Panoramic Radiographic Analysis of Age- and Sex-related Variations in Upper Mandibular Morphology: Focus on the Condyle, Sigmoid Notch, and Coronoid Process.

Background/aim: This study aimed to investigate age- and sex-related morphological variations of the mandibular condyle, sigmoid notch, and coronoid process in a mid-sized German population using panoramic radiographs.

Patients And Methods: A total of 150 participants (89 males, 61 females) aged between 18 and 80 years were included. Participants were divided by age and sex.

Global trends in CD4 count measurement and distribution at first antiretroviral treatment initiation.

Background: While people with HIV (PWH) start antiretroviral treatment (ART) regardless of CD4 count, CD4 measurement remains crucial for detecting advanced HIV disease and evaluating ART programmes. We explored CD4 measurement (proportion of PWH with a CD4 result available) and prevalence of CD4 <200 cells/µL at ART initiation within the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) global collaboration.

Methods: We included PWH at participating ART programmes who first initiated ART at age 15-80 years during 2005-2019.

Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Loading Conditions on the Change in Thin NiTi Wire Resistance during Cyclic Stretching.

This paper presents the results of an experimental study designed to evaluate the effect of repeated stretching cycles on the electrical resistance change in a NiTi alloy wire. In particular, tests were carried out to determine the effect of the type of loading on resistance change in the investigated wires. Wires with a diameter of 100 μm were used in the research.

Impact of Abiotic and Biotic Environmental Conditions on the Development and Infectivity of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Agricultural Soils.

Many organisms, including beneficial entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), are commonly found in the soil environment. EPNs are used as biopesticides for pest control. They have many positive characteristics and are able to survive at sites of application for a long time, producing new generations of individuals.

Breaking down barriers: comprehensive functional analysis of the Aspergillus niger chitin synthase repertoire.

Background: Members of the fungal kingdom are heterotrophic eukaryotes encased in a chitin containing cell wall. This polymer is vital for cell wall stiffness and, ultimately, cell shape. Most fungal genomes contain numerous putative chitin synthase encoding genes.

Facility-Based Indicators to Manage and Scale Up Cervical Cancer Prevention and Care Services for Women Living With HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Three-Round Online Delphi Consensus Method.

Background: Of women with cervical cancer (CC) and HIV, 85% live in sub-Saharan Africa, where 21% of all CC cases are attributable to HIV infection. We aimed to generate internationally acceptable facility-based indicators to monitor and guide scale up of CC prevention and care services offered on-site or off-site by HIV clinics.

Methods: We reviewed the literature and extracted relevant indicators, grouping them into domains along the CC control continuum.

Lessons learned from over a decade of data audits in international observational HIV cohorts in Latin America and East Africa.

Introduction: Routine patient care data are increasingly used for biomedical research, but such "secondary use" data have known limitations, including their quality. When leveraging routine care data for observational research, developing audit protocols that can maximize informational return and minimize costs is paramount.

Methods: For more than a decade, the Latin America and East Africa regions of the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) consortium have been auditing the observational data drawn from participating human immunodeficiency virus clinics.

Associations Between Gestational Weight Gain, Gestational Diabetes, and Childhood Obesity Incidence.

Introduction: Excessive maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) is strongly correlated with childhood obesity, yet how excess maternal weight gain and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) interact to affect early childhood obesity is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether overall and trimester-specific maternal GWG and GDM were associated with obesity in offspring by age 6 years.

Methods: A cohort of 10,335 maternal-child dyads was established from electronic health records.

Spot Urinary Creatinine Concentration in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure Identifies a Distinct Muscle-Wasting Phenotype with a Strikingly Different Risk of Mortality.

Background: There is a raising awareness that heart failure (HF) is a highly heterogeneous, multiorgan syndrome with an increasing global prevalence and still poor prognosis. The comorbidities of HF are one of the key reasons for presence of various phenotypes with different clinical profile and outcome. Heterogeneity of skeletal muscles (SMs) quantity and function may have an impact on patient's phenotype.

Investigation of flexural behaviour of composite rebars for concrete reinforcement with experimental, numerical and machine learning approaches.

Three different types (with glass, basalt and hybrid fibres) of composite rebars manufactured using the pultrusion process were loaded in four-point bending tests. All tests were carried out with acoustic emission sensors to better understand the mechanisms of damage. The data obtained were investigated using standard parameter analysis and also using unsupervised machine learning techniques called K-means.

Equity issues rarely addressed in the development of COVID-19 formal recommendations and good practice statements: a cross-sectional study.

