Comparative study of imputation strategies to improve the sarcopenia prediction task.

Objective: Sarcopenia, a condition characterized by the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, poses significant challenges in research due to missing data. Incomplete datasets undermine the accuracy and reliability of studies, necessitating effective imputation techniques. This study conducts a comparative analysis of three advanced methods-multiple imputation by chained equations (MICE), support vector regression, and K-nearest neighbors (KNN)-to address data completeness issues in sarcopenia research.

Radiolytic degradation of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) in some organic solvents by gamma rays: The kinetic properties of complete dechlorination of TCB and its pathway.

This study investigates the degradation of TCB in methanol, ethanol, hexane, and benzene solutions using gamma radiolysis. Kinetic properties of TCB dechlorination and its pathway are examined, with TCB selected as a representative chlorinated organic compound. Chromatograms of irradiated samples and mass spectra of liquid-phase products are presented.

Does Automatic Wage Indexation Destroy Jobs? A Machine Learning Approach.

This paper analyzes the impact of automatic wage indexation on employment. To boost competitiveness and increase employment, Belgium suspended its automatic wage indexation system in 2015. This resulted in a 2% fall in real wages for all workers.

"Who are You and What are You Doing Here?": Social Capital and Barriers to Movement along the HIV Care Cascade among Tajikistani Migrants with HIV to Russia.

Tajikistani migrants who work in Russia and acquire HIV seldom receive HIV treatment while in Russia. Barriers to engagement in the HIV care cascade were identified from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with purposefully sampled Tajikistani migrants (n = 34) with HIV who had returned from Russia. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, drawing from Putnam's theory of social capital, showing how bridging and bonding social capital relate to poor engagement in HIV care.

HIV and associated factors among female sex workers in Tajikistan: Analysis from a national bio-behavioral survey.

Tajikistan, a country of approximately nine million people, has a relatively small but quickly growing HIV epidemic. No peer-reviewed study has assessed factors associated with HIV, or associated risk factors, among female sex workers (FSWs) in Tajikistan. The purpose of the current study is to elucidate the factors associated with HIV status and risk factors in the Tajikistani context and add to the scant literature on risk factors among FSWs in Tajikistan and Central Asia.

Association between time spent in the Russian Federation and late presentation for HIV among Tajikistani migrants.

Background: Between 700 thousand and 1.2 million citizens of Tajikistan currently live in the Russian Federation, one of the only countries where the HIV epidemic continues to worsen. Given the previously reported barriers to healthcare access for migrants to the Russian Federation, and the rapidly expanding HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, this present study set out to determine whether these barriers impact late presentation with HIV among Tajikistani migrants upon their return to Tajikistan.

Elimination of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Tajikistan.

Malaria was eliminated in Tajikistan by the beginning of the 1960s. However, sporadic introduced cases of malaria occurred subsequently probably as a result of transmission from infected mosquito Anopheles flying over river the Punj from the border areas of Afghanistan. During the 1970s and 1980s local outbreaks of malaria were reported in the southern districts bordering Afghanistan.

[COMPLEX LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS OF MALARIA PATHOGENS IN THE PRE ELIMINATION PERIOD].

An immunological survey of 8,000 dwellers from 4 districts of Tajikistan failed to detect malaria pathogens by CareStartMalariaHPR2/PLDH (P. falciparum/P. vivax) COMBOGO161 AccessBio tests and showed the possibility of their further use under the Republic's conditions, particularly in the mountain villages and the human settlements bordering on Afghanistan.

[Achievement of the elimination of tropical malaria in The Republic of Tajikistan].

To achieve the elimination of tropical malaria, Tajikistan divided its territory into districts in terms of the malariogenic potential (receptivity + vulnerability) and identified priority regions to be exposed, determined the population's fever background and the required personnel, equipment, and reagents for parasitological examinations, and compiled an inventory of malaria foci. The investigators tested a new (artesunate + sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) treatment regimen in patients with tropical malaria and in parasite carriers and established active detection of malaria cases through homestead rounds and population examinations. The packages of antimalarial measures were improved, by annually evaluating their efficiency in accordance with the monitoring and estimation indicators.

[Spread of tropical malaria in the Republic of Tajikistan (1994-2008)].

Tropical malaria occurred in the Republic of Tajikistan in 1994 after 40-year absence and spread in 28 regions of Tajikistan and in 3 cities (Dushanbe, Kulyab, and Kurgan-Tyube), peaking in 2000 (831 cases). A total of 3585 cases of tropical malaria were notified in 602 foci during a 15-year period. Migrants imported the pathogenic agent by the route of Pakistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan during armed conflicts and in trading activities continually.

[Remote results of surgical management of chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency].

The work was aimed at studying the remote results of reconstructive operations performed on brachiocephalic arteries in a total of 1,483 patients presenting with chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency. The findings obtained from our experience confirmed that carotid endarterectomy up to now remains the gold standard of treatment for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients suffering from haemodynamically significant lesions of carotid arteries, requiring, however, timely performance and consequent active follow up of the patients involved.

Does previous stone treatment in children generate a disadvantage or just the opposite?

In this study we aimed to determine the effects of previous open renal surgery, percutaneous nephrolithotomy and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the results and complications of subsequent percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in pediatric patients. We reviewed the files of all 105 patients with 116 renal units (RU) undergoing PCNL at two main institutions between December 2000 and February 2014. The 116 RUs were divided into four groups: primary PCNL patients with 44 RU (37.

