Search Results (125)

Background and Objectives: Along with the ageing of the population, cancer and cardiovascular (CV) diseases more frequently coexist, complicating patients’ management. Here, we focus on elderly oncologic patients, describing clinical features and comorbidities, discussing therapeutic management CV risk factors and CV complications risen during our CV follow-up, and exploring the different items of the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and the correlation between cardiac function by means of standard 2D echocardiography and each of the CGA items. Methods: A total of 108 consecutive patients (mean age 73.55 ± 5.43 years old; 40.7% females) referred to our cardio-oncology unit were enrolled, and three different groups were identified: Group 1, patients naïve for oncologic treatments (mean age 73.32 ± 5.40; 33% females); Group 2, patients already on antineoplastic protocols (mean age 73.46 ± 5.09; 44.1% females); and Group 3, patients who had already completed cancer treatments (mean age 74.34 ± 6.23; 55% female). The correlation between CGA, performed in a subgroup of 62 patients (57.4%), and echocardiographic parameters was assessed. Results: Group 2 patients had the highest incidence of CV events (CVEs) (61.8% vs. 14.8% in Group 1, 15% in Group 3; p ≤ 0.001) and withdrawals from oncologic treatments (8.8% vs. none in Group 1; p = 0.035). Group 2 had worse 48-month survival (47.1% vs. 22.2% in Group 1, 20% in Group 3; p = 0.05), which was even more evident when focusing on patients who died during follow-up. When assessing echocardiographic parameters, physical activity showed an inverse correlation with the left ventricular mass index (p = 0.034), while the Frailty index showed a direct correlation with the E/e’ ratio (p = 0.005). Conclusions: A thorough baseline CV assessment is important in elderly oncologic patients eligible for anticancer treatment. In this population, CGA can be a simple, feasible screening tool that might help identify patients at a greater risk of developing CVEs correlating to several pivotal cardiovascular parameters. Full article

Background/Objectives: Multiple myeloma is a malignancy of plasma cells detected in the bone marrow, inducing symptoms like anemia, hypercalcemia, renal problems, and bone fractures in multiple myeloma patients, affecting their quality of life. The bone marrow microenvironment plays a crucial role in the prognosis and progression of the disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the percentages of the major cell populations of the bone marrow, including immune cells, and physical function/quality of life in multiple myeloma patients after first-line treatment. Methods: Twenty-one multiple myeloma patients (N = 14 men, N = 7 women) participated in the study after completing first-line treatment. Bone marrow and blood samples were taken one hundred days after transplantation, while physical function (6 min walking test, handgrip test, maximal aerobic power, and isometric strength), health-related quality of life (QLQ-C30), and body composition (DXA) were assessed 2–5 days later. Flow cytometry was used to assess the percentages of plasma cells, mast cells, B cells (total, precursors, naïve, and memory), T cells (total, CD27− and CD27+), NK/NKT cells (total, CD27− and CD27+), eosinophils, monocytes, neutrophils, myeloid progenitors, erythroblasts, and erythroid progenitors, expressed as percentages of total nucleated cells of the bone marrow. Results: The percentage of CD27+ NK/NKT cells was correlated with five parameters of the quality of life questionnaire: physical function (r = 0.78, p = 0.005), role functioning (r = 0.69, p = 0.020), fatigue (r = −0.86, p = 0.000), pain (r = 0.68, p = 0.021), and dyspnea (r = −0.80, p = 0.003). Conclusions: In conclusion, stronger immune surveillance in the bone marrow from CD27+ NK/NKT cells is correlated with better quality of life in multiple myeloma patients. Full article