Background And Objective: To identify COVID-19 actionable statements (e.g., recommendations) focused on specific disadvantaged populations in the living map of COVID-19 recommendations (eCOVIDRecMap) and describe how health equity was assessed in the development of the formal recommendations.

Availability of screening and treatment for common mental disorders in HIV clinic settings: data from the global International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) Consortium, 2016-2017 and 2020.

Introduction: Common mental disorders (CMDs) are highly prevalent among people with HIV. Integrating mental healthcare into HIV care may improve mental health and HIV treatment outcomes. We describe the reported availability of screening and treatment for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at global HIV treatment centres participating in the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) Consortium in 2020 and changes in availability at sites in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) between 2016/2017 and 2020.

Long-term prognostic scores may underestimate the risk of death in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in whom red cell distribution width is elevated.

Introduction: Risk prediction in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is one of the key challenges for clinicians. Novel biomarkers aggregating several important pathophysiological pathways may modify the diagnostic discrimination of validated scores. The red cell distribution width (RDW) is a cheap and easily available measure of anisocytosis, and was shown to have a strong independent prognostic power in short- and medium‑term prognosis in HFrEF.

Stress Relaxation Behaviour Modeling in Rigid Polyurethane (PU) Elastomeric Materials.

Polyurethane (PU) has been used in a variety of industries during the past few years due to its exceptional qualities, including strong mechanical strength, good abrasion resistance, toughness, low-temperature flexibility, etc. More specifically, PU is easily "tailored" to satisfy particular requirements. There is a lot of potential for its use in broader applications due to this structure-property link.

Design and implementation of a global site assessment survey among HIV clinics participating in the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) research consortium.

Introduction: Timely descriptions of HIV service characteristics and their evolution over time across diverse settings are important for monitoring the scale-up of evidence-based program strategies, understanding the implementation landscape, and examining service delivery factors that influence HIV care outcomes.

Methods: The International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) consortium undertakes periodic cross-sectional surveys on service availability and care at participating HIV treatment sites to characterize trends and inform the scientific agenda for HIV care and implementation science communities. IeDEA's 2020 general site assessment survey was developed through a consultative, 18-month process that engaged diverse researchers in identifying content from previous surveys that should be retained for longitudinal analyses and in developing expanded and new content to address gaps in the literature.

Integrating services for HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: A global cross-sectional survey among ART clinics in low- and middle-income countries.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death among PLHIV and multidrug-resistant-TB (MDR-TB) is associated with high mortality. We examined the management for adult PLHIV coinfected with MDR-TB at ART clinics in lower income countries. Between 2019 and 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional survey at 29 ART clinics in high TB burden countries within the global IeDEA network.

Determination of Thin NiTi Wires' Mechanical Properties during Phase Transformations.

The modern industrial and consumer applications in accordance with the concepts of Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things are characterized by autonomy and self-sufficiency. This has led to an increase in the interest for the so-called smart materials, capable of combining the functionalities of sensors, actuators and, in some applications, control systems.

A mixed methods study exploring requests for unproven COVID therapies such as ivermectin and healthcare distrust in the rural South.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to contentious discourse regarding unproven COVID-19 therapies (UCTs),(e.g. ivermectin).

Service delivery challenges in HIV care during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a site assessment survey across the global IeDEA consortium.

Introduction: Interruptions in treatment pose risks for people with HIV (PWH) and threaten progress in ending the HIV epidemic; however, the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on HIV service delivery across diverse settings is not broadly documented.

Methods: From September 2020 to March 2021, the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) research consortium surveyed 238 HIV care sites across seven geographic regions to document constraints in HIV service delivery during the first year of the pandemic and strategies for ensuring care continuity for PWH. Descriptive statistics were stratified by national HIV prevalence (<1%, 1-4.

The Effect of Flame Retardant-Aluminum Trihydroxide on Mixed Mode I/II Fracture Toughness of Epoxy Resin.

Fire resistance is a major issue concerning composite materials for safe operation in many industrial sectors. The design process needs to meet safety requirements for buildings and vehicles, where the use of composites has increased. There are several solutions to increasing the flame resistance of polymeric materials, based on either chemical modification or physical additions to the material's composition.

Site-Level Comprehensiveness of Care Is Associated with Individual Clinical Retention Among Adults Living with HIV in International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS, a Global HIV Cohort Collaboration, 2000-2016.

Retention in care (RIC) reduces HIV transmission and associated morbidity and mortality. We examined whether delivery of comprehensive services influenced individual RIC within the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) network. We collected site data through IeDEA assessments 1.