Circular behaviours undertaken by Polish households a preliminary analysis of research results

The main aim of the paper is to analyse and evaluate the possible relation between circular behaviours undertaken by the households and the socio-economic features describing them. The paper presents the results of the author’s research conducted among Polish households on the territory of two voivodeships: Podkarpackie and Małopolskie. In the article, the author presents the concept of circular behaviours (understood as an element of pro-ecological behaviours), as well as the result of the preliminary analysis of the frequency of exhibiting those behaviours in the households. This analysis is based on evidence regarding the possible differences between the households due to their distinct features. To indicate the possible differences the Chi2 Test of Independence was used. Obtained results indicate that some socio-economic features may have an influence on the frequency of conducting circular behaviours. It could be important due to the establishment of supporting activities aiming at increasing the overall level of circularity among households (as an economic sector). This article is the fourth one in the publication series devoted to circular economy and sustainable development matters.

Increased Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Serum Level and the Role of +936C/T Gene Polymorphism in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background and Objectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a debilitating disease, with rising morbidity and mortality. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a major role in angiogenesis, vascular permeability, and airway remodeling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between VEGF serum levels and VEGF +936 C/T gene polymorphism (rs3025039) with COPD, for the first time in a Romanian population. Materials and Methods: In total, 120 participants from Transylvania were included in this case-control study. Serum levels of VEGF were determined using an enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay and rs3025039 was investigated by high molecular weight genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Spirometric values, arterial blood gas analysis, and the Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) outcome were also determined. Results: The serum level of VEGF was higher in the COPD group versus controls (p < 0.001), with a positive correlation with the 6MWT outcome. No significant difference was observed in the VEGF serum levels between VEGF +936C/T genotypes. There was no difference in the VEGF +936C/T genotype between COPD patients and healthy subjects (chi2 test p = 0.92, OR = 1.04, 95%CI = 0.41–2.62), but the presence of the T allele was significantly linked to the presence of COPD (chi2 test p = 0.02, OR = 2.36, 95%CI = 1.12–4.97). Conclusions: Higher VEGF serum levels were found in moderate and severe COPD and were positively correlated with the distance in the 6MWT. No significant difference was found between CC, CT, and TT genotypes of rs3025039 and the presence of COPD. The presence of the T allele was found to be linked to COPD and also to the degree of airway obstruction.

Forecasting mergers and acquisitions failure based on partial-sigmoid neural network and feature selection

Traditional forecasting methods in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) data have two limitations that significantly reduce forecasting accuracy: (1) the imbalance of data, that is, the failure cases of M&A are far fewer than the successful cases (82%/18% of our sample), and (2) both the bidder and the target of the merger have numerous descriptive features, making it difficult to choose which ones to forecast. This study proposes a neural network using partial-sigmoid (i.e., partial-sigmoid neural network [PSNN]) as the activation function of the output layer and compares three feature selection methods, namely, chi-square (chi2) test, information gain and gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT). Experimental results prove that our PSNN (improved up to 0.37 precision, 0.49 recall, 0.41 G-Mean and 0.23 F1-measure) and feature selection (improved 1.83%-13.16% accuracy) method can effectively improve the adverse effects of the defects of the above two merger data on forecasting. Scholars who studied the forecast of merger failure have overlooked three important features: assets of the previous year, market value and capital expenditure. The chi2 test feature selection method is the best among the three feature selection methods.

Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Latvia in PCV10 Vaccination Era, 2012–2018

In 2010 in Latvia, invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) became a cause for concern and vaccination of infants with four doses of 7–valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) commenced. In 2012, 10–valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) (three doses at 2, 4, and 12–15 month of age) vaccination was introduced. We described incidence and serotype distribution of IPD in Latvia and investigated serotypes associated with death from IPD based on surveillance data. Adult vaccination against pneumococcal infection is not included in the national immunization program. Laboratory confirmed IPD cases are passively notified to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control of Latvia (CDPC) by laboratories and clinicians. We calculated incidence by age, sex, case fatality, and trend in serotypes by conducting a retrospective population-based cross-sectional study based on national IPD surveillance data. From 2012 to 2018 466 cases of IPD were reported. The highest notified incidence was in 2015 at 4.4/100,000, which fell to 3.9 in 2018. The highest mean annual IPD incidence was in infants (4.8) and in the elderly (6.0). PCV10 vaccine serotypes were the most prevalent in IPD cases up to 2015 with a decreasing trend from 50% (20/40) in 2012 to 19% (14/74) in 2018 (chi2 test for trend of odds = 0.000). PCV23nonPCV13 vaccine serotypes had an increasing trend and rose from 18% (7/40) to 34% (25/74) (chi2 test for trend of odds = 0.000). Non-Vaccine serotypes had an increasing trend and rose from 13% (5/40) to 27% (20/74) (chi2 test for trend of odds = 0.038). Reported total case fatality was 19% (87/466). The highest, at 36% (20/56), was reported in 2013. After adjusting for age, Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 was associated with death from IPD (adjusted OR 2.3 95%CI 1.25–4.12 p 0.007). Surveillance data indicate evidence of serotype replacement with an increasing trend of serotype 19A and PPV23nonPCV13 and Non-Vaccine serotypes. Serotype 3 and age were associated with fatal IPD outcome. Further studies of S. pneumoniae carriage would be useful in providing more evidence to characterize serotypes' circulation.

