PICC-associated thrombosis was 3.5% (n = 19). Thrombosis was associated with progression of the underlying malignant pathology in 10.6% (n = 2) of cases. No association was found between clinical variables analysed and development of thrombosis. Incidence of PICC-associated infections was 7.65% (n = 42). In the 30 days prior to PICC infection, 57.1% (n = 24) had a febrile syndrome of another focus, 73.8% (n = 11) had been hospitalized, 49.5% (n = 25) had a neutrophil count of 0–500 cells/mm3 and 47.6% (n = 20) had an episode of neutropenic fever. Variables significantly associated with the development of infection were hematological patients, high-flow PICC, 3-lm PICC or PICC insertion because of administration of vesicant therapy. Conclusions: Incidence of PICC-associated thrombosis is low and apparently less prognostically aggressive than other forms of thrombosis associated with cancer, without identify predictive factors. Infection was more prevalent and the identification of risk factors in our series could facilitate its prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Current literature and a real-world study suggest that diroximel fumarate (DRF) is safer than dimethyl fumarate (DMF) in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, no real-world study to date has significantly addressed the efficacy of this treatment. Objectives: This study aims to elucidate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of DRF in a real-world setting, utilizing data from a Spanish national registry of patients commencing DRF therapy post-market introduction. Methods: In this multicenter, prospective observational study, data were collected from MS patients who initiated DRF treatment. The study monitored demographic and clinical characteristics, safety outcomes (including adverse events, reasons for discontinuation, and lymphocyte counts), and efficacy outcomes (radiological and clinical activity). Results: A total of 195 MS patients across 26 neurological departments were included, predominantly female (79.5%), with a mean age of 42.17 years, and a mean duration of treatment with DRF of 6.3 months. Most patients (70.3%) reported no adverse events, while gastrointestinal issues and flushing were the most common adverse events observed. The majority of patients (84.6%) continued with DRF treatment, with tolerability issues being the primary reason for discontinuation. Efficacy analysis showed low relapse rates post-DRF initiation, with most patients exhibiting stable or improved Expanded Disability Status Scale scores and radiological assessments demonstrating minimal activity. Conclusion: This comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights into the real-world application of DRF, confirming its safety and tolerability while offering preliminary evidence of its efficacy in managing MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Predictively linking taxonomic composition and quantitative ecosystem functions is a major aspiration in microbial ecology, which must be resolved if we wish to engineer microbial consortia. Here, we have addressed this open question for an ecological function of major biotechnological relevance: alcoholic fermentation in wine yeast communities. By exhaustively phenotyping an extensive collection of naturally occurring wine yeast strains, we find that most ecologically and industrially relevant traits exhibit phylogenetic signal, allowing functional traits in wine yeast communities to be predicted from taxonomy. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the quantitative contributions of individual wine yeast strains to the function of complex communities followed simple quantitative rules. These regularities can be integrated to quantitatively predict the function of newly assembled consortia. Besides addressing theoretical questions in functional ecology, our results and methodologies can provide a blueprint for rationally managing microbial processes of biotechnological relevance.

Background: Active learning, on average, increases student performance in STEM courses. Yet, there is also large variation in the effectiveness of these implementations. A consistent goal of active learning is moving students towards becoming active constructors of their knowledge. This emphasis means student engagement is of central importance. Thus, variation in student engagement could help explain variation in outcomes from active learning. In this study, we employ Pekrun's Control–Value Theory to examine the impact of four aspects of course social and cultural environments on student engagement. This theory posits that social and cultural features of the course environment influence students' appraisals of their ability to control their academic outcomes from the course and the value they see in those outcomes. Control and value in turn influence the emotions students experience in the course and their behaviors. We selected four features of the course environment suggested in the literature to be important in active learning courses: course goal structure, relevance of course content, students' trust in their instructor, and perceived course competition. Results: We surveyed students in 13 introductory STEM courses. We used structural equation modeling to map how features of the course environment related to control, value, and academic emotions, as well as how control, value, and academic emotions influenced engagement. We found engagement was positively related to control and value as well as the emotion of curiosity. Engagement was negatively related to the emotion of boredom. Importantly, features of the course environment influenced these four variables. All features influenced control: goal structure, relevance, and instructor trust increased it, while competition decreased it. All features except competition were related positively to value. Relevance and instructor trust increased curiosity. Goal structure, relevance, and instructor trust all reduced boredom, while competition increased it. Conclusion: Overall, our study suggests that the way instructors structure the social and cultural environment in active learning courses can impact engagement. Building positive instructor–student relationships, reducing course competition, emphasizing mastery and the relevance of the course to students can all increase engagement in course activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of powered circular staplers (PCS) compared to manual circular staplers (MCS) in reducing anastomotic leakage (AL) and postoperative bleeding (AB) in colorectal surgery. Methods: Extensive searches were performed in the Embase, PubMed, and SCOPUS electronic bibliographic databases. Most studies were of an observational nature, and only one randomized clinical trial was identified. Results: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria for anastomotic leakage and five for anastomotic hemorrhage. The number of patients included for AL analysis was 4524. The leakage rate was 4.6% (208 cases). The number of patients with AB was 2868 with a bleeding rate of 4.99% (143 patients). After identifying outliers and studies with possible selection bias, the odds ratio (OR) for leaks and PCS was 0.38 (95% CI 0.26–0.55), the relative risk was − 0.05 (95% CI − 0.07 to 0.03), and the number needed to treat to prevent one leak was 20. For bleeding, the PCS OR for PCS was 0.20 (95% CI 0.0772–0.5177). Conclusion: Powered circular staplers could be associated with a significantly lower risk of leakage and anastomotic bleeding than two-row manual circular staplers. Further prospective randomized trials are needed to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Accurate identification of patients with pathologic complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy (RCT) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is essential. 