Search Results (23)

A product development process establishes requirements not just for the new product’s quality and performance, but also for its manufacturing process, to guarantee that the item is manufactured with minimal impact. This is because, if an issue is discovered after the product has been released, the implications go beyond the expensive cost of the repair; the physical ergonomics problem can affect the worker’s comfort, productivity, and product quality. Virtual reality and digital human modeling are often employed in Industry 4.0 to evaluate ergonomics, but they are rarely used to examine physical ergonomics throughout the product development phases. Our study presents design guidelines to combine virtual reality and digital human modeling to anticipate the physical ergonomics evaluations of the assembly process while the product is still in development. Based on physical observations of body-posture angles and total effort classification, our proof of concept performed comparably to conventional methods. We also observed comparable results when we analyzed attributive factors such as hand clearance and strength. In contrast, our proof of concept has been shown to be limited for occupations involving extra ergonomic physical risk factors, such as touch perception, temperature fluctuations, or size changes. Full article

Background/Objectives: Adherence to a healthy diet may increase the chance of healthy aging. This study’s objective was to evaluate the nutritional quality of the diet and socioeconomic and health-related correlations of adherence to a healthy diet in older individuals. Methods: This analysis was part of the PolSenior2 project, which comprised 5987 respondents aged ≥60 years, representatives of the community-dwelling Polish population. Eating habits were categorized according to the Senior Healthy Diet Index (SHDI), with a score between 0 and 100 points, based on the 42-item food frequency questionnaire filled out by participants. Higher adherence to the SHDI was defined as fulfilling at least five components. Results: The mean SHDI score was significantly higher in women, 58.5 ± 11.7, compared to men (55.8 ± 11.8); p < 0.001. Only 0.7% of respondents were fully adherent to dietary recommendations (fulfilling at least eight of ten SHDI components). In univariate analysis, a lower prevalence of typical geriatric problems (functional impairment, dementia, depression, falls, frailty, visual impairment, lack of functional dentition) and an additional occurrence of diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure in men were significantly correlated with higher compliance with SHDI recommendations. According to multivariate regression analysis, female sex, higher education level, regular physical activity, functional dentition, diabetes, and the absence of depression or dementia were factors most strongly associated with better adherence to a healthy diet. Conclusions: Full adherence to dietary recommendations in Polish seniors is rare. Aging-related diseases correlate in various ways with better eating habits. Especially, men are more likely to choose a healthy diet when signs of deterioration appear. Full article

Heterogeneous information networks (HINs) have seen rapid development and have attracted extensive attention because of their effectiveness in recommender systems. Although many existing models based on HINs for recommender systems have obtained good recommendation performance on account of their superior ability to process heterogeneous data and capture rich semantic information, there are still several problems. Firstly, the temporal relations among different nodes in meta-paths, which include users and items, are rarely considered in HINs. Secondly, the interactions among meta-paths, users, and items are similarly often overlooked. Thirdly, their ability to learn the heterogeneous information of users and items is limited. In view of the above problems, we propose a system for the temporal enhancement of top-N recommendations on HINs called TMRec. Specifically, we first adopted long short-term memory (LSTM) and residual self-attention (RSA) to process users and items and enhance the network’s ability to both learn the heterogeneous information in them and capture the temporal relations among them. Second, we designed a novel method for processing meta-paths, including deep perception self-attention (DPSA), max pooling, and L₂-normalization, that can effectively obtain the temporal relations among different nodes in meta-paths. Third, we used collaborative attention to process meta-paths, users, and items to obtain their interactions. Finally, extensive experiments were conducted on four public datasets of recommender systems to verify the superiority of our method compared with state-of-the-art top-N recommendation models. Full article

Background/Objectives: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used 25-item screening and diagnostic tool for behavioral and emotional problems in young people. Despite its popularity, evaluations of the SDQ’s factor structure in adolescent populations have produced disparate results, and its relationships with theoretically related variables are rarely evaluated. In the present study, these two elements of validity were evaluated based on a large sample of Western Australian adolescents. Methods: Participants were 1489 adolescents, n = 623 males with a mean age of 13.79 years (SD = 1.61) and n = 866 females, with a mean age of 14.29 years (SD = 1.51). Participants completed the SDQ alongside measures of loneliness, sense of belonging, depression, bullying, and diagnostic status to evaluate its internal structure and correlations with theoretically related variables. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses supported the internal structure of the SDQ both for males and for females. Relationships between the SDQ subscale scores and those from theoretically related variables were also aligned with the instrument’s underpinning framework. Conclusions: Despite the somewhat disparate results of previous studies, overall, this study supported the validity of the SDQ for use in the Western Australian context. Full article

