Western Countries Research Articles

Associations between quantitative measures of mammographic density and terminal ductal lobular unit involution in Chinese breast cancer patients

BackgroundHigher mammographic density (MD), a radiological measure of the proportion of fibroglandular tissue in the breast, and lower terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU) involution, a histological measure of the amount of epithelial tissue in the breast, are independent breast cancer risk factors. Previous studies among predominantly white women have associated reduced TDLU involution with higher MD.MethodsIn this cohort of 611 invasive breast cancer patients (ages 23–91 years [58.4% ≥ 50 years]) from China, where breast cancer incidence rates are lower and the prevalence of dense breasts is higher compared with Western countries, we examined the associations between TDLU involution assessed in tumor-adjacent normal breast tissue and quantitative MD assessed in the contralateral breast obtained from the VolparaDensity software. Associations were estimated using generalized linear models with MD measures as the outcome variables (log-transformed), TDLU measures as explanatory variables (categorized into quartiles or tertiles), and adjusted for age, body mass index, parity, age at menarche and breast cancer subtype.ResultsWe found that, among all women, percent dense volume (PDV) was positively associated with TDLU count (highest tertile vs. zero: Expbeta = 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08–1.51, ptrend = < .0001), TDLU span (highest vs. lowest tertile: Expbeta = 1.23, 95% CI 1.11–1.37, ptrend = < .0001) and acini count/TDLU (highest vs. lowest tertile: Expbeta = 1.22, 95% CI 1.09–1.37, ptrend = 0.0005), while non-dense volume (NDV) was inversely associated with these measures. Similar trend was observed for absolute dense volume (ADV) after the adjustment of total breast volume, although the associations for ADV were in general weaker than those for PDV. The MD-TDLU associations were generally more pronounced among breast cancer patients ≥ 50 years and those with luminal A tumors compared with patients < 50 years and with luminal B tumors.ConclusionsOur findings based on quantitative MD and TDLU involution measures among Chinese breast cancer patients are largely consistent with those reported in Western populations and may provide additional insights into the complexity of the relationship, which varies by age, and possibly breast cancer subtype.

Management Decisions of Subjects of Administrative and Legal Counter Corruption at the Federal Level

The article reveals the main content of the administrative and legal fight against corruption carried out by specially authorized state bodies at the federal level. The author emphasizes the high degree of public danger of corruption and corruption manifestations in public administration, as well as the high degree of attention from the scientific community to this issue over the years. The paper examines the anti-corruption powers of the President of the Russian Federation, the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, and individual federal executive authorities. The powers of the subjects of administrative and legal anti-corruption are analyzed taking into account the peculiarities of public administration and the adoption of appropriate management decisions. In this context, the example described in the paper of the denunciation of the Council of Europe Convention on Criminal Liability for Corruption, due to the extremely unfriendly and discriminatory policy of sanctions by Western countries against the Russian Federation, is particularly indicative. In addition, the work analyzes certain provisions of legislation and subordinate regulatory legal acts establishing the relevant anti-corruption powers of state bodies and officials. The article also presents and reveals the categories of the administrative and legal mechanism for combating corruption, as well as specialized managerial anti-corruption forms and methods.

Research on STEM in Early Childhood Education from 1992 to 2022: A Bibliometric Analysis from the Web of Science Database

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;STEM education is an irreplaceable movement of educational systems across the globe in the 21st century. Both Pre-K, K-12, and higher education institutions consider STEM as an innovative approach to integrate and reform the teaching and learning processes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of studies on STEM in the Early Childhood Education context from 1992 to 2022. We investigated a dataset of 308 scholarly works from the Clarivate Web of Science database and figured a diversified collection of research focuses on topics such as children’s readiness, outcomes, teachers’ competency in designing and implementing STEM activities, and the role of computational thinking and robotics. The findings of this paper revealed the dominant contribution of researchers from the USA regarding research quantity and impact, as well as their collaborations with researchers from Western countries. In addition, we also figured out the top influencing authors, documents, and journals as a suggestion for scholars who are new to this topic. However, we would like to note that our findings depended on the quality of the imported database from the WoS system, which covers top-tier journals only.&lt;/p&gt;