18-FDG PET/MRI provides metabolic information that complements the morphological assessment of standard MRI, potentially enhancing the differentiation between fibrotic and tumorous tissues post-treatment. This study aims to evaluate the performance of 18-FDG PET/MRI in assessing treatment response compared to standard MRI. Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted at HM Sanchinarro University Hospital, Madrid, from 2018 to 2021. Patients with LARC undergoing RCT were included and staged at diagnosis and restaged 8–12 weeks post-neoadjuvant treatment using 18-FDG PET/MRI. The primary outcome was to compare the performance of PET/MRI and standard MRI in detecting pCR and tumor regression grade (TRG) confirmed via histopathological examination. Quantitative analysis assessed the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and standardized uptake value (SUV). A secondary outcome included survival analysis using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis for radiological and pathological prognostic markers. Results: Among 33 patients, pCR was observed in 45% (14/33). PET/MRI demonstrated sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values of 0.88, 0.80, and 0.84, respectively, for detecting pCR, compared to 0.82, 0.50, and 0.67 for standard MRI (p < 0.001). PET/MRI accurately identified TRG stages in 72% of cases, compared to 50% for standard MRI. Post-SUV, post-ADC, and delta-ADC were the most precise PET/MRI predictors for pCR, with AUC values of 0.81, 0.75, and 0.55, respectively. Patients with mrEMVI and mrTRG showed worse disease-free survival (DFS). Conclusion: 18-FDG PET/MRI emerges as a promising imaging tool for predicting response to neoadjuvant treatment in rectal cancer, with superior diagnostic accuracy compared to standard MRI. Radiological findings, such as EMVI, can identify high-risk patients, offering valuable prognostic insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulating quantum circuits efficiently on classical computers is crucial given the limitations of current noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices. This paper adapts and extends two methods used to contract tensor networks within the fast tensor decision diagram (FTDD) framework. The methods, called iterative pairing and block contraction, exploit the advantages of tensor decision diagrams to reduce both the temporal and spatial cost of quantum circuit simulations. The iterative pairing method minimizes intermediate diagram sizes, while the block contraction algorithm efficiently handles circuits with repetitive structures, such as those found in quantum walks and Grover’s algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that, in some cases, these methods significantly outperform traditional contraction orders like sequential and cotengra in terms of both memory usage and execution time. Furthermore, simulation tools based on decision diagrams, such as FTDD, show superior performance to matrix-based simulation tools, such as Google tensor networks, enabling the simulation of larger circuits more efficiently. These findings show the potential of decision diagram-based approaches to improve the simulation of quantum circuits on classical platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caffeine, considered an emerging contaminant, serves as an indicator of anthropic influence on water resources. This research employs various modeling techniques, including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Random Forest (RF), and more, along with hybrid and ensemble methods, to predict caffeine concentrations (in regression and classification scenarios) using readily available water quality parameters. The results indicate Ensemble-RF as the most effective method for estimating caffeine concentrations, while classification scenarios highlight Ensemble-RF, ANN, and Ensemble-ANN as promising methodologies for predicting contamination levels. This study offers a valuable tool for swiftly assessing caffeine contamination in water, leveraging easily obtainable data, with implications for safeguarding water resource systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Surgery is the standard treatment for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs), obtaining favorable results but associating high morbidity and mortality rates. This study assesses stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) as a radical approach for small (< 2 cm) nonfunctioning pNETs. Materials and methods: From January 2017 to June 2023, 20 patients with small pNETs underwent SBRT in an IRB-approved study. Endpoints included local control, tolerance, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS). Diagnostic assessments comprised endoscopy, CT scans, OctreScan or PET-Dotatoc, abdominal MRI, and histological confirmatory samples. Results: In a 30-month follow-up of 20 patients (median age 55.5 years), SBRT was well-tolerated with no grade > 2 toxicity. 40% showed morphological response, 55% remained stable. Metabolically, 50% achieved significant improvement. With a median OS of 41.5 months, all patients were alive without local or distant progression or need for surgical resection. Conclusion: SBRT is a feasible and well-tolerated approach for small neuroendocrine pancreatic tumors, demonstrating effective local control. Further investigations are vital for validation and extension of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Distal myopathies (MPDs) are heterogeneous diseases of complex diagnosis whose prevalence and distribution in specific populations are unknown. Methods: Demographic, clinical, genetic, neurophysiological, histopathological and muscle imaging characteristics of a MPDs cohort from a neuromuscular reference center were analyzed to study their epidemiology, features, genetic distribution and factors related to diagnosis. Results: The series included 219 patients (61% were men, 94% Spanish and 41% sporadic cases). Mean age at onset and years of follow-up were 29 and 12.4, respectively. Patients commonly presented with gait disturbances in adulthood and did not usually exhibit a purely distal involvement, but disto-proximal involvement. HyperCKemia was detected in 56.6%, leading to consultation in 11.7%. Myopathic electromyography patterns and spontaneous activity were common; however, neurogenic features were also observed. Muscle imaging was useful for diagnosis as were certain histological features. Suspected pathogenic variants were identified in 68.7% of patients across 19 genes, but 85% concentrated in 8: MYH7, ANO5, DYSF, TTN, MYOT, HSPB1, GNE and HNRNPDL. Founder/cluster variants were found as well as overlap between myopathic and neurogenic processes. Onset before 60 years old, familial cases, very high CK levels and myopathic histopathological features were associated with a higher probability of molecular diagnosis. We found a minimum prevalence of MPDs of 3.9 per 100,000 individuals in the Valencian Community. Conclusions: This series being the largest cohort of patients with MPDs presents their frequency and behavior. This study identifies new genes presenting as MPDs, provides data to guide diagnosis and lays the groundwork for cooperative studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social support is relevant to studying well-being, quality of life, and health during aging, particularly in people over 50. Therefore, brief instruments that allow its measurement within the clinical evaluation and research processes are necessary. The ENRICH Social Support Scale (ESSI) is a brief and easy-to-use instrument that measures the perception of social support; however, its psychometric properties in people over 50 in the Chilean context have yet to be tested. Method: This study had a non-experimental, longitudinal panel design in which a sample of 303 people over 50 years of age (M = 55.14 years, SD = 5.19; 52% women) were administered a survey incorporating sociodemographic variables, the ESSI and the Newsom Social Negativity Scale. 