Quantum chemistry offers the formal machinery to derive molecular and physical properties arising from (sub)atomic interactions. However, as molecules of practical interest are largely polyatomic, contemporary approximation schemes such as the Hartree–Fock scheme are computationally expensive due to the large number of electron repulsion integrals (ERIs). Central to the Hartree–Fock method is the efficient computation of ERIs over Gaussian functions (GTO-ERIs). Here, the well-known McMurchie–Davidson method (MD) offers an elegant formalism by incrementally extending Hermite Gaussian functions and auxiliary tabulated functions. Although the MD method offers a high degree of versatility to acceleration schemes through Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), the current GPU implementations limit the practical use of supported values of the azimuthal quantum number. In this paper, we propose a generalized framework capable of computing GTO-ERIs for arbitrary azimuthal quantum numbers, provided that the intermediate terms of the MD method can be stored. Our approach benefits from extending the MD recurrence relations through shells, batches, and triple-buffering of the shared memory, and ordering similar ERIs, thus enabling the effective parallelization and use of GPU resources. Furthermore, our approach proposes four GPU implementation schemes considering the suitable mappings between Gaussian basis and CUDA blocks and threads. Our computational experiments involving the GTO-ERI computations of molecules of interest on an NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPU (NVIDIA, Santa Clara, CA, USA) have revealed the merits of the proposed acceleration schemes in terms of computation time, including up to a 72× improvement over our previous GPU implementation and up to a 4500× speedup compared to a naive CPU implementation, highlighting the effectiveness of our method in accelerating ERI computations for both monatomic and polyatomic molecules. Our work has the potential to explore new parallelization schemes of distinct and complex computation paths involved in ERI computation. Full article

Ensuring high-quality data warehouses is crucial for organizations, as they provide the reliable information needed for informed decision-making. While various methodologies emphasize the importance of requirements, conceptual, logical, and physical models in developing data warehouses, empirical quality assessment of these models remains underexplored, especially requirements models. To bridge this gap, this study focuses on assessment of requirements metrics for predicting the understandability of requirements schemas, a key indicator of model quality. In this empirical study, 28 requirements schemas were classified into understandable and non-understandable clusters using the k-means clustering technique. The study then employed six classification techniques—logistic regression, naive Bayes, linear discriminant analysis with decision tree, reinforcement learning, voting rule, and a hybrid approach—within both univariate and multivariate models to identify strong predictors of schema understandability. Results indicate that 13 out of 17 requirements metrics are robust predictors of schema understandability. Furthermore, a comparative performance analysis of the classification techniques reveals that the hybrid classifier outperforms other techniques across key evaluation parameters, including accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC. These findings highlight the potential of requirements metrics as effective predictors of schema understandability, contributing to improved quality assessment and the development of better conceptual data models for data warehouses. Full article

Recent improvements in self-driving and connected cars promise to enhance traffic safety by reducing risks and accidents. However, security concerns limit their acceptance. These vehicles, interconnected with infrastructure and other cars, are vulnerable to cyberattacks, which could lead to severe costs, including physical injury or death. In this article, we propose a framework for an intrusion detection system to protect internal vehicle communications from potential attacks and ensure secure sent/transferred data. In the proposed system, real auto-network datasets with Spoofing, DoS, and Fuzzy attacks are used. To accurately distinguish between benign and malicious messages, this study employed seven distinct supervised machine-learning algorithms for data classification. The selected algorithms encompassed Decision Trees, Random Forests, Naive Bayes, Logistic Regression, XG Boost, LightGBM, and Multi-layer Perceptrons. The proposed detection system performed well on large real-car hacking datasets. We achieved high accuracy in identifying diverse electronic intrusions across the complex internal networks of connected and autonomous vehicles. Random Forest and LightGBM outperformed the other algorithms examined. Random Forest outperformed the other algorithms in the merged dataset trial, with 99.9% accuracy and the lowest computing cost. The LightGBM algorithm, on the other hand, performed admirably in the domain of binary classification, obtaining the same remarkable 99.9% accuracy with no computing overhead. Full article