Social Energy and Trust

Trust is the crucial basis of all interpersonal relationships and is composed of expectation and vulnerability. Its significance within the field of psychology is far-reaching. In 2002, Canavan coined the term social energy to define the distinct psychological phenomenon that occurs when the self (P) and another individual (O) share enthusiasm toward a common object or event (X). In this paper, I investigate the influence of social energy on how individuals rate or rank the trustworthiness of another, as well as the reason for being trusted, in the presence of high and low social energy. The experiment is conducted within a 2X1 ANOVA design by manipulating the different levels of social energy, either high or low. In addition to measuring trust and the reasons for trusting, participants’ feelings and emotions were assessed in three hypothetical situations, measuring whether the trust was warranted. The main finding concludes that participants’ ratings of another individual’s trustworthiness is significantly higher in high social energy conditions, compared to those in low social energy conditions. In addition, the reason for P’s doing so is that “I know in high social energy O thinks in the same way as I do,” which is reinforced by CHI2 Test results. By assessing emotional variables, it is found that gratitude, positive feelings, expectation, and regrets differ significantly with regard to levels of social energy. In addition, the HSE participant liked and believed the other, and was more kindly disposed than the LSE participant, who tended to be more blaming and punitive.

Differences in Biometric Fetal Weight Estimation Accuracy and Doppler Examination Results in Uncomplicated Term Singleton Pregnancies between Vertex and Breech Presentation

Doppler examination of the umbilical artery and the fetal middle cerebral artery is evaluated predominantly in pregnancies with fetuses in cephalic presentation and never has been elucidated in breech presentation. Evidence on the accuracy of fetal weight estimation in dependence of the fetal presentation is controversial. Nevertheless, clinical decisions including recommendations for a cesarean section or labor induction based on these examinations are applied to pregnancies with fetuses in breech presentation. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the fetal presentation on fetal weight estimation accuracy, umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery resistance indices (RI) in a prospective case control study. Ultrasound examinations in 305 uncomplicated term pregnancies (153 vertex presentations, 152 breech) were investigated. Non-parametric variables were compared using Pearson’s chi2 test and Wilcoxon chi2 test, depending on variable scaling. Fetal weight estimation accuracy was not significantly different between vertex presentation group (VP) (6.97%) and breech presentation group (BP) (7.96%, p = 0.099). Fetal head circumference measurements were significantly larger in BP (350 mm vs. 341 mm in VB, p > 0.0001) while abdominal circumferences were significantly smaller (VP: 338 mm, BP: 331 mm, p = 0.0039) and weight estimation was not significantly different. Umbilical artery RIs were not significantly different between VP (54.5) and BP (55.3, p = 0.354). Fetal middle cerebral artery RIs also showed no significant differences (VP: 71.2, BP: 70.7, p = 0.335). Our study shows that fetal Doppler (RI) and weight estimation ultrasound originally calibrated in cephalic pregnancies are applicable to pregnancies with fetuses in breech presentation.

Socialt stöd, känsla av ensamhet och psykiska besvär bland finlandssvenska ungdomar