Introduction: Intramedullary metastases to the conus medullaris spinalis (IMCM) pose a rare problem in neurosurgical oncology and are usually encountered as a complicated clinical scenario in the setting of advanced systemic malignancy with poor overall survival. Despite the progress in interdisciplinary oncological care, their management remains complicated. Research Question: We performed a PRISMA-guided literature search to achieve a pooled analysis of all previously reported IMCM cases that contained detailed clinical data on this problem to investigate the currently employed management options and respective outcomes. We obtained a clinical vignette and performed a comprehensive narrative review of IMCM management. Materials and Methods: The PubMed/MEDLINE/Google Scholar, Cochrane and Embase databases were systematically searched according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. All relevant publications retrieved were subjected to full-text analysis in detail and pertinent information was extracted. Results: The most common systemic primary tumor site as the origin of IMCM was the lung, followed by the breast. Overall, the pooled median survival was 6 months (range 0.5–36 months). Patients who received both surgery and radiation therapy had the longest overall survival (OS) (mean 9.9 months) and those who received no oncological treatment (neither surgery nor adjuvant therapy) had the shortest OS (mean 3.6 months). In cases where surgical resection was performed as part of the treatment plan for metastases, those with partial tumor resection had a more favorable neurological outcome than patients who underwent aggressive gross total resection. Conclusions: Based on the results of our analysis, we find that diligent microsurgical resection (subtotal or total) followed by radiation therapy appears as an effective and suitable treatment in select patients with IMCM. When surgery is not feasible as part of the treatment algorithm, radiation therapy alone (conventional or radiosurgery) also appears to be a suitable treatment option that confers a benefit to the patient. Full article

(1) Background: Studies on women with disabilities (WwD) are rare and tend to reveal certain representation patterns. This study aims to understand how and to what extent WwD and chronic diseases are deemed newsworthy in the Portuguese public news TV station RTP1 primetime news program. Feminist disability, standpoint, agenda-setting, and framing theories are used alongside the concept of intersectionality. (2) Methods: A mixed-method approach is adopted, combining quantitative content analysis of all broadcasted news in January 2020 (n = 704), and qualitative discourse analysis of news items on PwD (n = 5). (3) Results: The results reveal that disability is a reduced issue in Telejornal’s agenda. PwD, in general, are often portrayed in secondary roles and without a voice. The protagonists of news stories about disability or persons with disabilities are predominantly women without disabilities, occupying traditional roles as caregivers (mothers, nurses), while men are more often portrayed as public agents. Discourse analysis deepens understanding by uncovering the prevalence of negative news values and a problem-centred framing, often associated with negativity, rather than presenting solutions. (4) Conclusions: Consequently, WwD were found to be deprived of news representation with a more positive or ‘normal’ focus and an intersectional approach reveals a lack of inclusion, with the few existing news tending to focus on exclusion issues, portraying only white Portuguese women. This study underscores the urgent need for a more equitable approach in media representation, recognising the diversity and positive contributions of WwD to promote an inclusive narrative. Full article

Arboviruses represent a real public health problem globally and in the Central African subregion in particular, which represents a high-risk zone for the emergence and re-emergence of arbovirus outbreaks. Furthermore, an updated review on the current arbovirus burden and associated mosquito vectors is lacking for this region. To contribute to filling this knowledge gap, the current study was designed with the following objectives: (i) to systematically review data on the occurrence and distribution of arboviruses and mosquito fauna; and (ii) to identify potential spillover mosquito species in the Central African region in the last 30 years. A web search enabled the documentation of 2454 articles from different online databases. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) and the quality of reporting of meta-analyses (QUORUM) steps for a systematic review enabled the selection of 164 articles that fulfilled our selection criteria. Of the six arboviruses (dengue virus (DENV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV), yellow fever virus (YFV), Zika virus (ZIKV), Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), and West Nile virus (WNV)) of public health concern studied, the most frequently reported were chikungunya and dengue. The entomological records showed >248 species of mosquitoes regrouped under 15 genera, with Anopheles (n = 100 species), Culex (n = 56 species), and Aedes (n = 52 species) having high species diversity. Three genera were rarely represented, with only one species included, namely, Orthopodomyia, Lutzia, and Verrallina, but individuals of the genera Toxorhinchites and Finlayas were not identified at the species level. We found that two Aedes species (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus) colonised the same microhabitat and were involved in major epidemics of the six medically important arboviruses, and other less-frequently identified mosquito genera consisted of competent species and were associated with outbreaks of medical and zoonotic arboviruses. The present study reveals a high species richness of competent mosquito vectors that could lead to the spillover of medically important arboviruses in the region. Although epidemiological studies were found, they were not regularly documented, and this also applies to vector competence and transmission studies. Future studies will consider unpublished information in dissertations and technical reports from different countries to allow their information to be more consistent. A regional project, entitled “Ecology of Arboviruses” (EcoVir), is underway in three countries (Gabon, Benin, and Cote d’Ivoire) to generate a more comprehensive epidemiological and entomological data on this topic. Full article

