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Melanoma clinical outcomes emerge from incompletely understood genetic mechanisms operating within the tumor and its microenvironment. Here, we used single-cell RNA-based spatial molecular imaging (RNA-SMI) in patient-derived archival tumors to reveal clinically relevant markers of malignancy progression and prognosis. We examined spatial gene expression of 203,472 cells inside benign and malignant melanocytic neoplasms, including melanocytic nevi and primary invasive and metastatic melanomas. Algorithmic cell clustering paired with intratumoral comparative two-dimensional analyses visualized synergistic, spatial gene signatures linking cellular proliferation, metabolism, and malignancy, validated by protein expression. Metastatic niches included up-regulation of CDK2 and FABP5, which independently predicted poor clinical outcome in 473 patients with melanoma via Cox regression analysis. More generally, our work demonstrates a framework for applying single-cell RNA-SMI technology toward identifying gene regulatory landscapes pertinent to cancer progression and patient survival.

Abstract Co-pyrolysis is an efficient approach for municipal sewage sludge (SS) treatment, facilitating the production of biochar and promoting the stabilization and removal of heavy metals, particularly when combined with chlorinated materials. This study explores the impact of pyrolysis temperatures (400 °C and 600 °C) and chlorinated additives (polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as an organic chloride source and ferric chloride (FeCl3) as an inorganic chloride source) at 10% and 20% concentrations, on the yield, chemical speciation, leachability, and ecological risks of arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and zinc (Zn) in biochar derived from SS. The results revealed that increasing the pyrolysis temperature from 400 to 600 °C significantly reduced biochar yield due to enhanced volatilization of organic components, as well as the removal of heavy metals in interaction with chlorinated materials. Chlorinated additives distinctly influenced heavy metal behavior. PVC treatments at 600 °C effectively reduced the total concentrations of As and Zn by 60% and 88.3%, respectively, while FeCl3 reduced Cr concentrations by up to 72.5%. Chemical speciation analysis showed that PVC treatments increased the residual fractions of As and Zn, reducing their bioavailability and environmental risk. In contrast, FeCl3 promoted the transformation of Cr into oxidizable fractions, enhancing its stability. TCLP results confirmed the effectiveness of both additives in reducing heavy metal leachability, with PVC at 600 °C demonstrating superior performance for As and Zn, and FeCl3 excelling in Cr stabilization. Ecological risk index assessments revealed that PVC treatments consistently resulted in lower RI values at both temperatures and concentrations, keeping them below the low-risk threshold. In contrast, FeCl3 treatments exhibited elevated risk levels, especially at higher concentrations and temperatures, reaching moderate to considerable risk categories. Overall, PVC treatment at 600 °C proved to be the most effective strategy for reducing As and Zn leachability and enhancing biochar stability. While FeCl3 demonstrated better performance in Cr stabilization, these findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate chlorinated additives based on the target heavy metal for optimizing biochar production and minimizing environmental impacts effectively.

Abstract Introduction Mandibular advancement devices (MADs) increase the airway by providing a stable anterior position of the mandible, advancing the tongue and soft palate and potentially changing the genioglossus muscle activity. As such they are an accepted non-surgical treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The study aimed to investigate whether the amount of mandibular advancement impacts treatment outcomes of OSA. Secondary aims included identifying variables correlated with treatment response and assessing changes in polysomnography (PSG) parameters based on advancement. Methods This retrospective study included patients aged ≥ 18 years diagnosed with OSA and treated with MADs. Data were collected from clinical notes, pre- and post-treatment PSG sleep studies. Amount of advancement was determined by the final titrated advancement achieved. Patients were grouped according to whether the final amount of advancement was ≤ 8 mm or > 8 mm. Treatment responses were classified as complete (symptom resolution and RDI 8 mm advancement, but this difference was not statistically significant. Similarly, changes in RDI, LSAT and T90 were not statistically significant between the two groups. There was statistically significant difference in treatment response between age groups, with younger patients (≤ 50 years) showing better response. Conclusion Effectiveness of MADs in the treatment of OSA does not depend on the final titrated advancement achieved. However, younger patients benefit more from MADs, highlighting age as a critical parameter in treatment responses. Clinical implications There is strong evidence to support the use of MADs as a functional second line treatment option to CPAP, and thus understanding the factors that contribute to positive treatment of OSA is important.

