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To reach the necessary cohesion for the member states at socio-economic level, the EU sets substantial budgets in motion to implement its policies. This study proposes an analysis of how European funds were used for the construction of the Cohesion Policy in the segment of transition to low-carbon economy within the South-East Region of Romania, with a focus on the social side. The study case reveals challenges in implementing non-reimbursable financing for programming period 2014-2020/2023. The source of data are the official reports of the ministries with the role of management authority and that are updated up to this moment. The results of this study emphasize the importance of the Cohesion Policy financing for reaching the energy transition targets, but also the need to use a part of this fund for supporting social aspects so that people can more easily overcome the financial barriers on the way to green transition.

BackgroundProlonged systemic inflammation is recognized as a major contributor to the development of various chronic inflammatory diseases. Daily measurements of inflammatory biomarkers can significantly improve disease monitoring of systemic inflammation, thus contributing to reducing the burden on patients and the health care system. There exists, however, no scalable, cost-efficient, and noninvasive biomarker for remote assessment of systemic inflammation. To this end, we propose a novel, multimodal, and noninvasive approach for measuring inflammatory biomarkers. ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the levels of inflammatory biomarkers in serum (gold standard) and those measured noninvasively in urine, sweat, saliva, exhaled breath, stool, and core body temperature in patients with systemic inflammation. MethodsThis study is a single-center, cross-sectional study and includes a total of 20 participants (10 patients with systemic inflammation and 10 control patients). Eligible participants provide serum, urine, sweat, saliva, exhaled breath, and stool samples for biomarker analyses. Core body temperature is measured using a sensor. The primary end point is the level of C-reactive protein (CRP). The secondary end points are interleukin (IL)–1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels. The tertiary end points are fractional exhaled nitric oxide, calprotectin, and core body temperature. Samples will be collected in 2 batches, enabling preliminary analysis of the first batch (patients 1-5 from each group). The full analysis will include both batches. CRP and cytokine levels will be measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. For statistical analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk test will be used to evaluate the normality of the distribution in each variable. We will perform the 2-tailed t test or Wilcoxon rank sum test to compare the levels of inflammatory biomarkers between patients with systemic inflammations and control patients. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients will assess the relationship between inflammatory biomarkers from noninvasive methods and serum biomarkers. Using all-subset regression analysis, we will determine the combination of noninvasive methods yielding the highest predictive accuracy for serum CRP levels. Participants’ preferences for sampling methods will be assessed through a questionnaire. ResultsThe study received ethics approval from the independent research ethics committee of Canton Zurich on October 28, 2022. A total of 20 participants participated in the study measurements. Data collection started on February 22, 2023, and was completed on September 22, 2023. Participants were on average 52.8 (SD 14.4; range 24-82) years of age, and 70% (14/20) of them were women. The analysis results reporting findings are expected to be published in 2025. ConclusionsThis study aims to evaluate the feasibility of noninvasive, multimodal assessment of inflammatory biomarkers in patients with systemic inflammation. Promising results could lead to the creation of noninvasive and potentially digital biomarkers for systemic inflammation, enabling continuous monitoring and early diagnosis of inflammatory activity in a remote setting. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/62877

The growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday life raised a need to build AI literacy . Students, educators or working professionals needs to know more about AI, its underlying technologies, impact or ethical considerations. This paper explore the roles of AI literacy and the critical role of e-learning platforms in improving it. Via a qualitative approach, combining literature review with content analysis, it has been found that the intersection of AI literacy with e-learning is still an underexplored topic, indicating a possible gap in academic research. The multitude of AI literacy definitions and the lack of consensus on its components may suggest that the research field is not yet matured. The review of the AI-related offerings from education providers like DeepLearning.AI, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and DataCamp has shown their vast potential to contribute to AI education by offering online courses for everyone.

