Search

Background: Literacy and education levels were demonstrated to be low in the Roma population. The outcomes after the implementation of different educational policies, in different countries, were not properly assessed for Roma subgroups until now. Aims: We aimed to study literacy, education level, and healthcare attendance in two well-defined Roma subgroups, compared to the majority population, in a specific Transylvanian rural region.

Abstract The study of consistent between-individual behavioural variation in single (animal personality) and across two or more behavioural traits (behavioural syndrome) is a central topic of behavioural ecology. Besides behavioural type (individual mean behaviour), behavioural predictability (environment-independent within-individual behavioural variation) is now also seen as an important component of individual behavioural strategy. Research focus is still on the ‘Big Five’ traits (activity, exploration, risk-taking, sociability and aggression), but another prime candidate to integrate to the personality framework is behavioural thermoregulation in small-bodied poikilotherms. Here, we found animal personality in thermoregulatory strategy (selected body temperature, voluntary thermal maximum, setpoint range) and ‘classic’ behavioural traits (activity, sheltering, risk-taking) in common lizards (Zootoca vivipara). Individual state did not explain the between-individual variation. There was a positive behavioural type—behavioural predictability correlation in selected body temperature. Besides an activity—risk-taking syndrome, we also found a risk-taking—selected body temperature syndrome. Our results suggest that animal personality and behavioural syndrome are present in common lizards, both including thermoregulatory and ‘classic’ behavioural traits, and selecting high body temperature with high predictability is part of the risk-prone behavioural strategy. We propose that thermoregulatory behaviour should be considered with equal weight to the ‘classic’ traits in animal personality studies of poikilotherms employing active behavioural thermoregulation.

IntroductionThe relevance of biodegradable implants has gained more importance in modern clinical practice. The study aimed to evaluate the effects and outcomes of ankle fracture treatment with absorbable implants compared to metal screws. These implants are made from poly l-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), however, there are several other materials available on the market.MethodsIn a retrospective review, a total of 128 patients were under observation, with distal tibial fracture types ranging from Salter-Harris II-IV. In the absorbable group, patients were treated with the implants (n = 76). The metal group included patients treated with titanium or steel screws (n = 52). The extremities were placed in a cast for six weeks after surgery and were utilized for another 6–8 weeks. Patients were followed up for 12–30 months and were evaluated accordingly. The authors examined several aspects such as age, gender, open or closed repair, mechanism of injury, length of hospitalization, type of fracture, time of recovery, and complications.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding demographic qualities, such as age, type of fracture, side of injury, and length of cast application (p > 0.05 in all cases). Out of 76 patients in the PLGA group, only two presented with complications, so reoperation took place. The rest healed without complications or refractures. Two of those treated with metal screws (n = 52) had minor, and four had major complications with reoperation.DiscussionIn pediatric cases, PLGA implants may present excellent results for treating ankle fractures. They do not disturb the growth plate and do not require reoperation. For this reason, they reduce the burden on the patient and the healthcare provider while simultaneously decreasing the risk of complications, such as infections or problems due to general anesthesia.

The epithets ornans in Sándor Petőfi’s mock epic poem A helység kalapácsa [‘The Hammer of the Village’] and in its translations Observing literary names and fictional name translations is essential in applied onomastics, contrastive stylistics and literary comparatistics. This paper examines the significance and characteristic function of the proper names and epitheta ornantia in the mock epic poem entitled A helység kalapácsa [‘The Hammer of the Village’], both in the source language text and in the Russian and English translations of the poem. The Petőfi text contains a multitude of epitheta ornantia, either in conjunction with proper names in fixed noun constructions or dispersed throughout the text. The latter adjectives serve as substitutes for proper names. The Russian and English versions of the proper names with epitheta ornantia are mainly equivalent to the source language versions. The proper names are primarily unaltered. In Russian, they are either transliterated or translated in meaning. The epitheta ornantia are usually word-by-word translations, sometimes with additions or omissions.