Abstract Obesity is related to liver fibrosis, a condition marked by the collection of scar tissue in the liver due to the development of a profibrotic environment, which includes increased hepatocellular death and elevated reactive oxygen species production. The aim of study is to evaluate the effect of bariatric surgery on the association between liver fibrosis indices and obesity. This is a retrospective cohort, evaluating 1205 individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and living with obesity, who experienced bariatric surgery. These patients living with T2D and obesity were monitored after bariatric surgery for two years. The trajectory of biochemical markers and liver fibrosis indices were evaluated at five visits. These liver indices were Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) fibrosis score. FIB-4 index demonstrated notable trends based on its values. It showed an initial increase observed at the three-months visit, followed by a decline up to one year with a slight increase at the last follow-up (P-trend

Abstract Background Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder affecting multiple organ systems, with a prevalence of 1:6,760–1:13,520 live births in Germany. On the molecular level, TSC is caused by heterozygous loss-of-function variants in either of the genes TSC1 or TSC2, encoding the Tuberin-Hamartin complex, which acts as a critical upstream suppressor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a key signaling pathway controlling cellular growth and metabolism. Despite the therapeutic success of mTOR inhibition in treating TSC-associated manifestations, studies with mTOR inhibitors in children with TSC above two years of age have failed to demonstrate beneficial effects on disease-related neuropsychological deficits. It has thus been hypothesized, that the critical time window for mTOR inhibitors may lie in early infancy, before TSC-related symptoms such as early-onset epilepsy and infantile spasms as sign of disruptive brain maturation occur. No controlled prospective clinical trials have evaluated the effect of pre-symptomatic mTOR inhibitor therapy on neuropsychological manifestations in TSC patients under two years of age. Methods This two-arm, randomized, observer-blind, phase IIb national multicenter clinical trial aims at investigating the long-term neuropsychologic outcomes of pre-emptive mTOR inhibitor treatment in children diagnosed with TSC under four months of age. Sixty participants will be allocated to the trial with a 1:1 randomization ratio. The primary endpoint will be the neuropsychological outcome assessed by the cognitive scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III at 24 months of age compared to Standard of Care. Secondary endpoints include neuropsychologic outcomes at 12 months of age, seizure frequency, cardiac and cerebral tumor load, and safety assessments. Inclusion criteria are a definite TSC diagnosis and an age below four months at enrolment. The investigational medicinal product is sirolimus (Rapamune®), administered orally based on body surface area and surveilled by pharmacokinetic measurements, starting within the first four months of life and continuing until the second birthday. Conclusion This study addresses a critical gap in understanding the impact of pre-emptive mTOR inhibitor therapy on neuropsychologic outcomes in young TSC patients, aiming to improve overall patient outcomes and quality of life. EUCT number: 2022–502332-39–00, Registered 22/06/2023, https://euclinicaltrials.eu/search-for-clinical-trials/?lang=en&EUCT=2022-502332-39-00

The use of the bottom air-deck method in open-pit blasting has been widely accepted by researchers as an efficient technique. In this method, leaving an empty space (air-deck) at the bottom of the blast hole improves the blast results. However, if the blast hole is filled with water, the presence of water may affect the blast results. In such cases, it is necessary to study the effect of the water in the air-deck area on blasting performance. In this research, a numerical method was used to investigate the effect of the presence of water in the blast hole on the blasting results in the bottom air-deck method. Considering the advantages of the SPH method in modeling the fractures caused by blasting and the advantage of the FEM method in terms of processing time, the combined SPH-FEM method was used to carry out the simulation. The Dehghan-Banadki empirical model was employed to validate the model and determine the SPH parameters. The results showed that due to the incompressibility of water, more pressure produced by the explosive detonation is transferred to the rock, Additionally, water causes attenuation of the blast wave and reduces the wave frequency. In a dry blast hole, despite the decrease in the initial wave pressure compared to a water-filled blast hole, multiple reflections of the wave in the empty space lead to longer duration waves and absorption of explosive energy by the rock. The peak effective stress taken at different distances around the blast hole in the air-deck area showed that the maximum stress applied to the rock in the water-filled blast hole is higher. The results also indicated that the total length of fractures in the dry blasting condition is 13.15 m, while in the water-filled blast hole blasting, it is 12.5 m. Therefore, the total length of fractures in the dry blast hole is only 5% more than in the water-filled blast hole. In other words, the presence of water in the air-deck area does not have a negative effect on the blasting results, and thus, this method can also be used in water-filled blast holes.