Immunosenescence, the age-related decline in immune function, is a complex biological process with profound implications for health and longevity. This phenomenon, characterized by alterations in both innate and adaptive immunity, increases susceptibility to infections, reduces vaccine efficacy, and contributes to the development of age-related diseases. At the cellular level, immunosenescence manifests as decreased production of naive T and B cells, accumulation of memory and senescent cells, thymic involution, and dysregulated cytokine production. Recent advances in molecular biology have shed light on the underlying mechanisms of immunosenescence, including telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, and changes in key signaling pathways such as NF-κB and mTOR. These molecular changes lead to functional impairments in various immune cell types, altering their proliferative capacity, differentiation, and effector functions. Emerging research suggests that lifestyle factors may modulate the rate and extent of immunosenescence at both cellular and molecular levels. Physical activity, nutrition, stress management, and sleep patterns have been shown to influence immune cell function, inflammatory markers, and oxidative stress in older adults. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying immunosenescence and explores how lifestyle interventions may impact these processes. We will examine the current understanding of immunosenescence at the genomic, epigenomic, and proteomic levels, and discuss how various lifestyle factors can potentially mitigate or partially reverse aspects of immune aging. By integrating recent findings from immunology, gerontology, and molecular biology, we aim to elucidate the intricate interplay between lifestyle and immune aging at the molecular level, potentially informing future strategies for maintaining immune competence in aging populations. Full article

Background: Unlike other chronic liver disorders, in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), systemic oxidative stress (SOS) worsens along with liver disease progression status (DPS), influencing muscle metabolism, muscle quantity (MQ), and itch pathways. Synergistically, cholestasis contributes to reduced vitamin D absorption, with a negative impact on MM and SOS. Despite this evidence, the prevalence of sarcopenia in PBC, and the SOS-MQ relationship comparing PBC with other CLDs, has never been investigated. Moreover, the relationship between vitamin D and MQ-SOS, and the correlation between SOS and pruritus severity, remains unexplored in PBC. Methods: A total of 40 MASLD, 52 chronic HBV infections, 50 chronic HCV infections, and 41 ursodeoxycholic acid/antioxidant-naïve PBC patients were enrolled. Biochemical, nutritional, and liver stiffness (LSM) data were collected, and sarcopenia was assessed after a normalizing 3-month dietetic–physical exercise regimen. The d-ROMs/BAP tests evaluated SOS. The validated “PBC-40 questionnaire” estimated pruritus and quality of life (QoL). Results: Unlike other CLDs, in PBC patients, sarcopenia was more prevalent in initial mild fibrosis (PBC: 57.10% vs. MASLD: 30.76%, HBV: 22.60%, HCV: 20.70%, all p < 0.0001), and SOS significantly correlated with MQ (dROMs-ASM/h², p: 0.0002; BAP-ASM/h²: p: 0.0092). PBC patients presented lower vitamin D levels and a significant correlation of these with SOS and MQ (all p < 0.0001). SOS also correlated with pruritus severity (dROMs, R: 0.835; BAP, R: −0.775, p < 0.0001). QoL impairment was significantly more represented in PBC individuals with sarcopenia, SOS imbalance, and relevant pruritus (p: 0.0228). Conclusions: In PBC, SOS correlates with MQ impairment and pruritus severity, configuring two independent relationships simultaneously impacting QoL. Full article

City image is essential for city marketing, yet the impact of “outside–in” shaping by social media in the Web 2.0 era has been largely overlooked. The decentralized and diverse Web 2.0 environment now dominates online information dissemination, influencing not just cyberspace, but also the physical urban landscape. These externally driven city images increasingly reflect and interact with traditional “inside–out” images shaped by official sources. Understanding the influence of external actors via social media compared to traditional internal sources, like government websites, is crucial. This dual analysis offers insights into city image formation, helping cities refine their marketing strategies. This study analyzed a representative social media platform alongside official government websites, using programming and a naive Bayes classifier. We developed a method to categorize the city images of selected U.S. world cities based on these two different media sources. The results are as follows: (1) We establish a city image categorization system that divides the considered U.S. world cities into four and five categories based on social media and official government website content, respectively. (2) We compare the groups and logics shaping global city images in different cyber eras based on the example of the U.S. world cities, and based on this, we explore the relative roles of groups outside the city. (3) We identify the preferences of forming different city images between external groups based on social media and internal forces based on government websites. In summary, this article takes world cities as an example to demonstrate that, in the Web 2.0 era, the image of a city depends on both internal and external groups and has varying degrees of preference. The unique urban image of each city is formed through two media content streams and quantitative preference. Full article