277 participants completed the follow-up survey (M = 56.75 years, SD = 5.15; 54% women). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), invariance analysis, and internal consistency tests were performed to determine the psychometric properties. Results: The six items from the scale load in a single-factor model obtained an excellent fit to the data and reliability coefficients (α = 0.902; ω = 0.904). The SEM analysis evidenced an inverse correlation between the ESSI and Newsom's social negativity scale, demonstrating evidence of construct validity. Furthermore, in the sex invariance analyses, the scalar level was reached, implying that the items' meanings are the same for men and women. Finally, the residual level was reached in the temporal invariance analyses, which means that the scale items are consistent in time. Conclusions: The ESSI is a reliable and valid tool to be used in the Chilean context both in the clinical setting and in research on people over 50. The evidence obtained supports its usability to appropriately measure the perception of social support, which is relevant considering that it has been associated with reports of higher quality of life and lower mortality and morbidity during aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symbolic anchoring is an important topic in robotics, as it enables robots to obtain symbolic knowledge from the perceptual information acquired through their sensors and maintain the link between that knowledge and the sensory data. In cognitive-based robots, this process of transforming sub-symbolic data generated by sensors to obtain and maintain symbolic knowledge is still an open problem. To address this issue, this paper presents SAILOR, a framework for symbolic anchoring integrated into ROS 2. SAILOR aims to maintain the link between symbolic data and perceptual data in real robots over time. It provides a semantic world modeling approach using two deep learning-based sub-symbolic robotic skills: object recognition and matching function. The object recognition skill allows the robot to recognize and identify objects in its environment, while the matching function enables the robot to decide if new perceptual data corresponds to existing symbolic data. This paper describes the proposed method and the development of the framework, as well as its integration in MERLIN2 (a hybrid cognitive architecture fully functional in robots running ROS 2) and the validation of SAILOR using public datasets and a real-world scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of lifelong learning on the professional lives of employed and unemployed individuals. Lifelong learning is a crucial factor in securing employment or enhancing one’s existing career prospects. To achieve this objective, this study proposes the implementation of a multi-criteria decision support system for the evaluation of training courses in accordance with their capacity to enhance the employability of the students. The methodology is delineated in four stages. Firstly, a ‘working life curve’ was defined to provide a quantitative description of an individual’s working life. Secondly, an analysis based on K-medoids clustering defined a control group for each individual for comparison. Thirdly, the performance of a course according to each of the four predefined criteria was calculated using a t-test to determine the mean performance value of those who took the course. Ultimately, the unweighted TOPSIS method was used to evaluate the efficacy of the various training courses in relation to the four criteria. This approach effectively addresses the challenge of using extensive datasets within a system while facilitating the application of a multi-criteria unweighted TOPSIS method. The results of the multi-criteria TOPSIS method indicated that training courses related to the professional fields of administration and management, hostel and tourism and community and sociocultural services have positive impact on employability and improving the working conditions of citizens. However, courses that demonstrate the greatest effectiveness in ranking are the least demanded by citizens. The results will help policymakers evaluate the effectiveness of each training course offered by the regional government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an automatic optimisation approach for parallel routines on multi-GPU systems is presented. Several inter-GPU communication libraries (such as CUDA-Aware MPI or NCCL) are used with a set of routines to perform the numerical operations among the GPUs located on the compute nodes. The main objective is the selection of the most appropriate communication library, the number of GPUs to be used and the workload to be distributed among them in order to reduce the cost of data movements, which represent a large percentage of the total execution time. To this end, a hierarchical modelling of the execution time of each routine to be optimised is proposed, combining experimental and theoretical approaches. The results show that near-optimal decisions are taken in all the scenarios analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Breast cancer (BC) impacts the patients’ quality of life. Peer support can provide emotional understanding and enhances access to information, social support, coping strategies, and empowerment. Comunitats is an online peer support community app for BC survivors that involves healthcare professionals. This study aims to explore how participation in Comunitats promotes empowerment, and to identify the variables related to it. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional approach was applied. One hundred twenty-one women diagnosed with BC were included in Comunitats. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, along with measures of emotional distress (HADS), post-traumatic growth (PTGI), and empowerment (Van Uden-Kraan’s Empowerment Questionnaire), were collected through an online questionnaire completed by the participants. Additionally, data on participation in the online community were obtained directly from the app. Assessments were conducted at inclusion and again 3 months later. Correlations were used to guide linear regression analysis to identify the variables predicting greater empowerment outcomes. Results: Empowerment assessment indicated that participants felt empowered by their involvement in Comunitats. The most commonly experienced empowerment outcomes were “being better informed” and “improved acceptance of the illness.” “Exchanging information” and “finding recognition” were the most strongly experienced empowerment processes and the strongest predictors of empowerment outcomes in the regression analysis. Conclusion: Involvement in Comunitats enhances empowerment in BC survivors. Empowering processes within the community partially predict overall empowerment outcomes. Practical implications: Empowerment positively impacts self-care autonomy, self-efficacy, and treatment adherence, promoting healthier lifestyles and enhanced treatment outcomes. Therefore, we recommend encouraging participation in online peer support communities, as it might enhance empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Spine metastases are a major burden of oncologic care, contributing to substantial morbidity. A well-established treatment paradigm for patients with metastatic epidural spinal cord compression includes separation surgery followed by stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Innovations in implant technology have brought about the incorporation of Carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) instrumentation for spinal fixation. We present our experience of CFR-PEEK instrumentation, comparing outcomes and complication profiles with a