Abstract Head motion during MRI compromises image quality for clinical assessments and research. Active motion reduction strategies are effective but rarely applied due to uncertainty in their value for a given study. The ability to anticipate motion based on group characteristics would aid effective neuroimaging study design. This study compared putative motion indicators for their association to fMRI head motion in a large UK Biobank cohort (n = 40,969, aged 54.9 ± 7.5 years, 53% male). Body Mass Index (BMI; βadj = .050, p

Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes is known as a potentially pathogen, which can cause perinatal listeriosis, results in abortion, stillbirth or premature birth. Different factors are involved in the pathogenesis, including internalin B, which mediates the internalization of bacteria into a broad range of cell lines. However, it is not clear if expression of this protein is the same between different isolates. Methods: This study was conducted with the aim to compare L. monocytogenes isolated from pregnant women (n= 7) with different pregnancy outcomes (including healthy birth, still birth or blindness) and with abortion (n= 1), regarding expression level of inlB (internalin B encoding gene) and cell invasion. Results: Despite overexpression of inlB in most of the isolates, there was heterogeneity in the expression level between different isolates and no significant association with cell invasion and/ or pregnancy outcome was found (P> 0.05). About half of the studied isolates were able to invade HepG2 cells, while invasion to HeLa cells (cervix carcinoma cell line) was found only in one isolate. However, the difference was not significant. Likewise, no meaningful association was found between cell invasion and pregnancy outcomes. Conclusion: The expression level of inlB and cell invasion, cannot explain the difference of isolates in pathogenicity. Further studies are needed to identify bacterial and possibly host determinants.

Background: Modification methods can significantly alter the adsorption properties of biochar by changing its structure. This study aimed to optimize the removal of Ni2 + from aqueous solutions using unmodified pristine biochar (PB) and acid-modified biochar (ACB) and alkali-modified biochar (ALB) treatments. Methods: After producing unmodified and modified biochars, their efficacy (PB, ACB, ALB) in optimizing nickel (Ni) removal from aqueous solutions, affected by various factors including initial Ni concentration, solution pH, adsorbent dose and contact time was evaluated using the response surface methodology (RSM: Box-Behnken design). Results: Comparative analysis employing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed that ACB and ALB biochars exhibited an improved aromatic structure and smoother surfaces compared to PB. However, the modification process resulted in a decline in specific surface area (SSA) for ACB and ALB, consequently reducing their Ni adsorption capacity compared to PB. It was observed that acidic and alkaline treatments caused dissolution and rearrangement of biochar components, leading to a decrease in porosity and SSA. Consequently, the modified biochars demonstrated diminished effectiveness in removing Ni from solutions. Furthermore, the study revealed that pH, contact time, and adsorbent dose directly affected the Ni removal, while the initial Ni concentration exhibited an inverse effect. Conclusions: The current study revealed that the modification of biochar does not invariably enhance its pollutant adsorption properties. Further research is needed to explore the influence of feedstock types and the specific method of biochar modification on its pollutant adsorption efficiency.

