Adaptations to climate change rely on understanding the dynamics of plant biomass stocks on the planet. The high levels of deforestation in Cerrado have transformed this biome into the second-largest Brazilian source of carbon emissions. The objective of this study was to develop a method to accurately estimate aboveground and total biomass values among shrublands, savannas, and forests located in the Cerrado biome, using an allometric equation adjusted from canopy height, obtained through optical and laser sensors. The results show similarity between the estimates employed by our method and the data found in the literature review for different phytophysiognomies in the Cerrado biome. Shrubland formations showed higher biomass estimation uncertainties due to the discontinuity of isolated trees and the lower canopy height when compared to more clustered tree canopies in savannas and taller canopies in forests. Aboveground biomass estimates were related to expansion factors, and specific maps were developed for each compartment by root, litter, and necromass. The sum of these compartments is presented in the aboveground and below forest biomass map. This study presents, for the first time, the mapping of total biomass in 10 m pixels of all regions of the Cerrado biome.

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) can offer significant benefits to the construction sector, improving productivity, efficiency, collaborative efforts, and product quality while promoting safety and sustainability. However, research on the application of 4IR technologies in construction is scarce in developing countries. It is crucial to understand the ability of construction companies to adopt new technologies and identify factors influencing the success of technology implementation. In this study, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted with construction professionals to evaluate the level of technological development of the construction market in an emerging economy, assess the potential for innovation implementation, and identify factors that might influence technological development. Although respondents recognized the importance of digital transformation, the results showed that most innovations are in the early stages of implementation in the construction sector, particularly technologies that are essential for the consolidation of the 4IR. Understanding the factors underlying this reality can support the development of strategies to foster innovation and harness the advantages of the 4IR in the construction industry in developing countries.

Mammary neoplasm affects a population of intact and elderly female dogs and 50% are malignant. In order to study this disease, cell culture is as a promising preclinical model, creating the opportunity to deposit cell lines at a cell bank, allowing a great reproducibility of the assays and making the validation of the results more reliable. Another important aspect is the possibility to establish models for better understanding tumour characteristics, such as vasculogenic mimicry. Due the importance of cancer cell lines in preclinical models, this study aimed to establish and characterize primary cell lines from canine mammary gland tumours according to immunophenotype and tumorigenicity, and with its ability to form vasculogenic mimicry-like structures in vitro and in vivo. Cell cultures were evaluated for morphology, phenotype, vasculogenic mimicry and tumorigenicity abilities. We collected 17 primary mammary carcinoma and 3 metastasis and had a satisfactory result in 10 of them. All cell lines presented spindle shape or polygonal morphology and expressed concomitant pan-cytokeratin and cytokeratin 8/18. Four cell lines had vasculogenic mimicry ability in vitro and two of them showed in vivo tumorigenic potential and forming VM in the xenotransplant tumour. Cell characterization of those lines will help to create a database for more knowledge of mammary carcinomas in dogs, including studies of tumour behaviour and new therapeutic targets.

In the semi-arid region of Brazil, it is common to use saline or brackish water for crop production. However, this practice can negatively affect the soil, nutrient balance, and fruit quality and production. From this perspective, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of fertilization combinations with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) on the production and quality of West Indian cherry grown under salt stress in the second year of production. The study was conducted in a protected environment following a randomized block design with treatments distributed in a 2 x 10 factorial arrangement referring to two levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water (ECw) (0.6 and 4.0 dS m-1) and 10 NPK fertilization combinations (80-100-100; 100-100-100; 120-100-100; 140-100-100; 100-80-100; 100-120-100; 100-140-100; 100-100-80; 100-100-120 e 100-100-140% of the recommendation in the second year of production), with three replicates and one plant per lysimeter. The results indicate that irrigation of West Indian cherry crop irrigation at the water salinity of 4.0 dS m-1 negatively affected all fruit production variables. The interaction between the ECw of 0.6 dS m-1 and the 100-80-120 NPK fertilization combination increased the total number of fruits and the total fruit weight of West Indian cherry.

Canine mammary tumors (CMT) are the most common cancer in noncastrated female dogs. Interestingly, triple-negative tumors are the most common molecular subtype in female dogs. In this study, we proposed to evaluate the expression of VEGFR-2, PDGFR and microvascular density (MVD) in a group of metastatic and nonmetastatic triple-negative CMT and compare the expression based on clinical parameters. Twenty-six female dogs with triple-negative mammary tumors were divided into three groups: nonmetastatic tumors (NMT) (N=11), tumors with lymph node metastasis (LNM) (N=10) and tumors with lung metastasis (LM) (N=5). We observed increased VEGFR-2 expression in LNM compared with NMT and a positive correlation between tumor grade and VEGFR-2 expression. A positive correlation was noted between VEGFR-2 and PDGFR expression. Regarding microvascular density (MVD), we identified a higher number of vessels in primary tumors with lymph node metastasis and lung metastasis compared with tumors with no metastasis. The primary tumors with lung metastasis exhibited an increased MVD compared with carcinoma with lymph node metastasis. Overall, our results suggest a deregulation of VEGFR-2 and PDGFR and high MVD in metastatic tumors, indicating a role for angiogenesis in tumor progression.

Vagueira Beach on the Central Portuguese coast, is known as one of the places in Europe most affected by coastal erosion. The area has suffered more than 156 meters of coastline retreat over the period 1958 to 2001. With the aim to evaluate the influence of local factors on coastal erosion, this paper assesses the anthropogenic and natural factors that are related with the retreat of the coastline, by adopting statistical correlation and regression analyses. Through the Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) it was observed that local factors such as annual dredging at the Aveiro Port entrance (r = 0.93), the total length of groins in the Espinho-Vagueira section (r = 0.89), and storm events (r = 0.52) are directly related to coastline retreat in the area. A multiple linear regression model was developed in which coastline retreat is explained by these same factors over the period 1980 to 2006. With a coefficient of determination of R² = 0.91, it was observed that length of groins (significant at the 1% level), dredging of the port entrance (significant at the 5% level) and precipitation (as a proxy for storm events; significant at the 10% level) are significantly correlated with coastline retreat. Hence, it is shown that anthropogenic factors are the main drivers of coastline retreat in Vagueira Beach. This study provides an innovative approach for the assessment of coastal erosion, resulting in important information that can be used for decision-making related to coastal zone management as it allows to understand in greater detail the main drivers of coastal erosion.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a stealthy and progressive neurological disorder that is a leading cause of dementia in the global elderly population, imposing a significant burden on both the elderly and society. Currently, the condition is treated with medications that alleviate symptoms. Nonetheless, these drugs may not consistently produce the desired results and can cause serious side effects. Hence, there is a vigorous pursuit of alternative options to enhance the quality of life for patients. Ginkgo biloba (GB), an herb with historical use in traditional medicine, contains bioactive compounds such as terpenoids (Ginkgolides A, B, and C), polyphenols, organic acids, and flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin). These compounds are associated with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties, making them valuable for cognitive health. A systematic search across three databases using specific keywords GB in AD and dementia yielded 1702 documents, leading to the selection of 15 clinical trials for synthesis. In eleven studies, GB extract/EGb 761® was shown to improve cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and functional abilities in both dementia types. In four studies, however, there were no significant differences between the GB-treated and placebo groups. Significant improvements were observed in scores obtained from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Short Cognitive Performance Test (SKT), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). While the majority of synthesized clinical trials show Ginkgo biloba has promising potential in these conditions, more research is needed to determine optimal dosages, effective delivery methods, and appropriate pharmaceutical formulations. Furthermore, a thorough assessment of adverse effects, exploration of long-term use implications, and investigation into potential drug interactions are critical aspects that must be carefully evaluated in future studies.

Brushless Synchronous Machines (BSM) are replacing conventional synchronous machines with static excitation in generation facilities due to the absence of sparking and lower maintenance. However, this excitation system makes challenging measuring electric parameters in the rotor. This fact highly difficult the detection of ground faults, which are the most common type of electrical fault in electric machines. In this paper, a ground fault detection method for BSM is proposed. It is based on an inductive AC/DC rotating current sensor installed in the shaft. In case of a ground fault in the rotating parts of the BSM, a fault current will flow through the rotor’s sensor, inducing voltage in its stator. Analyzing the frequency components of the induced voltage the detection of a ground fault in the rotating elements is possible. The ground faults detection method proposed covers the whole rotor and discern between DC and AC sides. To corroborate the detection method, experimental tests have been performed using a prototype of this sensor connected to laboratory synchronous machines achieving satisfactory results.

In the present work, we evaluate the prediction capability of six Pedotransfer functions (PTFs), reported in the literature, for the saturated hydraulic conductivity estimations (Ks). We used a database with 900 measured samples obtained from the Irrigation District 023, in San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, Mexico. Additionally, six new PTFs were construct for Ks from clay percentage, bulk density and saturation water content data. The results show, for the evaluated models, that one model present an overestimation for Ks>0.5 cm h-1 values, three models have a underestimation for Ks>1.0 cm h-1 and two models have a good correlation (R2>0.98) but are necessary more than three parameters. Nevertheless, the last two models requires from three to four parameters in order to get the optimization. By other hand, the models proposed in this work have a similar correlation with a less number of parameters: the fit is seen to be much better than using the existing ones, achieving a correlation of R2 = 0.9822 with only one variable and a R2 = 0.9901 when we use two.

The literature is scarce in the evaluation of Behçet’s disease (BD) among individuals during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Then, an epidemiological study was conducted using the data from 46 hospitalized patients with BD and coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 representing a prevalence of 2,11 patients per 100,000 inhabitants. From the study sample, 58.7% (27 patients) were female, and 67.4% (31 patients) were White. The main symptoms were fever (40; 87.0%), cough (38; 82.6%), dyspnea (35; 76.1%), and peripheral saturation below 95% (35%, 76.1%). The need for intensive care unit support occurred for 39.1% (18) patients. Also, 21.7% (10) patients needed invasive ventilatory support and 47.8% (22) needed non-invasive ventilatory support. A total of 73.9% (34) of patients lived, and 26.1% (12) of patients died. Only the presence of respiratory discomfort [37.9% vs. 5.9%] was more common among those who died. Patients with BD were not at an increased risk of worse COVID-19 outcomes in Brazil.

Regardless of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic containment, it remains paramount to comprehensively understand its underlying mechanisms to mitigate potential future health and economic impacts, comparable to those experienced throughout the course of the pandemic. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) provide anchorage for SARS-CoV-2 binding, thus implicating that ACE and ACE2 might contribute to the variability in infection severity. This study aimed to elucidate predisposing factors influencing the disease course among people infected by SARS-CoV-2, focusing on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and ACE2 polymorphisms. Notably, despite similar demographics and comorbidities, COVID-19 patients exhibit substantial differences in prognosis. Genetic polymorphisms in ACE and ACE2 have been implicated in disease progression, prompting our investigation into their role in COVID-19 evolution. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), we analyzed ACE and ACE2 genes in a sample group comprising six subjects infected by SARS-CoV-2. Our findings revealed a correlation between specific polymorphisms and COVID-19 outcomes. Specifically, ACE and ACE2 intronic deletions were observed in all deceased patients, suggesting a potential association with mortality. These results highlight the significance of genetic factors in shaping the clinical course of COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of further research into the impact of genetic variations on COVID-19 severity.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) pathophysiology comprises clinical and genetic factors. In fact, GDM has been associated with several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This study aimed to build a prediction model of GDM combining clinical and genetic risk factors. A total of 1588 pregnant women from the San Carlos Cohort participated in the present study, 1069 (67.3%) Caucasian (CAU) and 519 (32.7%) Latin American (LAT), 255 (16.1%) with GDM. The incidence of GDM was similar in both groups (16.1% CAU and 16.0% LAT). Genotyping was performed by IPLEX Mass ARRAY PCR selecting 110 SNPs based on literature references. The SNPs showing the strongest likelihood of GDM development were the rs10830963, rs7651090 and rs1371614 in CAU and rs1387153 and the rs9368222 in LAT. Clinical variables including age, pre-pregnancy body mass index and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) at 12 gestational weeks predicted the risk of GDM (AUC 0.648, 95%CI 0.601-0.695 in CAU; AUC 0.688, 95%CI 0.628-9.748 in LAT) and adding the SNPs modestly improved prediction (AUC 0.722, 95%CI 0.680-0.764 in CAU; AUC 0.769, 95%CI 0.711-0.826 in LAT). In conclusion, adding genetic variants enhanced the prediction model of GDM risk in CAU and LAT pregnant women. An RCT is underway to demonstrate its usefulness

In order to meet the Millennium Development Goals set forth by the United Nations’ Millennium Summit that took place in 2000, in New York, particularly in the area of education, the Mozambican Government decided that, from 2003 onwards, during their primary school formation, students should be passed automatically even if they do not have enough intellectual capacities that justify their progress. In fact, this decision was made during a period when there were many pupils being failed, due to various reasons. After more than 15 years of its implementation, this paper aims to analyzing the results acquired from this decision, from the point of view of the quality of education. This will be done taking into account the prevailing situation of education in Mozambique. Having considered these aspects, the paper will move on to presenting some of the challenges and opportunities that the country should consider in the area of education, as a way to bring about better outcomes and promote development, in the country.

In this work, nine fruits cultivated in the northern Amazon were studied: abiu, acerola, araçá, bacupari, biribá, caçarí, fruta-do-conde, graviola and taperebá, with the objective of carrying out a bromatological and nutritional study of the pulps of fruits studied. Of all of them, are the pulps of graviola (76.83 ± 0.02 kcal 100 g^-1) bacupari (76.83 ± 0.02 kcal 100 g^-1) and fruta-do-conde (46.66 ± 0.02 kcal 100 g^-1). Among the macronutrients, the high concentration of potassium stands out, especially in the graviola (541.16 ± 0.24 mg 100 g^-1) and the biribá (468.21 ± 0.13 mg 100 g^-1). Among the micronutrients, iron concentrations are representative for araçá pulp (3.04 ± 0.02 mg 100g-1), abiu is rich in zinc (3.71 ± 0.02 mg 100 g^-1) and manganese (6.61 ± 0.11 mg 100 g^-1). The presence of cobalt at the level of traces in some of the pulps studied stands out. The Pearson correlation coefficient was evaluated, as well as the statistical treatment by multivariate analysis PCA to establish the correlation between the variables studied.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which is characterized by severe and fatal arrhythmias resultant from cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (CIR), is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Considering that epiisopiloturin (EPI), an imidazole alkaloid found in the leaves of Pilocarpus microphyllus produded anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in an animal model of peritonitis, paw edema and peritonitis in mice, we decided to investigate the potential cardioprotective activity of EPI in animal model of CIR. Then, adult rats submitted to CIR pretreated with EPI 10 mg/kg (EPI10+CIR group) or 15 mg/kg (EPI15+CIR group) were compared to control animals submitted to CIR treated with saline solution 0.9% (CIR group). To evaluate the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias (VA), atrioventricular block (AVB) and lethality (LET) induced by CIR in these rats, the ECG analysis was performed. Serum levels of cardiac damage markers, total creatine kinase (CK) and CK-MB, were measured. The results showed that the AVB incidence was reduced from 80% to 30%, and LET incidence was reduced from 70% to 20%, compared to CIR group. Serum levels of LDH, total CK and, CK-MB was similar in all groups studied. These results indicate that the treatment with EPI (15 mg/kg, IV) before CIR was effective to produce cardioprotective effects. Thus, the use of EPI could be a promisse strategy to reduce the incidence of severe and fatal arrhythmias associated with AMI.

Cantharidin, a toxic monoterpene secreted by blister beetles, has long been used in traditional Chinese and modern medicine for its unique properties. However, despite its widespread use, its effects on fish have not been studied in depth. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential therapeutic applications of cantharidin in fish by examining its antioxidant, hemoagglutinating, hemolytic and cytotoxic activities at different concentrations (0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 μg mL-1) in three different cell lines. In addition, the study explored the bactericidal and bacteriostatic properties of cantharidin against various fish pathogenic bacteria. The results revealed that there were no significant differences in antioxidant, hemagglutinating or hemolytic activities between the different concentrations of cantharidin tested. However, the study found that cantharidin exhibited dose- and time-dependent cytotoxicity in sea bream (Sparus aurata) erythrocytes and in SAF-1, PLHC-1 and Hela cell lines, resulting in morphological changes indicative of apoptosis. Interestingly, the highest dose of cantharidin tested demonstrated potent bactericidal activity against four marine fish opportunistic bacteria, including Vibrio harveyi, V. anguillarum, Photobacterium damselae and Tenacibaculum maritimum, but no statistically significant changes in bacteriostatic activity were observed against any of the bacteria tested. Overall, these results provide valuable information on the potential therapeutic applications of cantharidin in fish aquaculture. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms of action and to explore possible preventive uses of cantharidin in fish.

In the realm of educational technology, Data Analytics (DA) is reshaping teaching and learning. This paper investigates the impact of DA on education, specifically comparing Student Information Systems (SIS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS). Data-driven insights from SIS and LMS platforms enable educators to tailor instructional strategies to individual student needs effectively. While SIS manages student data for administrative tasks, LMS offers tools for content delivery and collaboration. Using the strengths of SIS and LMS, educators can optimise teaching and learning experiences, tracking student progress, and fostering collaboration. The comparison emphasises their distinct roles: SIS manages administrative tasks, while LMS focusses on content delivery and collaboration. Using both systems, educators improve the teaching and learning experience, leveraging DA for continuous improvement. In summary, this paper underscores the transformative role of DA in education, framed within the context of comparing the SIS and LMS functionalities. By examining the intersection of data-driven decision making and educational technology, educators are equipped with the tools and knowledge to harness the power of data for meaningful and impactful teaching and learning.

Background: Limited research has explored sex-specific differences in death predictors of HF pa-tients with ischemic (iCMP) and nonischemic (niCMP) cardiomyopathy. This study assessed sex differences in niCMP and iCMP prognosis. Methods: We studied 7,487 patients with HF between February 2017 and September 2020. Clini-cal features and echocardiographic findings were collected. We used Kaplan-Meier, Cox propor-tional hazards models, and score chi-square of Cox regression to determine death predictors in women and men. Results: mean age was 64.3±14.2 years, with 4,417 (59%) males. Women with iCMP and niCMP exhibited significantly higher mean age, higher mean left ventricular ejection fraction, and smaller left ventricular diastolic diameter than men. Over 2.26 years of follow-up, 325 (14.7%) women and 420 (15.7%) men, and 211 women (24.5%) and 519 men (29.8%) died in niCMP (p=NS) and iCMP (p=0.004), respectively. Cumulative incidence of death was higher in men with iCMP (log-rank p<0.0001) but similar in niCMP. Cox regression showed chronic kidney disease, dia-betes, stroke, atrial fibrillation, age, and myocardial infarction, as main predictors of death for iCMP in women and men. Conclusion: Women exhibited a better prognosis than men in iCMP, but similar for niCMP. Nevertheless, sex was not an independent predictor of death for both CMP.

Background: School meals represent a significant supply of nutrients for children in Brazil, especially those in conditions of social vulnerability. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in meals served in public elementary schools in four municipalities in the state of Bahia, Brazil, and assess the risk posed to children's health. Methods: Ninety-six samples were collected from 16 schools, freeze-dried, and subjected to microwave-assisted digestion. The As, Cd, and Pb levels were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The risk assessment was based on calculating each element's hazard quotient (HQ). Results: None of the samples reached or exceeded the tolerable levels for the elements analyzed. Pb was the metal that obtained the most significant result, reaching maximum levels of 39-157 µg.kg-¹. Conclusions: No element exceeded the PTWI proposed by JECFA; thus, the toxic metal content in school meals poses a negligible risk to children´s health.

Firocoxib is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug specifically formulated for veterinary medicine and selectively acts on inhibiting the cyclooxygenase 2 enzyme(COX-2). This study aimed to evaluate the possible adverse effects of administering oral therapeutic firocoxib on gastric mucosa, hematological parameters, coagulation cascade, and hepatic and renal biochemistry in healthy horses. Nine clinically healthy Arabian horses, approximately nine years old, received 0.1mg/kg of oral firocoxib for 14 days. Before beginning treatment, a gastroscopic examination was conducted, and venous blood samples were obtained for laboratory tests on D0. Follow-up blood samples and gastroscopic examinations were taken on D7 and D14 after starting treatment and one week after completing treatment on D21. No changes were found in the gastroscopic and hematological tests. Additionally, coagulation and serum biochemistry levels remain between normal values for this particular species. However, the increased activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and prothrombin time (PT) indicate reduced blood coagulation capacity, which contradicts the expected effect of treatment with selective COX-2 inhibitors, as these drugs theoretically promote coagulation. Administering Firocoxib to horses is safe as it does not cause any significant adverse reactions. Therefore, it is a suitable option for managing inflammatory conditions in these animals.

Molecular overtone transitions provide optical frequency transitions sensitive to variation in the proton-to-electron mass ratio (μ = m_p/m_e). However, robust molecular state preparation presents a challenge critical for achieving high precision. Here, we characterize infrared and optical-frequency broadband laser cooling schemes for TeH⁺, a species with multiple electronic transitions amenable to sustained laser control. Using rate equations to simulate laser cooling population dynamics, we estimate the fractional sensitivity to μ attainable using TeH⁺. We find that laser cooling of TeH⁺ can lead to significant improvements on current μ variation limits.

Vitamin D (VD) is a pro-hormone essential for life in higher animals. It is present in few types of foods and is produced endogenously in the skin by a photochemical reaction. The final step of VD activation occurs in the kidneys involving a second hydroxylation reaction to generate the biologically active metabolite 1,25(OH)₂-VD. Extrarenal 1α-hydroxylation has also been described to have an important role in autocrine and paracrine signaling. Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been in the spotlight as a major public health-care issue with an estimated prevalence of more than a billion people worldwide. Among individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), VDD prevalence has been reported to be as high as 80%. Classically VD plays a pivotal role in calcium and phosphorus homeostasis. Nevertheless, there is a growing body of evidence supporting the importance of VD in many vital nonskeletal biological processes such as endothelial function, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system modulation, redox balance and innate and adaptive immunity. In individuals with CKD, VDD has been associated with albuminuria, faster progression of kidney disease and increased all-cause mortality. Recent guidelines support VD supplementation in CKD based on extrapolation from cohorts conducted in the general population. In this review, we discuss new insights on the multifactorial pathophysiology of VDD in CKD as well as how it may negatively modulate different organs and systems. We also critically review the latest evidence and controversies of VD monitoring and supplementation in CKD patients.

Autonomous driving navigation relies on diverse approaches, each with advantages and limitations depending on various factors. For HD maps, modular systems excel, while end-to-end methods dominate mapless scenarios. However, few leverage the strengths of both. This paper innovates by proposing a hybrid architecture that seamlessly integrates modular perception and control modules with data-driven path planning. This innovative design leverages the strengths of both approaches, enabling a clear understanding and debugging of individual components while simultaneously harnessing the learning power of end-to-end approaches. Our proposed architecture achieved 1st and 2nd place in the 2023 CARLA Autonomous Driving Challenge’s SENSORS and MAP tracks, respectively. These results demonstrate the architecture’s effectiveness in both map-based and mapless navigation.

The art work of this present paper is to show properly conditions and aspects to reach stability in the process control, as also to avoid instability, by using digital PID controllers, with the intention of help the industrial community. The discussed control strategy used to reach stability is to manipulate variables that are directly proportional to their controlled variables. To validate and to put the exposed principles into practice, it was done two simulations of a continuous fermentation tank process start-up with the yeast strain S. Cerevisiae NRRL-Y-132, in which the substrate feed stream contains different types of sugar derived from cane bagasse hydrolysate. These tests were carried out through the resolution of conservation laws, more specifically mass and energy balances, in which the fluid temperature and level inside the tank were the controlled variables. The results showed the facility in stabilize the system by following the exposed proceedings.

Eysenhardtia platycarpa (Fabaceae) is a medicinal plant used in México and it lacks biotechnological studies for its use. The aim of this work was to establish a cell suspension cultures (CSC) of E. platycarpa, determine the phytochemical profile, and evaluate its antifungal activity. Friable callus and CSC were established with 2 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid plus 0.1 mg/L kinetin. The highest total phenolics of CSC was 15.6 mg GAE/g dry weight and the total flavonoids content ranged from 56.2 to 104.1 µg QE/g dry weight. CG‒MS analysis showed that the dichloromethane extracts of CSC, sapwood and heartwood have a high amount of hexadecanoic acid (22.3 ‒ 35.3 %) and steroids (13.5 ‒ 14.7%). Heartwood and sapwood defatted hexane extracts have the highest amount of stigmasterol (≈ 23.4%) and β-sitosterol (≈ 43%), and leaf extracts presented β-amyrin (16.3%). Methanolic leaves extracts showed mostly sugars and some polyols, mainly D-pinitol (74.3%). Dichloromethane and fatty hexane extracts of CSC exhibited the percentages inhibition higher for Sclerotium cepivorum with 71.5 and 62.0%, respectively. The maximum inhibition for Rhizoctonia solani was with fatty hexane extracts of the sapwood (51.4%). Our study suggest that CSC extracts could be used as a possible complementary alternative to synthetic fungicides.

This paper investigates the path following control problem for a unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in the presence of unknown disturbances and system uncertainties. The simulation study combines two different types of sliding mode surface based control approaches due to its precise tracking and robustness against disturbances and uncertainty. Firstly, an adaptive linear sliding mode surface algorithm is applied, to keep the yaw error within the desired boundaries and then an adaptive integral non-linear sliding mode surface is explored to keep an account of the sliding mode condition. Additionally, a method to reconfigure the input parameters in order to keep settling time, yaw rate restriction and desired precision within boundary conditions is presented. The main strengths of proposed approach is simplicity, robustness with respect to external disturbances and high adaptability to static and dynamics reference courses without the need of parameter reconfiguration.

Many of engineering’s problems are about to optimise equations, functions and process models equations which appear on common or even complex science’s cases. Most applied optimisation methods nowadays can only be used on particular cases, so the main objective of this article is to define a computational method that can optimise or even find target values for specified objective functions and variables, by just using computer effort. Chemical plants involve many differential equations and they can be optimised with more facility now. On this paper, there are shown as example, an optimisation for a chemical reactor, which is found the optimal temperature and volumetric flow rate of feed, for the given objective function being the composition of the desired product. Named Domain’s Sweep, it is an algorithm that evaluate given(s) mathematical function(s) and/or equation(s) by varying your(s) independent variable(s) through loops with a given step size and solving it after closing the degrees of freedom, and finally, with some condition statements, store all the optimum values of given or created objective functions with its respective independent variables. In another words, the user create an objective function and this method find the function’s maximum, minimum or a certain chosen target value, even if it does not have an inflection point in the given search interval of the independent variables.

This study aims to evaluate the land surface temperature (LST) and the thermal characteristics of the Urban Canopy Layer (UCL) of the urban canyon in Avenida Rio Branco in the Central Business District (CBD) of Rio de Janeiro during summer. In order to conduct this evaluation, two methods were employed: 1) TIRS Landsat-8 sensor for data selection and processing (latest generation, 2011-2020); ; 2) field survey using nine sampling points — seven along two mobile transects, one fixed point, and one vertical measurement point, which required the use of a RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft). Three categories of analysis were established for the field survey based on the prevailing synoptic situations: stability, instability, and post-instability. The CBD is characterized by extensive areas with surface heat islands, in which temperatures were higher than 38.9°C; the areas with milder LSTs were Campo do Santana, Avenida Rio Branco, and one of the Mixed-Use Zones (Praça Mauá). With respect to Rio Branco Avenue, the LST niches of lowest elevation were derived through building shadowing; however, the orbital data diverged from the observation data of the ten field-study days. In situ data revealed that the characteristics urban morphology of Avenida Rio Branco is susceptible to the formation of heat islands, presenting heat islands of very strong magnitude (over 6.1°C) in atmospheric stability, strong magnitude (4.1-6.0°C) in atmospheric instability, and moderate magnitude (2.1°C-4.0°C) in post-atmospheric instability. Despite the synoptic situation, thermal cores were concentrated at 1 pm. The intersection between Avenida Rio Branco, Rua do Ouvidor, and Praça Mauá stored most of the solar energy received during the day due to the greater sky obstruction caused by the verticalization. Finally, vertical analysis demonstrated the formation of a thermal inversion on the night of the highest mean air temperature (29.5°C), probably, due to the roughness and number of buildings in the urban canyon.

The use of new assistive technologies in general, and Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) in particular is becoming increasingly common for supporting people’s health and well-being. However, it still faces many issues regarding long-term adherence, acceptability and utility. Most of these issues are due to design processes that insufficiently take into account the needs, preferences and values of intended users. Other issues are related to the currently very limited amount of long-term evaluations, performed in real world settings, for SAR. This study presents the results of two regional projects that consider as a starting hypothesis that the assessment in controlled environments and/or with short exposures may not be enough in the design of a SAR deployed in a retirement home and the necessity of designing for and with users. Thus, the proposed methodology has focused in use cases definitions that follow a human-centred and participatory design approach. The main goals have been facilitating system acceptance and attachment by involving stakeholders in the robots design and evaluation, overcoming usage barriers and considering user’s needs integration. The implementation of the first use case deployed and the two-phase pilot test performed in the retirement home are presented. In particular, a detailed description of the interface re-design process based on improving a basic prototype with users’ feedback and recommendations is presented together with main results of a formal evaluation that has highlighted the impact of changes and improvements addressed in the first redesign loop of the system.

This paper shows the proposal of the use of linked data for smart metering systems. The aim of linked data in smart grid applications such as smart metering systems is to give semantic knowledge of the energy transactions between all participators in the power markets. In combination with other technologies like blockchain, the linked data could improve decentralization and security in the world's energetic future.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) can regulate several aspects of gene expression, being associated with complex phenotypes in humans and livestock species. In taurine beef cattle, recent evidence points to the involvement of lncRNA in feed efficiency (FE), a proxy for increased productivity and sustainability. Here, we hypothesized specific regulatory roles of lncRNA in FE of indicine cattle. Using RNA-Seq data from liver, muscle, hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal gland from Nellore bulls with divergent FE, we submitted new transcripts to a series of filters to confidently predict lncRNA. Then, we identified lncRNA that were differentially expressed (DE) and/or key regulators of FE. Finally, we explored lncRNA genomic location and interactions with miRNA and mRNA to infer potential function. We were able to identify 126 relevant lncRNA for FE in Bos indicus, some with high homology to previously identified lncRNA in Bos taurus and some possible specific regulators of FE in indicine cattle. Moreover, lncRNA identified here were linked to previously described mechanisms related to FE in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and are expected to help elucidate this complex phenotype. This study contributes to expanding the catalogue of lncRNA, particularly in indicine cattle, and identifies candidates for further studies in animal selection and management.

This paper introduces the implementation of a genetic programming (GP)-based procedure to the automatic design and tuning of process controllers. The proposed approach makes a significant contribution to the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in control engineering. Unlike other controller design methods, the GP-based program handles the entire design in the time domain, including differential operations like derivatives and integrals, without the need for intermediate inverse Laplace transformation. This approach not only simplifies the design process but also ensures that all generated controllers are implementable in physical systems. Furthermore, GP’s functions set includes various mathematical operations beyond basic arithmetic operators, such as trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic operators. The performance and validity of the resulting controllers generated by the proposed GP-based approach are evaluated by verifying whether the generator can replicate the structure and performance of those produced by traditional controller design methods and, in some cases, achieve even better results. As a result, the GP-based approach presents a promising solution for automating the controller design process and addressing control problems in various engineering applications.

Spike-and-wave discharge (SWD) pattern detection in electroencephalography (EEG) signals is a key signal processing problem. It is particularly important for overcoming time-consuming, difficult, and error-prone manual analysis of long-term EEG recordings. This paper presents a new SWD method with a low computational complexity that can be easily trained with data from standard medical protocols. Precisely, EEG signals are divided into time segments for which the Morlet 1-D decomposition is applied. The generalized Gaussian distribution (GGD) statistical model is fitted to the resulting wavelet coefficients. A k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) self-supervised classifier is trained using the GGD parameters to detect the spike-and-wave pattern. Experiments were conducted using 106 spike-and-wave signals and 106 non-spike-and-wave signals for training and another 96 annotated EEG segments from six human subjects for testing. The proposed SWD classification methodology achieved 95 % sensitivity (True positive rate), 87% specificity (True Negative Rate), and 92% accuracy. These results set the path to new research to study causes underlying the so-called absence epilepsy in long-term EEG recordings.

Background: It is very important that nurses receive adequate training in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH). In this study, the contents of the SRH subject in the undergraduate nursing curricula of 77 Spanish universities were examined in order to determine what SRH training nursing students are receiving. Methods: The contents of the SRH subject of all the curricula that were available online were reviewed. The distribution of the contents (topics) in the two areas (reproductive health and sexual health) was analyzed, and the prevalence of each topic was established. It was also determined whether there were differences in topics between public (n=52) and private universities (n=25). Results: The training of nursing students focuses mainly on the area of Reproductive Health (15 topics). Most of the topics of this area had a prevalence greater than 50%. Although the area of Sexual Health had 14 topics, most of these topics had a low prevalence (&lt;20%), especially in private universities. Conclusions: It was found that there is considerable variation in the distribution and prevalence of SRH topics between universities. The contents of the area of Reproductive Health are usually prevalent in most of the curricula, however the contents of the area of Sexual Health are very limited in most of the universities. An organizational effort is required to determine and standardize the contents of SRH that nursing students should receive in Spain to avoid inequalities in their training.

Wrist shape varies greatly across primates and previous studies indicate that the numerous morphological differences among them are related to a complex mixture of phylogeny and function. However, little is known about whether the variation in these various anatomical differences is linked and to what extent the wrist bones vary independently. Here, we used 3D geometric morphometrics on a sample of extant hominids (Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and Gorilla beringei), to find the model that best describes the covariation patterns among four of the eight carpals (i.e., capitate, lunate, scaphoid, and trapezium). For this purpose, 15 modular hypotheses were tested using the Covariation Coefficient. Results indicate that there is a covariation structure common to all hominids, which corresponds to stronger covariation within each carpal as compared to the covariation between carpals. However, the results also indicate that that there is a degree of codependence in the variation of some carpals, which is unique in humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas, respectively. In humans there is evidence of associated shape changes between the lunate and capitate, and between the scaphoid and trapezium. This covariation between lunate and capitate is also apparent in gorillas, while chimpanzees display the greatest disassociation among carpals, showing low covariation values in all pairwise comparisons. Our analyses indicate that carpals have an important level of variational independence which might suggest a high degree of independent evolvability in the wrists of hominids, and that although weak, the structure of associated changes of these four carpals varies across genera. To our knowledge this is the first report on the patterns of modularity between these four wrist bones in the Homininae and future studies might attempt to investigate whether the anatomical shape associations among carpals are functionally related to locomotion and manipulation.

Tourism, and particularly residential tourism, has led to a change in the urban and demographic model of towns along the European Mediterranean coastline. Water as a limited and limiting resource for the growth of tourism is a popular topic in the scientific literature. However, the incorporation of non-conventional resources (desalination) has meant, in theory, that this limitation has been overcome. The aims of this paper are: a) to identify the different tourism models implanted in this territory and describe them from the point of view of their consumption of water in the demand cycle from 2002 to 2017; b) analyse the hydrosocial cycle, highlighting the measures aimed at satisfying water demand; and c) identify the limitations associated with these hydrosocial systems. To this end, different types of information will be processed, and various complex indicators produced. The results show the importance that demand management and the use of desalinated water in increasing the resilience of this territory to aridity. However, this has generated other problems associated with a tsunami of construction and the continuity of a non-sustainable territorial model.

In no-tillage systems, there is an accumulation of crop residues (CR) which plays an important role in available of soil-N. A study was set up to provide information regarding the CR N credit, and the influence of N mineral fertilizer. An incubation was run in a loam soil with addition of a similar rate of residue (10 Mg ha-1; sugarcane, soybean, and brachiaria) and N mineral fertilizer (urea; 120 kg N ha-1). After the stabilization of biological activity, soil and remaining residues were collected, and N monitored. Results showed that the N credit was positive with application of soybean, sugarcane, and brachiaria. There was an expressive performance of soybean N credit represented by a positive balance, and a reduction from 2.49 to 0.9 g kg-1 of N in residue, with direct increase of 90% of soil-N. There is no need of N fertilizer to potentialize the soybean N credit, but it is requested to potentialize N credit of brachiaria and sugarcane. The urea demonstrated be a good enhancer of brachiaria N credit, but it was not adequate to sugarcane residues. Based in our result, the accumulation and incorporation of CR can be considered as a N credit with positive contribution in soil-N.

PEM fuel cell is a technology successfully used in the production of energy from hydrogen, allowing the use of hydrogen as an energy vector. It is scalable for stationary and mobile applications. However, the technology demands more research. An important research topic is fault diagnosis and condition monitoring to improve the life and the efficiency and to reduce the operation costs of PEMFC devices. Consequently, there is a need of physical models that let deep analysis. These models must be accurate enough to represent the PEMFC behavior and to allow the identification of different internal signals of a PEM fuel cell. This work presents a PEM fuel cell model that uses the output temperature in a closed loop, so it can represent the thermal and the electrical behavior. The model is used to represent a NEXA Ballard 1.2 kW; therefore it is necessary to fit the coefficients to represent the real behavior. Five optimization algorithms were tested to fit the model, three of them were taken from literature and two were proposed. Finally, the model with the parameters identified was validated with real.

Alzheimer's disease still holds many mysteries that are yet to be revealed. Exploring the reasons behind the increase in suicidal behavior in patients undergoing promising treatments for Alzheimer's disease is a scientific endeavor. Research practices must be built upon strong theoretical frameworks that can guide the investigation. Throughout decades of professional experience in caring for suicidal individuals and elderly people with cognitive disorders, we have noticed a connection that requires further exploration. It seems that existential distress may trigger various outcomes. At one end of the spectrum, we observe individuals who strongly resist adverse situations, making them more prone to developing suicidal behaviors. At the other end, we see individuals who exert great biological effort to adapt to the ongoing stresses of life, with Alzheimer's disease being a neurological consequence of this adaptation. To develop our understanding, we conducted an existentialist analysis to conceptualize the underpinnings of the human experience in a stress-filled world.

Colombia is the world's leading producer of mild washed arabica coffee and produces 12.6 million bags of green coffee, but at the same time 784,000 tons of waste biomass are dumped in open fields, of which only 5% is recovered or used. The objective of this project was to evaluate the production of platform chemicals from these coffee wastes. To achieve this, biomass characterization was carried out using proximate analysis, ultimate analysis and structural analysis. Hydrothermal valorization was carried out at a temperature range of 120-180 °C (LHW) and 180-260 °C (HTC) for one hour, the platform chemicals obtained were quantified by HPLC-IR, monitored by pH and conductivity, and the solid fraction was characterized by monitoring the functional groups in IR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Hydrolysis processes were obtained from 150 °C, production of platform chemicals from 180 °C and maximum concentration at 180 °C-4h, over 200 °C degradation of the products in the liquid fraction starts to take place. Homogeneous basic and acid catalysts were used to improve the yields of the reaction. The kinetics of the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic structures to sugars were also analyzed and described, and reaction orders of 1 (LHW), 3 (HTC) and their respective reaction rate equations were reported.

The coffee industry loses millions of dollars annually worldwide due to the Coffee Berry Borer (CBB); these losses imply a decrease in quality and production. Traps are used to monitor their flight and for pest control. The main objective was to determine the flight pattern and trap capture percentages of the CBB population over time using column traps (CTs) in two independent field experiments. CTs were composed of four traps installed at four different heights 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5m above ground. Our results demonstrated a significant difference in CBB capture by traps placed at different heights above the ground. The CT capture maintained a pattern throughout this study's lag; the lower the height, the greater the percentage of CBBs captured. In Experiments A and B, the traps placed at 0.5m caught 67% and 85% of the CBBs captured, respectively. Furthermore, the trap set at 1.5m above the ground in the multi-level CT showed a higher capture percentage than the individually placed trap (also at 1.5m). The pattern of the capture and proportion of the CBB in the CTs were maintained throughout the study despite the season, changes in temperature, and relative air humidity. We suggested that CTs could be explored as a useful tool for capturing the CBB, considering its monitoring and management.

3D bioprinting, like 3D printing, is a process that builds structures by depositing material layer by layer. In the specific case of bioprinting, these layers are composed of a biocompatible material together with living cells, allowing the creation of three-dimensional structures that recreate functional tissues and organs. Bioprinting cell-laden structures is complicated by the high rate of cell damage and stress that occurs during the process, caused by the high pressures and stresses to which they are subjected. To minimise damage during the process, it is important to study and optimise certain bioprinting conditions beforehand and to analyse how they affect the cells by means of computational simulations. In this review, both quantitative and qualitative data are collected to improve the nozzle geometry through computational simulation studies. Optimal ranges for nozzle diameter (0.2-1mm) and length (8-10mm; 300-900μm) have been defined, and recommendations for improving nozzle performance during bioprinting, such as the provision of an inner angle of 20-30°, an inner EDTA coating and a shear stress of less than 10kPa, have been gathered. Finally, based on the data collected, a design of experiments is proposed to obtain an optimal bioprinting configuration for a particular bioink.

This paper investigates the effect of Fe contamination on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-7Si-0.7Mg-Fe2.5 alloy processed by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and heat treated in two different conditions: (1) Solution Heat Treatment (SHT) at 520 °C, followed by artificial ageing at 160 °C (T6), and (2) Direct Artificial Ageing of the as-printed material at 160 °C (DAA). Microstructural characterization was carried out by Optical Microscopy (OM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Mechanical characterization was carried out by tensile tests at room temperature. The formation of fine AlSiFe phases such as α-AlFeSi, β-AlFeSi, and π-Al8Si6Mg3Fe had no deleterious effect on the mechanical properties compared to previous studies for AlSIMg alloys without Fe. However, compared to the as-printed condition, the T6 heat treatment decreased the ultimate tensile strain significantly, while the elongation to the fracture presented a slight improvement.

The vegetation in constructed wetlands (CWs) plays an important role in wastewater treatment. Popularly, the common emergent plants in CWs have been vegetation of natural wetlands. However, there are ornamental flowering plants that have some physiological characteristics similar to the plants of natural wetlands that can stimulate the removal of pollutants in wastewater treatments; such importance in CWs is described here. A literature survey of 87 CWs from 21 countries showed that the four most commonly used flowering ornamental vegetation genera were Canna, Iris, Heliconia and Zantedeschia. In terms of geographical location, Canna spp. is commonly found in Asia, Zantedeschia spp. is frequent in Mexico (a country in North America), Iris is most commonly used in Asia, Europe and North America, and species of the Heliconia genus are commonly used in Asia and parts of the Americas (Mexico, Central and South America). This review also compares the use of ornamental plants versus natural wetland plants and systems without plants for removing pollutants (COD, BOD, nitrogen and phosphorous compounds). The removal efficiency was similar between flowering ornamental and natural wetland plants. However, pollutant removal was better when using ornamental plants than in unplanted CWs. The use of ornamental flowering plants in CWs is an excellent option, and efforts should be made to increase the adoption of these system types and use them in domiciliary, rural and urban areas.

The aim of this study was to provide information on the levels of toxic (Cd and Pb) and essential (Cu, Fe and Zn) elements in cow’s milk produced in the State of Pernambuco (Brazil). A total of 142 samples of raw milk were collected, and the concentrations of essential and toxic elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. In almost 30 % of the samples analyzed, the Pb content exceeded the maximum level established in the Brazilian legislation (0.05 mg/l). By contrast, in all samples the Cd content was below the maximum allowable level (0.02 mg/L). The essential trace elements Cu, Fe and Zn were generally present at lower concentrations than reported in other studies and can be considered within the deficient range for cow’s milk. Statistical and chemometric procedures were used to evaluate the main factors influencing the metal concentrations (proximity to major roads, presence of effluents, and milking method). The study findings demonstrate that the proximity of the farms to major roads influences the concentrations of Cd, Pb and Cu and that this is the main factor explaining the Pb content of milk. In addition, the presence of effluents influenced the concentrations of Cu, while no relationship between the metal content and the milking method was observed. Thus, in accordance with the study findings, consumption of cow’s milk produced in the region can be considered a risk to public health due to the high concentrations of Pb and the low concentrations of other essential minerals such as Cu, Zn and Fe in some of the milk samples.

The signature of chaotic systems can be characterized either by the sensitivity of the initial conditions or by the change of its parameters. This feature can be used for manufacturing high sensitivity sensors. Sensors based on chaotic circuits have already been used for measuring water salinity, inductive effects, and both noise and weak signals. This article investigates an impedance sensor based on the Van der Pol and Duffing damped oscillators. The calibration process is a key point and therefore the folding behavior of signal periods was also explored. A sensitivity of 0.15 kΩ/Period was estimated over a range from 89.5 to 91.6 kΩ. This range can be adjusted according to the application by varying the gain of the operational amplifier used in this implementation. The development of this type of sensor might be used in medical and biological engineering for skin impedance measurements, for example. This type of chaotic sensor has the advantage of sensing small disturbances and then detect small impedance changes within biological materials which, in turn, may not be possible with other detectors.

Nanocrystalline silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) is a multipurpose material with its varied application in solar cells as a transparent front contact, intermediate reflector, back reflector layer and even tunnel layer for passivating contacts, owing to easy tailoring of its optical properties. In this work, we systematically investigate the influence of gas mixture (SiH4, CO2, PH3 and H2), RF power and process pressure on the optical, structural and passivation properties of thin n-type nc-SiOx:H films prepared in an industrial, high throughput, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor. We provide a detailed description of the n-type nc-SiOx:H material develop-ment using various characterization techniques (SEM, EDX, Raman spectroscopy, and spectro-scopic ellipsometry) with a focus on the relationship between the material properties and the pas-sivation they provide to n-type c-Si wafers characterized by their effective carrier lifetime (τeff). Further, we also outline the parameters to be kept in mind while developing different n-type nc-SiOx:H layers for different solar cell applications. We report a tunable optical gap (1.8 – 2.3 eV) for our n-type nc-SiOx:H films as well as excellent passivation properties with τeff up to 3.5 ms (iVoc ~ 715 mV) before annealing. Oxygen content plays an important role in determining the crystallinity and hence passivation quality of the deposited nanocrystalline silicon oxide films.

In this work, we present a model of the atom that is based on a nonclassical logic called paraconsistent logic (PL), which has the main property of accepting the contradiction in logical interpretations without the conclusions being annulled. The proposed model is constructed with an extension of PL called paraconsistent annotated logic with annotation of two values (PAL2v), which is associated with an interlaced bilattice of four vertices. We use the logarithmic function of the Shannon entropy H_(s) to construct the paraconsistent equations and thus adapt a probabilistic model for representations in quantum physics. Through analyses of the interlaced bilattice, comparative values are obtained for some of the phenomena and effects of quantum mechanics, such as superposition of states, quantum entanglement, wave functions, and equations that determine the energy levels of the layers of an atom. At the end of this article, we use the hydrogen atom as a basis of the representation of the PAL2v model, where the values of the energy levels in six orbital layers are obtained. As an example, we present a possible method of applying the PAL2v model to the use of Raman spectroscopy signals in the detection of lubricating mineral oil quality.

Abstract: Background: The periodization of physical exercise to optimize the objectives is common in competitive sports, however physical exercise programs for the older adults do not usu-ally present periodization in their programming, they are limited to carrying out similar sessions throughout the program. Methods:137 people over 60 years old performed a physical exercise program, 71 people participated in a multicomponent non-periodized program as the Control Group (CG) and 66 people participated in a program periodized in blocks as the Experimental Group (EG). The block periodization program was oriented to the development of strength, and was carried out in 86 sessions three times per week during a period of 8 months. Anthropometric assessments were made using: weight, height, BMI and electrical bioimpedance; and functional evaluations through standardized tests: SPPB, TUG, handgrip and two-minute stair test. Results: After the intervention, the EG presents significant improvements in the TUG, in the weight and in the BMI. On the other hand, the CG presents significant improvements in fat weight, in BMI and in the 2-minute stair test. The SPPB did not present changes after the intervention. Conclusion: The periodization of physical exercise for older adults does not have a significant impact on the functional capacity in this population group.

(1) Background: Grapes and their associated by-products (as grape pomace, GP) stand out for their polyphenol content, which makes them a source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity. The aim of this research was to determine if the inclusion of 50 g/kg of GP in the diet of hens could enrich egg with antioxidants and to study its effect on internal and external egg quality parameters. (2) Methods: A trial was conducted with two genetic lines of hens, which were fed either a control diet or a diet containing 50 g/kg of GP. Performance, internal and external egg quality, and egg yolk content of vitamins E and A, and gallic acid were determined; (3) Results: In eggs laid by hens fed GP diet, Haugh units and yolk colour score were enhanced, and eggshell became thinner, but without affecting the breaking strength. No dietary effect was observed on vitamin contents in yolk. Higher gallic acid content was observed in yolk of eggs laid by hens fed the GP diet, suggesting that some dietary phenolic compounds could be transferred to the eggs. Hen genetics influenced egg weight, albumen Haugh units, shell thickness and α- and γ-tocopherol concentration in yolks; (4) Conclusions: Dietary inclusion of GP improved the internal quality of eggs, enriching yolks with a phenolic compound, but reduced shell thickness.

The aim of this work was to classify the business incubators in Spain according to the four phases of startups incubation. Taking into account that the graduation rate implies greater survival and business success of the incubated companies, they have been identified at each stage of the incubation (spread of entrepreneurship, pre-incubation, advanced incubation, and graduation). The activities that present higher impacts on the success of the incubated companies and the activities carried out by the incubator that have a greater relevance on the graduation of the companies have concretely been considered. Principal component (PC) cluster analysis have been applied. All the incubation variables were used simultaneously, reducing their number, and grouping them into factors, finally the cases were grouped according to these latent variables. Principal components analysis reduced dimensionality to 8 factors with a 74 % of explained variance. Factor 1 was positively related to pre-incubation variables, factor 2 was linked to training and collaboration variables within the entrepreneurship diffusion phase. Factor 3 called activity monitoring and control and was related to phase 3 or basic incubation variables. Clusters analysis facilitates the grouping of incubators into three clusters: Group 1 (16 % of the total), incubators with strong deficits in incubation phases 1, 2 and 3. They are small Business Incubators, often located in rural areas or cities and low graduation rate. Group 2 (30 %), business incubators with very high graduation rate, and strongly positive values in factor 1 and 2. Factor 3 although positive is susceptible to improvement. They are the largest incubators and usually located in industrial and technological parks. Group 3 (54 %) is the majority, with values close to cluster 2 and 3.

This paper constitutes a first advance in the paleoenvironmental study of a small group of peatland ecosystems, of reduced size, located in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula (Puebla de Don Rodrigo, Ciudad Real, Spain). It represents a singular enclave, because these ecosystems are home to the southern-most peatlands in Europe, located at the lowest altitude in Spain, and are unique to the region of Castilla-La Mancha. They form ecosystems similar to the peat bogs of northern Europe, but in a Mediterranean climate. The analysis is followed of sample collection and data collection from documentary, textual, and cartographic sources drawn up since the 16th century up until the present day. The scientific analyses that were performed and the documentation that was consulted point to the hypothesis that these peatlands are the result of a long process of historical modification of the landscape in which anthropogenic activity has played a leading role, triggering a series of processes on the hillslopes that are culminating in the exhumation of the waterlogged areas, thereby establishing a recent genesis of these ecosystems.

Since its inception in December 2019, Covid-19 has challenged the global scientific community. Some treatments were used in this infection, but doubts still persist regarding the use of medications ¹. More severe cases complicate with endothelial dysfunction, excess thrombin synthesis and decreased fibrinolysis which, associated with hypoxemia, lead to a hypercoagulability state ² and some authors indicate the use of anticoagulants for these ³. For mild cases, doubts remain regarding this indication. We will report the case of a patient with mild symptoms of covid-19, complicated by inferior mesenteric vein thrombosis.

The pandemic of obesity worldwide has been recognized as a very important challenge. Within its complexity the identification of higher risk patients becomes essential since it seems unsustainable trying to offer access to treatment to all people with obesity. Several new approaches have recently been presented as important tools for risk stratification. This research applied some of these tools in a cross-sectional study involving adults with obesity classes I, II, III and super obesity. The participants had their cardiometabolic risk profile assessed. The study included adults with obesity, aged 18 to 50 years (n=404) who were evaluated for anthropometric, body composition, hemodynamic, physical fitness and biochemical assessments. These variables were used to identify the prevalence of risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases according to the classes of obesity, by gender and age group. The results showed a high prevalence of risk factors, especially among the upper classes of obesity (BMI &gt; 35 kg/m2) using single parameters as the waist circumference with almost 90% above the cut-off point. But there were also smaller numbers as the Glycated Hemoglobin whose prevalence was around 30%. Indexes like the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) had the highest prevalence, with 100% of the male participants identified with increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.

The present study aimed to evaluate the technical feasibility of using a calcined aggregate with mining residue in different pavement layers, including base, sub-base, and wearing course. For this purpose, the physical characterization of the residue and clay was performed, as well as the production of calcined aggregates at temperatures ranging from 800ºC to 1100ºC. Additionally, the suitability of these aggregates in pavement layers was assessed, considering the current standards. The physical results characterization indicated that the studied clay is suitable for manufacturing calcined clay aggregates since the particle size distribution showed ceramic potential - according to the Winkler diagram - and presented a plasticity index (PI) higher than 15%. In the tests of boiling-induced mass loss and unit mass, the values obtained were within the limits established by the standards, being lower than 10% and 0.88 g/cm3, respectively. Regarding the abrasion loss test, the M1100 aggregate showed "Los Angeles" abrasion values lower than the limit established by the standard, demonstrating its potential as an artificial aggregate in pavement applications.

Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) analysis between the anomalies of Lake Titicaca water levels (WLs) and the Pacific Interdecadal Oscillation (IPO) reveals a correlation coefficient of 0.71 between the WLs and the principal component (PC1). These findings demonstrate the high accuracy of the IPO in representing the positive and negative phases of the water levels. By utilizing wavelet functions, we identified multi-decadal variability with periods ranging between 20 and 30 years. The statistical techniques employed indicate a relationship between IPO and ENSO; however, they operate on different timescales of climate variability. The IPO exhibits longer-term variability, typically spanning 20-30 years, while ENSO events occur on average every 2-7 years. Nevertheless, the IPO has the ability to modulate the strength and frequency of El Niño and La Niña events, and vice versa. During the positive phase of the IPO, there is a tendency for more frequent and intense El Niño events, accompanied by fewer La Niña events. This can be attributed to warmer sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, which create favorable conditions for El Niño development. Conversely, during the negative phase of the IPO, there is a tendency for more frequent and intense La Niña events, with fewer occurrences of El Niño events, due to cooler sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific.

Starting 1994, the debate for regulating organic agriculture in Brazil was officially recognized in May 1999. Still, only in 2003, when the law # 10,831 was instituted, the country reached an effective milestone on organic production, both internally and externally. Since the industry regulation, the legislation underwent many modifications, constantly reviewing and adjusting. The current study examined the institutionalization of organic production in Brazil and what the current regulations can be used as a reference for those interested in this sector. The most recent update of Organic legislation and its implication on practice were also discussed. A case study on production of strawberry in organic system is presented and discussed.

Forty-five male Dorper crossbred lambs (40.17 ± 0.35 kg BW) were used in order to investigate the effects of the duration of calcium propionate (CaPr) supplementation in lambs finished with zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) on the productive performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. Lambs were individually housed and fed a finishing-diet for 42 d before being slaughtered. Lambs received the following treatments: 1) No additives (CTL), 2) ZH supplementation for 28 d (with 3 d ZH withdrawal before slaughter) at a dosage of at 7.2 mg/kg diet (ZH), for treatments 3, 4, and 5, lambs received ZH and 10g CaPr/lamb/d throughout the entire phase (42 d), or during the last 28 or 14 d before slaughter. Compared to CTL, ZH lambs exhibited a similar average daily gain (ADG) but had lower dry matter intake (DMI), leading to increased feed efficiency. Supplementing with ZH alone did not affect carcass traits, visceral mass, whole cuts, or meat quality. Lambs that received both CaPr and ZH exhibited quadratic increases (p &lt; 0.05) in final BW (FBW), ADG, and dressing percentage (D%). These increases were optimal at an estimated inclusion durations of 26 d for FBW, 30 for ADG, and 39 d for D%. The ADG:DMI ratio and the longissimus muscle area (LMA) both exhibited quadratic increases (p &lt; 0.05). The optimal duration of CaPr supplementation for ADG:DMI ratio was found to be 28 d, while for LMA, it was 14 d. As the period of CaPr supplementation increased, there was a linear increase (p &lt;0.05) in hot carcass weight, leg circumference, and whole cuts of breast IMPS209 and shoulder IMPS207. Cook loss percent increased quadratically (p &lt; 0.05), being higher when CaPr was included for an estimated duration of 26 d. As the duration of CaPr supplementation increased, the purge loss percentage (PLR) also increased linearly (p &lt; 0.05). In conclusion, including CaPr in the diet for a duration of 28 d in lambs improved the response to ZH supplementation on the productive performance, carcass weight and some whole cuts. However, it can also have a negative effect on PRL%.

Studies have demonstrated the positive effects of acupuncture on athletic performance. The aim of this study was to determine the acute effects of acupuncture on heart rate, the perceived exertion scale and lactate levels in recreational athletes. Fifteen competitive males engaged in HIIT. The characteristic was 29.86±2.51 years old, heart rate reserve 59.00±3.33, lactate 3.17±0.50 mM/DL. The subjects were submitted to two exercise sessions. Both training sessions consisted of 10 burpees, 12 thrusters and 14 box jumps (75 cm high) for 12 minutes. Activity intensity was between 85 and 95% of maximum heart rate. Acupuncture points: ST36, L3, LI11. The student’s t-test was adopted, Shapiro-Wilk test was applied for normality, and Pearson correlation. There was a positive correlation of r = 0.69 between lactate levels and heart rate. Lactate: Lac1 15.00±1.18 – Lac2 19.59± 1.46 p= 0.0001*; Heart 1rate: HRF 163.71±7.27 – HRF2 177.60±6.99 p=0.0001*; Blood pressure: SBP1 174.86±1.57 – SBP2 180.86±1.77 p= 0.0001*; PES1: 19.4±1.14; PES2 16.8±0.84 p= 0.0001*; weight1 – 182,57±12,05; weight 2 206,43±11,39 p=0.0325*. Acupuncture increased lactate accumulation, heart rate and blood pressure, suggesting that the exertion reached after acupuncture is higher than without acupuncture. The acupuncture technics improved the athlete performance.

A novel gas-phase electrocatalytic system based on a low-temperature proton exchange membrane (Sterion) was developed for the gas phase electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 to liquid fuels. This system achieved gas-phase electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 at low temperatures (below 90 ºC) over a Cu cathode by using water electrolysis-derived protons generated in-situ on an IrO2 anode. Three Cu-based cathodes with varying metal particle sizes were prepared by supporting this metal on an activated carbon at three loadings (50, 20, and 10 wt%; 50%Cu-AC, 20%Cu-AC, and 10%Cu-AC, respectively). The cathodes were characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) whereas their performance towards the electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 was subsequently studied. The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) containing the cathode with the largest Cu particle size (50%Cu-AC, 40 nm) showed the highest CO2 electrocatalytic activity per mole of Cu, with methyl formate being the main product. This higher electrocatalytic activity was attributed to the lower Cu–CO bonding strength over large Cu particles. Different product distributions were obtained over 20%Cu-AC and 10%Cu-AC, with acetaldehyde and methanol being the main reaction products, respectively. The CO2 consumption rate increased with the applied current and the reaction temperature.

In polymer-based dental composites, wear is a three-body wear system mainly abrasive, because of the food particles and wear products suspended in the oral cavity, which are transferred to the microcavities of the surface of the replacements. Due to this fact, the incorporation of nanodiamond as reinforcement in these polymer matrix composites, which promotes the creation of a solid lubricant tribofilm surface could be advantageous. When nanodiamond is added in contents of 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 wt %, an increase in microhardness from 95 up to 420 %, compared to the one of neat BisGMA/TEGDMA, is observed. Additionally, the incorporation of a content of 1.6 wt % is enough to cause a diminution of ~78 % in the friction coefficient and a reduction of the specific wear rate and Archard’s coefficient of ~50 %. Nevertheless, the addition of relatively high contents reduces the effectiveness of photoinitiation and UV-curing, which is related to the scattering and absorption of UV radiation by ND.

Objective: To identify risk factors(RF) related to abnormal glucose regulation(AGR) 3 years postpartum according to 3-month-postpartum glucose status. Research design: Normoglycemic pregnant women of the St. Carlos Gestational Study included before gestational week 12, during 2015-2017. Of 3,036 eligible women, 2529 were followed-up until delivery: 1400 participated in postpartum follow-up. AGR defined as fasting serum glucose (FSG)>5.6 mmol/L and/or HbA1c >5.7% (39 mmol/mol) and/or 2h-SG ≥140/mg/dL after 75-g OGTT. 12-modifiable and 3-unmodifiable RF were analyzed for associations with glycemic changes. Reinforcement of Mediterranean Diet adherence was provided to all women at the postpartum visit by a dietitian Results: 137/1400(9.8%) women presented AGR 3 years postpartum, 27/137(19.7%) also had at 3 months, whereas 110/137(80.2%) had not. The remaining 1,263(90.2%) women were normoglycemic 3 years postpartum, 1180/1263(84.3%) were at 3 months, while 83/1263(6.08%) had AGR and became normoglycemic. Women with GDM were more likely to progress to AGR 3 years postpartum (OR:1.60[1.33-1.92]) and less likely to remain normoglycemic (OR:0.22[0.15-0.33]) versus non-GDM women. Having >2/3 unmodifiable RF was associated with a reduced rate of maintained normoglycemia (OR:0.56[0.39-0.80]) and an increased risk of progression to AGR (OR:1.90[1.28-2.83]). Having >5/12 modifiable RF was associated with a reduced rate of maintained normoglycemic (OR:0.74[0.51-0.99]) and reversion of AGR (OR:0.49[0.25-0.97]), an increased progression to AGR (OR:1.40[1.00-2.09]), and persistence of AGR (OR:2.57[1.05-6.31]). Pre-gestational BMI≥25kg/m2 (OR:1.80[1.19-2.71]), post-delivery weight gain (OR:2.22[1.10-4.48]), and waist circumference >89.5cm (OR:0.54[0.36-0.79]), (all p<0.05) were the main modifiable RF. Conclusions: RF related to an increased probability for 3-year-postpartum AGR despite 3-month normoglycemia were identified, potentially useful when designing personalized strategies for pregnant women, directed towards minimizing unfavorable outcomes.

The real estate market is exposed to many fluctuations in prices, because of existing correlations with many variables, some of which cannot be controlled or might even be unknown. Housing prices can increase rapidly (or in some cases, also drop very fast), yet the numerous listings available online where houses are sold or rented are not likely to be updated that often. In some cases, individuals interested in selling a house (or apartment) might include it in some online listing, and forget about updating the price. In other cases, some individuals might be interested in deliberately setting a price below the market price in order to sell the home faster, for various reasons. In this paper we aim at developing a machine learning application that identifies opportunities in the real estate market in real time, i.e., houses that are listed with a price substantially below the market price. This program can be useful for investors interested in the housing market. We have focused in a use case considering real estate assets located in the Salamanca district in Madrid (Spain) and listed in the most relevant Spanish online site for home sales and rentals. The application is formally implemented as a regression problem, that tries to estimate the market price of a house given features retrieved from public online listings. For building this application, we have performed a feature engineering stage in order to discover relevant features that allows attaining a high predictive performance. Several machine learning algorithms have been tested, including regression trees, $k$-nearest neighbors, support vector machines and neural networks, identifying advantages and handicaps of each of them.

Monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) and organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1C1 (OATP1C1) are thyroid hormones (TH) transmembrane transporters relevant for the availability of TH in neural cells, crucial for their proper development and function. Mutations in MCT8 or OATP1C1 result in severe disorders with dramatic movement disability related to alterations in basal ganglia motor circuits. Mapping the expression of MCT8/OATP1C1 in those circuits is necessary to explain their involvement in motor control. We studied the distribution of both transporters in the neuronal subpopulations that configure the direct and indirect basal ganglia motor circuits using immunohistochemistry and double/multiple labeling immunofluorescence for TH transporters and neuronal biomarkers. We found their expression in the medium-sized spiny neurons of the striatum (the receptor neurons of the corticostriatal pathway), and in various types of its local microcircuitry interneurons, including the cholinergic. We also demonstrate the presence of both transporters in projection neurons of intrinsic and output nuclei of the basal ganglia, motor thalamus and nucleus basalis of Meynert, suggesting an important role of MCT8/OATP1C1 for modulating the motor system. Our findings suggest that a lack of function of these transporters in the basal ganglia circuits would significantly impact motor system modulation, leading to clinically severe movement impairment.

Characterized by severe and fatal arrhythmias induced by cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (CIR), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To investigate the cardioprotective role of cardiac Ca2+/cAMP/adenosine signaling in AMI, the effects of L-type Ca2+ channels (LTCC) blocker Nifedipine (NIF) and Verapamil (VER), in the absence and presence of A1-adenosine receptors (A1R) blocker (DPCPX), on the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias (VA), atrioventricular block (AVB) and lethality (LET) induced by CIR in rats were evaluated. CIR was induced in adult male Wistar rats (290-320 g) by occlusion of the left anterior descendent coronary artery (10 min) followed by reperfusion (75 min). VA, AVB and LET incidences were evaluated by ECG analysis and compared between control (CIR group) and intravenously treated 5 min before CIR with NIF 1, 10, and 30 mg/kg (NIF+CIR groups) or DPCPX 100 µg/kg plus NIF 10 mg/kg (DPCPX+NIF+CIR group) and VER 1 mg/kg (VER+CIR group) or DPCPX 100 µg/kg plus VER 1 mg/kg (DPCPX+VER+CIR group). Serum levels of cardiac injury biomarkers (TCK and CK-MB) were quantified. In CIR group, VA, AVB and LET incidences were 90, 80 and 70%, respectively. In NIF+CIR group, incidence of VA was reduced to 50, 30 and 30%, AVB to 25, 10 and 20%, and LET to 25, 20 and 20%, and respectively. In DPCPX+NIF+CIR group, these incidences were not different from CIR group. TCK and CK-MB levels were similar in all groups. These results indicate that pharmacological modulation of the Ca2+/cAMP/adenosine signaling in cardiac cells by LTCC blockade and A1R stimulation could be a new strategy cardioprotective for human AMI therapy.

Keywords: environmental impacts of hotels; environmental management in lodging facilities; corporate sustainability.

Nowadays, there is extensive production and use of plastic materials for different industrial activities. These plastics, either from their primary production sources or through degradation processes of the plastics themselves, can contaminate the ecosystem with micro and nanoplastics. Once in the aquatic environment, these microplastics can be the basis for the adsorption of chemical pollutants, favoring that these chemical pollutants disperse more quickly in the environment and can affect living beings. Due to the lack of information on adsorption, three machine learning models (random forest, support vector machine, and artificial neural network) to predict different microplastic/water partition coefficients (log Kd) were developed using two different approximations (based on the number of input variables). The best-selected machine learning models present, in general, correlation coefficients upper than 0.92 in the query phase, which indicate that these type of models could be used for a rapid estimation of the absorption of organic contaminants on microplastics.

Escherichia coli and Shigella are common diarrhea-causing pathogens in children and adults. Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) shares a similar pathogenic mechanism with Shigella. However, EIEC are less virulent than Shigella. The aim of this work was to get a better understanding of the virulence differences between EIEC and S. flexneri. We investigated i) the bacterial gene co-expression networks (GCNs) and ii) the the transcriptional modules (WGCNA) of Caco-2 cells infected with EIEC or with S. flexneri during a three-hour period of bacterial infection. The GCN analysis showed that EIEC and S. flexneri networks presented different topologies. Additionally, the EIEC network revealed that pINV genes are not connected with chromosomal genes. WGCNA and eigengene analysis showed enterocyte gene expression variation along the three-hour bacterial post-infection period. Additionally, at one-hour post-infection EIEC induced a higher number of gene expression changes in Caco-2 cells than S. flexneri. Several of these genes are involved in autophagy. This study showed that the lower virulence of EIEC is associated with a lack of functional cooperation between pINV and chromosomal genes, differently from what was observed in S. flexneri. Consequently, EIEC becomes less efficient in subverting host-cell bacterial recognition as well as defense mechanisms such as autophagy.

The main challenges in oil platforms are how to define optimal setpoints and decision-making for controlling variables due to many existing dynamical production uncertainties while conceding safe operation and minimizing discharge to sea and atmosphere without killing plantwide inventory. A novel scheduling model to optimize the whole essential units of an oil platform production gathering topside and subsea variables is disclosed. A proper topside and subsea scheduling model enables and creates harmony between optimal production, supply chain, costs, and market dynamics, satisfying demands, environmental and operations constraints leading to stability. The interest of the present research lies in determining the optimal topside and subsea operational settings and decision-making, establishing maximum E&P performance and production control setpoints while predicting and manipulating reservoir lifespan and its revitalization. This objective is attained through a novel multiperiod large-scale model for the planning and operational production scheduling and model predictive control (MPC) in oil platforms complying with sustainability, profitability, platform design capacities, and offloading of oil and gas to supply chains or to pipeline exportation. The present model details heat and mass transfer, PVT, flow profiles along a planning horizon and can be used to any oil platform since comprises all the essential unit operations for oil, gas, CO₂, H₂S and water. The model maximizes the total oil production over any planning horizon. The model is versatile, and decision-making can be either linear or nonlinear but rather a MILP or LP as best choice on optimizing large-scale systems. If the model is applied with auto rescheduling on site within variable hours or minutes, it becomes a real-time optimization schedule approach. Due to its high-velocity performance and robustness, a novel multi-objective function strategy, acting as an LP generic plantwide MPC with industrial scope to maximize production while controlling the process is presented, and as an example is here used to control slug flow to avoid equipment trips and inventory instability, at the same time production is maximized. The output from the decision-making was compared to actual plant data, and the results proved compliance to the design capacity with process safety and sustainability. Comparing to official Brazil's government data for oil, the case study showed superiority to the same size platforms, like FPSOs P-75 and MV32, e.g., more than 101.5% more capacity to produce oil in beginning of campaign after first oil, and 10.5% during campaign. The present work indicates that: 1) the production of millions of barrels is being delayed or left aside; 2) not scheduling production harms the environment and diminish process safety; 3) not scheduling production can create stochastic supply chain deliveries instead of organizing it by deterministic offloading days; 4) scheduling is essential to manipulate, revitalize and monitor reservoir's pressure and content under uncertainty; 5) the oil platform can be automatic optimized by a plantwide MPC reducing human activity/dependency; 6) scheduling gives more transparency to stakeholders and contractors by forecasting business data and capability, and can design, develop or enable new businesses.

Objective: To assess the spectrum of PET-CT-related large vessel vasculitis (LVV) in a Spanish tertiary center and to determine whether FDG uptake by PET-CT differs between giant cell arteritis (GCA) with predominant cranial or extracranial phenotypes. Methods: The spectrum of patients diagnosed with LVV by PET-CT in a tertiary referral hospital that cares for 450,000 people over a period of two years was reviewed. Moreover, differences in FDG uptake between LVV-GCA with predominantly cranial and extracranial phenotype were analyzed. Results: Eighty patients were diagnosed with LVV by PET-CT. Most were due to systemic vasculitis (n=64; 80%), especially GCA (n=54; 67.5%). Other conditions included the presence of rheumatic diseases (n=4; 3.2%), tumors (n=9; 7.2%), and infections (n=3; 2.4%). LVV-GCA patients with predominant extracranial GCA phenotype were younger (mean ± SD: 68.07 ± 9.91 versus 75.46 ± 7.64 years; p= 0.017) and had a longer delay to the diagnosis (median [interquartile range] 12 [4-18] versus 4 [3-8]; p=0.006), but had PMR symptoms more frequently than those with predominantly cranial GCA phenotype (46.3% versus 15.4%, p= 0.057). When FDG uptake was compared according to the two different disease patterns, no statistically significant differences were observed. However, patients with extracranial LVV-GCA showed a non-significantly higher frequency of vasculitic involvement of lower extremity arteries. Conclusion: Regardless of the predominant phenotype, LVV identified by PET-CT is more commonly due to GCA in the Spanish population. In these GCA patients, younger age, PMR and a higher frequency of lower extremity artery vasculitis suggest the presence of LVV.

The decapod fauna in intertidal rocky shore in continental Chile has high species diversity mainly in northern and central Chile due high productivity of these coast due influence of cold Humboldt stream. One of the abundant species in these ecosystems is decapod Cyclograpsus cinereus Dana, 1851. The aim of the present study was determine the spatial distribution pattern of C. cinereus along rocky shore in Antofagasta bay, north of Chile between spring and summer 2018-2020. Data was obtained counting individuals from random quadrants in intertidal zones, to the obtained data was applied the variance mean ratio for determine if the specimens have random, aggregate or uniform distribution, that are associated to Poisson, negative binomial or positive binomial distributions respectively. Data obtained revealed the existence of associated distribution with respective negative binomial distribution pattern in 16 observations, and uniform distribution for 3 observations. The sites corresponds to rocky shores in urban zones, and in a protected zone, and the density does not have significant differences for both kind of sites. The observed data about aggregated pattern agree with observations for decapods for rocky shore in central and southern Chile, specifically in interpretative probabilistic models.

Native plants from the Brazilian Amazon Biome are rich in nutrientes, oils and fats and, therefore, represent a very important regional food resource. Althoung there is a global interest in the nutritional potential of tropical fruits, the potential of Amazonian fruits as source of essential fatty acids is still under exploited, since their composition is still understudied. ¹H Magnetic Resonance Nuclear (¹H NMR) is a robust spectroscopic tool to profile fatty acids components in oils. The objectives of this work were to use ¹H NMR to determine the fatty acids profile and the physicochemical properties of crude oils and fats obtained from fruits of Brazilian Amazon: açaí, ata-brava, bacaba, buriti, buritirana, murici amarelo, murici vermelho, piaçaba braba, tucumanzinho, pupunha red and yellow varieties. Oils were obtained by Soxhlet extraction using hexane as a solvent. After solvent removal by rotoevaporation, the resulting oils and fats were analyzed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Unsaturated fatty acids oleic (ω9), linoleic (ω6) and linolenic (ω3) acids were quantified in the oils and their physicochemical properties were determined. It was observed that the oils have predominately ω9 fatty acids, followed by ω6 and ω3 representatives. The physicochemical properties confirmed edibility and good quality of oils and fats present in the aforementioned Amazonian fruits.

This manuscript examines from the diurnal convection cycle (CDC) to the interdecadal variability in the region of the Peruvian Altiplano (RAP). Currently, estimating precipitation using satellites is an alternative which can be used to study the spatio-temporal evolution of precipitation systems. Herein CPC data Morphing technique - CMORPH (Joyce et al, 2004) was used between 2002 and 2014 to analyze the CDC in RAP. The CMOPRH data were compared with rainfall data series measured by rain gauges of meteorological stations (EMS) in the RAP. The results indicate that the CDC shows high variability in the Titicaca Basin and is associated with patterns of lake breeze (day), land breeze (night) and mountain - valley circulation. The CDC starts at 1800 HL (local time) in the northern region of Lake Titicaca, lasting between 2 h and 6 h, and most of 2000 HL. The CDC over the dry surface (ST) of Titicaca Basin starts early at around 1200 HL, lasting 4 h to 7 h, and maximum at 1800 HL.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are being increasingly adopted in critical applications, where verifying the correct operation of sensor nodes is a major concern. Undesired events may undermine the mission of the WSNs. Hence their effects need to be properly assessed before deployment to obtain a good level of expected performance and during the operation in order to avoid dangerous unexpected results. In this paper we propose a methodology to support design and deployment of dependable WSNs by means of an event-based formal verification technique. The methodology includes a process to guide designers towards the realization of a dependable WSN and a tool ("ADVISES") to simplify its adoption. The tool allows to generate automatically formal specifications used to check correctness properties and evaluate dependability metrics at design time and at runtime. During the runtime we can check the behavior of theWSN accordingly to the results obtained at design time and we can detect sudden and unexpected failures, in order to trigger recovery procedures. The effectiveness of the methodology is shown in the context of two case studies, aiming to illustrate how the tool is helpful to drive design choices and to check the correctness properties of theWSN at runtime

Several plant species produce mixtures of odorous and volatile compounds known as essential oils (EOs). These mixtures play important roles in nature and have been utilized by man for pharmaceutical and agrochemical purposes. There are more than 3000 EOs reported in the literature with approximately 300 having commercial use, including the oils from Eucalyptus species. Such oils are rich in monoterpenes and have found applications as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, food flavorants and in the perfume industry. Such applications are related to their diverse biological and organoleptic properties. In view of their importance, we review in this article up to date information concerning chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from different species of Eucalyptus. Among the 900 species and subspecies of the Eucalyptus genus¸ we examined 68 species. The studies associated with these species were conducted in 27 countries. We have focused on the antimicrobial, acaricide, insecticide and herbicide activities, hoping that such information will contribute in the advances of the research in this field. It is also intended that the information herein described can be useful in the rationalization of the use of Eucalyptus EOs as components for new pharmaceutical and agrochemical applications as well as food preservatives and flavorants.

Background: The effectiveness of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine remains a matter to be clarified. Methods: The humoral and cellular immunity after the administration of three doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 over one year and the appearance of post-vaccination COVID-19 have been studied. Results: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA antibodies showed a progressive increase throughout the vaccination period. This increase was greatest after the third dose. The highest levels were observed in subjects who had anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies prior to vaccination. There was an increase in CD4+ αβ, CD8+ γδ and TEM CD8+ γδ T cells, and a decrease in apoptosis in CD4+CD8+ and CD56+ αβ and γδ T cells. Post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection was greater than 60%. The symptoms of COVID-19 were very mild and were related to γδ T cell deficit, specifically CD8+ TEMRA and CD56+ γδ TEM, as well as lower pre-vaccine apoptosis levels. Conclusions: Those results demonstrate the important role that γδ T cells play in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine immunization.

Continuous glucose monitoring devices allow diabetes condition management. However, when limited data is available, one option is to increase their size by generating synthetic samples. From a homemade wearable prototype was created a real dataset with 18 instances and 53 attributes that capture characteristics of capillary and venous blood glucose, oxygen concentration, pulse rate, skin temperature, and 24 modules and 24 phases related to bio-impedance. The objective of this article is to generate synthetic datasets, and also it investigates the ideal features subset and optimal model for non-invasive diabetes prediction. Gaussian-Copulas (GC), conditional generative adversarial networks (CG), variational autoencoders, and Copula-GAN techniques' were used to generate five synthetic datasets. Experiments show that GC1 and GC2 datasets follow min/max boundaries and are not copies of the original data. Multilayer perceptron regressor outperformed (train and test) with 2.17, 2.51 in MAE; 9.29, 13.59 in MSE; 3.05, 3.69 in RMSE, and 0.95, 0.92 in R2 in GC1, and 2.64, 3.02 in MAE; 11.43, 15.11 in MSE; 3.38, 3.89 in RMSE, and 0.94, 0.92 in R2 in GC2 with eight features. Future work is necessary to explore autoencoder and generative architectures, datasets with diverse characteristics, and the effect of the number of features.

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are major public health problems and a significant financial burden on public health systems. By 2030, mortality due to NCDs, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases, and diabetes, is predicted to increase in Brazil. A peculiar aspect of NCDs involves their long-term and integrated care management. This paper proposes a chronic disease management platform based on artificial intelligence to deliver digital health services everywhere. The proposed platform is anchored and built with healthcare 4.0 technologies, such as wearable devices, the internet of medical things, and artificial intelligence cloud-based solutions that allow the deployment of a smart healthcare system. In addition, the paper presents the feasibility of the platform in a diabetes prediction study case. For the study case, an initial dataset was established with bio-impedance, oxygen concentration, pulse rate, skin impedance, and skin temperature attributes. A baseline was implemented with ten regression models to assess the prediction performance of the mean squared error, root mean squared error, and r-squared score to compare predictive findings with capillary blood glucose measurements. Results evidence that the decision tree regressor and three ensemble methods (bagging decision tree regressor, random forest regressor, and AdaBoost regressor) yielded improvement over the other models. Moreover, a comparison among those models revealed that the decision tree regressor outperforms them and presents promissory outcomes.

This paper examines the diurnal cycle of convection (DCC) over Lake Titicaca Basin (LTb) during summertime months based on the high spatial resolution (8 x 8 km2) and hourly temporal resolution, estimates of Climate Prediction Center Morphing technique (CMORPH). Analysis was performed using observed data from rain gauges (Rg-SENAMHI) for the period 2002 to 2013. Graphical comparisons and several statistical metrics such as correlation coefficient, bias, and root mean square error were used to evaluate CMORPH product. Spatial maps and graphic metrics of diurnal cycle were developed to assess CMORPH data, spatial dependency an accuracy over the LTb. Approximately, 43% of the total Rg-SENAMHI variation is explained CMORPH data. The correlation between Rg-SENAMHI and CMORPH is positively over southeast and northern LTb, and negatively in the central and southern LTb. A underestimation bias is observed over most the LTb areas and overestimation bias (e.g., Lagunillas, Isla Suana and Desaguadero stations). In general, spatial patterns of rainfall over the LTb were captured through CMORPH data. Over the surrounding lake area, high mountain, and plateau area, maximum peaks of precipitation occur in the early evening, neverhtheless over low areas such as the lake, surrounding and valleys, maximum precipitation values occur early morning. The results show that DCC its very related by surface exchange processes and local circulation resulting from solar radiation and heterogeneous topography.

As recommended in the ICH Guidelines (S5-R2 and S6-R1), and based on bioethical concerns, we chose bovine embryos (BE) to check the in vitro embryo development considering the use of different amounts of rHGAL-1 as supplementations of in vitro embryo culture (IVP) mediums. Based on procedures for commercial BE in vitro production, using oocytes aspirated from slaughterhouse ovaries, the rHGAL-1 supplementation performed in two experiments (#01 on the oocyte maturation - IVM medium supplemented and experiment #2 on culture step IVC, supplemented SOF medium). There were IVP commercial procedures done, with 3 IVP batches per experiment and distributed the oocytes in four groups of treatment (one control group and three different dosages of rHGAL-1 to supplement both IVM and SOF mediums, using (2, 20 and 40µg.mL-1 respectively). A total of 962 (experiment 1) and 1,213 (experiment 2) oocytes were aspirated and submitted to IVP procedure. There was no damage to in vitro bovine embryos growth, considering cleavage percentage (%CLE), blastocysts development on day 7 (BlD7, BxD7, BhD7), or hatching blastocysts maturation on day 8 (BhD8%), regardless of rHGAL-1 supplementation. The immunohistochemistry assay with D8 embryos cultivated with rHGAL-1 supplementation on the culture medium (SOF medium) could demonstrate the presence of exogenous GAL-1, distributed in mass cell and trophoblastic cells, and the profile observed is dependent of exogenous supplementation and it was more evident in hatched embryos. The findings reassure the use of a reasonable amount of rHGAL-1 for in vitro embryonic development and make using rHGAL-1 in assisted reproduction in humans more reliable and safer.

1960s Europe saw a large number of residential neighborhoods built to house those migrating from the countryside. Today, more than 50 years later, these neighborhoods suffer high levels of functional, social, and technical obsolescence. In response to this, University of Seville developed the Aura Strategy as an intervention methodology to find global solutions to issues in outdated neighborhoods. To provide visibility to this aspect of the Aura strategy, the retrofit proposal presented in this article provides a solution to improve the roofing of buildings in a case study neighborhood (Polígono de San Pablo, Seville) and an analysis of the results in terms of energy and financial savings for local residents. The results show that for a population of roughly 18,000 (in 2018), net savings, including energy and retrofitting costs, ranging from nearly 6.5 to over 8.6 million can be made over the 20-year life cycle span. Likewise, the results obtained on the reduction of thermal loads indicate a 72% decrease in energy consumption, equivalent to a saving of close to 4,500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions for the district and the entire life cycle time period, with the consequent benefits on the impact on air quality and and the fight against climate change. climate change.

Background: Selectively targeting dopamine receptors has been a persistent challenge in the last years for the development of new treatments to combat the large variety of diseases evolving these receptors. Although, several drugs have been successfully brought to market, the subtype-specific binding mode on a molecular basis has not been fully elucidated. Methods: Homology modeling and molecular dynamics were applied to construct robust conformational models of all dopamine receptor subtypes (D1-like and D2-like receptors). Fifteen structurally diverse ligands were docked to these models. Contacts at the binding pocket were fully described in order to reveal new structural findings responsible for DR sub-type specificity. Results: We showed that the number of conformations for a receptor:ligand complex was associated to unspecific interactions > 2.5 Å and hydrophobic contacts, while the decoys binding energy was influenced by specific electrostatic interactions. Known residues such as 3.32Asp, the serine microdomain and the aromatic microdomain were found interacting in a variety of modes (HB, SB, π-stacking). Purposed TM2-TM3-TM7 microdomain was found to form a hydrophobic network involving Orthosteric Binding Pocket (OBP) and Secondary Binding Pocket (SBP). T-stacking interactions revealed as especially relevant for some large ligands such as apomorphine, risperidone or aripiprazole. Conclusions: This in silico approach was successful in showing known receptor-ligand interactions as well as in determining unique combinations of interactions, key for the design of more specific ligands.

Preliminaries Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) applications have recently emerged in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems focusing mostly on vibration analysis. However, the SHM literature shows clearly that there is a lack of application regarding the combination of PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) based method and CNN. Likewise, applications using CNN along with the Electromechanical Impedance (EMI) technique applied to SHM systems are rare. To encourage this combination, an innovative SHM solution through the combination of the EMI-PZT and CNN is presented here. To accomplish this, the EMI signature is split into several parts followed by computing the Euclidean distances among them to form a RGB (red, green and blue) frame. As a result, we introduce a dataset formed from the EMI-PZT signals of 720 frames, encompassing a total of 4 types of structural conditions for each PZT. In a case study, the CNN-based method was experimentally evaluated using three PZTs glued onto an aluminum plate. The results reveal an effective pattern classification; yielding a 100% hit rate which outperforms other SHM approaches. Furthermore, the method needs only a small dataset for training the CNN, providing several advantages for industrial applications.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been proving suitable to support or even replace traditional manufacturing in several industries, offering many advantages such as delivery time and reduction in terms of material waste, energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study aimed to carry out a comparative assessment of the life cycle, from gate to gate, in the production of a low alloy carbon steel flange part using ER-90 wire. The methods utilized were Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) and conventional manufacturing (CM) by forging, and comparative factors were energy demands, GHG emissions and generated solid waste. The total energy consumption in WAAM was 10,239.40 MJ, total carbon footprint in CO2 equivalent (CO2e) was 714.1 kgCO2e kg-1, and generated solid waste was 68.6 kg, respectively, 90%, 95% and 76% lower than consumption calculated in conventional manufacturing.

To effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government of Bahia, Brazil, has distributed intensive and non-intensive care units along the nine regions that divide the state of Bahia, such that COVID-19 patients could be easily hospitalized in health care units located at the same regions where they live. However, the observed hospitalizations networks for COVID-19 patients shows that a considerable number of COVID-19 patients had to travel beyond their region of residence to be hospitalized. Hence, this study indicates that the current distribution of health care units in Bahia, Brazil, is not sufficient to effectively reduce the distances traveled by COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. We believe that such unnecessary travels to distant hospitals may put the sick patients as well as healthy people involved in the transportation process in risk, further delaying the stabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic in each region of the state of Bahia.

In Mexico viticulture represents the second source of employment in the agricultural area after the fruit and vegetable sector. In developed countries, remote sensing is widely used for vineyard monitoring, however, this tool is barely used in developing countries of Iberoamerica. In this re-search, our overall objective is to characterize two vineyards in the state of Queretaro (Mexico) using Sentinel-2 and meteorological data, specifically spectral and thermal indices. Results showed that spectral indices obtained from Sentinel-2 bands have characterized adequately the phenolog-ical evolution of the different varieties of the vineyards. The Modified Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI) was adequately used to discriminate the first stages of vineyards, while the Nor-malized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was useful to monitor vineyards during the rest stages of vineyards. Thermal indices have shown that the best grape varieties were those that can adapt to both cooler and warmer temperatures, have a reasonable ripening period, and can produce wines with balanced acidity and flavors. In conclusion, the combination of meteorological (including thermal indices) and remote sensing data (NDVI and MSAVI) provide information for choosing the suitable grape variety for this region.

Cancer is a disease that encompasses multiple and different malignant conditions and is among the leading causes of death in the world. Therefore, the search for new pharmacotherapeutic options and potential candidates that can be used as treatments or adjuvants to control this disease is urgent. Natural products, especially those obtained from plants, have played an important role as a source of specialized metabolites with recognized pharmacological properties against cancer, therefore, they are an excellent alternative to be used. The objective of this research was to evaluate the action of the monoterpene isoespintanol (ISO) against the human tumor cell lines MDA-MB-231, A549, DU145, A2780, A2780-cis and the non-tumor line MRC-5. Experiments with MTT and fluorescence with propidium iodide (PI), DAPI and green plasma revealed the cytotoxicity of ISO against these cells; furthermore, morphological and chromogenic studies revealed the action of ISO on cell morphology and the inhibitory capacity on reproductive viability to form colonies in MDA-MB-231 cells. Likewise, 3D experiments validated the damage in these cells caused by this monoterpene. These results serve as a basis for progress in studies of the mechanisms of action of these compounds and the development of derivatives or synthetic analogues with a better antitumor profile.

This paper presents new above-ground biomass (AGB) and biomass components equations for seventeen forest species in the temperate forests of northwestern Mexico. A data set corresponding to 1336 destructively sampled oak and pine trees was used to fit the models. Generalized method of moments was used to simultaneously fit systems of equations for biomass components and AGB, to ensure additivity. Additionally, the carbon content of each tree component was calculated by the dry combustion method, in a TOC analyser. The fitted equations accounted for on average 91, 83, 84 and 78% of the observed variance in stem wood and stem bark, branch and foliage biomass, respectively, whereas the total AGB equations explained on average 93% of the total observed variance in AGB. The inclusion of h or d²h as additional predictor in the d-only based equations systems slightly improved estimates of stem wood, stem bark and total above-ground biomass, and greatly improved the estimates produced by the branch and foliage biomass equations. The fitted equations were used to estimate AGB stocks at stand level from a database on growing stock from 429 permanent sampling plots. Three machine-learning techniques were used to model the estimated stand level AGB and carbon contents; the selected models were applied to map the AGB and carbon distributions in the study area, which yielded mean values of 129.84 Mg ha^-1 and 63.80 Mg ha^-1, respectively.

There have been beaching events of the marine alga pelagic sargassum in coastal regions of the Caribbean Sea, West African countries, and the north-northeast region of Brazil since 2011. Its presence has caused environmental and socioeconomic impacts while several studies were conducted in order to understand the causes of this phenomenon, as well as alternatives to mitigate its impacts. The objective of this research was to evaluate pelagic sargassum biomass as a raw material for the manufacture of medium-density multilayer particleboards. These are composed of 30% sargassum particles in their inner layer and 70% sugarcane bagasse particles on their outer layers which are bonded with castor oil-based polyurethane resin. A physical and chemical characterization was carried out in order to evaluate sargassum particles while physical and mechanical tests were carried out in order to evaluate the panels. Results were subsequently compared with indications from NBR 14810-2:2018 and ISO 16893:2016 standards. A life cycle assessment based on ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006 was carried out as to complement the feasibility study of these panels and to compare their different manufacturing processes. The multilayer panels met the minimum requirements for physical and mechanical properties established by regulations, indicating that the Sargassum spp. biomass can be used as filling. The life cycle assessment study indicates that sargassum panels produced in the Belém-PA-Brazil region present lower environmental impacts in four of seven evaluated categories when compared to conventional panels. As such, they constitute an alternative way to mitigate environmental impacts generated by beaching events.

Having valid and reliable tools that help health professionals to assess fear in children undergoing medical procedures is essential to offer humanized and quality of care in the paediatric population. The aim of this study was to develop the cross-cultural adaptation and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the “Child Medical Fear Scale” in its shortened version (CMFS-R). The design consisted of two phases, first of cross-cultural adaptation and second of the psychometric validation of the CMFS-R with a sample of 262 children from Spain. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess construct validity and the Cronbach alpha and the adjusted item-total score correlation coefficients were performed to study reliability. The results confirmed internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of the CMFS-R, indicating that the scale has an acceptable level of validity and reliability. Therefore, this study brings a new version of the scale to assess fear related to medical procedures for use in the Spanish paediatric population.

Mammalian fertilization initiates the reprogramming of oocytes and sperm, leading to the formation of a totipotent zygote. The zygotic genome remains transcriptionally silent throughout this intricate process, undergoing the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) and subsequent zygotic genome activation (ZGA). Histone modifications are pivotal in shaping cellular identity and gene expression in many mammals. Recent advances in chromatin analysis enable a detailed exploration of histone modifications during ZGA. This review delves into conserved and unique regulatory strategies, providing essential insights into the dynamic changes in histone modifications and their variants during ZGA in mammals. The objective is to explore recent advancements in leading mechanisms related to histone modifications governing this embryonic development phase in depth. These considerations will be useful for informing future therapeutic approaches that target epigenetic regulation in diverse biological contexts, ranging from regenerative medicine to cancer research. It will also contribute to the extensive areas of evolutionary and developmental biology and possibly lay the foundation for future research and discussion on this seminal topic.

Diarrhoea is a serious cause of mortality worldwide that can lead to dehydration, gut barrier function impairment, nutrient malabsorption, and alterations of the gut microbiota (dysbiosis). Current solutions for its management, such as oral rehydration salts (ORS), inhibitors of the gut motility, antibiotics, and living probiotics only partially counteract the mechanisms of the disease and do not provide a full coverage of the problem. Potential risks of the use of living probiotic strains, particularly in immunocompromised patients, can be eliminated with the use of tyndallized (heat-killed) postbiotic bacteria and yeast. ABB C22® is a postbiotic combination of three tyndallized yeasts, namely Saccharomyces boulardii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Kluyveromyces marxianus. To assess the action of the postbiotic combination on diarrhoea, immune and gut epithelial cell signaling assays, gut barrier formation assay and rotavirus gene expression assay were performed. ABB C22® showed a strong anti-inflammatory effect, an induction of the build-up of the gut epithelium, and a degree of protection against rotavirus infection. These experimental studies support the use of the postbiotic ABB C22® as a solution for the management of diarrhoea and gastrointestinal conditions, alone or in combination with existing but incomplete treatments.

Objective: To evaluate the direct costs of treating patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) in outpatient care, from a hospital and Unified Health System (SUS) perspective. Methods: Observational study with data collection by microfunding, carried out with patients diagnosed with neuromyelitis optics, treated at a university hospital, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Mann-Whitney tests were performed to measure cost differences between patient groups by disease severity and analysis perspective. Results: Nine individuals with a median age of 48 years (IQR 30 - 59 years) were included. The median total costs for patients with greater severity from the perspective of the SUS and the hospital were R$ 21,638.22 (IIQ: R$ 15,614.63; R$ 25,985.32) and R$ 32,094.11 (IIQ: R$ 25,610 .60; R$ 38,617.25) respectively. For patients with moderate severity the median was R$ 7,339.85 (IIQ: R$ 6,235.45; R$ 11,912.05) from the SUS perspective and R$ 11,505.80 (IIQ: R$ 7,339.85; R$ 22,424.76) from the perspective of the hospital, where the use of medications had a major impact. Conclusion: The main cost drivers were medicines, especially those used off-label, and procedures.

The epidemiological and clinical pathological aspects of polioencephalomalacia (PEM) in five buffaloes (buffaloes 01 to 05) in the amazon biome are described. Epidemiological data were obtained during the clinical visit in which the animals with clinical signs compatible with polioencephalomalacia were submitted to a general and specific clinical examination of the nervous system. During the necropsy of the five animals, the intensity and location of the lesions were evaluated and fragments from different organs were collected and fixed in 10% buffered formalin and sent to the Pathological Anatomy Sector of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro for histopathological examination. Of the five studied animals, all were of the Murrah breed, four male and one female, with ages ranging from two months to one year. Two buffaloes (buffalo 01 and 02) were from the municipality of Castanhal, Pará, kept in an extensive breeding system on Urochloa brizantha pasture. Buffaloes 03 and 04 belonged to a property located in the municipality of Cachoeira do Arari, Marajó Island, Pará, and buffalo 05 was from a property located in the municipality of Itaubal, state of Amapá, all of them were raised in an extensive system in flooded of native pasture. At the clinical examination, all buffaloes had a body score between 2.5 and 3 (scale from 1 to 5), and there was noted decreased alertness, postural changes, marked hypermetria when stimulated to move, total or partial blindness demonstrated by colliding to the corral structures, head pressing and circumduction of the hindquarters when supported on the forelimbs, opisthotonos, muscle tremors, convulsions, paddling movements, sialorrhea, decrease in palpebral and pupillary reflexes and eyeball rotation placing the pupillary slit in a vertical position. At necropsy, mild lesions characterized by edema and flattening of the cerebral convolutions were observed. Histopathological examination showed laminar necrosis of the cerebral cortex. The diagnosis of polioencephalomalacia was based on epidemiological, clinical-pathological, and histopathological findings, similar to findings in other ruminants. The cause of polioencephalomalacia in the studied buffaloes was not established, which indicates the need for further studies to elucidate this disease in the species, mainly in the Amazon region.

Obesity is a risk factor for the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the most optimal type of nutritional intervention to prevent GDM in high-risk women is not clearly defined. This study investigates if nutritional treatment based on the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) before 12th gestational week (GW) in women at high risk due to a body mass index (BMI)≥25kg/m2, reduces the rate of GDM and metabolic syndrome (MetS) at 3 years postpartum. We performed a post-hoc analysis of the San Carlos Gestational Prevention Study. A total of 735 women with BMI≥25kg/m2 were evaluated between 2015-2018, 246 in standard diet control group (CG) and 489 in MedDiet intervention group (IG). The rate of GDM was significantly lower in IG compared to CG (25.1%vs31.7%;p=0.037). Postnatal follow-up was completed by 141 women in CG (57%) and 312 women in IG (64%). At 3 years postpartum, we observed a reduction (relative risk 95% confidence interval) in the rates of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (0.51 (0.28-0.92);p=0.019), obesity (0.51 (0.28-0.92),p=0.041), waist circumference (WC)≥89.5cm (0.54 (0.31-0.94);p=0.022) and MetS (0.56 (0.33-0.94);p=0.003). MedDiet reduces the rate of GDM and postpartum MetS in women with BMI)≥25kg/m2, suggesting that its implementation should be routinely recommended from the first GWs.

Leishmaniasis are neglected diseases that affect regions such as South Asia, South Africa and Latin America, less developed regions. Current treatment, for cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniosis, which are the main forms of the disease, is based on the administration of pentavalent antimonial and amphotericin B. However, these drugs have low efficacy and high toxicity. For this reason, the search for new treatments for this disease is necessary, based on studies of new molecules and their conformations. The research proposed the conformational study of brominated guanidine compounds with potential antileishmanial activity using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The present study involves the bro-minated molecules, LQOF-G2, LQOF-G30, LQOF-G35 and LQOF-G35-Br. The later was synthesized by the reaction of LQOF-G35 with NBS under IR irradiation at 120 Watts of potency and dichloro-methane as solvent by 12-h of exposition. The obtained results demonstrated the efficiency of the bromination method, since two bromines atoms entered the molecule. Furthermore, NMR analysis showed the occurrence of a conformational change from Z to E when compound LQOF-G35 was brominated to LQOF-G35-Br. This feature was well confirmed by comparative DRX study of the LQOF-G35 and LQOF-G35-Br compounds. The antileishmanial activity of LQOF-G2 e LQOF-G35 motivated the synthesis of new brominated compounds LQOF-G30 e LQOF-G35-Br.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique developed to measure possible environmental impacts during the manufacture and use of a given product or service. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has proven to be suitable in several industries, especially wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), offering many advantages such as delivery time and reduction in terms of material waste, energy consumption and equivalent CO₂ emissions (CO₂e). This study aimed to develop a methodology to evaluate environmental indicators during the life cycle assessment, from gate-to-gate, in the production of two low-alloy carbon steel metal parts (flanges) using ER-90 wire and allowed identifying the main stages that most influence environmental indicators. The total energy consumption in the production of flanges 1 and 2 were, respectively, 10,239.0 MJ, 12,754.0 MJ and the total carbon footprint, respectively, 714.1 kgCO₂e kg^-1 and 749.3 kgCO₂e kg^-1.

A Robust Optimization framework with original concepts and fundamentals also admitting a fusion of ideals from relative regret models and static robust optimization, containing conservatism concepts is disclosed. The algorithm uses a fine-tune strategy to tune the model so the robustness and a target ideality can be mutually achieved with a specified risk. The framework comprises original concepts, a mathematical approach and an algorithm. The statistical treatment of the data with the original concepts from the framework make it able to make short, middle or long-term decision-making setting. The framework has high tractability since the algorithm forces the creation of a setting that makes a robust optimization with the specified risk. The framework can be applied in linear and nonlinear mathematical models since that the objective function is monotonic in the domain of the active convex region. Several examples are solved to best understand the framework and all results demonstrated high tractability and performance. There is a wide range of applications. Along all the text, there is a profound discussion about its philosophy, objective, original concepts, fields of application, statistical and probabilistic fundamentals.

In 2011, it was reviewed that there is a strong co-occurrence between major depression and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), with fatigue and physio-somatic symptoms being key symptoms of depression, and depressive symptoms appearing during the course of CFS. Moreover, the comorbidity between both conditions may in part be explained by activated immune-inflammatory pathways, including increased translocation of Gram-negative bacteria and increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1. Nevertheless, the possible involvement of activated microglia in this comorbidity has remained unclear. This paper aims to review microglial disturbances in major depression, CFS and their comorbidity. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the PubMed / MEDLINE database to identify studies that are relevant to this current review. Depressed patients present neuroinflammatory alterations, probably related to microglial activation, while animal models show that a microglial response to immune challenges including lipopolysaccharides is accompanied by depressive-like behaviors. Recent evidence from preclinical studies indicate that activated microglia have a key role in the onset of fatigue. In chronic inflammatory conditions, such as infections and senescence, microglia orchestrate an inflammatory microenvironment thereby causing fatigue. In conclusion, based on our review we may posit that shared immune-inflammatory pathways and activated microglia underpin comorbid depression and CFS and that activated microglia are the main orchestrators of this comorbidity. As such, microglial activation and neuro-inflammation may be promising targets to treat the overlapping manifestations of both depression and CFS.

One of the most broadly used models for membrane fouling is the Hermia model, which separates this phenomenon into four blocking mechanisms, each with an associated parameter n. These mechanisms are complete blocking (n=2), intermediate blocking (n=1), standard blocking (n=3/2), and cake formation (n=3/2). The original model, which was obtained through experimental data, is given by an Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) dependent on n. At the time, this ODE was only solved for these four values of n, which limits the effectiveness of the model when adjusted to experimental data. This paper aims to not only mathematically prove the original Hermia model but also to broaden the scope of this model for any real number n by using the original ODE, the equations of fluid mechanics, and the properties of single and multivariable calculus. The extended Hermia model (EHM) is given by a power law for any n≠2 and is given by an exponential function at n=2. To better test the model, we have performed the model fitting of the EHM and compared its performance to the original four pore-blocking mechanisms in 6 micro- and ultrafiltration examples. In all examples, the EHM performed consistently better than the four original pore-blocking mechanisms. Changes in the blocking mechanisms concerning transmembrane pressure (TMP), crossflow rate (CFR), crossflow velocity (CFV), membrane composition, and pretreatments are also discussed.