If It Is Meant to Be, Let It Be: Risk communication among Bosnian Refugees Resettled in the U.S.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand how a Bosnian refugee community perceives and responds to the potential risk of a natural disaster in order to identify tailored approaches to improve risk communication. This is a qualitative study. Participants resettled in St Louis, Missouri were identified through criterion and snowball sampling. Thirty-three face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Data were analyzed using both content and thematic analysis. Findings indicate that due to their war experiences, cultural and religious understanding of natural disaster, and social influence on their risk interpretation, participants tended to underestimate the potential threat of natural disaster. Media was the main communication methods in times of potential natural disaster. Lack of organizational support during risk communication was a major concern. Ethnic radio stations and word of mouth were rated as the most popular communication channels for disseminating messages in preparation of a natural disaster. Using a community-based participatory approach to identify community needs and involve Bosnian community partners in risk communication planning, implementation, and evaluation, is vital for a Bosnian community

Scrutinising the exceptionalism of young rural NEETs: A bibliometric review

The situation of rural NEETs aged 15 to 24 remains understudied. However, transitions from adolescence to emerging adulthood are very demanding for those in the countryside. Our paper discusses this gap by characterising the scholarship focusing on rural NEETs. We undertook a bibliometric review based on 325 entries on Web of Science (WoS) using the Bibliometrix analysis package. Our approach included descriptive bibliometric analysis, co-citation networks assessment, and thematic analysis. Our findings show that the investigation efforts depicting younger rural NEET are recent and marginal in the larger context of international NEETs scholarship. The field is dominated by economy- and sociology-led networks. Concerns regarding health and employment issues are central in international publishing trends, showing a dominant youth-at-risk approach to this group. Still, themes associated with adolescent NEETs and relevant programs’ assessment are gaining traction. Our findings show a need for funding research initiatives to reduce the invisibility of young rural NEETs.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Antimicrobial Activity and Docking Study of Synthesized Xanthen-3-on Derivatives

Twelve previously synthesized biologically active 2,6,7-trihydroxy-9-aryl-3H-xanthen-3-one derivatives (1-12) were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial activity against four bacteria, S. aureus, B. subtilis P. aeruginosa and E. coli, and two fungi strains, C. albicans and S. cerevisiae. The most potent compound were derivatives 1 which possess hydroxyl group and bromine as substituent and 11 with bromine as substituent on phenyl ring. The results indicate that bromine increase antimicrobial activity of 2,6,7-trihydroxy-9-aryl-3-Hxanthen-3-one derivatives. Compound 7 with ethoxy substituent on phenyl ring showed the least activity against tested bacteria and fungi strains, which is in line with an earlier observation that ethoxy substitution decreases antimicrobial activity. The most and the least potent compounds were subjected to molecular docking simulations to preliminary find out the potential molecular target and at the same moment further support the experimental antimicrobial test of xanthen derivatives

Antimicrobial Activity and Docking Study of Synthesized Xanthen-3-on Derivatives

Twelve previously synthesized biologically active 2,6,7-trihydroxy-9-aryl-3H-xanthen-3-one derivatives (1-12) were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial activity against four bacteria, S. aureus, B. subtilis P. aeruginosa and E. coli, and two fungi strains, C. albicans and S. cerevisiae. The most potent compound were derivatives 1 which possess hydroxyl group and bromine as substituent and 11 with bromine as substituent on phenyl ring. The results indicate that bromine increase antimicrobial activity of 2,6,7-trihydroxy-9-aryl-3-Hxanthen-3-one derivatives. Compound 7 with ethoxy substituent on phenyl ring showed the least activity against tested bacteria and fungi strains, which is in line with an earlier observation that ethoxy substitution decreases antimicrobial activity. The most and the least potent compounds were subjected to molecular docking simulations to preliminary find out the potential molecular target and at the same moment further support the experimental antimicrobial test of xanthen derivatives

Raman microspectroscopy demonstrates reduced mineralization of subchondral bone marrow lesions in knee osteoarthritis patients

Introduction: Bone marrow lesions (BMLs) are frequently identified by MRI in the subchondral bone in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). BMLs are known to be closely associated with joint pain, loss of the cartilage and structural changes in the subchondral trabecular bone (SCTB). Despite this, understanding of the nature of BMLs at the trabecular tissue level is incomplete. Thus, we used Raman microspectroscopy to examine the biochemical properties of SCTB from KOA patients with presence or absence of BMLs (OA-BML, OA No-BML; respectively), in comparison with age-matched cadaveric non-symptomatic controls (Non-OA CTL). Methods: Tibial plateau (TP) specimens were collected from 19 KOA arthroplasty patients (6-Male, 13-Female; aged 56–74 years). BMLs were identified ex-vivo by MRI, using PDFS- and T1-weighted sequences. The KOA specimens were then categorized into an OA-BML group (n = 12; containing a BML within the medial condyle only) and an OA No-BML group (n = 7; with no BMLs identified in the TP). The control (CTL) group consisted of Non-OA cadaveric TP samples with no BMLs and no macroscopic or microscopic evidence of OA-related changes (n = 8; 5-Male, 3-Female; aged 44–80 years). Confocal Raman microspectroscopy, with high spatial resolution, was used to quantify the biochemical properties of SCTB tissue of both the medial and the lateral condyle in each group. Results: The ratios of peak intensity and integrated area of bone matrix mineral (Phosphate (v1), Phosphate (v2) and Phosphate (v4)), to surrogates of the organic phase of bone matrix (Amide I, Proline and Amide III), were calculated. Within the medial compartment, the mineral:organic matrix ratios were significantly lower for OABML, compared to Non-OA CTL. These ratios were also significantly lower for the OA-BML medial compartment, compared to the OA-BML lateral compartment. There were no group or compartmental differences for Carbonate:Phosphate (v1, v2 and v4), Amide III (α-helix):Amide III (random-coil), Hydroxyproline:Proline, or Crystallinity. Conclusion: As measured by Raman microspectroscopy, SCTB tissue in BML zones in KOA is significantly less mineralized than the corresponding zones in individuals without OA. These data are consistent with those obtained using other methods (e.g. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; FTIR) and with the increased rate of bone remodeling observed in BML zones. Reduced mineralization may change the biomechanical properties of the trabecular bone in BMLs and the mechanical interaction between subchondral bone and its overlying cartilage, with potential implications for the development and progression of OA.Yea-Rin Lee, David M. Findlay, Dzenita Muratovic, Tiffany K. Gill, Julia S. Kuliwab