Abstract Background Poor ovarian response (POR) to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) remains challenging, especially in advanced-age women with diminished ovarian reserve, resulting in low live birth rates. Many patients prefer to conceive with their eggs, underscoring the need for improved treatments. This study explores astaxanthin potential as a COS adjuvant to improve ovarian response and assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes, considering its impact on oxidative stress (OS), inflammation, and apoptosis, which are key factors in POR. Methods In this randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 60 infertile POR patients from POSEIDON Group 4 (the poorest prognosis category, age > 35 and poor ovarian reserve (anti-müllerian hormone

The present study aimed to validate the Chinese version of the Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport Scale (TAPAS) among university students living in Hong Kong to assess weight and body image concerns. A convenience sample of 787 students (63.5% females; 24.5% overweight) were recruited online. The factor structure of the scale was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multigroup CFA was used to assess measurement invariance across gender and weight categories. The unidimensional structure of the scale was confirmed (?[superscript 2]= 78.046, CFI = 0.996). Factor loading ranged from 0.536 to 0.902, and internal consistency was good ([alpha] = 0.93, [omega] = 0.95). The scale was measurement invariant across gender and weight status using both metric and scalar invariance methods (-0.004<[delta]CFI<-0.002). The scale can help to identify barriers of weight concerns regarding physical activity engagement which would help in the development of preventive interventions.

Background: This study investigated the functional and translational role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), specifically MIR22HG, LNCTAM34A, and TP53TG1, in breast cancer (BC). Methods: The expression of the lncRNAs was measured using RT-qPCR. Knockdown experiments using siRNA were conducted in breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-453, and MCF-7) to assess the functional impact of silencing these lncRNAs. Cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis assays were performed to evaluate phenotypic changes. Results: The expression of MIR22HG, LNCTAM34A, and TP53TG1 was significantly decreased in tumor tissues compared to NATs (p

ABSTRACT Background Being overweight/having obesity is a prevalent condition not only among the general population but also among individuals with special occupations such as police officers, where fitness is often a necessity. The present study's aim was to assess how much a psychoeducational intervention based on social cognitive theory (SCT) would be helpful for encouraging weight loss behaviors among police officers. Methods In a randomized control trial, 102 police officers who were overweight or had obesity voluntarily registered for a weight loss program and were assigned to either an intervention or control group. Participants in the intervention group took part in a health education program comprising six face‐to‐face 60–80 minute sessions over a 6‐week period that was designed based on SCT principles. The control group participated in routine worksite health promotion programs comprising weekly one‐hour sessions on lifestyle‐related topics and optional individual nutrition consultations. At baseline and 3 months after the intervention, both groups were examined in terms of SCT's measures and weight control strategies as the primary outcomes, as well as para‐clinical variables such as blood lipid profile and body mass index (BMI) as secondary outcomes. Analysis of covariance was used to assess changes from baseline to follow‐up between groups. Results All SCT measures indicated significant improvements among those in the intervention group compared with the control group. Outcome expectancy (F = 445; p

ObjectivesInsulin resistance plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Moreover, insulin resistance has a central role in atherogensis as the major leading cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of the present study was to assess the frequency of pre-diabetes and evaluate the cardiometabolic risk factors among NAFLD patients, comparing those with pre-diabetes to those with normal glucose tolerance.MethodsIn the current retrospective case-control study, the data of 1031 NAFLD patients was retrieved. Based on blood glucose levels, 337 diabetics, 340 pre-diabetes, and, 354 normal glucose patients were diagnosed. After excluding diabetic NAFLD patients, 694 individuals were divided into two groups: normal glucose and pre-diabetes. Various variables, such as age, anthropometric measurements, hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lipid profiles, were extracted from patient files. Statistical analysis was conducted to assess cardiovascular risk factors in NAFLD patients.ResultsHigher age, female gender, higher BMI, triglyceride, waist and hip circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were found in pre-diabetic NAFLD individuals compared with normoglycemic ones (P-value

Background: COVID-19-related social restrictions provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of social isolation on Parkinson’s disease. Objective: This study aimed to explore changes in social isolation and their associations with PD symptoms using the Lubben Social Network Scale-Revised (LSNS-R). Methods: Data from 80 participants of the Early Parkinson’s Disease Longitudinal Singapore cohort were collected from April 2019 to April 2023, covering the periods before and after the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions. Individuals with LSNS-R scores ≤ 24 were considered socially isolated. Data were stratified into strata 1 (improved LSNS-R scores) and strata 2 (worsened/unchanged scores). Linear regression was used to identify predictors of LSNS-R change, and MANCOVA was used to examine associations between LSNS-R change and motor/ non-motor symptoms. Results: Mean LSNS-R scores decreased (p = 0.014), and proportions of social isolation increased (p