matched cohort of titanium instrumented cases for spine metastatic disease. Methods: Oncology patients who underwent spinal fusion for metastatic spine disease from 2012 to 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Ninety-nine cases with CFR-PEEK fusions were case-control matched with 50 titanium controls (2:1 ratio) based upon primary tumor type and spinal instability neoplastic score (SINS) location. Demographic, clinical, radiographic and progression free survival (PFS) were analyzed. Results: In the study years, 263 patients underwent spinal decompression and fusion, for which 148 patients met predetermined inclusion criteria. Of these, 49 had titanium instrumentation, and 99 had CFR-PEEK. Complication profiles, including hardware failure and infection were similar between the groups. There was no significant difference in PFS between all CFR-PEEK and titanium patients (143 days versus 214 days; p = 0.41). When comparing patients in which recurrence was noted, CFR-PEEK patients had recurrence detected two times earlier than titanium patients (94 days versus 189 days; p = 0.013). Conclusion: In this case matched cohort, CFR-PEEK demonstrated decreased overall PFS suggestive of earlier local recurrence identification. Long-term studies are warranted for better evaluation of the impact on survival and systemic disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most prevalent and debilitating musculoskeletal diseases, with a high incidence among the elderly population. Early detection and accurate classification can improve clinical outcomes for affected patients. Objective: This study investigates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision for automated detection and classification of knee osteoarthritis using the IKDC classification system. The aim was to develop an automated system for this purpose and evaluate its accuracy in classifying disease severity. Materials and methods: A public dataset containing radiographic knee images with varying degrees of osteoarthritis, previously classified according to the IKDC scale, was utilized. Images were processed using LandingLens software, an advanced computer vision platform facilitating AI model development and implementation. A machine learning model based on the ConvNext architecture—a convolutional neural network—was trained on 1901 images and evaluated using 380 test images. Results: The model demonstrated an overall accuracy of 95.16% in classifying knee osteoarthritis according to the IKDC scale, with a sensitivity of 95.11%. Class-specific accuracies were 92.40% for class A, 93.20% for class B, 98.45% for class C, and 95.69% for class D. These results highlight the model’s capability to distinguish between different severity grades of osteoarthritis with high accuracy. Conclusion: This study underscores the efficacy of AI and computer vision in automating knee osteoarthritis detection, providing a precise and reliable tool for physicians in disease diagnosis. Integrating these technologies into clinical practice has the potential to enhance efficiency and consistency in patient evaluation, potentially leading to improved clinical outcomes and more personalized medical care. Level of Evidence: Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present novel fluorescent cholesteryl probes (CNDs) with a modular design based on the solvatochromic 1,8-phthalimide scaffold. We have explored how different modules—linkers and head groups—affect the ability of these probes to integrate into lipid membranes and how they distribute intracellularly in mouse astrocytes and fibroblasts targeting lysosomes and lipid droplets. Each compound was assessed for its solvatochromic behavior in organic solvents and model membranes. Molecular dynamics simulations and lipid partitioning using giant unilamellar vesicles showed how these analogs behave in model membranes compared to cholesterol. Live-cell imaging demonstrated distinct staining patterns and cellular uptake behaviors, further validating the utility of these probes in biological systems. We compared the empirical results with those of BODIPY-cholesterol, a well-regarded fluorescent cholesterol analog. The internalization efficiency of fluorescent CND probes varies in different cell types and is affected mainly by the head groups. Our results demonstrate that the modular design significantly simplifies the creation of fluorescent cholesteryl probes bearing distinct spectral, biophysical, and cellular targeting features. It is a valuable toolkit for imaging in live cells, measuring cellular membrane dynamics, and studying cholesterol-related processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performance of hemoglobin concentration for Meckel's diverticulum (MD) and evaluate if hemoglobin levels could be useful in the surgical decision-making process of children with lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB). Methods: Retrospective cohort study of children with LGIB attending the emergency department between 2011 and 2021. Episodes of LGIB were divided into two groups: MeckD (MD diagnosed by surgery) and non-MeckD. Demographic and clinical variables were recorded. Comparisons between groups were made using the χ2 and the Mann–Whitney U tests. The diagnostic performance of hemoglobin for MD was studied using ROC curves. Results: Eight hundred and nineteen episodes of LGIB were considered. Blood samples were obtained in 233 cases (31 with MD). There were differences between MeckD and non-MeckD in hemoglobin concentration (8.7 vs. 12.6; U = 592; p < 0.01), hematochezia (83.9% vs. 50.5%; χ2 = 12.1; p < 0.01), absence of other symptoms (61.3% vs. 39.6%; χ2 = 5.2; p < 0.02) and blood transfusions (41.9% vs. 9.9%; χ2 = 74.8; p < 0.01). Hemoglobin levels ≤ 8.3 g/dL obtained a specificity ≥ 99.01% and a positive likelihood ratio ≥ 35.8 for MD. The area under the curve was 0.91 (95% CI 0.86–0.94). Conclusion: Hemoglobin showed a good diagnostic performance for MD. Low hemoglobin levels could guide surgical indications in the management of children with LGIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for the enzymatic determination of atropine has been developed, which is based on a sequence of reactions involving (1) the hydrolysis of atropine to give tropine; (2) the enzymatic oxidation of tropine with NAD (catalysed by tropinone reductase); and (3) an indicator reaction, in which the NADH previously formed reduces the dye iodonitrotetrazolium chloride (INT) to a reddish species, the reaction catalysed by diaphorase. The method was first developed in solution (linear response range from 2.4 × 10−6 M to 1.0 × 10−4 M). It was then implemented in cellulose platforms to develop a rapid test where the determination is made by measuring the RGB coordinates of the platforms using a smartphone-based device. The device is based on the integrating sphere concept and contains a light source to avoid external illumination effects. The smartphone is controlled by an app that allows a calibration line to be generated and the atropine concentration to be quantified; moreover, since the app normalizes the CCD response of the smartphone, the results and calibrations obtained with different smartphones are similar and can be shared. Using the G coordinate, the results were shown to have a linear response with the concentration of atropine ranging from 1.2 × 10−5 M to 3.0 × 10−4 M with an RSD of 1.4% (n = 5). The method has been applied to the determination of atropine in baby food and buckwheat samples with good results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined the influence of smoking on glycaemic control in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) using flash continuous glucose monitoring (F-CGM) systems, as well as its potential mediating role in the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and glycaemic control. Methods: This