Objectives While important progress was made regarding the treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc), there is still no evidence-based disease-modifying treatment available for SSc-related gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations. We aimed to identify an association between immunosuppressive therapy and the the severity of GI symptoms, measured by the University of California at Los Angeles/Scleroderma Clinical Trial Consortium Gastro-Intestinal Tract instrument 2.0 (GIT).Methods We selected patients with SSc who had at least two visits (further referred to as ‘baseline’ and ‘follow-up’) with completed GITs, within an interval of 12±3 months. The study outcome was the GIT score at follow-up. We used multivariable linear regression with the following covariates: immunosuppressive therapy during observation, immunosuppressive therapy before baseline, baseline GIT and several baseline parameters selected by clinical judgement as potentially influencing GI symptoms.Results We included 209 SSc patients (82.3% female, median age 59.0 years, median disease duration 6.0 years, 40 (19.1%) diffuse cutaneous SSc, median baseline GIT 0.19). Of these, 71 were exposed to immunosuppressive therapy during the observation period, and, compared with unexposed patients, had overall more severe SSc and a higher prevalence of treatment with proton pump inhibitors. In multivariable linear regression, immunosuppressive therapy during the period of observation and lower baseline GIT scores were significantly associated with lower (better) GIT scores at follow-up.Conclusion Immunosuppressive treatment was associated with lower GIT scores in our cohort, which suggests the potential effects of immunosuppressants on GI manifestations in patients with SSc, requiring confirmation in prospective randomised clinical trials.

Aluminum Alloy 5052 is one of the excellent corrosion resistant alloys among the Aluminum 5000 series alloys. Despite the favourable corrosion resistance, it exhibits low resistance to wear and perform poorly in various tribological applications. This study attempts to investigate the impact of TiB2 reinforcement on the mechanical and tribological properties of Aluminum Alloy 5052 matrix alloy, fabricated using the stir casting technique. Composites with varying weight percentages (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 wt %) of TiB2 were prepared. Vicker's hardness testing was conducted to assess the effect of TiB2 content on composite hardness. Hardness of composites increased from 65.5 to 85.16 HV in tandem with the TiB2 content depicting a rise of about 30 %. Tribological properties were studied through dry sliding wear tests using a pin-on-disc tribometer, with varying loads (10 N and 50 N) and sliding speeds (1 m/s and 3 m/s). The results demonstrate that the addition of TiB2 significantly improves the wear resistance of the composites, being optimum in composite with 5 wt % of TiB2. A maximum increase of about 36 % in wear resistance was observed at high load and high-speed conditions corresponding to 5 wt % TiB2 concentration. FESEM analysis revealed distinct wear modes and the role of TiB2 in changing the wear mechanism from abrasion to delamination. This study underscores the pivotal role of TiB2 in enhancing the mechanical and tribological properties of Aluminum Alloy 5052, expanding its application scope, particularly in lightweight engineering applicationsin general and marine in particular.

Reviews of the relevant literature provide important data for both researchers and practitioners. There is a lack of reviews that address the effects of listening to music in people with autism spectrum disorders and/or intellectual disabilities. The aim of this article is to identify what evidence exists about the relationship between listening to music and aspects of development and quality of life in people with autism spectrum disorders and/or intellectual disabilities. The papers were searched using a unified search of Google Scholar and the Consortium of Libraries of Serbia for Unified Acquisition - KOBSON (Academic Search Complete, Cambridge University Press, EBSCO, Oxford Academic Journals, Sage, ScienceDirect, Wiley). The initial search yielded 37, while the final analysis included 13 papers published from 1993 to 2022. From the analysis of the research results, it appears that listening to music in individuals with autism spectrum disorder reduces the occurrence of self-stimulatory behaviours, influences the relief of sensory overload, and has a stronger effect when the person listens to music of their own choice. Background music improves the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities and people with autism spectrum disorders.