This paper reviews the literature on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) research in 15 CSSCI foreign language journals in China's CNKI database over the last two decades. The data have been quantified and visualized with Citespace. This paper analyzes research advances and themes, and then puts forward suggestions based on the current situation of college English teaching in China. The findings reveal that: 1) ESP publications have shown a rising trend during the past 20 years; 2) The study of ESP in academic dissertations is mainly at the MA level; 3) ESP research focuses on such issues as relationships between ESP and college English, academic English, corpus and teaching modes; 4) The dominant method of ESP research in China is non-empirical while more and more empirical studies have emerged since 2011. This study also critically analyzes the research limitations and recommendations of the ESP study.

Education should play an important role in sustainable development. However, we were also faced with the enculturation in the education systems that contribute to the literacy of the environmental issue and challenges in maintaining sustainable development. In this review, we aimed to synthesize the recent research findings on how enculturation was developed among students through social and cultural factors and the role of education for sustainable development. In synthesizing the enculturation in the education system, we found several contributing social and cultural factors such as family cultural background and parental values, school systems, teachers' beliefs, and the attitudes and appraisal of students used in the different school environments. Co-existing differences were also found when examining the environmental issue literacy among students from different cultures in the studies along with energy literacy and ocean literacy from cross-cultural studies perspectives. Drawing on these findings, we further add on how education for sustainable development in different cultures was integrated and emphasized in their existing school curricula to help other cultures to learn more about how education for sustainable development was developed across cultural contexts.

This study aimed to design a model for identifying and ranking the factors influencing green supply chain management in the tile and ceramic industry, a significant industry in Iran. The study consisted of three main stages. In the first stage, a systematic review of the literature and the Meta-synthesis method were employed to identify and categorize the factors that contribute to the success of green supply chain management. The factors were thoroughly examined and refined in the second stage using the content validity method. As a result of these steps, a comprehensive model was developed, comprising 30 factors categorized into six dimensions: green suppliers, green technology and expertise, green human resources, green products, green organization and communications, and green regulations and support. In the third stage, the Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (IT2FS-AHP) method was utilized to rank the dimensions and factors. Experts' opinions were gathered through a questionnaire to determine the importance of each dimension and factor. The results indicated that the dimensions of green technology, expertise, and green regulations and support were deemed the most critical. Furthermore, factors such as "attention to social responsibility in the organization," "design and development of evaluation and selection systems of suppliers based on environmental criteria," and "support of operational, middle, and senior managers in implementing the green supply chain" were identified as highly influential in the success of green supply chain management. Overall, identifying and ranking key factors in green supply chain management contributes to mitigating the adverse environmental impact of industrial activities and enhancing customer satisfaction.

Background and aims: Cardiovascular diseases are among the most common causes of death worldwide. The paraoxonase 1 (PON1) enzyme is a main factor in preventing these diseases. This study investigated the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Tanacetum parthenium plant on the activity and gene expression of PON1. Methods: Forty male rats were divided into 4 groups: a control group, a hyperlipidemic group, and two hyperlipidemic groups that were treated with 400 and 800 mg/kg of hydroalcoholic extract. Arylesterase activity of PON1 and serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels were measured. Moreover, the gene expression of PON1 in the liver tissue samples was measured using real-time PCR. Finally, molecular dynamics studies of apigenin as a main compound in the plant were performed to investigate the activity of PON1 in the simulated environment. Results: Hydroalcoholic extract of T. parthenium decreased serum triglyceride (from 105.8±10.1 to 60.5±21.5 and 50.9±11.2 mg/dL) and total cholesterol (from 97.5±16.8 to 59.6±8.5 and 52.0±9.6 mg/dL) levels, while it increased the activity of arylesterase paraoxonase1 significantly (P

Reconstruction of peripheral mixed motor/sensory nerves using autografts has remained the gold standard. Inconsistent and nonphysiologic results across nerve allograft studies, including successful and failed motor reinnervation, have limited the current clinical application of nerve allografts to noncritical small-diameter sensory nerve defects less than 3 cm. This scoping review aimed to compare outcomes in both basic science and clinical applications of autograft and allograft nerve reconstruction for mixed motor/sensory nerves.