The Commercial Importance of the Suez Canal in the Context of the Crisis of Economic Globalization and Modern Geopolitical Risks

Aim. To substantiate the regularity of the violation of commercial navigation along the Suez Canal in the context of the crisis of economic globalization and the reformatting of the international order.Tasks. To find out the main prerequisites for the decline of the global transport and logistics infrastructure. To specify the reasons for the violation of navigation in the Red Sea. To show the impact of the decline in cargo transportation through the Suez Canal on the global economy.Methods. In order to achieve the stated purpose of the study, the following methods were used: historicism, which allowed to establish the sequence of crisis manifestations during the operation of the Suez Canal; extraction of relevant information from media materials and its subsequent analysis, which showed the geo-economic importance of the Red Sea area for world navigation, the scale of disorganization of transport communication through the Suez Canal; structural and functional analysis, which contributed to the establishment of the importance of transport logistics in ensuring the smooth functioning of the global economy; a rational choice that brought the authors closer to understanding the motives of the behavior of economic and political actors in the conditions of disorganization of cargo transportation through the Red Sea.Results. The analysis of the main prerequisites for reformatting global transport logistics has been carried out. It is shown that the decline of shipping in the Red Sea is conditioned by the crisis of economic globalization and increased geopolitical risks. The reasons for the violation of navigation in the Red Sea have been established. The impact of the disruption of cargo transportation through the Suez Canal on the global economy has been revealed.Conclusions. The destabilization of global transport routes through the Red Sea seems logical. It is obviously conditioned by the slippage of the neoliberal economic mechanism and the increasing geopolitical competition of Western countries with new centers of economic and political influence. Wars in the Middle East continue to have a destructive impact on the functioning of the global economy. The decline in cargo transportation leads to further disintegration of the previously established global markets. Global shipping companies have taken care of finding safer cargo movements. Producers and consumers of goods and services are forced to look for new partners within national and regional spaces, create new and activate existing transport corridors, which implies increased protectionism, and, therefore, leads to undermining the foundations of the global economy and the unipolar world.

Analisis Dilema Kebijakan Pemerintah dalam Menaikkan Harga Subsidi Bahan Bakar Minyak di Indonesia pada Tahun 2022

The government officially increased the price of fuel oil as a result of the increase in world oil prices and made the state budget funds swell. This research was conducted with the aim of examining various considerations made by the government when raising fuel prices in Indonesia. This research uses a literature study research method with a qualitative descriptive method. The data sources used are secondary data obtained through journal articles, books, news, and websites. The results of this study found that the government felt a dilemma so that it was forced to increase fuel prices due to the swelling of state budget funds for fuel oil consumption, but on the other hand, the impact if fuel prices increased, the prices of goods and services would increase so that inflation occurred. On the other hand, there is an alternative solution to buy oil from Russia which is below the market price, however, if that happens, it can offend western countries and hurt Indonesia's foreign policy with non-aligned movements. An alternative that the government can take is to increase fuel prices while still providing assistance to ensure that the community does not experience the impact too deeply. In addition the government invite people to switch to using electric vehicles to reduce fuel consumption and reduce the impact of carbon emissions produced, as electric vehicles are considered more economical and environmentally friendly

Transformation of regional positioning as a consequence of changes in the US-centricity of the world economy in globalization: The case study of Asian countries

Subject. This article discusses the weakening of the role of the United States in the development of the world economic system and the strengthening of the influence of Asian countries on global processes. Objectives. The article aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the transformation of the processes of globalization of the world economy, the formation of a multipolar world order, as well as to assess the parallel processes of regionalization. Methods. For the study, I used the methods of logical and statistical analyses. Conclusions. The crisis of American centricity has intensified under the influence of the sanctions policy of Western countries. The countries of South and Southeast Asia continue to strengthen their positions on the world stage.

