Diagnosis and Treatment of Local Allergic Rhinitis

Some patients with chronic rhinitis have a positive nasal allergen provocation test (NAPT) without systemic IgE sensitization by skin prick tests or serum allergen-specific IgE (sIgE). This novel concept is called local allergic rhinitis (LAR) and affects children and adults worldwide, but is underdiagnosed. LAR is not just the initial state of allergic rhinitis (AR), it is a unique form of chronic rhinitis that is neither classical AR nor non-AR. Many of the features of AR and LAR are similar, such as a positive NAPT, positive type 2 inflammatory markers, including the nasal discharge of sIgE, and a high incidence of asthma. A differential diagnosis of LAR needs to be considered in patients with symptoms suggestive of AR in the absence of systemic atopy, regardless of age. The diagnostic method for LAR relies on positive responses to single or multiple allergens in NAPT, the sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of which are high. The basophil activation test and measurement of IgE in nasal secretions also contribute to the diagnosis of LAR. Treatment for LAR is similar to that for AR and is supported by the efficacy and safety of allergen exposure avoidance, drug therapy, and allergen immunotherapy. This review discusses current knowledge on LAR.

Analysis of relapse-free and overall survival in oncoplastic and organ-preserving surgeries in patients with breast cancer

Purpose of the study. To study the results of relapse-free and overall survival during organ- preserving and oncoplastic surgeries in patients with breast cancer.Materials and methods. A prospective clinical study of 84 patients was carried out in the mammology department on the basis of GBUZ NSO "GKB № 1". The first group of patients (40 patients) underwent OPR with ALAE - oncoplastic resection of the mammary gland with axillary lymphadenectomy. The second group (44 patients) WSR with ALAE - wide sector resection of the mammary gland with axillary lymphadenectomy.During the study, the patients were comparable in age, stage (TNM), histological type, and morphogenetic data. The survival rate was studied by the number of local relapses and distant metastases, using laboratory and instrumental studies. The quality of life was assessed on the basis of anamnestic data (Karnofsky index, ECOG scale).Results. In the first group of patients, disease-free and overall survival rate was 97.5 %. At the same time, a local recurrence was found in a patient with a triple negative tumor type, distant metastases to the lungs in a patient with a HER2/neu-positive type. In the second group, relapse-free survival was 95.4 %, overall - 97.7 %. Relapses in two patients with HER2/neu-positive type, metastases to the lungs in a patient with triple negative type.Conclusion. Relapse-free survival rates are 2.1 % higher in group I patients who underwent oncoplastic resection with axillary lymphadenectomy. And the indicators of overall survival in patients of both groups do not differ relatively.

