Prevalence of KRAS, PIK3CA, BRAF and AXIN2 gene mutations in colorectal cancer and its relationship with dental agenesis: a systematic review

Introduction: The study of allelic and genotypic frequencies contributes to determining the distribution of genetic variants in different populations and their possible association with biomarkers. This knowledge could improve the decision-making process regarding the management of some diseases such as colorectal cancer (CRC), in which the detection of clinical biomarkers such as dental agenesis could be crucial in clinical practice. Objective: To evaluate the available scientific evidence on the prevalence of KRAS, PIK3CA, BRAF and AXIN2 mutations and their possible association with dental agenesis in people with CRC. Materials and methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases using the following search strategy: type of studies: observational studies reporting the prevalence of KRAS, PIK3CA, BRAF and AXIN2 mutations in people diagnosed with CRC and their possible association with dental agenesis; publication language: English and Spanish; publication period: 2010-2020; search terms: “Genes”, “RAS”, “Kras”, “PIK3CA”, “BRAF”, “AXIN2”, “Mutation”, “Polymorphism”, “Colorectal Neoplasms”, “Colorectal Cancer”, used in different combinations (“AND” and “OR”). Results: The initial search yielded 403 records, but only 30 studies met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 11, 5, 5 and 1 only reported the prevalence of PIK3CA, KRAS, BRAF and AXIN2 mutations, respectively; while 8 reported the prevalence of more than one of these mutations in patients with CRC. The prevalence of KRAS (p.Gly12Asp), PIK3CA (p.Glu545Lys), and BRAF (p.Val600Glu) mutations ranged from 20.5% to 54%, 3.5% to 20.2%, and 2.5% to 12.1%, respectively. There were no findings regarding the association between the occurrence of these mutations and dental agenesis. Conclusions: KRAS mutations were the most prevalent; however, there is no evidence on the association between dental agenesis and the occurrence of KRAS, PIK3CA and BRAF germline mutations in individuals with CRC.

Clinical Characteristics, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Mortality Rate of TB/COVID-19 Coinfectetd Patients: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) are the newest and one of the oldest global threats, respectively. In the COVID-19 era, due to the health system's focus on the COVID-19 epidemic, the national TB control program received less attention, leading to a worsening of the global TB epidemic. In this study, we will review the characteristics of TB patients coinfected with COVID-19.Material and Methods: Using Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases, a systematic search was performed. Case reports and case series on TB/COVID-19 coinfection published from January 1, 2019 to February 24, 2021 were collected. There were no limitations regarding publication language.Results: Eleven case series and 20 case reports were identified from 18 countries, with the majority them being from India (N = 6) and China (N = 4). Overall, 146 patients (114 men and 32 women) coinfected with TB and COVID-19 enrolled. Smoking (15.1%), diabetes (14.4%), and hypertension (8.9%) were the most frequent comorbidities among these patients. The COVID-19 patients with TB mainly suffered fever (78.8%), cough (63.7%), and respiratory distress (22.6%). Hydroxychloroquine (64.0%) and lopinavir/ritonavir (39.5%) were the most common treatments for them. The mortality rate was 13.0% and the rate of discharged patients was 87.0%.Conclusion: Global prevalence of COVID-19-related deaths is 6.6%. Our results showed that 13.0% of patients with TB/COVID-19 died. Thus, this study indicated that coinfection of TB and COVID-19 can increase the mortality. The respiratory symptoms of TB and COVID-19 are very similar, and this causes them to be misdiagnosed. In addition, TB is sometimes diagnosed later than COVID-19 and the severity of the disease worsens, especially in patients with underlying conditions. Therefore, patients with TB should be screened regularly in the COVID-19 era to prevent the spread of the TB/COVID-19 coinfection.

