Article Reviews Research Articles

Present and future of whole-body MRI in metastatic disease and myeloma: how and why you will do it.

Metastatic disease and myeloma present unique diagnostic challenges due to their multifocal nature. Accurate detection and staging are critical for determining appropriate treatment. Bone scintigraphy, skeletal radiographs and CT have long been the mainstay for the assessment of these diseases, but have limitations, including reduced sensitivity and radiation exposure. Whole-body MRI has emerged as a highly sensitive and radiation-free alternative imaging modality. Initially developed for skeletal screening, it has extended tumor screening to all organs, providing morphological and physiological information on tumor tissue. Along with PET/CT, whole-body MRI is now accepted for staging and response assessment in many malignancies. It is the first choice in an ever increasing number of cancers (such as myeloma, lobular breast cancer, advanced prostate cancer, myxoid liposarcoma, bone sarcoma, …). It has also been validated as the method of choice for cancer screening in patients with a predisposition to cancer and for staging cancers observed during pregnancy. The current and future challenges for WB-MRI are its availability facing this number of indications, and its acceptance by patients, radiologists and health authorities. Guidelines have been developed to optimize image acquisition and reading, assessment of lesion response to treatment, and to adapt examination designs to specific cancers. The implementation of 3D acquisition, Dixon method, and deep learning-based image optimization further improve the diagnostic performance of the technique and reduce examination durations. Whole-body MRI screening is feasible in less than 30min. This article reviews validated indications, recent developments, growing acceptance, and future perspectives of whole-body MRI.

New Insights into Materials for Pesticide and Other Agricultural Pollutant Remediation.

The increase in the world population and the intensification of agricultural practices have resulted in the release of several contaminants into the environment, especially pesticides and heavy metals. This article reviews recent advances in using adsorbent and catalytic materials for environmental decontamination. Different materials, including clays, carbonaceous, metallic, polymeric, and hybrid materials, are evaluated for their effectiveness in pollutant removal. Adsorption is an effective technique due to its low cost, operational simplicity, and possibility of adsorbent regeneration. Catalytic processes, especially those using metallic nanoparticles, offer high efficiency in degrading complex pesticides. Combining these technologies can enhance the efficiency of remediation processes, promoting a more sustainable and practical approach to mitigate the impacts of pesticides and other agricultural pollutants on the environment. Therefore, this review article aims to present several types of materials used as adsorbents and catalysts for decontaminating ecosystems affected by agricultural pollutants. It discusses recent works in literature and future perspectives on using these materials in environmental remediation. Additionally, it explores the possibilities of using green chemistry principles in producing sustainable materials and using agro-industrial waste as precursors of new materials to remove contaminants from the environment.

Research on acupuncture and glial cells: A bibliometric analysis.

There are a growing number of studies on the effect of acupuncture on glial cells in the central nervous system; however, there are few related bibliometric analyses in this area. Therefore, the purpose of this bibliometric study was to visualize the literature on acupuncture-regulated glial cells. On November 23, 2022, regular and review articles on acupuncture and glial cell-related research were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. The R package "bibliometrix" was used to summarize the main findings, count the occurrences of the top keywords, visualize the international collaboration network, and generate a 3-field plot. The VOSviewer software was used to conduct both co-authorship and co-occurrence analyses. CiteSpace was used to identify the best references and keywords with the highest citation rates. Overall, 348 publications on acupuncture and glial cells were included. The publications were primarily from China, Korea, and the United States of America. The majority of publications were found in relevant journals. Apart from "acupuncture" and "glial cells," the most frequently used keywords were "neuroinflammation," "hyperalgesia," and "pain." This bibliometric study mapped a fundamental knowledge structure comprising countries, institutions, authors, journals, and articles in the research fields of acupuncture and glial cells over the last 3 decades. These results provide a comprehensive perspective on the wider landscape of this research area.

How General and Inflammatory Status Impacts on the Prognosis of Patients Affected by Lung Cancer: State of the Art.

Pulmonary cancer is often associated with systemic inflammation and poor nutritional status and these two aspects are strongly correlated and related to the scarce infiltration of a tumor by immune cells. We reviewed all English literature reviews from 2000 to 2024 from PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar, including original articles, review articles, and metanalyses. We excluded non-English language articles and case reports/case series. Generally speaking, nutritional and inflammatory status largely affect medium and long-term prognosis in lung cancer patients. A correct stratification of patients could improve their preoperative general functional nutritional and inflammatory status, minimizing, therefore, possible treatment complications and improving long-term prognosis.