Introduction: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often seem not to feel the need to go to the bathroom in whatever context they are in and may suffer from hypo-responsiveness. Recent studies show a correlation between sensory problems, constipation, and fecal incontinence in children. This requires an assessment tool to identify evacuation issues in children with sensory dysfunction. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to validate the Italian version of The Toileting Habit Profile Questionnaire-Revised (THPQ-R) in children with ASD. Methods: The inclusion criteria were a confirmed diagnosis of ASD and an age between 3 and 8 years old. The Toileting Habit Profile Questionnaire Revised (THPQ-R) was recently validated in the Italian language on a healthy population. The Italian version has 17 items with two alternative response options, frequently/always or never/rarely, based on how often the behavior occurs. The THPQ-R questionnaire is easy to administer, interpret, and manage. For concurrent validity, we used the Italian version of the Sensory Processing Measure and Sensory Processing Measure—Preschool. Results: For the THPQ-R validation, 43 participants were recruited. The internal consistency, reporting an α value of 0.763, showed that the THPQ-R was a very reliable scale. The THPQ-R appears to be correlated only with the domains “Social Participation T-point”, “Hearing T-point”, and “Planning and Ideas T-point”. However, these correlations are not statistically significant. Conclusion: The THPQ-R highlights positive results regarding validity and reliability and shows a positive correlation between defecation disorders and social participation. Full article

Handling uncertainty is important in decision making, especially for SDGs problems. Robust Optimization (RO) is an applied optimization method that can be employed to handle optimization under uncertain data. With SDGs problems, many uncertain data have been considered in decision making. With RO, the data uncertainties are assumed to lay within a compact, convex continuous set. There are three special sets that can be used to represent the data, i.e., box, ellipsoidal, or polyhedral uncertainty sets. These special sets lead the SDGs problems to a computationally tractable optimization model, such that the global optimal solution is attained. However, literature reviews on the application of RO in SDGs decision-making is sparse, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period. This paper examines the following topics: (1) the purposes of studies of RO and SDGs during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) the state-of-the-art in RO-SDGs to determine the research objectives, and (3) the SDGs type of problems that have been modeled using RO. A systematic literature review is conducted in this paper, wherein discussion is based on a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses) flowchart. To this end, the database reference searching conducted on the Scopus, Science Direct, and SAGE databases, is completed using the help RStudio software. The analysis was carried out on two datasets, assisted by the output visualization using RStudio software with the “bibliometrix” package, and using the ‘biblioshiny()’ command to create a link to the “shiny web interface”. In this paper, the research gap on application of RO to SDGs problems is analyzed in order to identify the research objectives, methods, and specific RO-SDGs problems. As a result, the application of RO to SDGs problems is rare; this finding provides a motivation to conduct a further study of RO and SDGs during the COVID-19 pandemic. An expansion is presented using the key phrase “Operations Research and Optimization Modeling”, or “OROM”. SDGs in Indonesia may be referenced as an example of the capacity building available through RO/OROM. Full article