The Bibliometric Analysis of Studies on Distance Education

This research determines the trends of academic articles on distance education in the COVID-19 epidemic and provides a roadmap for possible future studies on this topic. In this context, bibliometric and content analysis methods were used. Research data were collected through the Web of Science (WOS) database. As a result of the filtering process on WOS, 767 scientific articles were included in the research. In the data analysis process, the articles were reviewed in terms of the year, country, journal, publication language, citation, co-authorship, co-occurrence, and co-citation. Research results indicate that the articles were published between 2020 and 2021 and generally in English. “Journal of Chemical Education” is the journal with the most publications and the most cited and co-cited journals. The USA draws attention as the country that publishes the most, has the most citations, and cooperates the most. The most cited article was conducted by Chick et al. According to the co-occurrence analysis, it is seen that the terms “COVID-19” and “distance learning” are frequently used by the authors. The findings were discussed within the framework of the literature, and other studies and suggestions were made.

Bibliometric analysis of scientific production on international trade and cryptocurrency

There has been a remarkable increase in the number of publications on international trade and cryptocurrency in recent years. This paper aims to analyze the literature on international trade and cryptocurrency in the Web of Science database. This study uses the bibliometric method and mapping analysis. The cluster analysis is conducted based on the keyword analysis. These publications are reviewed from different aspects such as type of publication, language, and book title. This study found that 767 articles which are related to cryptocurrency and international trade. Among the countries in which these studies are conducted, China ranks the first, followed by the USA and UK, respectively. Various organizations in different countries support studies on this topic. In conclusion, cryptocurrency technologies draw the attention of academia, and the use of cryptocurrency in international trade will determine the future trade structure. The innovative features of cryptocurrency can develop new business models, which may be the reason for the academic interest in this matter. It will be useful for businesses and governments to follow this potential carefully to benefit from the advantages of innovative business models.

Telecollaborative practice in Brazil

Telecollaboration refers to connecting geographically distant learners in intercultural contact via (a)synchronous communication tools. “Teletandem Brasil: Foreign Languages for All” (Telles, 2006) is a telecollaborative, pedagogical, and research project that has been the object of investigation of studies published under the formats of research articles, master’s theses, Ph.D. dissertations, books, and book chapters. This paper aims to present a descriptive map of peer-reviewed research articles on teletandem practice in Brazil. We selected articles that reported on empirical research from the Web of Science platform and the teletandembrasil.org website and, based on the EPPI reviewing system, analyzed 67 articles. We identified the following aspects of the articles: period of publication, language, research focus, and data analyzed. Our results indicate that (i) there has been a growing interest in the topic reflected in more published papers on teletandem; (ii) most articles are published in Portuguese and English; (iii) research on teletandem has focused on 11 different topics, the most popular ones being language learning and intercultural issues; and (iv) there is a diversity of data analyzed in the publications.

Special Education in Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Analysis of 32 Years of Research

Saudi Arabia has produced more peer-reviewed research in the past 10 years than ever before (El-Showk, 2016). The country is leading its Arab counterparts in the annual number of both published scientific research and obtained patents. A review of the published research across topics and fields of study, the research designs used, and the populations targeted, is needed in various fields to move related scientific research forward. The current review addresses the Saudi Arabian research related to special education during a 32-year period; that is, between 1984 and 2016. This review identified 3,381 relevant publications, yielding 499 publications that met the criteria for inclusion in the analysis. These studies were analyzed to determine any trends of publication, language used for publications, use of interventions, research design, participants, settings, research topics, and affiliation of the authors. The discussion notes drawbacks and highlights areas for further consideration by special education researchers in Saudi Arabia.