LANGUAGE PRACTICES AND LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE AZERBAIJANI COMMUNITY IN MOSCOW

Целью настоящей статьи является анализ условий и факторов, влияющих на передачу и сохранение азербайджанского языка в азербайджанской общине города Москвы в среде хорошо интегрированных и социально успешных мигрантов первого и второго поколения. Работа вписывается в проблематику языковых контактов в городе в аспекте социолингвистической динамики поддержания и сохранения языка. Выбор азербайджанской общины был обусловлен сложностью ее социальной структуры, развитыми связями внутри сообщества, наличием языковой среды в различных доменах, сложной социолингвистической конфигурацией используемых языков, включающей отношения между литературными и диалектными формами азербайджанского языка и русским языком. Использование и передача языка молодыми азербайджанцами рассматривалась с учетом символического и инструментального измерений языковой ситуации. Анализ как реальных языковых практик, так и языковых идеологий носителей идиома позволил решить две задачи: выявить направления динамики использования и передачи азербайджанского языка в условиях миграции и проанализировать, насколько желания носителей языка, их аттитюды и языковые репрезентации соответствуют реальным усилиям по поддержке и сохранению языка. Методология исследования включала проведение социолингвистического анкетирования (70 анкет) и серии исследовательских интервью с представителями общины (6 интервью). Интерес к уровню владения и передачи языка в молодом поколении обусловил деление информантов по критерию возраста на две когорты: от 18 до 29 лет и от 30 до 65+ лет. Далее анализировались и сравнивались языковые практики этих когорт. Результаты исследования показывают высокую сохранность и уровень передачи языка, высокую лояльность его носителей и положительный тип репрезентаций в обеих когортах. Вместе с тем в молодом поколении отмечается повышение роли русского языка, сдвиг в использовании диалектных и литературной форм азербайджанского языка, в социальном образе языка отмечено превалирование символических репрезентации и оценки языка аффективного типа. The purpose of this article is to analyze the conditions and factors influencing the transmission of the Azerbaijani language in the Azerbaijani community in Moscow among well-integrated and socially successful migrants of the first and second generation. The research complies with the problem of linguistic contacts in the city in the aspect of the sociolinguistic dynamics of maintaining and preserving the language. The choice of the Azerbaijani community was due to the complexity of its social structure, developed connections within the community, the presence of linguistic environment in various domains, a complex sociolinguistic configuration of the languages used, including the relationship between the literary and dialectal forms of the Azerbaijani language and the Russian language. The use and transmission of the language by young Azerbaijanis was considered taking into account symbolic and instrumental dimensions of the language situation. The analysis of both real linguistic practices and linguistic representations of native speakers of the idiom made it possible to solve two problems: to identify the directions of the dynamics of the use and transmission of the Azerbaijani language in conditions of migration and to analyze how the desires of native speakers, their attitudes and linguistic representations correspond to their real efforts to support and preserve the language. The research methodology involved a sociolinguistic questionnaire (70 questionnaires in total) and a series of research interviews with community representatives (6 interviews). Interest in the level of language proficiency and transmission in the younger generation led to the division of informants according to the age criterion into two cohorts: from 18 to 29 years old and from 30 to 65+ years old. Further, we analyzed and compared the language practices of these cohorts. The results of the study show a high preservation and level of language transmission, strong loyalty of its speakers and a positive type of representations in both cohorts. Meanwhile, among the younger generation we observe the dynamics of linguistic practices towards increasing the role of the Russian language and a shift in the use of dialectal and literary forms of the Azerbaijani language; symbolic representations and overvaluation of the affective type prevail in the social image of the language.

Relationship between higher education teachers’ affect and their psychological adjustment to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: an application of latent profile analysis

Background The COVID-19 outbreak has forced teachers to transition to online teaching, requiring them to adapt their courses and pedagogical methods to an online format rapidly without relevant training. This has presented a formidable challenge to higher education teachers. The present study uses a person-centered approach to identify heterogeneity among higher education teachers’ affective experiences and the relationship between this heterogeneity and their psychological adjustment to online teaching. Methods In total, 2,104 teachers in higher education institutions in Southern China were surveyed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the Psychological Adjustment to Online Teaching Scale (a measure developed for this study) between March 25 and March 31, 2020. The collected data were analyzed using latent profile analysis. Results Based on their affective experiences during online teaching immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak, higher education teachers were divided into three latent classes: the common, ambivalent, and positive types. Among them, the positive type accounted for the largest proportion (44.85%), while the ambivalent type accounted for the smallest proportion (23.93%). The rest was the common type, which accounted for 31.15%. Significant differences in psychological adjustment to online teaching were found between the three latent classes. Regarding positive psychological adjustment, teachers belonging to the ambivalent type had significantly lower scores than those belonging to the other two types. Further, the common type had a significantly lower score than the positive type. Regarding negative psychological adjustment, the ambivalent type had a significantly higher score than the other two types, and the common type had a significantly higher score than the positive type. Conclusion Based on a novel person-centered perspective, this study revealed the differences and complexity in higher education teachers’ affective experiences of online teaching immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak. The three different types of affective experiences (common, ambivalent, and positive) had a significant influence on psychological adjustment, with teachers belonging to the ambivalent type showing the worst psychological adjustment. This study provides a new perspective for the discussion of the relationship between teachers’ affective experiences and their psychological adjustment to online teaching.