This paper is devoted to the problems of differentiation of stylistic variants in the common phenomenon of the so-called Scythian and Siberian animal styles, which is one of the main distinctive features of Eurasian nomadic art. The animal style is a concept of more scale than an artistic style proper which distinguishes with some formal characteristics and depends directly on generic traditions and ethnic and cultural roots of art. Together with the technical-technological methods these formal features could be evidential indications of the origin of works of art. The Siberian collection of Peter the Great includes some different groups of golden ornaments decorated in animal styles of different origins. The paper focuses on a compact group of items originating from various mostly unknown sites from different territories in Asia including the Oxus treasure, several items from the Siberian collection of Peter the Great from Southern Siberia, a few jewelry pieces from other collections of the world museums as well as items made of leather and felt coming from the First and the Second Pazyryk kurgans. A distinctive feature of this group of zoomorphic images are colored inlays that accentuate a hind-leg or a shoulder of the animal; such inlays have the form of an intricate figure made up of a circle and a curvilinear triangle abutting to it or elongated round brackets. Genetically, such an ornamental motif, which is not generally typical for Persian art, may be linked to a periphery area of the Iranian world and nomadic culture, while the group of sites can be dated back to the 4th–3rd centuries BC. The paper considers a bracelet from the Siberian collection of Peter the Great which is the only item in this category of jewelry type of bracelets. It represents a rare type of ornament with a multi-component structure. It consists of three open-work strips with zoomorphic compositions in an animal style similar to the above-mentioned stylistic group. All three parts of the bracelet are created in a unified style, but obviously in different individual manners. There is no doubt, that the zoomorphic images show three different authors’ hands, and were made by different artisans. So, there is evidence of collective work on the object when each artisan makes his own operation to create a unique jewel at a workshop. Some parts of the composition on the bracelet are similar in style to zoomorphic images from kurgan Issyk in Kazakhstan which perhaps were made in the same workshop. This fact confirms the assumption of the origin of some of Siberian jewelry. Full article

Japan has the world’s highest life longevity, and centenarian patients are no longer rare. However, sufficient information related to centenarians is not available. Herein, we report the case of a 101-year-old centenarian woman who recovered from extreme inactivity and general weakness, mainly through nutritional management at home, to understand instances of nutritional management in centenarians. The patient developed lethargy, with a rapid decline in activity levels and food intake. She was diagnosed with senility by a primary doctor. We concluded that she had no problems with feeding and swallowing and predicted that her motivation to eat had decreased. We planned an intervention that lasted three months. To reduce the risk of aspiration, we paid attention to her posture while eating. To stimulate her appetite, we increased the variety and color of food items. To consider both the texture of food and safety, we changed the form of foods from paste (IDDSI Level 4)-like to solid food of regular size as much as possible. We recommended that the patient consume her favorite sweet between meals to enjoy eating. Two and half months after the initial intervention, the patient’s inactivity and general weakness improved dramatically, which was recognized by her willingness to eat, laugh loudly, and hum, although she could not speak clearly. The patient finally was able to have dinner with her family. Full article

Karst groundwater is one of the important drinking water sources in karst areas, and it has an important role in maintaining the regional ecosystem and human health. The study of microplastics (MPs) in karst groundwater has rarely been reported, and the occurrence and migration behavior of MPs under the unique environmental conditions of karst is unclear. This study selected cave groundwater and common MPs in karst areas to explore the occurrence characteristics of MPs in groundwater to clarify the factors affecting the distribution and migration of MPs. The results showed that the abundance of MPs in karst groundwater was between 2.33 and 9.50 items·L⁻¹, with an average abundance of 4.50 items·L⁻¹. The microplastic size, type, color, and chemical composition were primarily 1~5 mm, film and fiber, color and transparent, and PS and PE, respectively. The risk characterization ratio (RCR) index results indicated that 80% of the samples were at a low ecological risk level, whereas 60% of the sampling points after concentrated rainfall in June were a medium ecological risk. The study showed that rainfall events significantly changed the abundance and migration of MPs in karst groundwater. The Pearson analysis showed a positive correlation between microplastic distribution and suspended particles (SP), total organic carbon (TOC), and water velocity (WV) in water. The study indicated that strong soil erosion in karst areas may also be one of the main sources of MPs in karst groundwater, and that karst groundwater microplastic pollution is an environmental problem that should not be ignored. Full article