An Overview of Green Marketing Practices in Bangladesh

Green marketing is a recent concept which has been adopted by consumers, organizations &amp; government all over the world to save the natural resources &amp; to protect the environment for the sustainable development of the resources. As one of the least developed countries Bangladesh is the worst sufferer of world environmental pollution through industrialization of the western countries. One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of discussion in the popular and professional press is marketing. Terms like "Green Marketing" and "Environmental Marketing" appear frequently in the popular press. Many governments around the world have become so concerned about green marketing activities that they have attempted to regulate them. In Bangladesh, Green issues are new for all company because they did not have any practiced of it before. The research purpose here is to know about green marketing practices in Bangladesh.

Coronary Artery Calcium and Aging: Physiological Basis, Assessment, and Treatment Options in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Coronary artery calcification is a complex anatomical and histological pathology with different pathways that contribute to calcium deposit and calcification progression. As part of the atherosclerotic process, extensive calcifications are becoming more common and are associated with poorer PCI outcomes if not properly addressed. Since no drug has shown to be effective in changing this process once it is started, proper knowledge of the underlying pathogenesis and how to diagnose and manage it is essential in contemporary coronary intervention. Atherosclerosis is a pandemic disease, quickly spreading across the world and not limited anymore to the industrialized Western world. In this paper, we review the role of intracoronary imaging and the main technologies available and propose a simple and rational algorithm for the choice of a preferential first strategy in the treatment of severely calcified coronary atherosclerosis, followed by three emblematic cases on how we successively applied it.

Sistem Pendidikan Agama Islam di Dunia Barat: Sebuah Tinjauan Kualitatif

Today, in western society, religion is more prominent in an individual sense. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into how religious education can be implemented in Islamic communities by looking at events occurring in the western world today. Even though capitalism and secularism continue to try to expand their influence throughout the world, humans still try to maintain the religious feeling that has been there since birth. Even in an individual context, religious attitudes and behavior begin to take on new meaning. Of course, the state of society and the serious problems facing humanity play an important role in this. Because religion has always been on of the strongest sources of motivation for individuals an society, and will continue to be so. In addition, the increasing diversity in western society and the development of democratic rights and freedoms throughout the world are also factors that positively influence the development of religion.

Erratum to “Gorham–Stout disease started with recurrent bilateral exudative pleuritis: case description and literature review” (doi: 10.17816/RFD625565)

The editorial board regret that in the published version of “Gorham–Stout disease started with recurrent bilateral exudative pleuritis: case description and literature review” institution (place of work) of the authors North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov was indicated incorrectly. The authors’ institutions are: Olga M. Lesnyak — North Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov, Clinical Rheumatological Hospital No. 25, Saint Petersburg; Vadim G. Pischik — Saint Petersburg State University, City Clinical Oncological Clinic, Saint Petersburg; Olga N. Tkach — Clinical Rheumatological Hospital No. 25, Saint Petersburg; Elena S. Kunitsina — Clinical Rheumatological Hospital No. 25, Saint Petersburg. The editorial board is confident that the error could not significantly affect the perception of the work and the interpretation of information by readers. The error has been corrected online, the file of the article and the issue have been updated.