The translation of song lyrics is challenging for translators primarily due to the intricate poetic and musical elements, which often compel them to employ specific strategies for effective translation. This study was an attempt to investigate the translation strategies in selected translated movie song lyrics and explore the challenges in translating the lyrics. In this qualitative study, the songs were purposefully selected from “Mulan” (1998) and “Aladdin” (2019) movies. Low’s (2013) translation strategies were applied during the process of translation. The “Translation” (transfer of material with a reasonably high degree of semantic fidelity), and “Replacement” (a re-creation of text by only preserving the music element) strategies were found as the common strategies in the translation of song lyrics. The use of a replacement strategy could be due to technical difficulties in translating songs, such as the constraint of rhythm, hence a total replacement of meanings to match the rhythm of the song. A significant challenge in translating song lyrics from English to Chinese was in translating the concept of face-saving, which is an eminent process in social interactions in Chinese culture. It was concluded that the use of a translation strategy depended on the lyrics, translators’ creativity, melody, rhyme, and the differences between the languages and cultures, while the “skopos”, i.e., the correspondence of aim/purpose in the source and target cultures should play the key role.

Introduction In recent years, the ever-increasing population growth and rampant use of personal transportation and daily trips have caused many problems in the field of transportation, including high fuel consumption, air pollution, noise, high density streets, reduced physical activity, etc. In many metroplolitan areas during the past decades, the sudden increase of motor vehicles has caused heavy street traffic in intra-city trips, and the main reason for this can be considered the weak relationship between urban morphology and transportation, in other words, urban forms that avoid pedestrians and encourage motor trips. Urban morphology is one of the most important and main factors that affect the demand for urban transportation. The quality of land use (density of residential units or their dispersion) forms the important basis of urban morphology. In the formation of urban morphology, natural and human factors play varried roles, among them road network is of paramount importance in construction and morphology of a city. Since urban morphology has a significant effect on urban transportation, how to establish a strong relationship between urban morphology and travel modes has has always been of great interst of researchers. This study is aiming at investigating the impact of morphology characteristics on urban transportation demand. In this research, features of urban morphology, such as overall residential density, connectivity index, and the average width of roads, with the help of demographic characteristics, such as population density, female and female working poulation, total working population etc., on demand for urban transportation have been ivestigated. These include four parameters such as creation of public and personal trips and attraction of public and personal trips on in 186 traffic areas of Isfahan city. Methodology This research has been conducted with a descriptive causal approach based on the data and information required in the study areas. To achieve the research goals, 186 traffic areas of Isfahan City have been studied. For analyzing the characteristics of urban morphology, including average width of roads, overall residential density, and connectivity index (street density), in the form of GIS maps have been investigated, and for demographic characteristics, the population and housing census map of Isfahan City was obtained and researched from the Deputy Planning and Human Capital Development Organization of Isfahan Municipality. Then, using the map of 186 traffic areas of Isfahan City, the amount of these variables was calculated and extracted by GIS software. Moreover, the information related to urban transportation demand based on public transportation demand, including public travel creation, public travel attraction, and personal transportation demand, including personal travel creation and personal travel attraction from the origin-destination matrix of the year 2021 of Isfahan city on a normal working day and at the peak hour of 7:00 to 8:00 a.m., the transportation and traffic department of Isfahan municipality has been obtained and used for evaluation. In the present research, in order to reach a complete and comprehensive answer, after extracting the data from GIS software, the Eviuse software was used. According to the number and nature of the research variables, the specification of the model is done using the multivariate regression method and the weighted least squares method. GIS software was also used for drawing the maps. Findings The research findings show that in the TSS and JSS models, with the increase in the average width of traffic areas, the creation and attraction of personal travel have also increased, and in the TSO and JSO models, the creation and attraction of public travel have decreased with the increase in the average width of traffic areas. In TSS model, the coefficient is negative and in JSO model, the coefficient is positive, which shows that with an increase in the overall residential density, the use of private transportation decreases and the use of public transportation increases. In terms of street density, which also indicates the connection index, the coefficient value is positive in TSS and negative in TSO model. The results also show that women in general use public transportation, but working women use private transportation more. The estimation of TSS model shows that as population is aging in the traffic areas of Isfahan City, the preferrence in using personal transportation has been rising. In JSS model, the parking variable has a direct relationship with the attraction of personal travel. In the personal travel attraction model, health-therapeutic use and commercial use have a direct relationship with the attraction of personal trips, and in the public travel attraction model, commercial, educational, and health-therapeutic uses have a direct relationship with the attraction of public trips. Finally, the increased number and variety of the users will also increase intra-city trips. Discussion and Conclusion In this research, an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of urban morphology variables on urban transportation demand with a general perspective. The results of the estimation of the research models show that the widening of urban roads as a management policy for intra-city travel demand increases people's trips using personal transportation and as a result, increases the number of road users. Street density, which indicates the number of higher streets and therefore greater connectivity, has a direct relationship with citizens' use of private transportation. Residents of areas that have higher overall residential density and population density, which indicates denser urban fabric and more dispersion, are less likely to use personal transportation, and people in those areas prefer to use public transportation and walking options. Also, as the age of the residents of the area increases, they use private cars for their daily trips. Another examination of the results of the research indicates that areas with parking facility, will attract passengers who have used private transportation compared to the areas that do not have such possibility. In general, as the total working population increases in the areas, they use personal transportation to go to their workplace, and it can be said that the female population uses public transportation more for their daily trips. In the public travel attraction model, the positive coefficient of commercial use is higher than the coefficient of health-therapeutic use and educational use, and with the increase in the number of commercial uses, the attraction of public travel increases to a greater extent. In the personal travel absorption model, the effect value of the healthcare usage coefficient is higher than the commercial usage coefficient and it shows that with the increase in the number of healthcare usages, the absorption of personal travel will increase. Moreover, the increased number and variety of the users will also increase intra-city trips.