Introduction. Parents are the primary source of advice, information, and mediation in children's career development. For persons with intellectual disabilities, parental support is necessary during all stages of career development, and it is especially important in the period of vocational education. Objectives. The main goal of the paper was to determine how students with intellectual disabilities perceived their parents' support during education for a chosen occupation, with special attention to some factors of the family and school environments. Methodes. The sample consisted of 155 participants with mild intellectual disability undergoing professional training in schools for students with developmental disabilities. The Career-Related Parental Support Scale was used in the research. It was designed to assess adolescent perceptions of parental support across the domains of instrumental assistance, emotional support, verbal encouragement, and career-related modeling. Results. In the sample as a whole, the participants perceived the greatest parental support in the domain of verbal encouragement and the least in career-related modeling. Greater support from their parents in career development was perceived by those who lived in a family environment with both parents, as well as those whose parents were more educated, compared to students of senior classes and those who achieved excellent results, while no differences were found in relation to the gender. Conclusion. The analysis of the obtained results indicated certain deficiencies in the field of career guidance and counseling of students with intellectual disabilities. The obtained findings point to the need to improve cooperation with students' families in this field and empower them in relation to the ways in which they can contribute to the career success of children. Also, the necessity of expanding knowledge in the field of career development for a deeper understanding of the key problems in this field was highlighted.

Objective Clinical observation suggests that vascular activation and autoimmunity precede remodelling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We challenge this paradigm by hypothesising that ECM biomarkers are already disturbed in patients with very early SSc (veSSc) when fibrosis is not yet clinically detectable.Methods 42 patients with veSSc, defined as the presence of Raynaud’s phenomenon and at least one of puffy fingers, positive antinuclear antibodies or pathological nailfold capillaroscopy, not meeting the 2013 American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology classification criteria for SSc, were compared with healthy controls (HCs, n=29). ECM degradation (BGM, C3M, C4M and C6M) and ECM formation biomarkers (PRO-C3, PRO-C4 and PRO-C5) were measured in serum using ELISAs. A cross-sectional analysis at baseline and a longitudinal analysis was performed.Results Compared with HC, veSSc patients showed a strongly dysregulated turnover of type III and IV collagens (higher C3M, C4M, both p

Music plays a significant developmental role in the life of adolescents and has different functions in the life of an individual. Listening to music is one of the most important activities of adolescents, while their music preferences reflect their values, conflicts, and developmental problems they are faced with in everyday life. It is important to understand how adolescents use and experience music on a daily basis and what factors impact their use of music. The power of preference for a specific kind of music depends on the degree to which that type of music fulfills certain functions because the level of functionality and the power of music preference are correlated. While identity formation, peer socialization, and social perception remain important functions of music throughout one’s life, they are especially important in the period of adolescence. To understand better the strong links between music preferences and the functions of music in an individual’s life, it is important to include the personality factor that provides practical and relevant information about what makes us who we are. Music education can influence the music preferences of young people because listening to music is an important activity in their leisure time. The paper presents theoretical models of music preferences, characteristics of music, contexts of listening to music, correlation between music preferences and personality traits, as well as the functions of music that are most relevant in the life of adolescents.

Development of creativity is an important segment of educational process. The goal of this research is to identify the factor structure of the Creative Thinking Test – Graphic Production of the applied on the sample of students with intelectual difficulties. The sample consisted of 76 students, age 9-14 (АS=11,54; SD=1,75), of both genders (53,3% boys and 46,7% girls), without neurological or multiple impediments. The creative potential of these students was tested using the Creative Thinking Test – Graphic Production. By analyzing the obtained resutls we identified two factors which explain the total of 67,6% of the variance. The first factor has four main factor weights (fragment-dependent boundary breaking, fragment-independent boundary breaking, humour, and new elements). The second factor includes linking by drawing lines, continuation, addition, and linking that contributes to the topic. Unconventional material manipulation as well as the use of abstract elements have the least factor weights. The two-factor model showed acceptable suitability indices and suggests the importance of conventional and unconventional ways of thinking for the creative process of students with intellectual difficulties.