study included 378 subjects with T1D (18% smokers). Glucose metrics cloud downloads were obtained over a period of 14 days. Mean annual net income per person based on census tract data was used as a proxy for SES. Mediation analysis was performed using four-way effect decomposition procedures. Results: Smokers exhibited significantly lower net income than non-smokers (p < 0.001). Compared to smokers, non-smokers showed better glycaemic control characterized as higher time in range (TIR) 70–180 mg/dL (p = 0.002) and lower glycosylated haemoglobin levels (p = 0.008). Mediation analysis revealed a significant mediating role of smoking in the relationship between SES and glycaemic control (TIR). Conclusions: Our data suggest that smoking exerts a detrimental effect on glycaemic control in individuals with T1D using F-CGM systems. In addition, tobacco use partially mediates the relationship between SES and glycaemic control. Thus, adopting smoking cessation measures could lead to improved glycaemic control and help mitigate the impact of social inequalities on T1D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercial importance of cephalopods has increased considerably, being an important fishing resource. However, during the preparation for commercialization of those species, they suffer the process known as "finning" which includes removing and separating the head, arm, skin or even having the body structure cut into rings, which ends up making it difficult or often prevents the identification of the species, which can lead to replacements. In this sense, the present study aimed to use the large ribosomal region, rrnL (16S rDNA) to genetically identify cephalopod species sold in markets and fairs in Latin America. Whole and processed samples were collected from supermarkets and directly from local fishers the approximate collection location. Each generated sequence was submitted to the blastn portal for molecular comparison and included in the database for subsequent genetic identification. Our results indicate labeling errors in samples from the State of Pará that contained the species Dosidicus gigas found only in the Pacific Ocean and were generically labeled as "National Lula". No type of substitution was found among the samples that were being sold at fairs and markets, only labeling errors. Thus, our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the rrnL for identifying species and evaluating labeling errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the outcomes of using a cemented modular rotational-hinge design in a two-stage replacement for chronic knee periprosthetic joint infection. The study found an infection control rate of 87.2% and an implant survival rate of 92.3% after a mean follow-up of 4.3 years. Factors associated with increased risk of infection control failure included obesity, history of cancer, and the need for debridement after the second stage. The study suggests that the use of a cemented modular rotational-hinge design may be associated with high rates of infection control and low incidence of aseptic loosening or modular component failure. [Extracted from the article]

This study aims to develop and validate the content and response processes of a questionnaire intended for caregivers to screen for dysphagia in Brazilian older adults with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease and/or vascular dementia. The instrument items were developed in Brazilian Portuguese language based on the theoretical framework. A committee of speech-language-hearing therapists analyzed the relevance, objectivity, clarity, and understandability of the items with the Delphi method. The content validity index cutoff agreement score for experts' answers to validate each item in the questionnaire was 0.78; in the intraclass correlation coefficient, it was 0.75 for all items. For response process validity evidence, the questionnaire was applied to 30 caregivers of older adults with dementia, who judged the clarity and understandability of the items. Each item was validated when understood by at least 95% of participants. The first version of the instrument had 29 items. After two expert assessments, the last version had 24 items. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.85. Only one item needed semantic adjustments in the pre-test. The dysphagia screening instrument applied to caregivers of older adults with dementia was developed with adequate content and response process validity evidence, enabling adjustments in its construct. Future studies will analyze the remaining evidence of validity and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has established the central role of an individuals’ locus of control (LoC) in influencing subjective well-being. However, earlier studies have predominantly omitted an exploration of potential moderating factors at the country-level and have rarely delved into the influence of LoC on an important yet often-overlooked dimension of well-being—namely, subjective well-being inequality. Addressing these gaps, this study examines the association between individuals’ LoC and subjective well-being, considering both the mean and inequality aspects. Additionally, it explores the moderating influence of country’s social values, particularly the individualism-collectivism dimension. Utilizing data from the Integrated Values Survey, comprising 170,000 observations across 37 countries from 1996 to 2022, our study confirms a strong positive relationship between LoC and subjective well-being while also unveiling a strong negative relationship with subjective well-being inequality. Moreover, it demonstrates that country’s social values exert significant moderation effects on the relationship between LoC and subjective well-being, affecting both the mean level and inequality aspects, albeit in opposing directions. By employing the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, our findings support the importance of structural effects. Understanding how increasing LoC shapes people’s wellbeing in a society holds implications for policymaking and contributes to ongoing discussions on collective choice and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their distinct textures, porous cellular materials have been of interest to many engineering applications. Energy conversion through such materials, especially at high temperatures, is governed by naturally coupled conduction-radiation physics. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the conduction-radiation behavior within these materials is important to properly design and optimize these materials. Several numerical methods developed over the last few decades allow to solve and study the influence of different textural parameters on coupled conductive-radiative heat transfers. These numerical methods require 3D digitized images of the sample of interest obtained either using 3D imagery technique or generated using numerical algorithms. To better represent the complex geometry, the 3D image of the sample requires high spatial resolution, and for a sample which is representative of involved physics might contain hundreds of millions of voxels which is complex to solve and computationally expensive. To cope with this issue, we developed a parallelized discrete scale numerical approach using cell centered Finite Volume Method (FVM) and deterministic ray tracing to solve coupled heat transfer within highly porous large scale complex cellular materials. At the heart of this method rests a decomposition approach based on modified zonal method which significantly reduces the coupling efforts, memory requirements, and computation time. The results of two test cases presented in this study are cross-verified with those presented in literature and computed using Star-CCM+ software. Finally, the method is applied to virtual fibrous sample. These results present the