Macro‐historical influences, cohort dynamics, and the (in)stability of the age–crime distribution: The case of the Republic of Korea

AbstractCrime is often considered a behavior of teenagers and young adults, peaking in adolescence, and declining with age. A growing body of research, however, has demonstrated that the age–crime relationship is neither universal, as the contours of the age–crime distribution vary across countries, nor uniform, as it varies over time. We argue that the dynamics of the age–crime relationship can best be understood through a lens situating birth cohorts within the broader sociohistorical contexts in which they enter their formative years. We apply this framework to the Republic of Korea, a country that has experienced rapid demographic transitions accompanied by decades of economic development and social upheaval after the Korean War. Our findings suggest that the age–crime distribution in Korea has shifted substantially since the mid‐1970s, moving from the quintessential age–crime curve characteristic of Western countries to one in which the modal age at arrest is now concentrated in middle age. We find that much of this change can be attributed to the aging of a specific birth cohort—the 86 generation—whose members were dually disadvantaged by being born during a fertility boom and entering young adulthood during the pro‐democracy student movements in the 1980s.

Epidemiology of Candidemia in Mashhad, Northeast Iran: A Prospective Multicenter Study (2019-2021).

Candidemia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in health care settings, and its epidemiology is changing. In the last two decades, the proportion of non-albicans Candida (NAC) yeasts in candidemia has increased. These yeasts more often display resistance to common antifungals. In many western countries, candidemia is mainly caused by susceptible C. albicans, while in resource-limited countries, including Iran, the candidemia species distribution is studied less often. Here, we investigated the species distribution, resistance levels, and characteristics of patients with candidemia in five hospitals in Mashhad (northeast Iran) for two years (2019-2021). Yeast isolates from blood were identified with MALDI-TOF MS and subjected to antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) using the broth microdilution method, while molecular genotyping was applied to Candida parapsilosis isolates. In total, 160 yeast isolates were recovered from 160 patients, of which the majority were adults (60%). Candidemia was almost equally detected in men (48%) and women (52%). Almost half of patients (n = 67, 49%) were from intensive care units (ICUs). C. parapsilosis (n = 58, 36%) was the most common causative agent, surpassing C. albicans (n = 52, 33%). The all-cause mortality rate was 53%, with C. albicans candidemia displaying the lowest mortality with 39%, in contrast to a mortality rate of 59% for NAC candidemia. With microbroth AFST, nearly all tested isolates were found to be susceptible, except for one C. albicans isolate that was resistant to anidulafungin. By applying short tandem repeat (STR) genotyping to C. parapsilosis, multiple clusters were found. To summarize, candidemia in Mashhad, Iran, from 2019 to 2021, is characterized by common yeast species, in particular C. parapsilosis, for which STR typing indicates potential nosocomial transmission. The overall mortality is high, while resistance rates were found to be low, suggesting that the high mortality is linked to limited diagnostic options and insufficient medical care, including the restricted use of echinocandins as the first treatment option.

Healthy Effects of Milk and Dairy Product Consumption in the Mediterranean Area and Japan.

Milk is a food enriched in essential components for human health. Especially, in the Mediterranean area, besides cow's milk, milk from goats, sheep, and donkeys, is largely used. The consumption of animal milk is an important component of the Mediterranean (MED) diet, even if in moderate amounts. Milk is a complete food since it contains proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, as well as micronutrients (minerals and vitamins). Milk-fermented products are largely consumed in the MED diet, such as cheese and yogurt, which are rich in essential metabolites, bioactive compounds, vitamins, minerals, and exopolysaccharides. A large body of evidence suggests that consumption of milk and dairy products does not increase the risk of all-cause mortality, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, even if some earlier studies have reported harmful effects associated with their higher consumption. Also, in Japan, despite the lower consumption of milk than in Western countries, intake of bovine milk is associated with healthy effects. The present review describes the effects of the various constituents of animal milk on human health, with special reference to the Mediterranean area and Japan. Experimental data and clinical trials support the ability of milk and dairy products to lower the risk of chronic diseases.

