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Author(s):  
Omid Reza Tamtaji ◽  
Maryam Derakhshan ◽  
Fatemeh Zahra Rashidi Noshabad ◽  
Javad Razaviyan ◽  
Razie Hadavi ◽  
...  

A major terrifying ailment afflicting the humans throughout the world is brain tumor, which causes a lot of mortality among pediatric and adult solid tumors. Several major barriers to the treatment and diagnosis of the brain tumors are the specific micro-environmental and cell-intrinsic features of neural tissues. Absence of the nutrients and hypoxia trigger the cells’ mortality in the core of the tumors of humans’ brains: however, type of the cells’ mortality, including apoptosis or necrosis, has been not found obviously. Current studies have emphasized the non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) since their crucial impacts on carcinogenesis have been discovered. Several investigations suggest the essential contribution of such molecules in the development of brain tumors and the respective roles in apoptosis. Herein, we summarize the apoptosis-related non-coding RNAs in brain tumors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-173
Author(s):  
Filip Bryjka

The primary purpose of this article is to explain the meaning and consequences of foreign fighters’ participation from Western Balkan countries (WB6) in armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In the first part, the issue of foreign fighters is discussed in historical terms. The author focuses on the examples of the Soviet inva-sion of Afghanistan and the ethno-religious conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the second part of the text, the definition framework of foreign fighters’ concept and its evolution towards foreign terrorist-fighters is dis-cussed. Then, a detailed analysis of the main problem is conducted, and several research questions are an-swered: 1) What is the scale of the phenomenon of Balkan volunteers (e.g., their number, the structure of origin, and others) in comparison to fighters from other regions? 2) What are their motivations and goals, and what are their recruitment process and ways of moving into the war zone? 3) What is the threat posed by returning fight-ers to the security of the Western Balkans, and how do individual states counteract this phenomenon? The au-thor uses mainly the following research methods: critical content analysis (literature, scientific articles, docu-ments, reports, press materials), and historical and comparative analysis. The author’s visits to this country in 2018-2020 constituted an essential contribution to the part concerning the case of Kosovo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao-ya Fan ◽  
Yuan Yang ◽  
Ruo-yun Yin ◽  
Lei Tang ◽  
Fan Zhang

Background: Health literacy (HL) is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease, and shorter pre-hospital delay time is crucial for successful treatment of acute myocardial infraction (AMI) patients. Most previous studies focused on the influencing factors of pre-hospital delay but ignore the essential contribution of decision delay.Aims: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of HL on decision delay.Methods: Continuously included AMI patients admitted to a grade A class three hospital in Chongqing. HL level was assessed using Brief Health Literacy Screen and categorized as adequate or inadequate. Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square test were used to compare the differences between groups, and binary logistic regression was used to analyze the association between HL and decision delay.Results: A total of 217 AMI patients were enrolled in this study, including 166 males (76.5%) and 51 females (23.5%), with the median age was 68 years old; 135 (62.2%) patients had delayed decision-making while 82 (37.8%) did not; 157 (72.7%) patients had inadequate HL and 59 (27.3%) had adequate HL. The total HL score of non-delayed group was higher than that in delayed group (9.22 vs. 7.02, P < 0.000).Conclusion: After adjusting for covariates, HL was significantly negatively associated with decision time. AMI patients with inadequate HL were more likely to delay seeking timely medical care.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awa Sarr ◽  
Amy Bodian ◽  
Mame Codou Gueye ◽  
Badara Gueye ◽  
Ghislain Kanfani ◽  
...  

Abstract Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) plays a key role in family farming systems in Senegal. It makes an essential contribution to economic, nutritional and food security. Although it is crucial, little is known about how farmers classify the diversity of local varieties or about the social practices associated with them. The aim of this study is to characterize the farming practices associated with growing cowpea in Senegal. Surveys were conducted involving 335 rural farmers living in 37 villages, spread across seven regions that produce cowpea. An average of ten farmers were randomly selected in each village. The results reveal that cowpea is a key feature of cropping systems in the studied area. Our findings highlight the high diversity of local cowpea varieties with 59 local names inventoried. In 75% of cases, the name refers to the seed’s morphology or color. Cowpea production is more diverse in Diourbel and Louga and less diverse in the south. More than half the farmers (57%) acquired their cowpea seeds (early, semi-early and late varieties) outside their village, either from markets, seed suppliers or NGOs. This new understanding of farmers’ expertise in the management of cowpea and its local variability will help to valorise local diversity in breeding programmes.


