Fear of Cancer Recurrence Is Highly Prevalent and Linearly Associates With Anxiety and Depression in Chinese Breast Cancer Patients

Objective: To characterize the fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and its relationship with anxiety and depression and quality of life (QoL) among Chinese breast cancer (BC) patients in China. Methods: Patients completed the questionnaires of QLQ-C30, QLQ-BR32 and HAD to assess FCR, QoL, anxiety and depression before radiotherapy. A cross-sectional analysis was performed. Chi-square and non-parametric tests and multivariate ordinal logistic regressions (mOLR) were utilized for reference analysis. Final covariates included age, BMI, TNM, surgery, chemotherapy, pain, and sleep disturbance. Results: From July 2015 to December 2016, 463 patients were prospectively enrolled. Their age mean (range) were 47 (19 - 89) years old. In total, 327 patients (70.6%) reported having FCR ‘a little bit’ (51.2%), ‘some’ (12.1%) and ‘very much’ (7.3%) in the past week. FCR severity ordered above (incl. ‘no’) was associated with anxiety score (median 1.5, 5.0, 7.0, 8.5 and level (‘abnormal’ rate 0%, 3.4%, 12.5%, 26.5%), depression score (median 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 6.5) and level (‘abnormal’ rate 2.2%, 3.4%, 5.4%, 17.7%) (all p<0.001). mOLR showed that compared to ‘no’, three higher levels of FCR were associated with one level increase of anxiety with OR (p) as 1.983 (0.076), 4.291 (0.001), 8.282 (<0.001) and depression with OR (p) as 1.903 (0.062), 2.262 (0.065), 4.205 (0.004), respectively. FCR severity also was inversely associated with most QoL function scores (p<0.001). Conclusions: FCR was prevalent in Chinese BC patients and linearly associated with anxiety, depression and low QoL. It seems that a single-item question for FCR is a valid surrogate tool for distress screening in this population.

Upbringing as an Educational Result: A Value-Based Approach to Assessment in the General Education System

The aim of this article is to describe the basic parameters of a value-oriented approach to assessing the education results as a possible basis for the methodology for assessment of the educational work in the general system of education. The key methods we used were content analysis of text sources, cross-reference analysis, comparative analysis, and humanitarian examination of juristic documents. The interpretation of education as a unity of teaching and upbringing for the state as a key subject of education, which forms the requirements for the results and organization of the educational process, sets the task of assessing personal, subject and metasubject educational results. The philosophy of education faces a challenge regarding the determination of the expediency of assessing educational results, the conceptual basis of assessment, fixing the orientation of assessment on the conditions of educational organzations' activities, and (or) on the results achieved by students. A practical managerial task is to develop an attitude towards using formalized procedures and methods for assessing educational results. The article proposes a value-oriented approach to assessing the educational work in the general education system of the Russian Federation based on an analysis of key regulatory documents of the Russian education system, the interpretation of upbringing as a process of forming value-semantic attitudes. The approach is based on identifying three main groups of value orientations to build a possible system of indicators that fix educational results: "Value orientations related to life, health and safety"; "Value orientations of social interaction"; "Value orientations of personal development". Values are an essential element in regulating human behavior, which guides the process of defining goals and choosing the means to achieve them. Values acquire a functional character in value orientations and can serve as indicators of education results at the level of students as a collective subject. It seems impossible to single out the contribution of individual actors to the output of education and to avoid contradictions between the value-semantic attitudes that exist in the space of modern culture. For the education system, the subject of assessing the quality of upbringing as a purposeful process can be both the quality of the organization of upbringing work and the outcomes of upbringing efforts. The results of education as a manifestation of value orientations in the activities of students can be considered based on quantitative and qualitative indicators, which is significant for making managerial decisions at different levels.

Research on China interregional industrial transformation slowdown and influencing factors of industrial transformation based on numerical simulation

This paper, based on the numerical simulation research, has come out with findings, such as the sluggish interregional industrial transformation in China and the factors responsible for that, the need to define the new economic geography from the angle of geographic view, the need to have a theoretical model based on implementing development centre periphery, the use of element resources endowment system reference analysis, and the need for implementation of the numerical simulation of the model, and finally the need to clear the factors that influence the sluggish industrial transfer. The final results show that the factor resource endowment, transportation cost, and labour price are still impediments affecting industrial transfer. Since the development level of the manufacturing industry in eastern China has not reached the critical point of industrial transfer, it is necessary to to find out a pragmatic solution to achieve development.