Sending Couriers to Czechoslovakia as Part of Anticommunist Resistance in the First Half of the 1950s

The anticommunist resistance in Czechoslovakia, organized from abroad, was led primarily by groups of experienced Czechoslovak intelligence officers who fled to the West after the coup d'état in February 1948. Financed and organized by the intelligence services of France, Great Britain, and the United States, and in isolated cases by the Czechoslovak exile organizations, these groups sent hundreds of couriers to Czechoslovakia to carry out various intelligence tasks. Recruited mainly from young individuals placed in refugee camps, these people faced a perilous mission. The State Security Service apprehended many of them. Those deemed unsuitable for intelligence use by the communist security apparatus faced years of imprisonment or even execution. A few years after the communist coup d'etat in Czechoslovakia, when it became clear that World War III would not break out, activities of the Western intelligence services that previously sent couriers dramatically changed. Risks when crossing the national border and working in Czechoslovakia became enormous. The state borders with Western countries were heavily guarded. Czechoslovak society was overcome by fear, and it was difficult to find people willing to cooperate with patriots in exile. In the middle of the 1950s, Western intelligence services stopped sending couriers to Czechoslovakia. They began to focus more on the use of legal channels and tried to recruit collaborators from among Czechoslovak citizens who regularly visited Western countries for business or cultural purposes.

Associations between Unsociability and Peer Problems in Chinese Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis.

Research has shown that unsociability, reflected as a personal choice, is not necessarily associated with socio-emotional problems in Western countries. However, the associations between unsociability and peer problems are consistently evident in Chinese culture, yet the strength and direction in these associations are mixed. The present study aimed to examine whether unsociability is associated with peer problems and explored the potential moderators among the associations. A meta-analysis was conducted using publications that measured unsociability and peer problems. A total of 21 articles involving 43 effect sizes from 12,696 Chinese children and adolescents were included. The results revealed that (1) unsociability was positively associated with peer problems (r = 0.32, p < 0.001) among children and adolescents. (2) Informants (i.e., self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and parent ratings) and living areas (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural areas) significantly moderated the associations between unsociability and peer problems. Specifically, the associations were stronger for peer-nominated unsociability, self-reported peer problems, and samples in suburban areas. These findings shed light on unsociability linked to higher levels of peer problems among Chinese children and adolescents. Still, the influences are unique to peer problems and moderated by both data sources and environmental factors.

Oral Nanoformulations in Cardiovascular Medicine: Advances in Atherosclerosis Treatment.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is the formation of atherosclerotic plaques on the walls of the arteries, causing them to narrow. If this occurs in the coronary arteries, the blood vessels may be completely blocked, resulting in myocardial infarction; if it occurs in the blood vessels of the brain, the blood vessels may be blocked, resulting in cerebral infarction, i.e., stroke. Studies have shown that the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis involves the processes of inflammation, lipid infiltration, oxidative stress, and endothelial damage, etc. SIRT, as a key factor regulating the molecular mechanisms of oxidative stress, inflammation, and aging, has an important impact on the pathogenesis of plaque formation, progression, and vulnerability. Statistics show that AS accounts for about 50 per cent of deaths in Western countries. Currently, oral medication is the mainstay of AS treatment, but its development is limited by side effects, low bioavailability and other unfavourable factors. In recent years, with the rapid development of nano-preparations, researchers have combined statins and natural product drugs within nanopreparations to improve their bioavailability. Based on this, this paper summarises the main pathogenesis of AS and also proposes new oral nanoformulations such as liposomes, nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, and nanocapsules to improve their application in the treatment of AS.

Family and Peer Social Capital and Child Behavioral Outcomes in Japan.

Child problem behaviors have been linked to immediate and long-term negative outcomes. Research has found that family and peer social capital have a strong influence on child behavioral outcomes. However, most research about social capital and child behavior problems has been conducted in Western contexts. Social capital may influence child behavior problems differently in non-Western sociocultural environments due to different family and peer dynamics. Using a sample from the Japan Household Panel Survey and Japan Child Panel Survey (N = 182), we expand this literature on various forms of social capital to the Japanese context with data that were collected between 2009 and 2014. We examine the relationship of family and peer social capital with children internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors using OLS linear regression. Our results differ from what is commonly found in Western contexts. Whereas family and peer social capital are typically associated with both internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in Western countries, we find that greater family social capital is associated with decreased externalizing problem behaviors but not internalizing problem behaviors in Japan, and peer social capital has no association on either type of problem behaviors. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering social and cultural contexts when exploring how social capital might encourage prosocial child outcomes.