Hip osteoarthritis: A novel network analysis of subchondral trabecular bone structures

Hip osteoarthritis (HOA) is a degenerative joint disease that leads to the progressive destruction of subchondral bone and cartilage at the hip joint. Development of effective treatments for HOA remains an open problem, primarily due to the lack of knowledge of its pathogenesis and a typically late-stage diagnosis.We describe a novel network analysis methodology for microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) images of human trabecular bone.We explored differences between the trabecular bone microstructure of femoral heads with and without HOA. Large-scale automated extraction of the network formed by trabecular bone revealed significant network properties not previously reported for bone. Profound differences were discovered, particularly in the proximal third of the femoral head, where HOA networks demonstrated elevated numbers of edges, vertices, and graph components. When further differentiating healthy joint and HOA networks, the latter showed fewer small-world network properties, due to decreased clustering coefficient and increased characteristic path length. Furthermore,we found that HOA networks had reduced length of edges, indicating the formation of compressed trabecular structures. In order to assess our network approach,we developed a deep learningmodel for classifying HOA and control cases, and we fed it with two separate inputs: (i) micro-CT images of the trabecular bone, and (ii) the network extracted from them. The model with plain micro-CT images achieves 74.6% overall accuracy while the trained model with extracted networks attains 96.5% accuracy. We anticipate our findings to be a starting point for a novel description of bone microstructure in HOA, by considering the phenomenon from a graph theory viewpoint.Mohsen Dorraki, Dzenita Muratovic, Anahita Fouladzadeh, Johan W. Verjans, Andrew Allison, David M. Findlay and Derek Abbot

Bone marrow lesions detected by specific combination of MRI sequences are associated with severity of osteochondral degeneration

Background: Bone marrow lesions (BMLs) are useful diagnostic and prognostic markers in knee osteoarthritis (OA), but what they represent at the tissue level remains unclear. The aim of this study was to provide comprehensive tissue characterization of BMLs detected using two specific MRI sequences. Methods: Tibial plateaus were obtained from 60 patients (29 females, 31 males), undergoing knee arthroplasty for OA. To identify BMLs, MRI was performed ex vivo using T1 and PDFS-weighted sequences. Multi-modal tissue level analyses of the osteochondral unit (OCU) were performed, including cartilage volume measurement, OARSI grading, micro-CT analysis of bone microstructure, routine histopathological assessment and quantitation of bone turnover indices.Results: BMLs were detected in 74 % of tibial plateaus, the remainder comprising a No BML group. Of all BMLs, 59 % were designated BML 1 (detected only by PDFS) and 41 % were designated BML 2 (detected by both PDFS + T1). The presence of a BML was related to degeneration of the OCU, particularly within BML 2. When compared to No BML, BML 2 showed reduced cartilage volume (p = 0.008), higher OARSI scores (p = 0.004), thicker subchondral plate (p = 0.002), increased trabecular bone volume and plate-like structure (p = 0.0004), increased osteoid volume (p = 0.002) and thickness (p = 0.003), more bone marrow oedema (p = 0.03), fibrosis (p = 0.002), necrosis (p = 0.01) and fibrovascular cysts (p = 0.04). For most measures, BML 1 was intermediate between No BML and BML 2. Conclusions: BMLs detected by specific MRI sequences identify different degrees of degeneration in the OCU. This suggests that MRI characteristics of BMLs may enable identification of different BML phenotypes and help target novel approaches to treatment and prevention of OA.Dzenita Muratovic, Flavia Cicuttini, Anita Wluka, David Findlay, Yuanyuan Wang, Sophia Otto, David Taylor, Julia Humphries, Yearin Lee, Agatha Labrinidis, Ruth Williams and Julia Kuliwab

Is RANKL a potential molecular target in osteoarthritis?

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of joints, in which the bone under the articular cartilage undergoes increased remodelling activity. The question is whether a better understanding of the causes and mechanisms of bone remodelling can predict disease-modifying treatments. DESIGN: This review summarizes the current understanding of the aetiology of OA, with an emphasis on events in the subchondral bone, and the cells and cytokines involved, to seek an answer to this question. RESULTS: Subchondral bone remodelling across OA changes the microstructure of the subchondral bone, which alters the load-bearing properties of the joint and seems to have an important role in the initiation and progression of OA. Bone remodelling is tightly controlled by numerous cytokines, of which RANKL and OPG are central factors in almost all known bone conditions. In terms of finding therapeutic options for OA, an important question is whether controlling the rate of subchondral bone remodelling would be beneficial. The role of RANKL in the pathogenesis and progression of OA and the effect of its neutralisation remain to be clarified. CONCLUSIONS: This review further makes the case for subchondral bone remodelling as important in OA and for additional study of RANKL in OA, both its pathophysiological role and its potential as an OA disease target.Dzenita Muratovic, Gerald J. Atkins, David M. Findla