It’s not All Shiny and Glamorous: Loneliness and Fear of Missing Out among Digital Nomads

The term ‘digital nomad’ has gained popularity to describe professionals who work remotely from different locations facilitated by using information and communication technology. This study explores the interaction between digital nomadism and loneliness, digital nomads’ coping mechanisms to fight loneliness (with a special focus on social media use), as well as the phenomenon of fear of missing out (FoMO). Digital nomads who often experience isolation may turn to the use of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram to keep in contact with family and friends and other social media like Facebook groups, Slack, and MeetUp to meet new people. However, intensive use of social media can generate FoMO. By using 15 in-depth interviews, this paper aims to explore loneliness and FoMO as issues that might negatively intersect with digital nomads’ wellbeing, thus spotlighting some of the hidden dark sides of digital nomadism that go too often unnoticed

Thermal liquid biopsy (Tlb): A predictive score derived from serum thermograms as a clinical tool for screening lung cancer patients

Risk population screening programs are instrumental for advancing cancer management and reducing economic costs of therapeutic interventions and the burden of the disease, as well as increasing the survival rate and improving the quality of life for cancer patients. Lung cancer, with high incidence and mortality rates, is not excluded from this situation. The success of screening programs relies on many factors, with some of them being the appropriate definition of the risk population and the implementation of detection techniques with an optimal discrimination power and strong patient adherence. Liquid biopsy based on serum or plasma detection of circulating tumor cells or DNA/RNA is increasingly employed nowadays, but certain limitations constrain its wide application. In this work, we present a new implementation of thermal liquid biopsy (TLB) for lung cancer patients. TLB provides a prediction score based on the ability to detect plasma/serum proteome alterations through calorimetric thermograms that strongly correlates with the presence of lung cancer disease (91% accuracy rate, 90% sensitivity, 92% specificity, diagnostic odds ratio 104). TLB is a quick, minimally-invasive, low-risk technique that can be applied in clinical practice for evidencing lung cancer, and it can be used in screening and monitoring actions

Effects of Physical Exercise on Executive Function in Adults with Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocol

Physical exercise is a low-cost and easy-to-implement therapeutic option proposed to reduce the negative effect of depression on the executive function cognitive dimension, including working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Although a considerable amount of scientific literature on the topic is currently available, the effects of physical exercise interventions on the executive functions in adults with depression remain unclear. The aim of this review protocol is to synthesize the effects of physical exercise interventions on executive functions in adults with depression. Databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO will be searched for studies by combining keywords and different medical subject headings to identify and evaluate the relevant studies from inception up to September 2022. This study will consider longitudinal studies (duration, ≥3 weeks) with a minimum of one experimental group and pre- and post-intervention measurements involving adults with depression aged 18–65 years. Studies will be included if these reported ≥1 measures of executive function, including dimensions of working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale will be used to assess the methodological quality of studies. The DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model will be used for meta-analyses, with effect size (ES, i.e., Hedges’ g) values reported with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), and p ≤ 0.05 will indicate statistical significance. The ES values will be calculated for working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility in the experimental and control groups before and after the intervention program. (...)Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Animal Models of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Autoimmunity is a condition in which the host organizes an immune response against its own antigens. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology, characterized by the presence of chronic inflammatory infiltrates, the development of destructive arthropathy, bone erosion, and degradation of the articular cartilage and subchondral bone. There is currently no treatment that resolves the disease, only the use of palliatives, and not all patients respond to pharmacologic therapy. According to RA multifactorial origin, several in vivo models have been used to evaluate its pathophysiology as well as to identify the usefulness of biomarkers to predict, to diagnose, or to evaluate the prognosis of the disease. This chapter focuses on the most common in vivo models used for the study of RA, including those related with genetic, immunological, hormonal, and environmental interactions. Similarly, the potential of these models to understand RA pathogenesis and to test preventive and therapeutic strategies of autoimmune disorder is also highlighted. In conclusion, of all the animal models discussed, the CIA model could be considered the most successful by generating arthritis using type II collagen and adjuvants and evaluating therapeutic compounds both intra-articularly and systemically

