Call to Action: SARS-CoV-2 and CerebrovAscular DisordErs (CASCADE)

Background and purpose: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), now named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may change the risk of stroke through an enhanced systemic inflammatory response, hypercoagulable state, and endothelial damage in the cerebrovascular system. Moreover, due to the current pandemic, some countries have prioritized health resources towards COVID-19 management, making it more challenging to appropriately care for other potentially disabling and fatal diseases such as stroke. The aim of this study is to identify and describe changes in stroke epidemiological trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is an international, multicenter, hospital-based study on stroke incidence and outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will describe patterns in stroke management, stroke hospitalization rate, and stroke severity, subtype (ischemic/hemorrhagic), and outcomes (including in-hospital mortality) in 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic, comparing them with the corresponding data from 2018 and 2019, and subsequently 2021. We will also use an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to assess the change in stroke hospitalization rates before, during, and after COVID-19, in each participating center. Conclusion: The proposed study will potentially enable us to better understand the changes in stroke care protocols, differential hospitalization rate, and severity of stroke, as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, this will help guide clinical-based policies surrounding COVID-19 and other similar global pandemics to ensure that management of cerebrovascular comorbidity is appropriately prioritized during the global crisis. It will also guide public health guidelines for at-risk populations to reduce risks of complications from such comorbidities. © 202

MILITARY EXPENDITURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES: A DYNAMIC PANEL DATA ANALYSIS

Defence expenditures have both costs and benefits to the economy. The costs of defence expenditures are mainly emphasized as opportunity costs. On the other hand, defence spending may have growth-promoting potential benefits: a rise in defence spending may result in a higher aggregate demand, production and employment. This paper examines empirically the effects of military expenditures on economic growth for Middle Eastern countries and Turkey, for the time-period 1989-1999. The relationship between military expenditure and economic growth is investigated by using cross-section and dynamic panel estimation techniques. Empirical analysis indicates that military expenditure enhances economic growth in the Middle Eastern countries and Turkey as a whole.Military expenditure, Economic growth, Defence economics, Dynamic panel data analysis,

Srovnávací analýza metod na předzpracování evokovaných potenciálů

Výběr vhodné metody předzpracování pro nezprůměrované evokované potenciály (ERP) má zásadní význam, protože může zlepšit spolehlivost systémů rozhraní mozek-počítač (BCI). Tento článek zkoumá vliv předzpracování na spolehlivost detekce ERP vln. Maximální úspěšnost klasifikace byla dosažena kombinací metod wICA a amplitudové metody na odstranění artefaktů.The choice of a suitable preprocessing method for single-trial event-related potential (ERP) data has fundamental importance because it may improve the efficiency of a brain-computer interface (BCI) system. In order to elaborate on this point, this manuscript investigates the impact of preprocessing on single-trial ERP detection. The maximum classification accuracy was achieved with the combination of amplitude-based artifact rejection and wavelet-enhanced independent component analysis (wICA) methods