Background Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the leading cause of death in systemic sclerosis (SSc). According to expert statements, not all SSc-ILD patients require pharmacological therapy.Objectives To describe disease characteristics and disease course in untreated SSc-ILD patients in two well characterised SSc-ILD cohorts.Methods Patients were classified as treated if they had received a potential ILD-modifying drug. ILD progression in untreated patients was defined as (1) decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) from baseline of ≥10% or (2) decline in FVC of 5%–9% associated with a decline in diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO)≥15% over 12±3 months or (3) start of any ILD-modifying treatment or (4) increase in the ILD extent during follow-up. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with non-prescription of ILD-modifying treatment at baseline. Prognostic factors for progression in untreated patients were tested by multivariate Cox regression.Results Of 386 SSc-ILD included patients, 287 (74%) were untreated at baseline. Anticentromere antibodies (OR: 6.75 (2.16–21.14), p=0.001), limited extent of ILD (OR: 2.39 (1.19–4.82), p=0.015), longer disease duration (OR: 1.04 (1.00–1.08), p=0.038) and a higher DLCO (OR: 1.02 (1.01–1.04), p=0.005) were independently associated with no ILD-modifying treatment at baseline. Among 234 untreated patients, the 3 year cumulative incidence of progression was 39.9% (32.9–46.2). Diffuse cutaneous SSc and extensive lung fibrosis independently predicted ILD progression in untreated patients.Conclusion As about 40% of untreated patients show ILD progression after 3 years and effective and safe therapies for SSc-ILD are available, our results support a change in clinical practice in selecting patients for treatment.

OBJECTIVES: Systemic sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease leading to microvascular and fibrotic manifestations in multiple organs. Several treatment options and recommendations from different European countries are available. In this study, for which the ambit is Switzerland specifically, we aim to describe the treatment patterns of systemic sclerosis patients with fibrotic manifestations. METHODS: Systemic sclerosis patients were selected from six Swiss tertiary centres recorded in the multicentre, prospective European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) registry. Patients fulfilling the 2013 ACR/EULAR systemic sclerosis classification criteria at baseline were included. To determine the differences in treatment of varying degrees of fibrosis, four groups were identified: (1) patients with a modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) >0; (2) those with mRSS ≥7; (3) those with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), diagnosed by either chest X-Ray or high-resolution computed tomography; and (4) patients fulfilling one of the additional criteria for extensive interstitial lung disease, defined as interstitial lung disease involvement of >20% in high-resolution computed tomography, dyspnea NYHA-stage 3/4, or a predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) of 0, of whom 195 (33.1%) had mRSS ≥7; interstitial lung disease was diagnosed in 198 of 456 (43.4%), of whom 106 (18.0 %) showed extensive interstitial lung disease. Regarding non-biologic disease-modifying medications (DMARDs), the most frequently prescribed was methotrexate, followed by hydroxychloroquine and mycophenolate mofetil. Rituximab and tocilizumab were most frequently used among the biologic DMARDs. Specifically, 148/372 (39.8%) of treated patients with skin fibrosis received methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil or rituximab, and 80/177 (45.2%) with interstitial lung disease received cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, tocilizumab or rituximab. Most patients received a proton-pump inhibitor, and few patients underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. CONCLUSION: Overall, in Switzerland, a wide range of medications is prescribed for systemic sclerosis patients. This includes modern, targeted treatments for which randomised controlled clinical trial have been recently reported.

In this study a coupled-eulerian–lagrangian (CEL) approach has been applied to assess the internal blast loading conditions, for the tunnel built in three layers of sandstone rock. The three weathered stages of sandstone have been considered in this study i.e., slightly, medium and also highly weathered sandstone in three different layers. The sandstone rock weathering increases as we move towards the ground surface from deep subsurface. The elastoplastic finite element model with varied overburden depth with dimensions of 60 m (L × B × H) each to incorporate different parametric cases. An explosive is assumed at the center of the tunnel, with the capacity of hundred kg of trinitrotoluene (TNT), the explosive is assumed to be hanging in the air inside the tunnel opening with equal distance from all sides. The TNT sphere and air that is inside the rock tunnel has been modelled through CEL technique to simulate actual in-situ condition. Through Mohr-Coulomb, Concrete Damage Plasticity, and Johnson-Cook constructive material model the elastoplastic behaviour of different materials like rock, steel bars and concrete has been simulated respectively. The cage of steel bars has been embedded through interaction constraint in concrete liner to produce reinforced concrete liner. In the initial stages of simulation with 5 m of overburden depth the tunnel has been placed in the upper layer of sandstone. For further analysis, the position of the tunnel has been changed for overburden depth of fifteen, twenty-five and thirty-five meter. In accordance with the result of the simulation, for rock in terms of acceleration, velocity, and dis-placement, the depth of the overburden and the displacement of the crown are inversely related. No damage in terms of compression is seen in this simulation, but in all instances, a small damage owing to tensile failure has been noted.