Biological Activity and Implications of the Metalloproteinases in Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Inadequate metabolic control predisposes diabetic patient to a series of complications on account of diabetes mellitus (DM). Among the most common complications of DM is neuropathy, which causes microvascular damage by hyperglycemia in the lower extremities which arrives characterized by a delayed closing. The global prevalence of diabetic neuropathy (DN) was 66% of people with diabetes in 2015, representing the principal cause of total or partial lower extremities amputation, with 22.6% of the patients with DN. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in healing. The function that these mainly play is the degradation during inflammation that has as consequence the elimination of the extracellular matrix (ECM), the disintegration of the capillary membrane to give way to angiogenesis and cellular migration for the remodeling of damaged tissue. The imbalance in MMPs may increase the chronicity of a wound, what leads to chronic foot ulcers and amputation. This chapter focuses on the role of MMPs in diabetic wound healing

Generalized Regression Neural Networks with Application in Neutron Spectrometry

The aim of this research was to apply a generalized regression neural network (GRNN) to predict neutron spectrum using the rates count coming from a Bonner spheres system as the only piece of information. In the training and testing stages, a data set of 251 different types of neutron spectra, taken from the International Atomic Energy Agency compilation, were used. Fifty-one predicted spectra were analyzed at testing stage. Training and testing of GRNN were carried out in the MATLAB environment by means of a scientific and technological tool designed based on GRNN technology, which is capable of solving the neutron spectrometry problem with high performance and generalization capability. This computational tool automates the pre-processing of information, the training and testing stages, the statistical analysis, and the post-processing of the information. In this work, the performance of feed-forward backpropagation neural networks (FFBPNN) and GRNN was compared in the solution of the neutron spectrometry problem. From the results obtained, it can be observed that despite very similar results, GRNN performs better than FFBPNN because the former could be used as an alternative procedure in neutron spectrum unfolding methodologies with high performance and accuracy

Overview of recent TJ-II stellarator results

The main results obtained in the TJ-II stellarator in the last two years are reported. The most important topics investigated have been modelling and validation of impurity transport, validation of gyrokinetic simulations, turbulence characterisation, effect of magnetic configuration on transport, fuelling with pellet injection, fast particles and liquid metal plasma facing components. As regards impurity transport research, a number of working lines exploring several recently discovered effects have been developed: the effect of tangential drifts on stellarator neoclassical transport, the impurity flux driven by electric fields tangent to magnetic surfaces and attempts of experimental validation with Doppler reflectometry of the variation of the radial electric field on the flux surface. Concerning gyrokinetic simulations, two validation activities have been performed, the comparison with measurements of zonal flow relaxation in pellet-induced fast transients and the comparison with experimental poloidal variation of fluctuations amplitude. The impact of radial electric fields on turbulence spreading in the edge and scrape-off layer has been also experimentally characterized using a 2D Langmuir probe array. Another remarkable piece of work has been the investigation of the radial propagation of small temperature perturbations using transfer entropy. Research on the physics and modelling of plasma core fuelling with pellet and tracer-encapsulated solid-pellet injection has produced also relevant results. Neutral beam injection driven Alfvénic activity and its possible control by electron cyclotron current drive has been examined as well in TJ-II. Finally, recent results on alternative plasma facing components based on liquid metals are also presentedThis work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 633053. It has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades of Spain under projects ENE2013-48109-P, ENE2015-70142-P and FIS2017-88892-P. It has also received funds from the Spanish Government via mobility grant PRX17/00425. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources at MareNostrum and the technical support provided by the Barcelona S.C. It has been supported as well by The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), Project P-507F

Famílies botàniques de plantes medicinals

Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia, Assignatura: Botànica Farmacèutica, Curs: 2013-2014, Coordinadors: Joan Simon, Cèsar Blanché i Maria Bosch.Els materials que aquí es presenten són els recull de 175 treballs d’una família botànica d’interès medicinal realitzats de manera individual. Els treballs han estat realitzat per la totalitat dels estudiants dels grups M-2 i M-3 de l’assignatura Botànica Farmacèutica durant els mesos d’abril i maig del curs 2013-14. Tots els treballs s’han dut a terme a través de la plataforma de GoogleDocs i han estat tutoritzats pel professor de l’assignatura i revisats i finalment co-avaluats entre els propis estudiants. L’objectiu principal de l’activitat ha estat fomentar l’aprenentatge autònom i col·laboratiu en Botànica farmacèutica

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)