ability of the solver to consider different boundary conditions, at large temperature gradient across boundaries, and to deal with large samples consisting hundreds of million of voxels while providing accurate results. We also present and discuss the sensitivity of other associated parameters on the final results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic individuals are commonly said – and also consider themselves – to be excessively literalist, in the sense that they tend to prefer literal interpretations of words and utterances. This literalist bias seems to be fairly specific to autism and still lacks a convincing explanation. In this paper we explore a novel hypothesis that has the potential to account for the literalist bias in autism. We argue that literalism results from an atypical functioning of the predictive system: specifically, an atypical balance between predictions and error signals in language processing may make individuals more uncertain about their own predictions. Such uncertainty is then often resolved by resorting to the safest interpretation, that is, the literal one. We start by reviewing existing explanations of other autistic traits that appeal to predictive processing. We then apply these insights to language, by showing that predictions play a key role in everyday comprehension and that a low level of confidence in one's own predictions is likely to escalate comprehension difficulties. Finally, we take a deeper look at non-literal uses of language by discussing the case of metaphors, to illustrate how a predictive processing account offers a promising explanation of the literalist bias in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work determined the spectral values in the 250–850 wavelength regions of the complex refractive index, n and k, for free-standing porous silicon (PS) and oxidized PS layers. These values were extracted from the experimental reflectance and transmittance spectra. One of the free-standing PS layers was fabricated with high porosity, and the other had low porosity. Thereafter, both layers were oxidized by dry oxidation to achieve a free-standing oxidized PS layer. The oxidation of the porous structures dramatically affects the optical properties of the free-standing layers, especially in the short wavelength Ultraviolet and Visible ranges, since the average transmittance enormously increases, reaching almost 90% at some specific points. Also, we found that the average value of the refractive index and extinction coefficient is higher for PS layers with lower porosity than those with higher porosity. The extinction coefficient and refractive index values are further reduced by oxidizing the free-standing PS layers in the 250–850 wavelength region. The reader can see a zero extinction coefficient value for the oxidized PS layer manufactured with high porosity. Our results show that due to a dry oxidation process in an air environment, the absorption coefficient can be reduced until reaching a value of zero. Due to that, it could be possible to design photonic crystals such as Microcavities, Fibonacci structures, waveguides, and Rugate filters without optical losses caused by light absorption in the Ultraviolet and Visible regions. Pore diameter, thickness and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) elemental spectrum of two different PS layers were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This revised consensus statement of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) and the Spanish Society of Pathological Anatomy (SEAP) updates the recommendations for biomarkers use in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer that we first published in 2018. The expert group recommends determining in early breast cancer the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), Ki-67, and Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2), as well as BReast CAncer (BRCA) genes in high-risk HER2-negative breast cancer, to assist prognosis and help in indicating the therapeutic options, including hormone therapy, chemotherapy, anti-HER2 therapy, and other targeted therapies. One of the four available genetic prognostic platforms (Oncotype DX®, MammaPrint®, Prosigna®, or EndoPredict®) may be used in ER-positive patients with early breast cancer to establish a prognostic category and help decide with the patient whether adjuvant treatment may be limited to hormonal therapy. In second-line advanced breast cancer, in addition, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) and estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) should be tested in hormone-sensitive cases, BRCA gene mutations in HER2-negative cancers, and in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), programmed cell death-1 ligand (PD-L1). Newer biomarkers and technologies, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) testing, serine/threonine kinase (AKT) pathway activation, and next-generation sequencing (NGS), are at this point investigational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) are increasingly prevalent in patients undergoing bariatric surgery (BS). Understanding their impact on weight loss outcomes after surgery and highlighting the results of surgical techniques such as Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) and Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) in relation to the presence of MASH are essential for improving patient management and predicting long-term success. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. We searched the PubMed database; inclusion criteria were BS patients with liver impairment data at surgery and weight loss data at follow-up of 6 months or longer. Meta-analyses were conducted using R's meta package, assessing heterogeneity with the I2 statistic and employing subgroup analyses where necessary. Results: Out of 1126 eligible studies, 22 were included in the final systematic review. For the MASLD vs. Normal Liver (NL) comparison, no significant difference in BMI change was found at 12 months, but subgroup analysis indicated a possible publication bias (published data vs data collected). In the MASH vs. non-MASH comparison, high heterogeneity was noted at 12 months, and further stratification by surgical technique revealed that SG patients with MASH experienced lower weight loss, approaching statistical significance. Conclusions: MASLD does not significantly affect short-term weight loss outcomes post-BS, but long-term results show variability. Standardized reporting practices and complete data dissemination are essential for future research to enhance meta-analysis reliability and generalizability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inductive links represent a highly promising avenue for both powering and communicating medical implants. Yet they encounter challenges such as constrained communication distance and limited data rate. In Load Shift Keying (LSK), a switch in the secondary side of the inductive link can be placed in parallel with the load (Short-Circuit Technique - SCT), in series with the load (Open-Circuit Technique - OCT), or both (Dual Technique - DLT), to vary the impedance of the secondary. Hence, the impedance reflected to the primary side changes and is used to transmit information externally from the implant. Among these, DLT is a novel LSK technique proposed in this work, which becomes independent from the load on the implant side. This study compares these three methods, confronting measurements to simulations. The evaluation focused on variations in coil distance and load. The proposal is illustrated in the case of an implantable gastric stimulator, with specific constraints in secondary coil size and power requirements. The newly developed DLT consistently outshone SCT and OCT in extending the operational range of communication, registering a maximum modulation index of 0.797 