Background: The multisystem manifestations of Fabry disease can create major challenges in patient care. Although enzyme replacement therapy with recombinant agalsidase beta has demonstrated clinical benefits, the standard fortnightly, multi-hour infusion regimen imposes a substantial burden on patients. Methods: We assessed the safety and feasibility of shortening the agalsidase beta infusion time to 90 min in adult patients with classic or later-onset Fabry disease in the absence of premedication. A total of 39 consecutive adult patients (agalsidase-naïve: n = 7; with significant comorbidities: n = 15) with no recent infusion-associated reactions underwent a total of 85 agalsidase beta infusions in our tertiary reference centre for lysosomal diseases. Each infusion was administered at a constant rate (between 0.78 and 1.17 mg/min, depending on the total dose administered). Results: No adverse events of any type (including discomfort and infusion-associated reactions) were reported during or after infusions. The patients’ vital signs and physical examination remained stable, and patients’ satisfaction was high. Conclusions: Our results suggest that shortening the agalsidase beta infusion time to 90 min is safe and feasible in stably treated adult patients with Fabry disease and no recent infusion-associated reactions. Full article

This paper presents a comprehensive fault diagnosis approach for a delta robot utilizing advanced feature extraction and classification techniques. A four-arm delta robot prototype is designed in SolidWorks for realistic fault analysis. Two case studies investigate faults through control effort and vibration signals, with control effort detecting motor and encoder faults, while vibration signals identify bearing faults. This study compares time-domain signal features and wavelet scattering networks, applied by classification algorithms including wide neural networks (WNNs), efficient linear support vector machine (ELSVM), efficient logistic regression (ELR), and kernel naive Bayes (KNB). Results indicate that a WNN, using wavelet scattering features ranked by one-way anova, is optimal due to its consistency and reliability, while these features enhance computational efficiency by reducing classifier size. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates the classifier’s capacity to detect untrained faults, highlighting the importance of effective feature extraction and classification methods for fault diagnosis in complex robotic systems. This research significantly contributes to fault diagnosis in delta robots and lays the groundwork for future studies on fault tolerance control and predictive maintenance planning. Future work will focus on the physical implementation of the delta robot in laboratory settings, aiming to improve operational efficiency and reliability in industrial applications. Full article

Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (medfly) strongly affects Argentinean fruit production and export. Augmentative biological control using the exotic parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) is currently applied to this problem. The ability to find and parasitize medfly larvae on a wide diversity of fruit host species is a key issue that needs to be analyzed. This research assessed the effect of the physical features of fruit on the preference of foraging D. longicaudata females and the influence of varying release density on parasitoid performance as a pest mortality factor in three fruit species. Trials were performed inside field cages under semi-arid environmental conditions in Argentina’s central-western fruit-growing region. Sweet orange, peach, and fig were tested. The fruits were inoculated with third-instar larvae of the Vienna-8 temperature-sensitive lethal medfly strain. Naïve, 5 d-old mated D. longicaudata females were released in cages at 20, 40, 80, and 160 parasitoid densities. The highest levels of medfly mortality and parasitoid emergence were recorded in fig and peach, although D. longicaudata also induced mortality in orange, a fruit with few physical features favorable to parasitism. The medfly mortality in all fruit host species significantly increased with an increased number of parasitoid females released into the field cages. Diachsmimorpha longicaudata has high potential as a medfly biocontrol agent. Full article