Abstract Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) is a rare subset of primary pediatric glioma with 70% 5-year disease free survival. However, up to 20% of cases present with local recurrence and malignant transformation into more aggressive type anaplastic PXA (AXPA) or glioblastoma. The understanding of disease etiology and mechanisms driving PXA and APXA are limited, and there is no standard of care. Therefore, development of relevant preclinical models to investigate molecular underpinnings of disease and to guide novel therapeutic approaches are of interest. Here, for the first time we established, and characterized a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) from a leptomeningeal spread of a patient with recurrent APXA bearing a novel CDC42SE2-BRAF fusion. An integrated -omics analysis was conducted to assess model fidelity of the genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic/phosphoproteomic landscapes. A stable xenoline was derived directly from the patient recurrent tumor and maintained in 2D and 3D culture systems. Conserved histology features between the PDX and matched APXA specimen were maintained through serial passages. Whole exome sequencing (WES) demonstrated a high degree of conservation in the genomic landscape between PDX and matched human tumor, including small variants (Pearson’s r = 0.794–0.839) and tumor mutational burden (~ 3 mutations/MB). Large chromosomal variations including chromosomal gains and losses were preserved in PDX. Notably, chromosomal gain in chromosomes 4–9, 17 and 18 and loss in the short arm of chromosome 9 associated with homozygous 9p21.3 deletion involving CDKN2A/B locus were identified in both patient tumor and PDX sample. Moreover, chromosomal rearrangement involving 7q34 fusion; CDC42SE-BRAF t (5;7) (q31.1, q34) (5:130,721,239, 7:140,482,820) was identified in the PDX tumor, xenoline and matched human tumor. Transcriptomic profile of the patient’s tumor was retained in PDX (Pearson r = 0.88) and in xenoline (Pearson r = 0.63) as well as preservation of enriched signaling pathways (FDR Adjusted P

Optimizing signal timing improves sustainability metrics (e.g., fuel consumption or “FC”). Historically, traffic agencies have retimed signal timing to improve mobility measures (e.g., delays). However, optimizing signals to reduce delays does not necessarily mitigate sustainability measures. Hence, this study introduces an approach that integrates a newly derived surrogate measure for FC, traffic microsimulation software, and a stochastic genetic algorithm. This approach optimizes signal timing to reduce the surrogate measure and reduce sustainability metrics. This study also evaluated the impact of heavy vehicles’ presence in a fleet on signal timing and FC savings. A 13-intersection arterial on Washington Street in the Chicago metro area served as a case study. Optimized signal timing delivered solutions that balanced both sustainability and mobility. The estimated excess FC savings ranged between 8 and 12% under moderate operating conditions, with no heavy vehicles, compared to the initial signal timing. The savings reached up to ~14% when many heavy vehicles existed on the side streets. Most of the improvements came without worsening traffic-mobility efficiency, which shows the possibility of a fair tradeoff between mobility and sustainability. All optimization scenarios showed that a slightly longer cycle length than the one implemented in the field is required to reduce FC.