and a bit error rate below 10− 7 at an operating distance of 95 mm through the air. Its load-independent characteristic allowed DLT to surpass the performance of SCT and OCT, which were each advantageous under high and low loads, respectively. All these results are confirmed by a LTSpice simulation. Consequently, the communication techniques put forward in this work mark a significant progression in medical implant communications, enhancing coil-to-coil operational distance while adhering to a low carrier frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugees experience poorer health outcomes especially which can be exacerbated by or can be a result of low health literacy of refugee populations. To address poor health outcomes, health literacy, and health usage in refugee populations, it is essential to develop health educational interventions for refugees' healthcare integration. To do so, learning objectives must be identified based on refugees' health knowledge gaps. Therefore, the overall aim of this study is to identify these knowledge gaps. A modified Delphi method was employed for this study with three rounds of survey: the first to identify learning objectives, the second to prioritise learning objectives, and the third to categorise the learning objectives as not recommended, partially recommended, or highly recommended. An overarching theme of utilising the healthcare system and its various services effectively and efficiently was recognised to be an important learning objective for educational interventions to address refugees' health integration. Overall, learning objectives within the theme self-care and preventative health were ranked as most important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooded grasslands and savannas have a long history of seasonal fires. However, recurrent drought events are becoming floodplains more susceptible to human-induced fires. Therefore, we studied the fire regime in six Protected Areas (PA) for Integral Protection of the Pantanal ecoregion. Specifically, we assessed the burned area (occasionally and frequently), the fire extent, and fire seasonality within the PAs between 2004 and 2022. In addition, we established a 10 km buffer from each PA limit to compare landscape trends inside and outside PAs. One-third of fires within the Pantanal PAs occurred in wetlands. Around 10% of the protected area had a fire return interval of less than two years. Most of the PAs burned between July and October. The fire in the buffer zone explained 64% of the variability in the burned area inside PAs. While burned forest cover did not differ between PAs and buffer zones, the burned area in the remaining covers (savanna, grassland, and wetland) was small inside PAs. Our findings highlight the need to focus on the fire management of neighboring private areas in a more preventive way. In addition, Pantanal requires long-term perspectives on wildfires and recurrent burnings in the dry season. With the increasing human pressure on floodplains, translating research into management guidelines is urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to identify the variables relating to the management of labour relations and conflicts that occur within hotel companies and how these enable the generation of employee engagement. A quantitative approach is presented in which a multiple linear regression is used to identify those variables with the greatest influence in making the people who make up the organisation feel committed to it. The tool used to collect information was a questionnaire made up of 56 items measured on a Likert scale and completed by workers with at least 5 years' experience in the sector. Among the variables that generate greater engagement, the following stand out: feeling informed, the possibility of reconciling work and family life, fair pay, pride in belonging, a clear vision of the job or the option of complaining in the event of unfair treatment. There is scope for companies to increase this engagement by including social benefits, the possibility of teleworking or emotional pay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many patients with liver cirrhosis show minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and motor alterations that reduce their quality of life. Some patients with steatotic liver disease also suffer MCI. To design treatments to improve MHE/MCI it is necessary to understand the mechanisms by which liver disease induce them. This review summarizes studies showing that appearance of MHE/MCI is associated with a shift in the immunophenotype leading to an "autoimmune-like" form with increased pro-inflammatory monocytes, enhanced CD4 T and B lymphocytes activation and increased plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-17, IL-21, TNFα, IL-15 and CCL20. The contribution of peripheral inflammation to trigger MHE is supported by studies in animal models and by the fact that rifaximin treatment reverses MHE in around 60% of patients in parallel with reversal of the changes in peripheral inflammation. MHE does not improve in patients in which peripheral inflammation is not improved by rifaximin. The process by which peripheral inflammation induces MHE involves induction of neuroinflammation in brain, with activation of microglia and astrocytes and increased pro-inflammatory TNFα and IL-1β, which is observed in patients who died with steatotic liver disease (SLD) or liver cirrhosis and in animal models of MHE. Neuroinflammation alters glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission, leading to cognitive and motor impairment. Transmission of peripheral alterations into the brain is mediated by infiltration in brain of extracellular vesicles from plasma and of cells from the peripheral immune system. Acting on any step of the process peripheral inflammation – neuroinflammation – altered neurotransmission may improve MHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pain perception is influenced by sex and aging, with previous studies indicating the involvement of aromatase, the estradiol synthase enzyme, in regulating pain perception. Previous research has established the presence of aromatase in dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons and its role in modulating pain perception. The present study aims to explore the implications of aging and sex on the expression of aromatase and estrogen receptors in the trigeminal ganglion. The study examined mRNA levels of aromatase, ERs, and the androgen receptor (AR) in the trigeminal ganglion of 3-month-old and 27-month-old male and female mice, as well as 3-month-old mice from the four-core genotype (FCG) transgenic model. The latter facilitates the assessment of gonadal hormone and sex chromosome implications for sex-specific traits. Aromatase localization in the ganglion was further assessed through immunohistochemistry. Aromatase immunoreactivity was observed for the first time in sensory neurons within the trigeminal ganglion. Trigeminal ganglion gene expressions were detected for aromatase, ERs, and AR in both sexes. Aromatase, ERβ, and GPER gene expressions were higher in young males versus young females. Analyses of the FCG model indicated that sex differences depended solely on gonadal sex. The aging process induced an enhancement in the expression of aromatase, ERs, and AR genes across both sexes, culminating in a reversal of the previously observed gender-based differences. the potential impact of estrogen synthesis and signaling in the trigeminal ganglion on age and sex differences warrants consideration, particularly in relation to trigeminal sensory functions and pain perception. Age and gonadal sex influence ERs, AR, and ARO levels in the trigeminal ganglion. Although somatosensory perception shows a decline in the elderly, the incidence of trigeminal neuralgia intensifies in aged adults and is predominantly