Background: Rett Syndrome (RTT) is a rare, neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by a range of problematic symptoms. There is yet to be a robust instrument to adequately capture the range of disease severity across the lifespan. In this study, we aimed to develop and assess the validity of an RTT-specific electronic Observer Reported Outcome (eObsRO), the Multi-System Profile of Symptoms Scale (MPSS). Methods: The study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a systematic literature review, focus groups, expert feedback, and a pilot test of the new scale. Modifications were made based on preliminary analysis and feedback collected in the pilot phase. Phase 2 consisted of the validation of the questionnaire based on two samples (Sample 1, n = 18; Sample 2, n = 106). Participants were all parents or caregivers of individuals with RTT. Results: The MPSS consists of 12 validated sub-scales (mental health problems, autonomic problems, cardiac problems, communication problems, problems in social behaviour, problems in engagement, gastrointestinal problems, problems in motor skills, neurological problems, orofacial problems, respiratory problems, and sleep problems), which explore symptom frequency in the past month and a supplement to the scale consisting of five sub-scales (sensory problems, immune dysfunction and infection, endocrine problems, skeletal problems, and dermatological problems), which is designed to capture symptom changes over a longer time period. The frequency of symptoms was rated on a 10-point slider scale, which then was automatically transformed into a 0 to 5 Likert score. All 12 sub-scales showed strong internal consistency (α ≥ 0.700) and good stability, ranging from 0.707 to 0.913. Pearson’s correlation showed a statistically significant (r = 0.649) correlation between the MPSS and the Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire (RSBQ) total score and significant correlations between sub-scales with items that were presented in both the MPSS and RSBQ. Conclusions: The MPSS is a psychometrically validated eObsRO using the HealthTracker^TM platform and has the potential to be used in clinical trials. Full article

Transport provision in remote territories is one of the most important factors in maintaining the sustainability of socio-economic and ecological systems. Indigenous peoples of Siberia have always been mobile using diverse traditional ways across the taiga. During the Soviet period, the transition to settled life, along with technological development and the emergence of new modes of transport, such as off-road cars, snowmobiles, and motor boats, significantly affected the level of population mobility, including remote areas where people are engaged in traditional nature management. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were significant changes and reductions in the subsidies of transportation systems for remote terrains that made them isolated. Transport connectivity has been realized through rare plane flights (once a month or less) or by cars on dirt roads (actually off-road) that take several days of travel. Siberian territories rich with natural resources, low population density, and weak infrastructure might be attractive for mining companies. Being difficult to access not only for the local population, but also for industrial companies, the territories imply the allocation of a significant share of road construction and transport costs in the cost items of miners and processors. The problems of sustainability and resilience of the indigenous peoples of Siberia require special attention when restructuring transport communications, but they have practically not been studied before. Methods of in-depth and group interviews with local residents were used. Based on comparative geographic and statistical analysis and generalization of data, network and problem approaches applied for various sources and field materials (including in-depth and group interviews), the factors of sustainability and resilience, which the indigenous communities of three remote Siberian territories pin their hopes on in the context of the transformation of transportation infrastructure, have been identified. If geographic remoteness remains an unchanged fact, the expansion of desired transport accessibility (mainly due to investments by industrial companies) is associated by locals with the possibility of additional income related to provision of services, the emergence of new types of employment of the population that have not been observed before, and the implementation of new transport modes to support traditional activities. Full article

Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are kept and used in multiple sectors of society, but little is known about how they are housed and what environmental enrichment (EE) they may benefit from. We aimed to help guide caretakers about what housing and EE can be provided for ferrets. Through an online questionnaire of ferret caretakers, including pet, laboratory, zoological collection, rescue and working animal sectors internationally, we described ferret housing, opportunities for exploration, EE provision and caretaker opinions on ferrets’ preferred EE types, and problematic EE. In total, 754 valid responses from 17 countries were analysed, with most (82.4%) coming from pet owners. Most ferrets were housed socially, with housing varying across sectors from single-level cages to free-range housing in a room or outdoor enclosure; pet owners mostly used multi-level cages. The most commonly reported EE included hammocks, tunnels and tactile interaction with caretakers. Respondents reported that ferrets particularly enjoyed digging substrates, tunnels, human interaction and exploration. The most frequently reported problems were that ingestion of unsuitable chew toys and rubber items could cause internal blockages, narrow tunnels could trap ferrets, and certain fabrics that could catch claws. This suggests a need for increased awareness of the risks of these EE types and for more commercially available safety-tested ferret EE. Scent trails were relatively rarely provided but were reported to be enjoyed and harmless, so we recommend that these should be provided more commonly. Our results suggest that there is scope to improve ferret housing and EE provision to benefit ferret welfare across all sectors. Full article