Author(s):  
И.М. ПОЧИЦКАЯ ◽  
Ю.Ф. РОСЛЯКОВ ◽  
В.В. ЛИТВЯК ◽  
Н.В. КОМАРОВА ◽  
Е.И. КОВАЛЕНКО

В формировании потребительских предпочтений важная роль отводится внешнему виду и аромату пищевых продуктов. При выпечке хлебобулочных изделий в процессе меланоидинообразования происходит изменение цвета и появление характерного хлебного запаха. Целью работы явилось исследование ароматобразующих веществ и цветовых характеристик белого пшеничного хлеба, подверженного термической обработке. Объектами исследований служили образцы белого пшеничного хлеба, нагревание которых проводили в сушильном шкафу при температурах 90, 120, 150, 180 и 210°С с интервалом в 10 мин на протяжении 2 ч. Исследование летучих компонентов осуществляли методом газовой хроматографии с масс-селективным детектированием. Образцы фиксировали фотоаппаратом Canon EOS 750D. В результате исследований обнаружено более 120 летучих веществ, идентифицировано 76, из них 31 существенно влияет на аромат белого хлеба. В основном это карбонильные соединения и низшие жирные кислоты, а также спирты, сложные эфиры и некоторые серосодержащие соединения. Анализ изменения цветовых характеристик белого пшеничного хлеба показал, что с увеличением температуры нагревания наблюдается значительное потемнение образцов. Если при температуре 90°С происходит еще незначительное изменение цвета, даже после 2-часового воздействия, то при увеличении температуры до 180–210°С цвет образцов хлеба темнеет в первые 10 мин и в последующем меняется незначительно. Таким образом, результаты исследований показали, что температуру и длительность обжарки необходимо оптимизировать для создания наиболее востребованных потребительских свойств продукта. In the formation of consumer preferences FOR food an important role belongs to appearance and aroma. At baking as a result of the melanoid formation process the color changes and typical of bread aroma appears. The purpose of work was studying the aroma-forming substances and color characteristics of the white bread at heat treatment. The objects of the research were samples of white bread heated in a drying oven at temperatures of 90, 120, 150, 180 and 210°C with a time interval of 10 minutes for 2 hours. The volatiles were investigated by gas chromatography with mass-selective detection. The image was recorded on a Canon EOS 750D camera. As a result of the research more than 120 volatile substances were detected, it is identified 76 from which 31 make an essential contribution to aroma of white bread. Basically, these are carbonyl compounds and lower fatty acids, as well as alcohols, esters and some sulfur-containing compounds. An analysis of the change in the color characteristics of white bread showed that with an increase in the heating temperature a significant darkening of the samples is observed. At a temperature of 90°C there is still a slight color change even after a 2-hour exposure to temperature, then as the temperature increases to 180–210°C, the color of the bread samples becomes darker within the first 10 minutes and then changes insignificantly. Thus, the results of research have shown that the temperature and duration of roasting should be optimized to create the most popular consumer properties of the product.


Author(s):  
Mark R. Thatcher

This book offers the first sustained analysis of the politics of collective identity in Greek Sicily and southern Italy during the period c. 600–200 BCE. It advances two main arguments. First, the western Greeks constructed multiple identities, including a separate polis identity for each city-state, sub-Hellenic ethnicities such as Dorian and Ionian, regional identities, and an overarching sense of Greekness. The book untangles the many overlapping strands of these plural identities and analyzes how they relate to one another. Second, the book presents a compelling new account of the role of identity in Greek politics. Identity was often created through conflict and was reshaped as political conditions changed, it created legitimacy for kings and tyrants, and it contributed to the decision-making processes of poleis. A series of detailed case studies explores these points by drawing on a wide variety of source material, including historiography, epinician poetry, coinage, inscriptions, religious practices, and material culture. The wide-ranging analysis covers both Sicily and southern Italy, encompassing cities such as Syracuse, Camarina, Croton, and Metapontion; ethnic groups such as the Dorians and Achaeans; and tyrants and politicians from the Deinomenids to Hermocrates to Pyrrhus and Hieron II. Spanning the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, this study is an essential contribution to the history, societies, cultures, and identities of the Greek West.


