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Research data management is essential for safeguarding and prospecting data generated in a scientific context. Specific issues arise regarding data in image format, as this data typology poses particular challenges and opportunities; however, not much attention has been given to data as images. We reviewed 109 articles from several research domains where images were used either as data or metadata to understand how researchers specifically deal with this data format, and what are your habits and behaviors. We use the Web of Science (WoS), considering its five main areas of research. We included in the initial corpus the most relevant articles by research domain, selecting the ten most cited articles in WoS, by year, between 2010 and 2021. The selected articles should be in English and in open access. The results found that images have been used in scientific works numerous times, but, unfortunately, few are those in which they are the central element of the study. Photography is the type of image most used in most domains. In terms of the instruments used, the Technology and Life Sciences and Biomedicine domains use the microscope more, while the Arts and Humanities and Physical Sciences domains use the camera more. We found that the images are mostly produced in the context of the project, rather than reused by third parties. As for their collection scenario, these are mostly produced/used in a laboratory context. The overwhelming majority of the images present in the articles are digital, and only a small part is analog. We verify that Arts and Humanities are more likely to perform qualitative types of analyses, while Life Sciences and Biomedicine overwhelmingly use quantitative analyses. As for the issues of sharing and depositing, Life Sciences and Biomedicine is the domain that stands out the most in the tasks of depositing and sharing images. It was found that the licenses of a project are intrinsically related to the motivations for sharing results with third parties. Description, a fundamental step in the data management process, is neglected by a large number of researchers. The images are mostly not described or annotated and when this happens, researchers don’t provide much detail about this.

Background: Despite the potential effectiveness of bariatric surgery in promoting weight loss, a considerable proportion of patients still face the challenge of achieving optimal post-surgery outcomes. The timing of eating, in addition to the content of what is eaten, as well as chronotype and social jetlag (a marker of circadian misalignment), have been implicated in weight regulation. However, the current understanding of these chrono-related behaviours in individuals undergoing bariatric surgery is still scarce. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the role of chrono-nutrition, chronotype, and circadian misalignment in the weight-loss trajectory among individuals living with severe obesity who underwent bariatric surgery. Methods: The ChronoWise project is a prospective single-centre cohort study designed to follow patients experiencing bariatric surgery at the Santo António Local Health Unit (ULSSA), Porto, Portugal. Participants will be recruited and evaluated at pre-surgery and followed-up over 3 and 6 months after surgery. The baseline evaluation will be conducted face-to-face during the hospital stay and by telephone or video call on the subsequent evaluations, following standard procedures. Data collection includes sociodemographics, food intake, chrono-nutrition behaviours, sleep time behaviour, sleep quality, screen time, physical activity and exercise behaviours, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical parameters. The 'Munich Chronotype Questionnaire' will be used to assess chronotype and social jet lag. Chrono-nutrition dimensions will be measured by the 'Chrononutrition Profile—Questionnaire' in all evaluations. Weight and height will be self-reported and retrieved from medical registries. trajectories of weight-loss will be obtained. Discussion: This study will add important evidence on the role of chrono-nutrition, chronotype and social jetlag profile in weight-loss outcomes after bariatric surgery. Identifying novel approaches to change the paradigm of post-surgical weight management towards a tailored treatment aligned with circadian rhythm may be useful to strengthen the existing treatments and improve patients' response to bariatric surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the tumor microenvironment and surrounding lymph nodes is the main focus of current immunological research on soft tissue sarcomas (STS). However, due to the restricted opportunity to examine tumor samples, alternative approaches are required to evaluate immune responses in non-surgical patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the peripheral immune profile of STS patients, characterize patients accordingly and explore the impact of peripheral immunotypes on patient survival. Blood samples were collected from 55 STS patients and age-matched healthy donors (HD) controls. Deep immunophenotyping and gene expression analysis of whole blood was analyzed using multiparametric flow cytometry and real-time RTqPCR, respectively. Using xMAP technology, proteomic analysis was also carried out on plasma samples. Unsupervised clustering analysis was used to classify patients based on their immune profiles to further analyze the impact of peripheral immunotypes on patient survival. Significant differences were found between STS patients and HD controls. It was found a contraction of B cells and CD4 T cells compartment, along with decreased expression levels of ICOSLG and CD40LG; a major contribution of suppressor factors, as increased frequency of M-MDSC and memory Tregs, increased expression levels of ARG1, and increased plasma levels of IL-10, soluble VISTA and soluble TIMD-4; and a compromised cytotoxic potential associated with NK and CD8 T cells, namely decreased frequency of CD56dim NK cells, and decreased levels of PRF1, GZMB, and KLRK1. In addition, the patients were classified into three peripheral immunotype groups: "immune-high," "immune-intermediate," and "immunelow." Furthermore, it was found a correlation between these immunotypes and patient survival. Patients classified as "immune-high" exhibited higher levels of immune-related factors linked to cytotoxic/effector activity and longer survival times, whereas patients classified as "immune-low" displayed higher levels of immune factors associated with immunosuppression and shorter survival times. In conclusion, it can be suggested that STS patients have a compromised systemic immunity, and the correlation between immunotypes and survival emphasizes the importance of studying peripheral blood samples in STS. Assessing the peripheral immune response holds promise as a useful method for monitoring and forecasting outcomes in STS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into particulate polymer composites is of significant interest due to their potential for enhancing material properties, such as strength, thermal stability, and conductivity while maintaining low weight and cost. Among the various techniques for preparing particle-based composites, ultrasonic wave stimulation is one of the principal laboratory-scale methods for enhancing the dispersion of the discontinuous phase. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of empirical evidence to substantiate the impact of stimulating materials with natural sound frequencies within the acoustic spectrum, ranging from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, during their formation process. The present work investigates the effect of acoustic stimuli with frequencies of 56, 111, and 180 Hz on the properties of an acrylic-based polymer and its discontinuous carbon-based composites. The results indicated that the stimulus frequency affects the cure time of the studied systems, with a notable reduction of 31% and 21% in the cure times of the neat polymer and carbon-nanofiber-based composites, respectively, after applying a frequency of 180 Hz. Additionally, the higher stimulation frequencies reduced porosity in the samples, increased the degree of dispersion of the discontinuous phase, and altered the composite materials' thermal, optical, and electrical behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]