Background: Lithium is the gold-standard treatment for Bipolar Disorder (BD) in both adults and adolescents, effectively managing mood episodes and reducing suicide risk. While its efficacy in neurotypical youth is well established, its use in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and comorbid BD remains under-researched. Here, we present the protocol for a study aiming to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of Extended-Release Lithium Salts in treating adolescents with BD and comorbid ASD compared to neurotypical BD patients. Methods: This longitudinal prospective naturalistic comparative study will enroll lithium-naïve adolescents aged 12–18 with BD, with or without comorbid ASD, from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology. Participants will be followed for six months while receiving Extended-Release Lithium Salts treatment. Primary outcomes will include mood instability, suicidality, emotional dysregulation, and aggression, assessed through a range of clinical rating scales and diagnostic tools at baseline, three months, and six months. Secondary outcomes will focus on the safety and tolerability of Extended-Release Lithium Salts, with measures including side effect ratings, physical exams, and laboratory tests. Results: We hypothesize that Extended-Release Lithium Salts will demonstrate non-inferiority in treating BD symptoms in adolescents with comorbid ASD compared to those without ASD. Conclusions: This study is poised to fill a significant gap in the literature by providing critical data on the use of lithium for adolescents with BD and ASD. Findings will inform clinical practice and future research, potentially guiding more personalized treatment approaches for this complex and vulnerable population. Full article

A purposely naïve and semi-empirical model allows for the reproduction of the phenomenological behavior of any real microbial culture by adjusting the values of three parameters, which have a biological meaning only for a virtual microbial culture that mimics the behavior of the real ones. Any genomic, biochemical, and physical peculiarity (microbial species, physiological condition, pH, water activity, temperature, etc.) that distinguishes one real culture from another is “translated” to an effect of the degree of progress of the population density and cell age in the virtual culture. The model leads to a self-consistent description of the growth curve, which looks like the result of an autocorrelation effect. This explains why, in spite of genomic and physiologic differences, all the growth curves show a sigmoid trend. The traditional growth curve and the subsequent exponential decay in the log(N)-vs-t plot can be replaced by straight-line trends when referring to the degree of progress of the population density of the virtual culture. Full article

High school students with better knowledge about back care have fewer problems, but conceptual errors can hinder the acquisition of essential knowledge necessary for developing healthy habits. This study analyzed secondary school students’ declarative knowledge and misconceptions related to back care in daily activities. An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted with 80 girls and 89 boys aged 14–18 years (M = 15.68, SD = 2.12). The Health Questionnaire on Back Care Knowledge in Activities of Daily Living was used to evaluate knowledge using the true answer model (TAM) and the misconception model (MM). Using the test–retest method, both models’ reliability was confirmed (TAM = 0.75; MM = 0.77), while only a minimal measurement error was identified (TAM = −0.01; MM = −0.07). The average scores were 6.23 for the TAM and 2.29 for the MM. The results showed no significant differences in both models. The analysis indicated that students had the most accurate knowledge of the location and function of the spine, whereas misconceptions regarding anatomical understanding and body posture usage were common. An analysis of the results under Reassumption Theory emphasizes the significance of comprehending concepts such as load transmission and spinal stability to maintain back health, thus highlighting the need for improved education in these areas to address misconceptions and enhance overall back-care knowledge. Full article

This study presents for the first time functional cookies for diabetics made with 100% organic Cyperus esculentus L. flour, either plain or enhanced with 5% polyfloral honey syrup containing the probiotic strain Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus SL42. The flour’s chemical composition and rheological and functional properties were analyzed, and 33 diabetic and semi-naive panelists assessed the cookies’ sensory properties. MRS-cys agar cultures and SEM analysis evaluated SL42 survival and adhesion capacity over 21 days at 25 °C. Results showed that the flour and its extracts are rich in polyphenols and flavonoids, indicating strong antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Both cookie types met international standards when compared to commercial cookies and had similar physical properties. Sensory evaluation on day 1 revealed higher quality indicators for honey syrup-enriched cookies, but after 15 days, control cookies were preferred. The CIE LAB analysis confirmed the dietetic flour’s typical dark color, with honey syrup-enriched cookies being darker. Despite textural differences, both cookies maintained detectable crispness over storage. Honey syrup-enriched cookies effectively carried L. rhamnosus SL42, remaining viable at 6.43 Log CFU per cookie after 21 days and adhering to the cookie’s surface, as confirmed by SEM analysis. Further research is recommended to better understand the therapeutic value of these cookies. Full article