[Surgical aspects of treatment for bilateral atherosclerotic lesion of carotid arteries].

The present study was aimed at determining surgical policy and terms of intervention in bilateral atherosclerotic lesions of carotid arteries. Depending on the treatment policy, a total of 114 patients were subdivided into two groups. Group One patients underwent the traditional procedure and carotid reconstruction was performed on the side with more pronounced stenosis or in the carotid basin with ischaemic stroke where an ischaemic episode had occurred, with the total rate of complications related to ischaemic stroke or death amounting to 4.

[The specific features of the epidemiology of tertian (Plasmodium vivax) malaria in the Republic of Tajikistan].

The specific features of the functioning of parasitic systems of tertian malaria were found in the elimination period when the number of foci and patients were drastically reduced. Despite the sporadic cases of tertian malaria, in 2009-2012 each of the 9 areas of the Kurgan Tyubin zone, Khatlon Region notified 12 of the 43 active foci with single manifestations of malaria after a long incubation period in the following spring or March-April a year later. The results of these investigations should be borne in mind when planning and implementing antimalarial measures.

[Evaluation of the efficiency of rapid tests in identifying malaria patients and parasite carriers in the Republic of Tajikistan].

The sensitivity of a rapid test versus microscopy ofblood samples was studied while examining 8000 dwellers from the republic's endemic areas. The results of blood testing in the Kumsangir, Dangara, and Vakhdat districts showed agreement with those of blood microscopy. The result of rapid tests did not agree to that of blood microscopy only in one case in the Kabadiyan District.

[Malaria mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae, Anopheles) of North Tajikistan, their ecology, and role in the transmission of malaria pathogens].

Five species of malaria mosquitoes: An. artemievi, An. claviger, An.

[Evaluation of the prevalence of helminthiasis among the population of the Republic of Tajikistan].

Helminthological examinations of 2629 persons of different ages have shown that the prevalence rate of soil-transmitted helminths averages 54.24% of the examinees. There isa high rate of helminthiasis in the examined dwellers from two districts (Vanch and Faizobod) in the foothill and mountain zones (78.

[Our experience in surgical management of internal carotid artery ocсlusion].

Analysed in the article are the outcomes of surgical management in a total of 42 patients diagnosed as having occlusive lesions of the internal carotid artery. Also studied is efficacy of the operation - resection and ligation of the internal carotid artery, endarterectomy from the common and external carotid arteries with the application of a dilating patch onto the external carotid artery in occlusion of the internal carotid artery in patients with endured ischaemic stroke, depending on severity of neurological deficit and the time having elapsed since the operation performed. Also investigated are peculiarities of cerebral haemodynamics in patients with occlusion of the internal carotid artery and haemodynamic alterations during the stages of surgical treatment.

Surgical alternatives for hepatic hydatid disease.

Background/aims: In this study we report on our method in the treatment of hepatic hydatid disease (HHD) and analyze the outcomes after minimal invasive surgery (MIS) and open surgery (OS). We evaluated the performance of MIS in patients with solitary HHD.

Methodology: In total 136 patients with HHD were operated on in our department, 69 of them underwent OS and the other 67 patients were treated with MIS.

[Damage to craniocerebral nerves in reconstructive surgery of carotid arteries].

Reconstructive operations on aortic arch branches appear to be the most efficient method of preventing acute and chronic impairments of cerebral circulation. Iatrogenic lesions of the craniocerebral nerves deteriorate the course of the immediate, and especially the remote postoperative period, decreasing quality of life and social status of the patients after endured carotid reconstructions. The authors analysed herein the outcomes in a total of 562 patients after endured carotid artery surgery for atherosclerosis or pathological tortuosity.

[Evaluation of the efficiency of rapid tests to detect malaria patients and parasite carriers in Tajikistan].

The sensitivity of a rapid test versus microscopy of blood samples was studied while examining 7983 dwellers from the republic's endemic areas. The results of blood testing in the Pyanj and Shurobod districts showed agreement with those of blood microscopy. However, its sensitivity in two other districts was as high as 1.

[The experience with thoracoscopic sympathectomy for the treatment of distal lesions of limb arteries].

The study included 107 patients with distal lesions of limb arteries treated with the use of thoracoscopic sympathectomy. The best results in the early postoperative period were obtained in patients with Raynaud's disease. Modifications introduced into the methods of its treatment permitted to retain effectiveness of sympathectomy till the late postoperative period in 90% of the patients.

[Diagnostics and strategy of surgical treatment of multifocal atherosclerosis].

The study included 148 patients with different combinations of multifocal atherosclerosis. The inclusion criteria were clinical manifestations of chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency concomitant with diseases of other arterial basins. The treatment strategies were chosen based on the results of examination by non-invasive methods for vascular visualization.

[Analysis of long-term outcomes after carotid endarterectomy for stenosing lesions of carotid arteries].

Surgical management of patients presenting with stenosing lesions of carotid arteries is currently included into the International standards of treatment for transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) and stroke. The present work was aimed at assessing long-term outcomes following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients diagnosed with stenosing lesions of carotid arteries based on the results ofa 6-month follow-up. The study comprised the analysis of remote outcomes after reconstructive operations on carotid arteries as compared to those of conservative methods of treatment in a total of 120 patients suffering from haemodynamically significant stenoses of carotid arteries.