Job satisfaction plays a crucial role in enhancing productivity and reveals intriguing insights that impact the operational effectiveness of organizations. Due to the importance of maintenance units, special attention should be paid to their employees. This study employs a machine learning approach to enhance the performance and job satisfaction of maintenance units through the focus on health, safety, environment, and ergonomics (HSEE). A standardized questionnaire is developed for on HSEE data. Within the neural-fuzzy inference network, inputs such as health and safety protocols, environmental data collection, and its reliability is assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Subsequently, various adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) models are utilized to predict job satisfaction based factors, and ergonomics are considered, while job satisfaction serves as the output. Following the selection of the optimal model, individual efficiency levels are assessed and scrutinized based on the calculated error. The findings suggest that enhancing employee job satisfaction relies on prioritizing the enhancement of ergonomics and the work environment.

Introduction: Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is a proven treatment modality for Parkinson’s disease (PD), reducing dyskinesia and time spent in the “OFF” state. This study evaluates the long-term outcomes of STN-DBS in PD patients up to 10 years post-surgery in Singapore. Method: We conducted a retrospective review of Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) scores, activities of daily living (ADLs), disease milestones, dopaminergic drug prescriptions, and adverse events in patients before and after STN-DBS surgery. Results: A total of 94 PD patients who underwent bilateral STN-DBS were included. STN-DBS reduced time in the “OFF” state by 36.9% at 1 year (P=0.034) and 40.9% at 5 years (P=0.006). Time with dyskinesia did not significantly change. Levodopa equivalent daily dose was reduced by 35.1% by 5 years (P less than 0.001). MDS-UPDRS-II and III scores increased from 5 years post-DBS by 40.5% and 35.4%, respectively. Independence in ADLs decreased, though not significantly. The prevalence of frequent falls increased at 5 years. Surgery- and device-related adverse events were uncommon and generally mild. Conclusion: STN-DBS provides sustained relief from motor complications and reduced medication requirements in PD patients in Singapore. This study highlights STN-DBS as an effective treatment option, significantly enhancing the quality of life for those with PD.