A consideration of racial/ethnic diversity conceptualization and measurement: Clarifying ambiguities and advancing scholarship

There has been little discussion of racial/ethnic diversity conceptualization and measurement in educational and psychological research. With the surge of research on school diversity and its significant social meaning, the lack of clarity on how diversity is conceptualized and operationalized warrants a systematic review. This article (1) reviews diversity concepts in the literature, (2) describes potential conceptual and methodological concerns, (3) proposes an alternative method to measure two specific types of diversity, and (4) highlights considerations for future research and methodology when studying diversity. More specifically, we conducted a systematic review to summarize the available measures that quantify diversity, mapped these measures onto existing diversity definitions, and elaborated on the similarities and differences of the existing diversity indices. Additionally, we proposed a new measure, the Frequentist-based Representative Diversity index, which can capture two different aspects of diversity, is easy to interpret, and potentially broadens the scope of diversity research. Future research directions and recommendations are also discussed.

De-escalation and Discontinuation of Disease-Modifying Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis.

Long-term use of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) is standard practice to prevent accumulation of disability. Immunosenescence and other age-related changes lead to an altered risk-benefit ratio for older patients on DMTs. This article reviews recent research on the topic of de-escalation and discontinuation of MS DMTs. Observational and interventional studies have shed light on what happens to patients who de-escalate or discontinue DMTs and the factors, such as age, treatment type, and presence of recent disease activity, that influence outcomes. Though many questions remain, recent findings have been valuable for the development of an evidence-based approach to making de-escalation and discontinuation decisions in MS.

Sharia Marketing in Business: Paradigm, Ethics and Implementation of Islamic Principles

Marketing is the main focus for companies in their efforts to develop and maintain their business. This article reviews in detail the concept of marketing in a general context and sharia marketing. Sharia marketing emphasizes Islamic moral principles such as faith, khalifah, balance, and justice, which form the basis for the strategy, tactics, values, and image of Islamic marketing. In addition, in practice, Islamic marketing also includes aspects of spirituality, considering competition as a partner to spur creativity. Specific characteristics of Islamic marketing include unity, faith, balance, justice, freedom of will, and benevolence. Islamic marketing ethics emphasize integrity, honesty, and good service. It is hoped that by applying these principles, companies can create a healthy business environment and provide benefits for all parties involved

Methodological approaches to studying phase separation and HIV-1 replication: Current and future perspectives

This article reviews tried-and-tested methodologies that have been employed in the first studies on phase separating properties of structural, RNA-binding and catalytic proteins of HIV-1. These are described here to stimulate interest for any who may want to initiate similar studies on virus-mediated liquid–liquid phase separation. Such studies serve to better understand the life cycle and pathogenesis of viruses and open the door to new therapeutics.

The good manager in TV: tales for the Twenty-first century

The UK Creative Industries provide meaningful employment to more than two million people (Creative Industries Council, 2022) with opportunities for self-actualisation and satisfaction beyond what many jobs can provide. This is so particularly within the television industry where, since 2015, new streaming services have massively expanded demand for content and consequently employment. Such opportunities, however, have been heavily dependent upon a freelance workforce, whose experience is often characterised by financial insecurity, poor work-life balance, and lack of coherent career structure or support, within a system that predicates against diversity. This article sets out to address some of these issues and their solutions by offering, and problematising, the concept of ‘The Good Manager in TV’. In 2021 the authors followed-up an earlier survey of management practices in unscripted TV production across the UK with a series of in-depth interviews with individuals who, in another context, would be characterised as ‘middle managers’. Our data suggests that the challenges faced by the would-be good manager in TV can seem overwhelming, evoking the predicament of Brecht’s Good Person of Szechwan. Yet it also points to solutions to those challenges. This article reviews our findings in order to answer the following questions: What does it mean to be a good manager in the volatile, project-based, context of TV production? What are the challenges faced by those who aspire to fill the role? How can such challenges be addressed across this evolving creative industry?

Shared decision-making in the management of pulmonary nodules: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies

ObjectiveThe objective of this systematic review was to explore the evidence regarding shared decision-making (SDM) in the management of pulmonary nodules.DesignSystematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies.Data sourceStudies published in...

От порядка символического к порядку социальному: уход Средневековья

University (MSAL), Distinguished Lawyer of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Science (Law), Professor The article reviews ideological and spiritual aspects of transformations of the medieval government system losing its symbolic attributes. Rational and pragmatic origins of the political replace transcendental and imaginary categories of the European Middle Ages. Realities of the Modern Times take their place.

К вопросу о предпосылках и осуществлении Польского восстания 1863 г.

The article reviews prerequisites for the uprising in the Kingdom of Poland in 1863 and the practice of carrying out reforms by the Russian government from the standpoint of history of law and state of Russia.

Международный и зарубежный опыт криминализации противоправных деяний, связанных с использованием информационно-коммуникационных технологий

The article reviews international experience and experience of certain foreign states in the sphere of criminalization of illegal acts involving the use of various information and communications technologies. Based on the results of the study, the author concludes that some states have a different approach towards criminal law characteristics of such acts. However, they should be taken into account in rule-making and development of the criminal law policy of combating crimes committed with the use of information and communications technologies.