Experimental demonstration of accurate Bragg peak localization with ionoacoustic tandem phase detection (iTPD)

Accurate knowledge of the exact stopping location of ions inside the patient would allow full exploitation of their ballistic properties for patient treatment. The localized energy deposition of a pulsed particle beam induces a rapid temperature increase of the irradiated volume and leads to the emission of ionoacoustic (IA) waves. Detecting the time-of-flight (ToF) of the IA wave allows inferring information on the Bragg peak location and can henceforth be used for in-vivo range verification. A challenge for IA is the poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at clinically relevant doses and viable machines. We present a frequency-based measurement technique, labeled as ionoacoustic tandem phase detection (iTPD) utilizing lock-in amplifiers. The phase shift of the IA signal to a reference signal is measured to derive the ToF. Experimental IA measurements with a 3.5MHz lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducer and lock-in amplifiers were performed in water using 22MeV proton bursts. A digital iTPD was performed in-silico at clinical dose levels on experimental data obtained from a clinical facility and secondly, on simulations emulating a heterogeneous geometry. For the experimental setup using 22MeV protons, a localization accuracy and precision obtained through iTPD deviates from a time-based reference analysis by less than 15μm. Several methodological aspects were investigated experimentally in systematic manner. Lastly, iTPD was evaluated in-silico for clinical beam energies indicating that iTPD is in reach of sub-mm accuracy for fractionated doses <5Gy. iTPD can be used to accurately measure the ToF of IA signals online via its phase shift in frequency domain. An application of iTPD to the clinical scenario using a single pulsed beam is feasible but requires further development to reach <1Gy detection capabilities.

A rapid magnetic bead-based immunoassay for sensitive determination of diclofenac

Increasing contamination of environmental waters with pharmaceuticals represents an emerging threat for the drinking water quality and safety. In this regard, fast and reliable analytical methods are required to allow quick countermeasures in case of contamination. Here, we report the development of a magnetic bead-based immunoassay (MBBA) for the fast and cost-effective determination of the analgesic diclofenac (DCF) in water samples, based on diclofenac-coupled magnetic beads and a robust monoclonal anti-DCF antibody. A novel synthetic strategy for preparation of the beads resulted in an assay that enabled for the determination of diclofenac with a significantly lower limit of detection (400 ng/L) than the respective enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). With shorter incubation times and only one manual washing step required, the assay demands for remarkably shorter time to result (< 45 min) and less equipment than ELISA. Evaluation of assay precision and accuracy with a series of spiked water samples yielded results with low to moderate intra- and inter-assay variations and in good agreement with LC–MS/MS reference analysis. The assay principle can be transferred to other, e.g., microfluidic, formats, as well as applied to other analytes and may replace ELISA as the standard immunochemical method. Graphical abstract

The concentrations of immunoglobulins in bovine colostrum determined by the gold standard method are genetically correlated with their near-infrared prediction

Background The quality of colostrum administered to calves is based on its concentration in immunoglobulins G (IgG, g/L). Immunoglobulins A (IgA) and M (IgM) are also present but at a lower level. The gold standard reference analysis for these traits, radial immunodiffusion, is time-consuming and expensive. In order to define breeding strategies that are aimed at improving colostrum quality in dairy cattle, a large amount of data is needed, and the use of indicator traits would be beneficial. In the study presented here, we explored the heritabilities of reference (radial immunodiffusion) and near infrared-predicted IgG, IgA, and IgM concentrations and estimated their genetic correlations. First, the colostrum of 765 Holstein cows from nine herds was sampled to perform a reference analysis and the near-infrared spectra (400–2500 nm) were stored. We used a calibration set (28% of the initial samples) that was representative of the herds and cow parity orders to develop prediction equations for IgG, IgA, and IgM concentrations. Finally, these traits were predicted in the validation set (72% of the initial samples) to estimate genetic parameters for the predictions. Genetic correlations between reference and predicted values of each trait were estimated through bivariate linear animal models. Results The three near-infrared-predicted immunoglobulin fractions were genetically correlated with their reference value. In particular, the reference and predicted IgG concentrations were strongly correlated at both the genetic (0.854 ± 0.314) and phenotypic level (0.767 ± 0.019). Weaker associations were observed for IgA and IgM concentrations, which were predicted with lower accuracy compared to IgG. Simulation analyses suggested that improving colostrum quality by selective breeding in Holstein cattle based on near-infrared predicted colostrum immunoglobulins concentrations is feasible. In addition, less than 10 mL of colostrum are needed for spectra acquisition and thus implementation of such analyses is possible in the near future. Conclusions The concentrations of colostrum immunoglobulins can be predicted from near-infrared spectra and the genetic correlation between the reference and the predicted traits is positive and favourable, in spite of the large standard errors of the estimates. Near-infrared spectroscopy can be exploited in selective breeding of dairy cattle to improve colostral immunoglobulins concentration.

Inline monitoring of high cell density cultivation of Scenedesmus rubescens in a mesh ultra-thin layer photobioreactor by Photon Density Wave spectroscopy

Objective Due to multiple light scattering that occurs inside and between cells, quantitative optical spectroscopy in turbid biological suspensions is still a major challenge. This includes also optical in-line determination of biomass in bioprocessing. Photon Density Wave (PDW) spectroscopy, a technique based on multiple light scattering, enables the independent and absolute determination of optical key parameters of concentrated cell suspensions, which allow to determine biomass during cultivation. Results A unique reactor type, called “mesh ultra-thin layer PBR” was used to create a highly concentrated algal suspension. PDW spectroscopy measurements were carried out continuously in the reactor without any need of sampling or sample preparation, over 3 weeks, and with 10-minutes time resolution. Conventional dry matter content and coulter counter measurements have been employed as established off-line reference analysis. The PBR allowed peak cell dry weight (CDW) of 33.4 g L−1. It is shown that the reduced scattering coefficient determined by PDW spectroscopy is strongly correlated with the biomass concentration in suspension and is thus suitable for process understanding. The reactor in combination with the fiber-optical measurement approach will lead to a better process management.