Semi-natural farming systems with high conservation value offer a valuable opportunity to meet biodiversity conservation goals without compromising agricultural production. The high conservation value of such systems often roots in their increased local or landscape-level heterogeneity, which facilitates the coexistence of different species on a small spatial scale. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the coexistence mechanisms operating in such systems is essential to mark future conservation trajectories. To facilitate this process, in this study, we aimed to uncover the interactive effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on community structuring mechanisms in wood-pastures, Europe’s widespread and heterogeneous semi-natural land-use form. Using ants as bioindicators, we connected species occurrence data with fine-scale measurements of local microclimatic conditions and quantified the seasonal niche breadths and overlaps of ant species forming communities in the four different habitat types (grasslands, solitary trees, forests, and forest edges) of three Central European wood-pastures. The niche quantification (performed for 28 ant species in total) was based on four-dimensional hypervolumes, with solar irradiation, air and soil temperature, and air humidity values of every species occurrence. Our results show that despite being located close to one another, the ant communities of the four different habitat types exhibited distinct patterns of seasonal realized niche dynamics, leading to community-wide temporal changes in niche hypervolumes and hypervolume overlaps (i.e., realized niche breadths and niche overlaps). The hypervolumes of dominant ants (characterized by high behavioral and ecological dominance) were mainly determined by the favorability of environmental conditions throughout the year, and in turn, their values shaped the realized niche breadths and overlap patterns of the intermediate and subordinate species. Importantly, the niche expansions and retractions of the dominant group changed the competitive pressure within the communities (quantified by hypervolume overlaps), opening up empty ecological niches to intermediate and subordinate species during periods characterized by suboptimal environmental conditions. Moreover, the niche dynamics showed a varying pattern across the different habitat types, implying that habitat structure and the associated environmental conditions interact with the effects of seasonality even on a small spatial scale. Our results uncover the interactive effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on coexistence mechanisms within wood-pastures. Given the distinct patterns in community dynamics and different community structuring mechanisms of the individual habitat types, wood-pastures and other complex landscapes have the potential to sustain different communities on a small spatial scale and thus boost landscape-level biodiversity.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of doxycycline pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PrEP/PEP) on bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), including ongoing studies published until November 7, 2023. Our primary endpoint was the incidence of bacterial STIs measured as the number of visits with an STI per total number of visits. Random-effects model was used to estimate pooled effect sizes. The study was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42023478486. Results: We identified six eligible studies containing data from seven articles and four conference abstracts, enrolling men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women (TGW), and cisgender women (CGW). The pooled analysis of 1,766 participants with 602 newly diagnosed STIs showed a 56% decrease in the overall STI incidence using doxy-PrEP/PEP (RR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.30-0.65; I2 = 73%). For doxy-PEP, including MSM and TGW only, the RR observed for overall STI incidence was 0.40 (95% CI: 0.28-0.57; I² = 37%), 0.19 (95% CI: 0.08-0.44; I² = 39%) for chlamydia, 0.23 (0.14-0.36; I² = 0%) for syphilis and 0.55 (95% CI: 0.34-0.87; I² = 41%) for gonorrhea. No serious adverse events were reported in the studies. The certainty of evidence regarding the efficacy of doxy-PEP among MSM and TGW was graded as high. Conclusion: Doxy-PEP significantly reduces the number of new cases of chlamydia and syphilis and is potentially effective against gonorrhea, influenced by local resistance patterns. Thus, it is a promising tool in the prevention of bacterial STIs among MSM and TGW.

Abstract The closely related endolysosomal tethering complexes HOPS and CORVET play pivotal roles in the homo- and heterotypic fusion of early and late endosomes, respectively, and HOPS also mediates the fusion of lysosomes with incoming vesicles including late endosomes and autophagosomes. These heterohexameric complexes share their four core subunits that assemble with additional two, complex-specific subunits. These features and the similar structure of the complexes could allow the formation of hybrid complexes, and the complex specific subunits may compete for binding to the core. Indeed, our biochemical analyses revealed the overlap of binding sites for HOPS-specific VPS41 and CORVET-specific VPS8 on the shared core subunit VPS18. We found that the overexpression of CORVET-specific VPS8 or Tgfbrap1 decreased the amount of core proteins VPS11 and VPS18 that are assembled with HOPS-specific subunits VPS41 or VPS39, indicating reduced amount of assembled HOPS. In line with this, we observed the elevation of both lipidated, autophagosome-associated LC3 protein and the autophagic cargo p62 in these cells, suggesting impaired autophagosome-lysosome fusion. In contrast, overexpression of HOPS-specific VPS39 or VPS41 did not affect the level of assembled CORVET or autophagy. VPS8 or Tgfbrap1 overexpression also induced Cathepsin D accumulation, suggesting that HOPS-dependent biosynthetic delivery of lysosomal hydrolases is perturbed, too. These indicate that CORVET-specific subunit levels fine-tune HOPS assembly and activity in vivo.