prevalent in women relative to men. The increased expression of aromatase and estrogen receptors in aged female animals suggests that the modulatory influence that neuroestradiol exerts over the trigeminal somatosensory input, inclusive of pain, undergoes changes in elderly male and female individuals in a sex-specific manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relation between K-12 teachers' trust in artificial intelligence (TAI), their knowledge of AI (KAI), and their digital competence (DC). It further examines the relation between TAI and age, sex, teaching experience and International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) levels. The study employed a comprehensive and validated instrument and used a sample of 211 primary and secondary school teachers. The results show that there is a significant positive relation between all three variables and that KAI is a robust and substantial predictor of TAI. In the absence of KAI, the significant relation between DC and TAI ceases to exist. In addition, teachers with different levels of DC do not show significant differences in their attitudes towards AI. Results further show that TAI is independent of age, sex, teaching experience and ISCED level in this sample of teachers. The study contributes valuable insights into the complex interplay between teachers' TAI, their KAI, and their DC, providing practical implications for policy, teacher preparation and professional development in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI integration in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the stabilization and the well-posedness of solutions of the quintic wave equation with locally distributed damping. The novelty of this paper is that we deal with the difficulty that the main equation does not have good nonlinear structure amenable to a direct proof of a priori bounds and a desirable observability inequality. It is well known that observability inequalities play a critical role in characterizing the long time behaviour of solutions of evolution equations, which is the main goal of this study. In order to address this, we approximate weak solutions for regular solutions for which it is possible to obtain a priori bounds and prove the essential observability inequality. The treatment of these approximate solutions is still a challenging task and requires the use of Strichartz estimates and some microlocal analysis tools such as microlocal defect measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse a number of dimensions of corporate governance practices and the interrelation between them and with firm value for a sample of 160 Brazilian firms between 2011 and 2017. Our analysis is based on a set of 42 corporate governance practices recommended by the codes of good governance. We use principal component analysis to identify a number of corporate governance dimensions. We first identify practices that are most complied with, which are related to transparency and managers' incentives. Our findings confirm that the level of firm adherence to corporate governance practices is positively related to firm value. More interestingly, we find substantial variability among the corporate governance dimensions: while seven of them are positively related to firm value, five dimensions seem to have a negative relationship. We also show that the effectiveness of corporate governance dimensions is contingent on firm characteristics such as ownership concentration, profitability, and size. On the whole, our results bear out the multifaceted nature of corporate governance, such that there are no universal practices which exert unequivocal effects on the value of all firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most controversial concepts among criminal law scholars is the actio libera in causa (alic), which refers to the possibility of establishing criminal culpability even if, at the time of the crime, the person was in a state of impaired culpability due to intoxication or mental disorder caused by their own responsible actions. However, the literature on the legal distribution of responsibility and punishment in such cases is sparse. This study uses a mixed factorial experimental design to test the concept of alic, with the primary objective of analyzing whether responsibility is assigned differently depending on whether the person intentionally or negligently placed themselves in a state of impaired culpability. Additionally, it examines whether the moral character of the individual who intentionally induces this state to commit a crime influences the perception of responsibility. The results show that while the sample does not consider the motives or moral character that led the individual to intentional intoxication, it does when the prior intoxication is negligent. Furthermore, the deservedness of punishment is perceived as highest in cases of intentional homicide, followed by negligent homicide, and lowest in cases with no homicide. These findings contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the intuitive nature of the alic attribution rule and the perceived fairness of punishment across different types of alic cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open-mouth jaw locking is an uncommon condition in feline patients. A 5-year-old neutered male Persian cat was evaluated for an acute inability to close its mouth and ptyalism. The general physical examination was unremarkable. A complete oral examination revealed a reduced vertical range of motion, as well as an asymmetric malocclusion with severe displacement of the mandibles to the left. Advanced diagnostic imaging included computed tomography (CT), which revealed a typical brachycephalic conformation, skeletal malocclusion and a bilateral temporomandibular joint (TMJ) subluxation, with the left coronoid process of the mandible abnormally positioned ventrolateral to the zygomatic arch. The open-mouth jaw locking was manually reduced and resolved. Once the coronoid process was repositioned, a second CT scan was performed and confirmed complete reduction of the TMJ subluxation. Supportive treatment with meloxicam was administered and a loose-fitting tape muzzle and Elizabethan collar were applied for two weeks. There was no recurrence of open-mouth jaw locking at long-term follow-up. This case report highlights the relevance of CT imaging and 3-dimensional reconstruction in the diagnosis of this unusual condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antioxidant complex enzymes have a significant role in cellular homeostasis control in plants, and they inhibit the toxic action of reactive oxygen species when they are in excess. There are many antioxidant enzymes executing this role; among these, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase are reported as the most studied in this process, as they prevent free radicals from becoming more reactive and toxic to cells. Thus, this research was conducted to evaluate antioxidant enzyme expression in response to hydric stress at the reproductive stage in upland rice genotypes. Three genotypes from the upland rice breeding program on agreement between UFLA, EPAMIG, and EMBRAPA, CMG2093, CMG2172, and BRSMG Relâmpago, were used as controls. Genotypes were grown under field conditions with supplementary irrigation during the whole crop cycle, and hydric stress was induced in the reproductive phase before panicle emission. Seedlings were used in enzyme analyses from the emergence test and IVE on substrate (soil + sand at a 2:1 rate) at 70% and 10% field capacity. Significant differences were observed among genotypes for vigor tests. In biochemical tests, the CMG2093 genotype had lower damage on hydric deficit, with the best performance under hydric restriction conditions, being considered tolerant for this stress type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]