WILDFIRES AS A FACTOR OF THE LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY AND FUNCTIONS OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS

Due to ever-increasing anthropogenic impact and global climate change, wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense all over the world. The wildfire factor is turning into an acute problem for forested countries that requires prompt solutions as the areas of forest ecosystems are reducing catastrophically, which results in an irreparable loss of biodiversity that provides all ecosystem functions and forest services. Many biologists consider wildfires a factor destructive to biota that results in permanent loss of some species and groups of living organisms; even if it is possible for them to recover after a wildfire, they may need a lot of time to do so. However, some studies argue that not only do wildfires reduce the biodiversity in forest ecosystems, but they also increase it, thus contributing to species conservation and sustainable functioning of forests. This article is aimed at analyzing the works that study how wildfires impact the main components, biodiversity, and functions of forest ecosystems. The authors answer the question why wildfires, while being an obvious destruction factor, are sometimes considered a factor for increase in biodiversity. The “positive” influence wildfires have on biodiversity can mostly be reduced to mosaic patterns, that is, forest canopy gaps that occur after a wildfire. However, reference analysis shows that the persistent opinion found in a number of works that a certain frequency of wildfires is necessary to maintain forest communities may be associated with ignored or misunderstood importance of biotic factors in the functioning of forests. In contemporary forest ecosystems, populations of key large mammal species disappeared or are greatly reduced; therefore, there are no microsites they usually form, including large forest canopy leaps (gaps, glades) that provide both opportunities for photophilous flora and pollinating insects to develop and generally sufficient conditions for multi-aged polydominant forest ecosystems with high biodiversity. In the forestry practice, measures are known to maintain mosaics. They include special types of felling, supporting populations of key animal species, etc., and are both significantly less catastrophic in comparison with the wildfire factor and substantiated biologically. The authors provide recommendations for the conservation and maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functions in contemporary forests.

URBANISTIC NOMINATION IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN LANGUAGE PROCESSES THE: FUNCTIONAL-SEMANTIC AND LINGUOCULTURAL ASPECTS

The article deals with the modern Ukrainian urbanistic nomination as a constituent of active language processes. From the standpoint of general linguistics functional and semantic nature of urbanonym, its place and role in different discourses, the sociolinguistic phenomenon of renaming (on the example of Kyiv urbanonymy) are examined. In the context of ideas of reference analysis and semantics of syntax an urbanonym is characterized as a unit of an identifying type of meaning (as opposed to units of a predicate type of meaning), to which a close connection between a denotatum and a name, as well as the use in an utterance with the referential function is peculiar. It is shown that the functioning of an urbanistic nomination in oral discourse is determined, first of all, by the pragmatic factor, the speaker’s knowledge of the relationship between the denotatum and its name, his cultural background and experience of living in a certain urban space and by the need for orientation in it. In written speech, the urbanistic nomination is presented in reference and informational, media, historical-topographic, and fiction discourses, in which it has various functions, in particular, the function of identifying an individual or legal entity in juridical texts and other texts of a documentary type. The active sociolinguistic processes in which the urbanonyms are involved find an imprint in modern fiction discourse in the creation of non-standard syntactic constructions and the use of unofficial urbanistic nominations within the frame of language game. The practice of renaming is analyzed in the aspect of reference analysis, in connection with which two types of linguocultural situations are distinguished, due to the correlation between the transformation of the urban object (denotatum) and the change of name. It is shown that in the modern Ukrainian practice of renaming, there is a steady tendency towards the introduction of an additional predicate semantic component into the meaning of an urbanonym. It is concluded that the current functioning of the urbanonym is subordinated to the mechanisms that operate in the different discursive practices.

Research Trends in Mobile Shopping Behavior: A Bibliometric Analysis

The mobile phone, with revolutionary smart capabilities, provided its users enormous benefits, especially the convenience of shopping through websites and applications from anywhere and anytime. There are several academic studies conducted to measure the adoption and usage behavior of consumers towards mobile shopping platforms, for more than a decade. However, the research on mobile shopping behavior had gained more attention only in the last few years. The purpose of this study is to conduct a detailed and systematic review of mobile shopping literature (from the consumer behavior perspective) and perform quantitative analysis, with the help of bibliometric analysis. The study examined 158 academic articles that was obtained from Scopus, to perform bibliometric analysis, and the analysis revealed that the research on mobile shopping behavior had gained more attention between 2012 and 2018. The paper identifies the key contributions in terms of the most productive journals, countries, institutions, papers, and authors in research on consumers’ mobile shopping behavior. The co-citation reference analysis, keyword co-occurence analysis and word cloud technique had been used, to identify the evolution of various themes focused in this area. This study’s results will make researchers and scholars to have better understanding about the knowledge structure of academic research on mobile shopping through bibliometrics and visualization techniques.