The PowerPlex Fusion 6C PCR™ amplification kit provides a strong discriminatory power for human identification. We have validated the kit with a reduced volume (12.5 µL) and as part of the validation we compared the efficiency of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) prepared manually and on Hamilton Microlab® Autolys STAR Biorobot. Three years of casework data has been also included in the validation. Optimisation was carried out on different types of samples (blood, saliva, semen) and DNA was extracted robotically. Tests were conducted at two different cycle numbers (30;32), followed by analysis on both the Applied BiosystemsTM 3500 and 3500 xL Genetic Analyzer instruments (Applied Biosystems®, Foster City, CA, USA). When the PCR was prepared manually, no allele dropout was observed over 0.15 ng input DNA. Whereas when the PCR was prepared robotically, dropout already appeared at the level of 0.15 ng input DNA. In cases when increased cycle number was utilised, an increasing number of dropouts started to arise from 0.075 ng total input DNA. Despite the fact that robotically prepared PCR produced more missing alleles than the manually prepared PCR, using the optimal 0.5 ng input DNA, both methods proved to be reliable. Based on the results, our half-volume protocol is robust, and after three years of application it has proven to be effective with respect to a large number of casework samples.

Background/Objectives: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a hormonal regulator of lipid and glucose metabolism exerting protection against atherosclerosis by multiple actions on the blood vessels, liver, and adipose tissues. We aimed to investigate serum FGF21 level and its relation to thyroid hormones and metabolic parameters among patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT). Methods: Eighty patients with HT on levothyroxine treatment and eighty-two age- and BMI-matched adults without thyroid disease serving as controls were enrolled. Serum FGF21 concentrations were determined with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Median serum FGF21 level was significantly lower in HT patients compared with controls (74.2 (33.4–148.3) pg/mL vs. 131.9 (44.8–236.3) pg/mL; p = 0.03). We found a positive correlation between FGF21 and age, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in both groups, while thyroid stimulating hormone and C-reactive protein showed a positive correlation, and thyroxine had an inverse correlation with FGF21 only in control subjects. According to multiple regression analyses, thyroid status is the main predictor of FGF21 in healthy controls, while it is not a significant predictor of FGF21 among HT patients on levothyroxine supplementation therapy. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the physiological role of thyroid function in the regulation of FGF21 synthesis is impaired in HT patients, which may contribute to the metabolic alterations characteristic of HT patients.

This study investigated the effect of a 2% lactic acid and 2% ascorbic acid mixture, applied via a spray method, on the quality of wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) meat stored under vacuum packaging at 4 ± 1 °C for 21 days. A total of 48 semimembranosus muscle steaks were used, divided into two groups: 24 treated with the acid mixture and 24 non-treated controls. Key parameters, including the pH, instrumental color, bacterial counts, texture profile analysis, and protein degradation (sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins) using sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, were assessed on different days. Treated samples exhibited significantly lower aerobic plate counts (p < 0.05) compared to controls. No significant differences in pH were found between the groups, except on day one (p < 0.05). Over time, texture analysis revealed a significant reduction in hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness in both groups, with treated samples showing greater tenderness. Importantly, the lactic acid and ascorbic acid treatment did not adversely affect the color attributes of the meat. This method shows potential for improving the microbiological safety of venison without compromising its quality, making it a promising preservation technique for the meat industry.