Assessment of the industrial policy to the military-industrial complex effectiveness based on neural networks based on fuzzy logic

The relevance of the topic under consideration on the development of universal applied methods for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of industrial policy in the military-industrial complex (hereinafter - MIC) is due to its high practical significance in the context of the challenges of technological development associated with digitalization and informatization. It is also due to the peculiarities of the current stage of Russia’s economic development in the conditions of financial and technological sanctions from Western states. The purpose of the study is to develop the main provisions of a methodological approach to assessing the effectiveness of industrial policy in the defense industry based on the use of economic-mathematical modeling apparatus, which involves the construction of neural networks based on fuzzy logic. In the course of the research the authors have solved the following problems: mathematically formalized the object of analysis; developed an algorithm for determining the effectiveness of industrial policy in the MIC using neural networks; formalized the model for assessing the effectiveness of such industrial policy based on fuzzy sets; proposed a system of indicators for assessing industrial policy in the MIC; determined the sequence of actions in the construction the fuzzy model for assessing the effectiveness of industrial policy in the MIC by means of Fuzzy Logic on the software platform MatLab.

Detections of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2) Following the 2020 Outbreak in Wild Lagomorphs across the Western United States.

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) is a highly infectious, often fatal viral disease that affects both domestic and wild lagomorph species. In the United States (U.S.), the virus first was detected in wild lagomorph populations in the southwest in March 2020 and has continued to be detected in native North American lagomorph species over several years. The susceptibility of host species and exact mechanisms of environmental transmission across the U.S. landscape remain poorly understood. Our study aims to increase the understanding of RHDV2 in wild lagomorph populations by providing a history of detection. We present and summarize results from all RHDV2-suspect wild lagomorph morbidity and mortality samples submitted for diagnostic testing in the U.S. from March 2020 to March 2024. Samples were submitted from 916 wild lagomorphs across eight native North American species in 14 western states, of which 313 (34.2%) tested positive by RHDV2 RT-qPCR. Detections of RHDV2 in pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) and riparian brush rabbits (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius) suggest that the risk to threatened and endangered species warrants more attention. Continuing to investigate wild lagomorph morbidity and mortality events and tracking RHDV2 detections over time can help inform on disease epidemiology and wild lagomorph population trends.

Neglected but Clinically Relevant Allergens in Korea.

Allergy diagnostics and immunotherapeutics in Asia heavily rely on imported products from Western countries, raising concerns about the accuracy and efficacy of these products for the management of Asian allergy patients. Recent advancements in allergen research have led to the identification and characterization of novel allergens from indigenous Korean species. While some allergens share homology with well-known allergens, others lack counterparts in imported allergen extracts. Classifying regional allergens in Asia into three categories based on their cross-reactivity with imported allergens offers valuable insights. Highly cross-reactive allergens, such as oak allergens Que m 1 from Quercus mongolica and Que ac 1 from Q. acutissima, can be effectively substituted with the imported allergens. Allergens with partial cross-reactivity, like the Asian needle ant allergen Pac c 3 (Antigen 5), permit limited diagnostic value by the currently available products. Unique allergens, including the Japanese hop allergen Hum j 6 (pectin methylesterase inhibitor) and the silkworm pupa allergen Bomb m 4 (30kDa hemolymph lipoprotein) lack alternatives in the available product list. Greater attention is needed, particularly for species listed as ecologically invasive in Western regions. Additionally, allergens from domestic fruits and vegetables causing pollen food allergy syndrome require characterization for the development of improved diagnostics.