2021 ◽  
pp. 69-72
Author(s):  
Grigore Duhlicher ◽  

Due to the specificity of its content, tourism is an important sector in the contemporary world, which includes a huge force of recovery, development and economic prosperity. The recent economic reality shows us that tourism is experiencing a continuous expansion, thus becoming a field of major importance for both developed national economies and developing countries. In the conditions of economic, political and social instability worldwide, phenomena that produce a negative impact on the development of several national economies, tourism has proved, for many countries, to be a good solution to overcome these crises through economic diversification. At the same time, both developing and developed countries pay particular attention to developing strategies to intensify domestic and international tourism as those that contribute to overcoming economic crises. Tourism is a factor that can make an essential contribution to the prosperity, development and improvement of living standards in the Republic of Moldova.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 6586
Author(s):  
Rodrigo A. Arreola-Barroso ◽  
Alexey Llopiz ◽  
Leticia Olvera ◽  
Gloria Saab-Rincón

The proteins within the CAZy glycoside hydrolase family GH13 catalyze the hydrolysis of polysaccharides such as glycogen and starch. Many of these enzymes also perform transglycosylation in various degrees, ranging from secondary to predominant reactions. Identifying structural determinants associated with GH13 family reaction specificity is key to modifying and designing enzymes with increased specificity towards individual reactions for further applications in industrial, chemical, or biomedical fields. This work proposes a computational approach for decoding the determinant structural composition defining the reaction specificity. This method is based on the conservation of coevolving residues in spatial contacts associated with reaction specificity. To evaluate the algorithm, mutants of α-amylase (TmAmyA) and glucanotransferase (TmGTase) from Thermotoga maritima were constructed to modify the reaction specificity. The K98P/D99A/H222Q variant from TmAmyA doubled the transglycosydation/hydrolysis (T/H) ratio while the M279N variant from TmGTase increased the hydrolysis/transglycosidation ratio five-fold. Molecular dynamic simulations of the variants indicated changes in flexibility that can account for the modified T/H ratio. An essential contribution of the presented computational approach is its capacity to identify residues outside of the active center that affect the reaction specificity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11387
Author(s):  
Itzhak Aviv ◽  
Irit Hadar ◽  
Meira Levy

In this age of digital transformation, knowledge-intensive organizations strive to improve business outcomes and sustainability by improving their knowledge-intensive business processes (KIBPs) to obtain a competitive advantage. Many researchers have claimed that KIBP enhancement is possible through knowledge management (KM) initiatives supported by an effective KM infrastructure. Current KM infrastructures deal with formal KM procedures, where knowledge is created, stored, assimilated, and disseminated. Such activities, however, are designed to be performed outside of the business process. KM infrastructures are expected to be more effective when they include specific real-time knowledge procedures integrated into the operational flow of KIBPs. This paper explores how modern KM infrastructures can support KIBPs, considering both formal and operational KM procedures. Our study’s essential contribution is the conceptual KM infrastructure framework (KMIF) developed based on grounded theory research. This infrastructure provides a systematic and robust approach, starting from the ground up, for structuring organizational knowledge assets across a range of KIBP environments. We define operational knowledge procedures directly involved in KIBPs, adding a layer to KM infrastructures beyond the formal knowledge procedures. A mixed-method case study was conducted to demonstrate and evaluate the proposed KMIF for enhancing business outcomes and sustainability of knowledge-intensive organizations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cláudia Fidalgo ◽  
Alice Mendes ◽  
Rosário Cunha ◽  
Fernando Rodrigues

Over the last few years, several cases of statin-induced necrotizing myopathy have been described. This myopathy is characterized by the necrosis of muscle fibers and the presence of anti-3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (anti-HMGCR) antibodies. Although the diagnosis of myopathies relies on muscle biopsy, which is considered the gold-standard, the search for autoantibodies has proved to be an essential contribution to the diagnosis of immune-mediated myopathies. The detection of anti-HMGCR antibodies in the patient’s serum can be performed by enzyme immunoassays, and more recently, by imunofluorescence. As for the latter, the detection of anti-HMGCR antibodies is performed on tissue sections by indirect immunofluorescence and is characterized by a typical fluorescence pattern called “HMGCR Associated Liver IFL Pattern”. The authors present two case reports that show the importance of diagnosing statin-induced necrotizing myopathy as quickly as possible and the contribution of anti-HMGCR antibody detection for the diagnosis.


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