Abstract Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multi-organ disease with impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The EULAR SSc Impact of Disease (ScleroID) is a newly introduced SSc-specific patient-reported outcome to evaluate HRQoL in SSc. Objective To investigate the correlation between the ScleroID and the involvement of organ systems as well as disease activity/damage in a SSc cohort from a large tertiary care centre. Patients and methods The ScleroID and clinical characteristics including internal organ involvement and hand function were investigated in 160 consecutive patients with SSc (median age 46 (43;56) years; diffuse cutaneous SSc 55%). Results A strong correlation was found between the ScleroID and articular disease activity scores (DAS28-CRP, DAS28-ESR, CDAI, SDAI), a hand function performance test, the Hand Anatomy Index and muscle strength tests. Additionally, a strong significant correlation was discovered using instruments representing hand function and musculoskeletal disability including the Cochin Hand Function Scale, the Quick Questionnaire of the Disability of the Hands, Arms and the Shoulders and the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index. A significant negative correlation was found between the ScleroID score and the 6-min walking test (6MWT) (rho − 0.444, p

Transportation agencies periodically conduct signal retiming (i.e., optimization) to ensure efficient signal operations. Previous studies introduced the notion of the “resonant cycle length” (RCL), which is based on the premise that a good progression of traffic on the corridor mainline for various volume fluctuations can be achieved with an appropriate value of cycle lengths, where all other signal timing parameters (splits, offsets and phase sequences) remain unaltered. Several follow-up studies brought many inconsistencies in the previously introduced concept. For instance, authors would investigate the existence of the RCL by evaluating the performance of signal timing plans for not only coordinated movements (side streets and coordinated movements together), but would optimize all signal timing parameters (not only cycle lengths) while investigating. This study sheds light on the RCL concept and highlights the importance of all signal timing parameters for signal performance. In addition, we introduce a concept called the resonant signal timing plan (RSTP) as a refinement for the RCL, which represents a combination of signal timing parameters that (unaltered) retain an acceptable performance for a variety of traffic conditions. Results show that different sets of signal timing parameters cause plans to be resonant depending on the evaluation type.

Late adolescences, as a developmentally challenging transitional period between childhood and adulthood, provides a number of pressures that impact well-being of youth. Among approaches for facilitating well-being, music is reported to be one of the most effective ones, which was especially proven during Covid-19 pandemic. Given the significance of music and music listening in late adolescence, our study sought to examine the relationship between psychological well-being and music listening among university students (N = 603; Nfemale = 356, Nmale = 247) with a focus on the social, intrapersonal, and sociocultural context of music listening. The RESPECT music scale, the SPWB, and the PANAS were used to measure positive and negative affect as well as the six components of psychological well-being. The findings revealed that, while there were no gender differences in the sociocultural setting, females reported to listen to music more frequently than males in intrapersonal and social contexts. In two areas, female students rated their psychological well-being higher than male students: personal growth and positive relationships with others. They also reported experiencing positive and negative affect more frequently than men. Regression analyses revealed that the functions of music explained only a small amount of the variance in psychological well-being. Specifically, music listening in a social and sociocultural context significantly explained two aspects of psychological well-being: personal growth and positive relations with others. The intrapersonal context of music listening predicted a positive affect, while the social context predicted a negative affect. Our study highlights several implications of music listening in youth regarding gender either in everyday activities or in educational and clinical setting.

This study aims to experimentally explore the impact of multiple open trapezoidal ribs with gaps (MOTRG) on the thermal efficiency of a rectangular duct in a solar air heater (SAH). The designed parameters of ribs i.e. relative limb length (L/w), relative pitch ratio (p/e), relative gap ratio (g/e) and relative rib height (e/Dh) are varied as 0.2–1.0, 6–12, 1–5 and 0.023–0.056, respectively. The experiments have been conducted for Reynolds number (Re) span of 2000–16000. Since then, open trapezoidal rib designs have made significant improvements to SAH performance. A highest value of 78.86% of thermal efficiency has been observed corresponding to α = 60°, g/e = 1, L/w = 0.8, p/e = 10, W/w = 6, and e/Dh = 0.043. The global best values of enhancement factors of 3.032, 2.726 and 2.496 have been found for insolation values of 1000 W/m2, 800 W/m2 and 600 W/m2. The findings demonstrate that, when compared to other roughened SAH ducts, the MOTRG roughened duct provides superior thermal performance.