Neurological and Psychiatric Clinical Manifestations of Sjögren Syndrome.

Sjögren Syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disorder that presents mainly with sicca symptoms, but frequently affects other body systems which can lead to a wide variety of manifestations. Understanding the neurological and psychiatric manifestations of Sjögren Syndrome can help with an earlier diagnosis of this disease and leads to better clinical outcomes. We provide an updated overview of the central neurological manifestations, peripheral neurological manifestations and psychiatric manifestations and their diagnosis when associated with primary Sjögren Syndrome. The epidemiology and clinical features of the neurological and psychiatric manifestations are derived from different cohort studies and review articles that were selected from PubMed searches conducted between January 2024 and March 2024. The absence of diagnostic criteria and the scarcity of large, robust studies makes the recognition of the neurological and psychiatric manifestations of Sjögren Syndrome more difficult. Maintaining a high index of suspicion in clinical practice and a close collaboration between the Neurologist and the Rheumatologist will facilitate the diagnosis and management of these patients.

Neurological and Psychiatric Clinical Manifestations of Sjögren Syndrome.

Sjögren Syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disorder that presents mainly with sicca symptoms, but frequently affects other body systems which can lead to a wide variety of manifestations. Understanding the neurological and psychiatric manifestations of Sjögren Syndrome can help with an earlier diagnosis of this disease and leads to better clinical outcomes. We provide an updated overview of the central neurological manifestations, peripheral neurological manifestations and psychiatric manifestations and their diagnosis when associated with primary Sjögren Syndrome. The epidemiology and clinical features of the neurological and psychiatric manifestations are derived from different cohort studies and review articles that were selected from PubMed searches conducted between January 2024 and March 2024. The absence of diagnostic criteria and the scarcity of large, robust studies makes the recognition of the neurological and psychiatric manifestations of Sjögren Syndrome more difficult. Maintaining a high index of suspicion in clinical practice and a close collaboration between the Neurologist and the Rheumatologist will facilitate the diagnosis and management of these patients.

Optimal acupuncture methods for lower limb motor dysfunction after stroke: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

The lower limb motor dysfunction caused by stroke is one of the main sequelae affecting patients' ability to live normally in the later period. Acupuncture treatment of limb movement dysfunction after stroke has been recommended by authoritative guidelines for reducing limb spasticity, enhancing limb strength and so on. However, the efficacy of different acupuncture methods in treating lower limb motor dysfunction after stroke remains controversial. In this paper, network meta-analysis (NMA) was used to prioritize various acupuncture intervention combinations commonly used in clinical practice, try to screen the acupuncture intervention scheme with the highest clinical efficacy and safety, and explore its rationality in guiding clinical practice. We searched a total of 4,312 studies from 8 databases and 2 clinical trial registries, and selected 43 articles for systematic review. We used pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and ranking of various acupuncture interventions. At the same time, the risk of bias, publication bias, and sensitivity of included randomized controlled trials were analyzed. The main outcome indicator was Fugl-Meyer assessment of lower extremity (FMA-LE), and the secondary outcome indicators were Modified Barthel Index (MBI), Berg balance scale (BBS) and Modified Ashworth scale (MAS). A total of 4,134 patients in 43 studies were included. The intervention included 9 acupuncture-related treatments, of which 20.9% were classified as high-risk. Among the four outcome indicators in pairwise meta-analysis, the effect of body acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation has the highest comprehensive credibility in terms of efficacy and safety comparing with conventional rehabilitation [SMD = 1.14, 95%CI (0.81, 1.46)], [SMD = 1.35, 95%CI (0.97, 1.72)], [SMD = 1.22, 95%CI (0.39, 2.05)], [SMD = 1.21, 95%CI (0.74, 1.44)]. In addition, multiple intervention methods, for example, warm acupuncture plus rehabilitation treatment for MBI and electroacupuncture plus body acupuncture plus rehabilitation treatment for BBS, may increase certain additional effects on different outcome indicators. This study proves that body acupuncture combined with rehabilitation treatment is the most widely used intervention method with the highest evidence quality in the treatment of lower limb motor dysfunction after stroke. However, for some other acupuncture methods, large samples and high-quality clinical randomized controlled trials are still needed to be fully verified.

Inconsistent Music-Based Intervention Reporting in Dementia Studies: A Systematic Mapping Review.