Text Mining and Sentiment Analysis of Newspaper Headlines

Text analytics are well-known in the modern era for extracting information and patterns from text. However, no study has attempted to illustrate the pattern and priorities of newspaper headlines in Bangladesh using a combination of text analytics techniques. The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of words that appeared on the front page of a well-known daily English newspaper in Bangladesh, The Daily Star, in 2018 and 2019. The elucidation of that era’s possible social and political context was also attempted using word patterns. The study employs three widely used and contemporary text mining techniques: word clouds, sentiment analysis, and cluster analysis. The word cloud reveals that election, kill, cricket, and Rohingya-related terms appeared more than 60 times in 2018, whereas BNP, poll, kill, AL, and Khaleda appeared more than 80 times in 2019. These indicated the country’s passion for cricket, political turmoil, and Rohingya-related issues. Furthermore, sentiment analysis reveals that words of fear and negative emotions appeared more than 600 times, whereas anger, anticipation, sadness, trust, and positive-type emotions came up more than 400 times in both years. Finally, the clustering method demonstrates that election, politics, deaths, digital security act, Rohingya, and cricket-related words exhibit similarity and belong to a similar group in 2019, whereas rape, deaths, road, and fire-related words clustered in 2018 alongside a similar-appearing group. In general, this analysis demonstrates how vividly the text mining approach depicts Bangladesh’s social, political, and law-and-order situation, particularly during election season and the country’s cricket craze, and also validates the significance of the text mining approach to understanding the overall view of a country during a particular time in an efficient manner.

The prevalence, immune profile, and clinical characteristics of children with celiac disease and type 1 diabetes mellitus in the state of Qatar

Objectives Children with antibody positive type 1 diabetes mellitus (type 1 diabetes) are at an increased risk of developing celiac disease (CD) which suggests a common autoimmune basis with both high-risk human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) and non-HLA factors playing a role in the pathophysiology. We aim to describe the prevalence, immune profile, and clinical characteristics of children with CD who have type 1 diabetes mellitus in Qatar. Methods All children (aged 0–18 years) attending a regional diabetes clinic with antibody positive type 1 diabetes were screened for CD. Measurement of tissue transglutaminase IgA and IgG as well as anti-endomysial antibody, was done, clinical details about the birth history, family history of diabetes and CD, age of onset, and ethnicity were collected. Results Out of the 1,325 children with antibody positive type 1 diabetes, 54 were identified to have CD on screening and then confirmed on small bowel biopsy. The prevalence of CD in the type 1 diabetes childhood population in Qatar is 4.07%. CD and type 1 diabetes were more prevalent in the Qatari children (n=32) as compared to non-Qatari (n=22) and occurred mostly in the age group 6–10 years. The most common type 1 diabetes antibodies in children with CD were glutamic acid decarboxylase and insulin autoantibody. Twelve subjects were asymptomatic for CD symptoms and picked up only on screening. Conclusions The prevalence of CD in children with type 1 diabetes in Qatar is comparable to reports from around the world. Many children were asymptomatic and thus routine screening is recommended.

A New VCII Application: Sinusoidal Oscillators

The aim of this paper is to prove that, through a canonic approach, sinusoidal oscillators based on second-generation voltage conveyor (VCII) can be implemented. The investigation demonstrates the feasibility of the design results in a pair of new canonic oscillators based on negative type VCII (VCII−). Interestingly, the same analysis shows that no canonic oscillator configuration can be achieved using positive type VCII (VCII+), since a single VCII+ does not present the correct port conditions to implement such a device. From this analysis, it comes about that, for 5-node networks, the two presented oscillator configurations are the only possible ones and make use of two resistors, two capacitors and a single VCII−. Notably, the produced sinusoidal output signal is easily available through the low output impedance Z port of VCII, removing the need for additional voltage buffer for practical use, which is one of the main limitations of the current mode (CM) approach. The presented theory is substantiated by both LTSpice simulations and measurement results using the commercially available AD844 from Analog Devices, the latter being in a close agreement with the theory. Moreover, low values of THD are given for a wide frequency range.