I den här studien utforskades ifall det förekommer sociodemografiska skillnader i upplevelse av psykiska besvär, socialt stöd och känsla av ensamhet bland finlandssvenska ungdomar. Det undersöktes även ifall ungdomarnas upplevelse av psykiska besvär kan förklaras med familje-, kamrat- och klasskamratstöd samt känsla av ensamhet. Utöver det utforskades ifall samband mellan socialt stöd och psykiska besvär kan förklaras med känsla av ensamhet. Som datamaterial användes WHO:s skolelevstudie (WHO-Koululaistutkimus) från 2018 med ett deltagarantal på 599 svenskspråkiga elever från årskurs 5, 7 och 9 (Målder = 11,9/14,0/15,9; svarsprocent 38 %). Som statistiska analysmetoder användes Pearsons chi2-test, envägs variansanalys, oberoende t-test, Spearmans rangkorrelationsanalys, multipel linjär regressionsanalys och medierande analys. Resultaten visade att flickor upplevde psykiska besvär och känsla av ensamhet i högre grad än pojkar. Elever i årskurs 7 och 9 upplevde nervositet i signifikant högre grad än eleverna i årskurs 5. De med högre upplevd socioekonomiska status upplevde i lägre grad psykiska besvär. Det förekom inte signifikanta skillnader i fråga om psykiska besvär, socialt stöd eller känsla av ensamhet mellan finlandssvenska ungdomar bosatta i stadsort och på landsbygden. Familjestöd och klasskamratstöd förklarade psykiska besvär signifikant och negativt, vilket innebar att lägre grad av familje- och klasskamratstöd associerades med högre grad av psykiska besvär. Känsla av ensamhet förklarade psykiska besvär signifikant och positivt, det vill säga högre grad av ensamhetskänslor associerades med högre grad av psykiska besvär. Kamratstöd förutsade inte psykiska besvär signifikant. Enligt resultaten kunde även samband mellan socialt stöd i form av familje-, kamrat- och klasskamratstöd och psykiska besvär delvis förklaras med känsla av ensamhet. Studien bidrar med ny kunskap om finlandssvenska ungdomars välmående och kan uppmuntra till hälsofrämjande verksamhet. För att få en djupare förståelse om lägre nivåer av socialt stöd och upplevelse av ensamhet i grundskoleålder kan vara riskfaktorer för utveckling av mental ohälsa behövs mer forskning, speciellt i form av longitudinella studier.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Upcoming Influenza Season—Does an Expert’s Computed Tomography Assessment Differentially Identify COVID-19, Influenza and Pneumonias of Other Origin?

(1) Background: Time-consuming SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR suffers from limited sensitivity in early infection stages whereas fast available chest CT can already raise COVID-19 suspicion. Nevertheless, radiologists’ performance to differentiate COVID-19, especially from influenza pneumonia, is not sufficiently characterized. (2) Methods: A total of 201 pneumonia CTs were identified and divided into subgroups based on RT-PCR: 78 COVID-19 CTs, 65 influenza CTs and 62 Non-COVID-19-Non-influenza (NCNI) CTs. Three radiology experts (blinded from RT-PCR results) raised pathogen-specific suspicion (separately for COVID-19, influenza, bacterial pneumonia and fungal pneumonia) according to the following reading scores: 0—not typical/1—possible/2—highly suspected. Diagnostic performances were calculated with RT-PCR as a reference standard. Dependencies of radiologists’ pathogen suspicion scores were characterized by Pearson’s Chi2 Test for Independence. (3) Results: Depending on whether the intermediate reading score 1 was considered as positive or negative, radiologists correctly classified 83–85% (vs. NCNI)/79–82% (vs. influenza) of COVID-19 cases (sensitivity up to 94%). Contrarily, radiologists correctly classified only 52–56% (vs. NCNI)/50–60% (vs. COVID-19) of influenza cases. The COVID-19 scoring was more specific than the influenza scoring compared with suspected bacterial or fungal infection. (4) Conclusions: High-accuracy COVID-19 detection by CT might expedite patient management even during the upcoming influenza season.

Quality of internet information according to language search on childhood Cancer (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Background: Health information on the internet could vary its quality given that nowadays it is easy for everyone to spread information on the internet even if it is not reliable. Also, one factor that could influence the quality of the information is the language in which it is presented. Parents of children with cancer tend to search for their children´s disease on the internet, and this could affect the decisions the parents take concerning their children´s treatment OBJECTIVE Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the quality of pediatric cancer information on the internet provided in English and Spanish languages METHODS Methods: Three different quality engines were used, JAMA benchmarks, DISCERN and HONcode to assess English and Spanish websites. RESULTS Results: : DISCERN scores were significantly different between English and Spanish websites (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.001), JAMA benchmarks show a difference between English and Spanish websites (Chi2 test, p=0.009), but HONcode was no different between groups. CONCLUSIONS Conclusions: English websites had a better information quality than Spanish websites.

Cerebral Palsy is 25 or More of Hypoxia Index and No Cerebral Palsy is 24 or Less of Index in Fetal Monitoring

Fetal outcome was ominous if fetal heart rate (FHR) was late deceleration (LD) in the past, while 3 connected typical LDs were normal, and repeated LDs for 50 min were heavy fetal brain damage. Also, LD is defined as LD when it is repeated for 15 minutes. As the fetus is damaged by repeated hypoxic decelerations followed by cerebral palsy, but not by its late appearing in LD, novel fetal hypoxia index (HI) is the sum of all deceleration durations (min) divided by the lowest FHR (bpm) and multiplied by 100 in fetal monitoring. The hypoxia index was 25 or more in all of 6 cerebral palsy cases, while it was 24 or less in all 16 cases of no cerebral palsy. As error probability is almost zero in the chi2 test of hypoxia index, no cerebral palsy is decided when the hypoxia index is 24 or less, while it is cerebral palsy, if hypoxia index is 25 or more. The hypoxia index is adopted to all FHR decelerations and bradycardia, as hypoxia index does not evaluate the late appearing of deceleration, instead of past subjective deceleration pattern diagnosis in fetal monitoring.