(1) Background: This report aims to illustrate the development, progression, diagnosis, and treatment of chronically present articular surface lesions. (2) Methods: In this report, two patients are described from the point of the initial presentation of symptoms to surgical consultation based on radiologic findings. These patients underwent corrective surgery in the form of mosaicplasty to repair lesions present on the articular surface and the underlying subchondral bone. (3) Discussion: Diagnosing juvenile OCD remains challenging due to its variable clinical presentation and minute radiologic discoveries. X-rays are useful; however, the gold standard remains arthroscopy, which can be both diagnostic and therapeutic. Future prospects include the use of novel sonographic methods and the use of artificial intelligence within the given modalities. (4) Conclusions: The detailed imaging provided by MRI, combined with the insights from X-rays and potentially other modalities, allows for a nuanced understanding of this disease. This comprehensive approach ensures that treatment decisions are well-informed, optimising outcomes for young patients with this condition.

The digital revolution is affecting all aspects of life, radically transforming everyday tasks and routines. The ability to cope with new challenges in life, including new forms of learning are key skills in the 21st-century, however, education systems often struggle with tackling digital inequalities. A digital learning platform developed by the KIDS4ALLL educational project, implemented in face-to-face student interactions, aims to mitigate the divide and the resulting social disadvantages among children with and without migration/ethnic minority background. Analyzing data collected during the pilot phase of the project in two of the participating countries, Italy and Hungary, this paper examines how students and teaching staff adapt to a newly introduced digital learning tool based on peer-to-peer workflows. Firstly, it examines the role of educators' interpersonal competences in navigating the innovative learning activities and delves into how they use them and how they manage resources. Secondly, the study explores what attitudes and behaviors are observed among students engaged in the proposed peer-led activities, in particular in terms of their ability to cope with uncertainty and complexity. The analytical framework of the paper is based on two cultural dimensions offered by Hofstede, the index of uncertainty avoidance (UAI) and power distance (PDI), and it utilizes the personal, social and learning-to-learn competence of the eight LLL Key Competences as defined by the European Commission to conceptualize the skills of educators and students. Interpreting data from Italy and Hungary in their respective social and educational contexts, the study finds that the most important features that proved to be effective and useful during the pilot phase were the democratic power-relations between students and educators, the peer-to-peer scheme and its further development to the peer-for-peer approach. The child-friendly and real-life-related new curriculum and its appealing digital learning platform, embedded into a flexible, playful and child-centered pedagogical approach, were also successful. These are all complementing the traditional, formal school environment and pedagogy which, despite all developments in formal education in the past decades, can be characterized as teacher-centered and frontal.

The present study explored the dominant discourses of language teaching challenges by utilizing methods associated with corpus linguistics and probed for the validity of the applied methodological design. The gleanings were obtained based on a specialized corpus (638,312 tokens) of journal articles pertinent to the designated topic sourced from leading journals in the field. By deploying keywords, collocation and n-grams analyses, substantiated by qualitative interpretation of quantitative data, the study evinced the prevalent themes related to language teaching challenges. The corpus foregrounded the challenges in the areas of teacher education and development, with a special emphasis on the professional initiation phase. Research domains addressing challenges of language learning and proficiency, language teaching methodology, professional and emotional aspects of language teaching were found to be lexically rich. Additionally, heightened research attention was documented for challenges associated with language learners, language policy and sociocultural factors, and the integration of technology in language education. In all, the applied research procedure has proven a sound methodology capable of signposting the salient themes and concepts tackled in academic publications, given the numerous parallels drawn between the results of the present and previous studies.

Abstract (−)-Cannabidiol (CBD) and (−)-cannabigerol (CBG) are two major non-psychotropic phytocannabinoids that have many beneficial biological properties. However, due to their low water solubility and prominent first-pass metabolism, their oral bioavailability is moderate, which is unfavorable for medicinal use. Therefore, there is a great need for appropriate chemical modifications to improve their physicochemical and biological properties. In this study, Mannich-type reaction was used for the synthetic modification of CBD and CBG for the first time, and thus fifteen new cannabinoid derivatives containing one or two tertiary amino groups were prepared. Thereafter the antiviral, antiproliferative and antibacterial properties of the derivatives and their effects on certain skin cells were investigated. Some modified CBD derivatives showed remarkable antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 without cytotoxic effect, while synthetic modifications on CBG resulted in a significant increase in antiproliferative activity in some cases compared to the parent compound.