Bibliometric Analysis of Cyber Threat and Cyber Attack Literature: Exploring the Higher Education Context

In nearly all procedures involving students and faculty, higher education organizations make substantial use of computers and the internet. Little is known on the progress and development of literature on cyber threats and cyber attacks in this sector. This chapter fills this gap by examining the trends of literature on cyber threats and cyber attacks focusing on the higher education. Bibliometric analysis through Scopus database was employed to offer research ideas and trigger debates. Analyzed parameters include the number of document types, publications, authorship, citation, and subject areas, as well as the topographical dispersion of published research. The earliest publication could be seen in the year 2003, and since then 606 papers were published. The majority of publications were conference papers but merely 8.42% of those were open access. The results indicate that publications hit a plateau in 2018, with English becoming the main publication language. The most prominent country that has contributed to the literature is the United States. Nonetheless, the majority of the publications were contained by the subject area of Computer Science, hence it is relatively challenging to trace the progress in education context. This chapter presents a groundwork providing insights for others to probe into the topic further.

Significance of the Overexpression of Substance P and Its Receptor NK-1R in Head and Neck Carcinogenesis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The objective of our study has been, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, to increase the scientific evidence on the implications of SP and its receptor NK-1R in head and neck carcinogenesis. We searched studies published before May-2020 without date and publication language restrictions (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus). We evaluated the quality of the studies included (QUIPS tool). We performed heterogeneity, sensitivity, small-study effects, and subgroup analyses. A total 16 studies and 1308 cases met inclusion criteria. Qualitative evaluation demonstrated that not all studies were performed with the same scientific rigor, finding the greatest risk of bias in the study confounding and prognostic factors measurement domains. Quantitative evaluation showed a greater SP/NK-1R overexpression in malignant head and neck lesions compared to benign lesions (p = 0.02), and that expression was observed in malignant salivary gland pathology. Likewise, we found a higher overexpression of NK-1R compared to SP (p = 0.02). In conclusion, the results of this systematic review and meta-analysis show evidence that the upregulation of SP and NK-1R are oncogenic events involved in head and neck carcinogenesis, probably acting in the early stages of malignization. In addition, there is evidence of a greater relevance of the upregulation of the NK-1R receptor compared to SP, which highlights the interest in deepening the development of targeted therapies on the receptor. Future studies assessing the relationships between SP/NK-1R among subjects with head and neck tumors could consider the recommendations given in this systematic review and meta-analysis to improve and standardize future research.

The Most Widely Disseminated COVID-19-Related Scientific Publications in Online Media: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top 100 Articles with the Highest Altmetric Attention Scores

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic. This study’s aim was to identify and characterize the top 100 COVID-19-related scientific publications, which had received the highest Altmetric Attention Scores (AASs). Hence, we searched Altmetric Explorer using search terms such as “COVID” or “COVID-19” or “Coronavirus” or “SARS-CoV-2” or “nCoV” and then selected the top 100 articles with the highest AASs. For each article identified, we extracted the following information: the overall AAS, publishing journal, journal impact factor (IF), date of publication, language, country of origin, document type, main topic, and accessibility. The top 100 articles most frequently were published in journals with high (>10.0) IF (n = 67), were published between March and July 2020 (n = 67), were written in English (n = 100), originated in the United States (n = 45), were original articles (n = 59), dealt with treatment and clinical manifestations (n = 33), and had open access (n = 98). Our study provides important information pertaining to the dissemination of scientific knowledge about COVID-19 in online media.

Biological control of fruit flies: bibliometric analysis on the main biocontrol agents

The Tephritidae family has many fruit fly species responsible for causing direct and indirect damage to economically important fruit trees worldwide. Biological control has been sought as a method for the management of these insects, mainly because it does not cause adverse damage to the environment. Thus, this review sought information on what is currently being published in the scientific field about the main biological agents that are used to control fruit flies. The information was obtained through surveys between the months of June and August 2020, in bases such as the Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, Springer, and Scielo. The inclusion of the articles followed criteria such as publication language English, Portuguese and Spanish, available in full, from categories A1 to B1, related to the biological agents used in the control of fruit flies and published in the last five years. A total of 2,362 studies were found, of which 105 articles were selected for this review. Regarding the years of publication, only 27% of the studies correspond to references from the years 2019 and 2020, with a greater number of research on parasitoids and developed in the laboratory. The largest concentration of research was in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Spain.