Recent research has shown beneficial results for music-based interventions (MBIs) for persons living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), but reports often lack sufficient detail about the MBI methodology, which reduces replicability. A detailed checklist for best practices in how to report MBIs was created in 2011 by Robb and colleagues to remedy the lack of detail in MBI descriptions. The implementation of the checklist specifically in AD/ADRD research has not been established. Given the complexity of music and the variety of uses for research and health, specific MBI descriptions are necessary for rigorous replication and validation of study results. This systematic mapping review utilized the "Checklist for Reporting Music-Based Interventions" to evaluate the current state of MBI descriptive specificity in AD/ADRD research. Research articles testing MBIs and reviews of MBI efficacy published between January 2015 and August 2023 were scored using the checklist and the results were summarized. Forty-eight studies were screened, and reporting was inconsistent across the 11 checklist criteria. Ten out of 48 studies fully reported more than 5 of the 11 criteria. Only one of the 11 scoring criteria was at least partially reported across 47 of 48 studies. Thorough reporting of intervention detail for MBIs remains limited in AD/ADRD MBI research. This impedes study validation, replication, and slows the progress of research and potential application of music in practice. Greater implementation of the reporting guidelines provided by Robb and colleagues would move the field of MBI research for AD/ADRD forward more quickly and efficiently.

Multimodal Technologies for Remote Assessment of Neurological and Mental Health.

Automated remote assessment and monitoring of patients' neurological and mental health is increasingly becoming an essential component of the digital clinic and telehealth ecosystem, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. This review article reviews various modalities of health information that are useful for developing such remote clinical assessments in the real world at scale. We first present an overview of the various modalities of health information-speech acoustics, natural language, conversational dynamics, orofacial or full body movement, eye gaze, respiration, cardiopulmonary, and neural-which can each be extracted from various signal sources-audio, video, text, or sensors. We further motivate their clinical utility with examples of how information from each modality can help us characterize how different disorders affect different aspects of patients' spoken communication. We then elucidate the advantages of combining one or more of these modalities toward a more holistic, informative, and robust assessment. We find that combining multiple modalities of health information allows for improved scientific interpretability, improved performance on downstream health applications such as early detection and progress monitoring, improved technological robustness, and improved user experience. We illustrate how these principles can be leveraged for remote clinical assessment at scale using a real-world case study of the Modality assessment platform. This review article motivates the combination of human-centric information from multiple modalities to measure various aspects of patients' health, arguing that remote clinical assessment that integrates this complementary information can be more effective and lead to better clinical outcomes than using any one data stream in isolation.

Medicinal plants as a source of natural remedies in the management of diabetes

Diabetes is a severe chronic illness that has impacted thousands of individuals worldwide. It is caused by the body’s failure to produce insulin or insufficient production of insulin. While diabetes is not curable, it can be managed with injectable insulin, which decreases blood glucose levels. However, this treatment has several disadvantages that can affect a patient’s health, and it is often unaffordable for some individuals. Previous studies have suggested that phytochemicals can improve insulin sensitivity. Due to the presence of therapeutic phytochemicals in natural plants, medicinal plants emerge as potential candidates for treating diabetes. In addition, compared to conventional diabetes treatments, phytochemical treatment may be affordable for all diabetics and has fewer side effects. This review primarily focuses on the symptoms and treatment options for the four known types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes mellitus, type 2 diabetes mellitus, type 3c diabetes mellitus, and neonatal diabetes. The article reviews medicinal plants that have been used to treat diabetes effectively with minimum side effects, such as Momordica charantia L., Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels, and Ocimum tenuiflorum L., among others. In addition, some newly approved drugs, such as tirzepatide, sergliflozin, saxagliptin, and liraglutide, recommended for treating patients suffering from various forms of diabetes, are discussed.

Isolation of the Stromal Vascular Fraction Using a New Protocol with All Clinical-Grade Drugs: From Basic Study to Clinical Application.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the yield, viability, clinical safety, and efficacy of the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) separated with a new protocol with all clinical-grade drugs. SVF cells were isolated from lipoaspirate obtained from 13 participants aged from 30 to 56 years by using a new clinical protocol and the laboratory protocol. The cell yield, viability, morphology, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) surface marker expression, and differentiation abilities of the SVF cells harvested from the two protocols were compared. Furthermore, three related clinical trials were conducted to verify the safety and efficiency of SVF cells isolated by the new clinical protocol. There were no significant differences in the yield, viability, morphology, and differentiation potential of the SVFs isolated with the clinical protocol and laboratory protocol. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ASC) surface marker expression, including that of CD14, CD31, CD44, CD90, CD105, and CD133, was consistent between the two protocols. Clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of the SVF isolated with the new clinical protocol in improving skin grafting, promoting mechanical stretch-induced skin regeneration and improving facial skin texture. No complications occurred. SVF isolated by the new clinical protocol had a noninferior yield and viability to that of the SVF separated by the laboratory protocol. SVFs obtained by the new protocol can be safely and effectively applied to improve skin grafting, promote mechanical stretch-induced skin regeneration, and improve facial skin texture. The trials were registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03189628), the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000039317), and the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02546882). All the three trials were not patient-funded trials. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .