Although research has long established that the interaction with the natural environment is associated with better overall health and well-being outcomes, the Western model mainly focuses on treating the symptoms. In Aotearoa-New Zealand, the Indigenous Māori have long demonstrated significantly more negative health outcomes than non-Māori. Little research has examined the causes compared to Western populations or the role of the natural environment in health outcomes for Māori. An exploration of rongoā Māori (traditional healing system) was conducted to ascertain the importance of landscape in the process of healing. Eight rongoā healers or practitioners took part in semi-structured narrative interviews from June to November 2020. Transcribed interviews were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis and Kaupapa Māori techniques. The findings show how rongoā is underpinned by a complex set of cultural values and beliefs, drawing from the connection to wairua (spirit), tinana (body), tikanga and whakaora (customs and healing), rākau (plants), whenua (landscape) and whānau (family). Incorporating such constructs into the landscape can foster our understanding of health and well-being and its implications for conceptualising therapeutic environments and a culturally appropriate model of care for Māori and non-Māori communities.

This paper investigates the relationship between public spaces and quality of life (QoL) for older adults, aiming to identify knowledge gaps within the context of population ageing and urbanization. Recognizing the growing importance of sustainable urban development, the research explores how cities can foster active ageing and improve QoL through accessible and inclusive public spaces. A scoping literature review identifies five key QoL domains for older adults: autonomy, meaningful activities, positive social relationships, leisure opportunities, and health. The review highlights areas requiring further investigation, including the interplay between environmental design and social connections, intergenerational perspectives on public space liveliness, the influence of context on QoL and the built environment, and the value of qualitative research in this field. By contributing to the understanding of QoL in relation to public spaces through the lens of Person-Environment fit theory, this study aims to inform urban design, landscape architecture, and policymaking in the creation of age-friendly communities with inclusive public spaces.

Human populations and natural ecosystems are bound to be exposed to ionizing radiation1from the deposition of artificial radionuclides resulting from nuclear accidents, nuclear devices2or radiological dispersive devices ("dirty bombs"). On the other hand, NORM industries such as3phosphate production or uranium mining, contribute to the on site storage of residuals with enhanced4concentrations of natural radionuclides. Therefore, in the context of the European agreements5concerning nuclear energy, namely the EURATOM (European Atomic Energy Community) Treaty,6monitoring is an essential feature of the environmental radiological surveillance. In this work, we7obtain 3D maps from outdoor scenarios, and complete such maps with measured radiation levels8and with its radionuclide signature. In such scenarios, we face challenges such as unknown and9rough terrain, limited number of sampled locations and the need for different sensors and therefore10different tasks. We propose a radiological solution for scouting, monitoring and inspecting an area of11interest, using a fleet of drones and a controlling ground station. First, we scout an area with a LiDAR12onboard a drone to accurately 3D-map the area. Then, we monitor that area with a Geiger-Muller13sensor at a low-vertical distance from the ground to produce a radiological (heat)map that is overlaid14on the 3D map of the scenario. Next, we identify the hotspots of radiation, and inspect them in detail15using a drone by landing on them, to reveal its radionuclide signature using a CZT sensor. We present16the algorithms used to implement such tasks both at the ground station and on the drones. The three17mission phases were validated using actual experiments in three different outdoor scenarios. We18conclude that drones can not only perform the mission efficiently, but in general they are faster and19as reliable as personnel on the ground

This paper describes different variants of broadband and simple attenuator modules for beamforming applications, based on Radio Frequency Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (RF-MEMS), framed within Coplanar Waveguide (CPW) structures. The modules proposed in the first part of this work differ in their actuation voltage, topology, and desired attenuation level. Fabricated samples of basic 1-bit attenuation modules, characterized by a moderate footprint of 690 x 1960 µm2 and aiming at attenuation levels of -2, -3 and -5 dB in the 24.25-27.5 GHz range, are presented in their variants featuring both low actuation voltages (5-7 V) as well as higher values (~ 45V), the latter ones ensuring larger mechanical restoring force (and robustness against stiction). Beyond the fabrication non-idealities that affected the described samples, the substantial agreement between simulations and measurement outcomes proved that the proposed designs could provide precise attenuation levels up to 40 GHz, ranging up to nearly -3 dB and -5 dB for the series and shunt variants, respectively. Moreover, they could be effective building blocks for future wideband and reconfigurable RF-MEMS attenuators. In fact, in the second part of this work, combinations of the discussed cells and other configurations meant for larger attenuation levels will be investigated.

Caring for an ill or disabled relative can present significant challenges that may exceed the per-sonal resources of the caregiver. Young carers (YCs) often take on this role, providing support to family members or friends, which can have far-reaching effects on various aspects of their lives. This study involved 235 adolescents, 106 YCs and 129 non-carers (NCs), who completed ques-tionnaires assessing life satisfaction, social support, family functioning, academic functioning, and caring activities. Group effects measured with MANOVA and MANCOVA (controlling for age effects), showed YCs to have higher amounts of caregiving activities than NC (as expected) but lower satisfaction with life. Hierarchical regressions also found that, for YCs, academic func-tioning, social support and the negative impact of caregiving predicted satisfaction with life; and that the negative impact of caregiving on YCs is explained by their family functioning and the amount of their caregiving activities. For NCs, only academic functioning, social support and family functioning predicted satisfaction with life. In conclusion, caregiving has a negative im-pact on YC’s life satisfaction, but this effect is determined by their social support, academic func-tioning and negative impact of caring, which in turn depends on their familiar functioning and amount of caring activities.

Increasing environmental distress is associated with a growing asthma incidence and, with no treatments available, montelukast (MTK) – an antagonist of the cysteinyl leukotrienes receptor 1 – is widely used in the management of symptoms among adults and children. Recently, new molecular targets have been identified and MTK has been proposed for repurposing in other therapeutic applications, with several ongoing clinical trials. The proposed applications include neuroinflammation control, which could be explored in some neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (AD and PD). However, this drug has been associated with an increasing number of reported neuropsychiatric adverse drug reactions. Besides, and despite being on the market since 1998, MTK metabolism is still poorly understood and the mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric ADRs remain unknown. We review the role of MTK as modulator of leukotriene pathways and systematize the knowledge about MTK metabolism. Known toxic effects of MTK are discussed, and repurposing applications are presented comprehensively, with a focus on AD and PD.

Advanced composite materials have drawn significant interest in the last years as an alternative to traditional materials due to their higher performance. However, industry struggle to provide low-cost, higher occupational safety, lower footprint with composites, making them suitable for holistic analyses. Therefore, the material design becomes an essential element that can impact the competitiveness, particularly in terms of productivity, circularity, safety, sustainability, and quality of the value chain. The Material Design-for-eXcellence is a state-of-art methodology for material performance multi-dimensional assessment along its life cycle phases, either useful to support ma-terial selection for new products or also to new material design support optimizing resource effi-ciency. In this methodology, the material behaviour and its multiple characteristics assessment, and the manufacturing processes efficiency are evaluated. The framework considers the analogy of product design holistic approaches, as Lean Design-for-X, to organize and assess the mul-ti-dimensional performance for each “X” Material Property. In this work, it was possible to observe that the bio-based composites solutions could be a good sustainable alternative for several sectors. Every day researchers are creating more new materials, having a diversity of properties at different scales, Material Design-for-eXcellence must also in the near future consider other factors. Hence, additional studies are thus foreseen to explore and develop this new tool.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films have been widely used in transparent optoelectronic devices owing to their excellent optical properties also is used in photocatalysis, cosmetics, and many other biomedical applications. However, a lack of studies was published on microstructure and adherence comparison of the TiO2 deposited on both AISI substrates. In this work, TiO2 thin films were deposited onto AISI 304 and AISI 316L stainless steel (SS) substrates via atomic layer deposition. Its heterostructure, morphology, and adhesion were compared in both substrates looking for synergistic and multifunctional properties. Raman spectroscopy mapping and X-ray diffraction using the Rietveld refinement method showed that the films are composed of anatase and rutile phases in different percentages. Scratching tests were used to analyze the film adher-ence and friction between a diamond tip and TiO2 film, showing well adhered in both substrates.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a chronic systemic disease. In Brazil this infection is caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by Leishmania species have different functions like modulation of host immune system, inflammatory response, among others. This study evaluated the participation of EVs from L. (L.) infantum (Leish-EVs) in stimulation of the humoral and cellular immune responses of hosts with VL. Promastigotes were cultivated in 199 medium and, in the log phase of growth, they were centrifuged, washed, resuspended in RPMI medium and incubated for 2 to 24h, at 25ºC or 37°C to release Leish-EVs. This dynamic was evaluated by transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopies, as well as nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). The results suggested that parasite penetration in mammal macrophages requires more Leish-EVs than those living in insect vectors, since promastigotes incubated at 37°C released more Leish-EVs than those incubated at 25ºC. In comparison to the control group, infected THP-1 cells produced a significantly higher concentration of EVs (THP-1 cells-EVs). Similar results were obtained when THP-1 cells were treated with Leish-EVs or a crude Leishmania antigen. These data suggest that the concentration of host-EVs-Can distinguish between infected and uninfected cells. THP-1 cells treated with Leish-EVs expressed more IL-12 than control THP-1 cells, but were unable to produce IFN-γ. These same cells produced IL-10, which inhibited TNF and IL-6. Equally, THP-1 cells treated with Leish-EVs up-expressed miR-21-5p and miR-146a-5p. These findings indicate that the increased levels of miR-21-5p and miR-146a-5p observed in Leish-EVs-treated-THP-1 cells lead to immunosuppression and the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

With the current technological transformation in the automotive industry, autonomous vehicles are getting closer to the Society of Automative Engineers (SAE) automation level 5. This level corresponds to the full vehicle automation, where the driving system autonomously monitors and navigates the environment. With SAE-level 5, the concept of a Shared Autonomous Vehicle (SAV) will soon become a reality and mainstream. The main purpose of an SAV is to allow unrelated passengers to share an autonomous vehicle without a driver/moderator inside the shared space. However, to ensure their safety and well-being until they reach their final destination, it is required an active monitoring of all passengers. In this context, this article presents a microphone-based sensor system that is able to localize sound events inside an SAV. The solution is composed of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) microphone array with a circular geometry connected to an embedded processing platform that resorts to Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology to successfully process in hardware the sound localization algorithms.

Titica vine fibers (TVFs) extracted from aerial roots of Heteropsis flexuosa, from the Amazon region, were 10, 20, 30 and 40 vol% incorporated into an epoxy matrix for applications in ballistic multilayered armor systems (MASs) and stand-alone tests for personal protection against high-velocity 7.62 mm ammunition. The back-face signature (BFS) depth measured for composites with 20 and 40 vol% TVFs used as an intermediate layer in MASs was 25.6 and 32.5 mm, respectively, below the maximum limit set by the international standard. Fracture mechanisms found by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) attested the relevance of increasing the fiber fraction for applications in MASs. The results of stand-alone tests showed that the control (0 vol%) and samples with 20 vol% TVFs absorbed the highest impact energy (Eabs) (212 – 176 J), and consequently limit velocity (VL) values (213 – 194 m/s), when compared with 40 vol% fiber fractions. However, the macroscopic evaluation found that the plain epoxy, referring to control samples, shattered completely. In addition, for 10 and 20 vol% TVFs, the composites were fragmented or exhibited delamination fracture, which contributed to their physical integrity. On the other hand, the composite with 30 and 40 vol% TVFs, whose Eabs and VL varied between 166 – 130 J and 189 – 167 m/s, respectively, showed the best dimensional stability. The SEM images indicated that for composites with 10 and 20 vol% TVFs the fracture mode was predominantly brittle, due to the greater performance of the epoxy resin and the discrete action of the fibers. While for composites with 30 and 40 vol% TVFs, there was the activation of more complex mechanisms such as pullout, shearing and fiber rupture.

In this paper, we study the asymptotic behavior of the sequential empirical process and the sequential empirical copula process, both constructed from residuals of multivariate stochastic volatility models. Applications for the detection of structural changes and specification tests of the distribution of innovations are discussed. It is also shown that if the stochastic volatility matrices are diagonal, which is the case if the univariate time series are estimated separately instead of being jointly estimated, then the empirical copula process behaves as if the innovations were observed; a remarkable property. As a by-product, one also obtains the asymptotic behavior of rank-based measures of dependence applied to residuals of these time series models.

The Brazilian economy, the rural in particular, was until the end of the 19th century based on slave labour. In this research, it was intended to obtain, through a review of historical descriptive studies, a detailed picture of the occupational hygiene conditions related to the slaves’ work and their interactions with climatic and environmental conditions. The search was done in the following databases: Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Criminal Justice, Ebsco, Business Source Supplement, as well as original historical documents. Descriptive studies, without the restriction of language, were selected that involved the rural work of slaves in colonial and imperial Brazil. Working environmental conditions have been evaluated: environmental and occupational hygiene conditions to which the captive workers were exposed, as well as their accommodation and clothing. The analysed studies registered the existence of accommodation and similar dresses all over Brazil, regardless of the region's climate. In addition to these accommodation conditions, slaves were still exposed in a similar way to physical, chemical and biological agents throughout the country. Finally, it was also possible to identify a clear similarity with the occupational exposure conditions of the modern slaves in the 21^st century.

The construction industry, a vital sector of the global economy, is projected to grow significantly over the next 15 years. Despite its importance, this industry struggles with inefficiency, high costs, prolonged timelines, and substantial ecological impacts. These challenges have led governments to advocate for Building Information Modeling (BIM) to enhance Efficiency and sustainability through comprehensive digital representations of physical and functional characteristics. The effective integration of BIM technology hinges on the active participation of industry providers, raising the question of how these providers can positively contribute to improving BIM dimen-sions. This study investigates the potential of coopetition networks within the Portuguese Orna-mental Stone industries (OS-PT) to address this challenge. Coopetition networks, which blend competition and cooperation, foster collaborative networks among companies to enhance their re-sponse to digital supply chains. The research employs an Experimental Pilot Network facilitated by an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) artefact to assess the benefits of coopetition networks. The findings demonstrate that transitioning from current practices (CB.P) to coopetition network practices (CN.P) significantly improves operational Efficiency, labour productivity, and sustaina-bility. Specifically, the transition resulted in a 15.6% increase in on-time delivery performance, a 27.38% improvement in labour productivity, and a 21.8% reduction in CO₂ emissions per part produced. These improvements align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, 9, 11, and 13, highlighting the strategic value of coopetition in driving innovation and sustainability in the construction industry. Future research should explore the scalability of these findings across different sectors and further refine methodologies to maximize the benefits of coopetition net-works.

In contrast to some low molar-mass per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), well-established to be toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative and mobile, fluoropolymers (FPs) are water insoluble, safe, bio-inert, durable niche high performance polymers which fulfil the 13 polymer of low concern (PLC) criteria in their recommended conditions of use. In addition, more recent innovations (e.g., the use of non-fluorinated surfactants in aqueous radical (co)polymerization of fluoroalkenes) from industrial manufacturers of FPs are highlighted. This review also aims at showing how these specialty polymers endowed with outstanding properties are essential (even irreplaceable since hydrocarbon polymer alternatives used in similar conditions fail) for our daily life (electronics, Energy, optics, internet of things, transportation, etc) and constitute a special family a part from other “conventional” C1-C10 PFASs found everywhere on the Earth and Oceans. Furthermore, some information reports the recycling (e.g. the unzipping depolymerization of polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE, into TFE), end of life of FPs, their risk assessment, circular economy and regulations. Various researches are devoted to Environment involving FPs, though they represent a niche volume (with a yearly production of 330,300 tonnes) compared to all plastics (with 460 million tonnes). Complementary to other reviews on PFASs, which lack of such above data, this review presents both fundamental and applied strategies as evidenced by major FP producers.

Over the last two decades, a considerable amount of equipment has been acquired (spreaders, seeders, sprayers, among others) to respond to the challenges of Precision Agriculture (PA) concept. Most of this equipment has been purchased at a high cost. However, many of them, despite still being functional and equipped with sensors, actuators, and electronic processing units capable of adjusting to variations in speed, have become obsolete in terms of communication, and incompatible with new monitoring and control systems based on the “Isobus” protocol. This work aims to present a solution for updating the control system (“Ferticontrol”) of a “Vicon RS-EDW” spreader with variable rate application (VRA), making it compatible with the “InCommand” system from “Ag Leader”. The solution includes low-cost “Arduino” and “Raspberry Pi” microcontrollers and open-source software. The development shows that it is possible to implement a solution that is accessible to farmers in general. It also provides a niche business opportunity for young researchers to set up small technology-based enterprises associated with universities and research centers. These partnerships guarantee permanent innovation and represent a decisive step towards modern, technological, competitive, and sustainable agriculture.

Despite being stored at 113 K and atmospheric pressure, LNG cold potential is not exploited to reduce green ships’ energy needs. An innovative system based on three Organic Ranking Cycles integrated into the regasification equipment is proposed to produce additional power and recover cooling energy from condensers. A first-law analysis identified ethylene and ethane as suitable working fluids for the first and the second ORC making available freshwater and ice. Propane, ammonia and propylene could be arbitrarily employed in the third ORC for air-conditioning. An environmental analysis that combines exergy efficiency, ecological indices and hazard aspects for marine environment and ship’s passengers, indicated propylene as safer and more environmentally friendly. The exergy analysis confirms more than 20% of the LNG potential can be recovered from every cycle to produce a net clean power of 76 kW, whereas 270 kW can be saved by recovering condensers' cooling power to satisfy some ship needs. Assuming the sailing mode, a limitation of 162 kg in LNG consumptions was determined, avoiding the emission of 1584 kg of CO2 per day. Marine thermal pollution is reduced by 3.5 times by recovering the working fluids' condensation heat for the LNG pre-heating.

Currently, in a context of biorefinery and bioeconomy, lignocellulosic biomass is increasingly used to produce biofuels, biochemicals and value-added products. Microwaves and ultrasounds are emerging techniques that enable efficient and environmentally more sustainable routes in the transformation of lignocellulosic biomass. This review is divided into four parts. In Part I, the theoretical foundations of microwaves and ultrasounds are revisited. Dielectric constants for biomass, factors that influence pre-treatment, are some of the subjects addressed. In Part II, the effects that these technologies have on lignocellulosic biomass (on the size and surface area of the particle; on the content of lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose; on the crystallinity index of cellulose; on the effect of solubilization of organic matter; on hydrolysis and reduction of sugars) are analyzed. In Part III, emphasis is given on how microwaves and ultrasounds can contribute to the achievement of value-added products. In this context, several examples of liquefactions and extractions are presented. Part IV describes examples of sonocatalysis of lignocellulosic biomass to obtain value-added products such as for instancethe production of furfural, which is significantly reduced by ultrasound.

The author attempts to reconstruct the climatic vicissitudes of the Mediterranean to explain why only broadly distributed Eurasian forest species have penetrated the Mediterranean peninsulas. He has carried out a bibliographic survey of the status of breeding forest birds in Italy over 15 decades (1872-2022) in order to establish an objective long-term trend (stable, increasing, decreasing, etc.). The number of breeding forest birds in Italy amounts to 61; their distribution, with a few exceptions, indicates that they are widespread in Eurasia, but only a small percentage of Eurasian forest species have colonized Italy and the other Mediterranean peninsulas, namely 49 in Iberian, 61 in Italian and 64 in Balkan peninsulas; a small percentage of them (between 10.9 and 14.3%) belongs to trans-Saharan migrants. The similarity between the forest species on the three peninsulas (Iberian, Italian and Balkan) results between 0.45 and 0.48, indicating a certain differ-ence in the overall fauna on the three territories. Not all species have penetrated southwards into the three peninsulas; for example, some that stopped in the Italian Alps have instead arrived to the forests of Greece, at a latitude corresponding to southern Italy, or species that in Italy stopped in the northern Apennines in the other two peninsulas have instead arrived far south. Iberian peninsula and the island of Corsica hold three endemic species among breeding forest birds, Italian and Balkan peninsulas have not endemic species. Overall, the Mediterranean presently hosts mainly neo-endemic taxa among forest bird species; the only paleo-endemics can be considered the three species of nuthatches living in Corsica, Algeria, and Turkey (other than Caucasus and the islet of Lesvos) and Le Vaillant’s woodpecker in the Maghreb (North Africa). Italian forests cover ca. 40% of land surface and since 1980’ are increasing, but 22% of them do not have a natural origin. However, it is difficult to know the true increase of forests, because some of them are fired every year. The presence of some ecologically demanding forest birds depends on the age of the trees, permanent open spaces and other characteristics at the edge of woodland.

This study analyzes the convergence between artificial intelligence (AI) and management accounting in hospital contexts. Management accounting plays a central role in the effectiveness of planning, control and decision-making in healthcare institutions such as hospitals. The application of AI in this scenario offers powerful tools to improve accounting processes, optimize operational efficiency and maximize the use of available resources, resulting in an improvement in the quality of care provided to patients. Through in-depth analysis, the article explores how AI is bringing about a revolution in hospital management accounting, presenting case studies illustrating its successful implementation, outlining the tangible benefits.

In South Sudan, three case-control studies found a positive association between Nodding Syn-drome (NS) and a Mansonella perstans infection. To investigate whether M. perstans could play the primary and sole causal role in the development of NS, we examined blood films of persons with and without epilepsy in rural villages affected by NS in Mahenge, Tanzania, to identify M. perstans infections. Study participants were also examined for onchocercal nodules and skin lesions and tested for the presence of anti-O. volvulus antibodies (Ov16 ELISA). One hundred and thirteen epilepsy cases and 132 controls were enrolled, with a mean age of 28.3 years (interquartile range 22 – 34 years); 125 (51%) were females. Of the persons with epilepsy, 43 (38.1%) met the probable NS criteria. M. perstans infection was absent in all participants, but Ov16 prevalence and oncho-cerciasis-associated skin manifestations were positively associated with epilepsy, including probable NS. Onchocercal nodules in the mothers of cases were also positively associated with epilepsy. In conclusion, in contrast with O. volvulus, M. perstans is likely not endemic in Mahenge and therefore cannot be a co-factor for NS in the area. Hence, this filaria cannot be the primary and sole causal factor in the development of NS.

South America has become the new epicenter of the coronavirus, especially in Brazil where the disease continues to spread exponentially across the country. This text aims to analyze the psychosocial factors of Covid-19 on back to school strategies in Brazil from a bioecological perspective. At the microsystem level, the population is experiencing different levels of stress and fear; at the mesosystem level, changes in routines, separation from family and friends, and closure of schools; and at the macrosystem level, national guidelines to control the pandemic, institutional standards on a national and international scale. Therefore, the main focus for the success of school return must be in the prevention of contagion and with physical and psychological health, and should not only consider the demands of curricula, financial or administrative management. For this reason, it is paramount that greater female representativeness is increased in decision-making levels of the meso and macrosystem, regarding the resumption of school and academic activities in the pandemic period, since the number of female leaders in decision-making, is still insufficient.

Biomechanics is a branch of biophysics that deals with mechanics applied to biology. The biomechanics of the cornea plays a significant role in managing patients with glaucoma. While evidence suggests a higher risk of glaucoma in patients with thin and stiffer corneas, it also affects the measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP). We reviewed the pertinent literature to help the understanding of corneal biomechanics and how it can help optimize clinical and surgical treatments and a better approach to diagnosing and managing patients with glaucoma.

Urban tourism has witnessed significant growth in recent years, driven by various factors that foster the transformation of urban areas into tourist hotspots. These factors include a rising interest in culture and heritage, ongoing urban redevelopment and conversion processes, and the introduction of new experiences and activities. Two particularly influential factors contributing to this growth are low-cost travel, which facilitates more accessible access to urban destinations, and the emergence of new types of accommodation, such as short-term rental (also known as local accommodation or Airbnb-type accommodation). This sudden and continuous growth of this type of tourist accommodation brings new challenges to cities and local communities. On the positive side, it contributes to job opportunities, the dynamism of the local economy, and urban revitalization. On the other hand, it also represents more difficulty in retaining the local population in city centers, as more and more buildings are converted into hostels and tourist apartments. In this context, it becomes essential to conduct studies evaluating the impacts of these dynamics in urban areas and how they influence residents' and visitors' perspectives. Therefore, this study aims to identify the main transformations resulting from short-term rental (STR) development, focusing on the impacts felt by tourists and residents in Porto. A questionnaire was distributed to tourists and residents in Porto's city center in June 2023. The results reveal differences in opinions between tourists and residents, particularly concerning historical heritage preservation, local population relocation, and reduced housing availability for residents. Nevertheless, there is a similarity in their opinions regarding the stimulus that local accommodation brings to the economy and the rehabilitation of buildings and urban areas. This study reinforces the need to pay more attention to the future development of tourist accommodation in city centers, especially regarding local policies and territorial planning, to balance better tourism development and local communities' quality of life.

“Money has always been something of an embarrassment to economic theory. Everyone agrees that it is important; indeed, much of macroeconomic policy discussion makes no sense without reference to money. Yet, for the most part theory fails to provide a good account for it.” (Banerjee and Maskin, 1996, p. 955)The debate about whether or not a growth imperative exists in debt based, interest bearing mone- tary systems has not yet been settled. It is the goal of this paper to introduce a new perspective in this discussion.For that purpose an SFC computational model is constructed which simulates a post Keynesian Endogenous Money system without including economic parameters such as production, wages, consumption and savings. A case is made that isolating the monetary system allows for better analysis of the inherent properties of such a system.Loan demands, which are assumed to happen, are the driving force of the model. Simulations can be run in two modes, each based on a different assumption. Either the growth rate of the money stock is assumed to be constant or the loan rate, expressed as a percentage of the money stock, is assumed to be constant.Simulations with varying parameters are run in order to determine the conditions under which the model converges to stability, which is defined as converging to a bounded debt rate.The analysis shows that stability of the model is dependent on net bank profit ratios, expressed relative to their debt assets, remaining below the growth rate of the money stock. Based on these findings it is argued that the question about the existence of a growth imperative in debt based, interest bearing monetary systems needs to be reframed. The question becomes whether a steady state economy can realistically support such a system without destabilising it. In order to answer this question real world behavior of economic actors must be included in the model.It is concluded that there are indications that it might not be feasible for a steady state economy to support a stable debt based, interest bearing monetary system without strong interventions. However, more research is necessary for a definite answer. Real world observable data should be analysed through the lens of the presented model to bring more clarity.

Currently, petroleum-derived plastics are widely used. However, one of its main disadvantages is its low degradation time, which is not beneficial to the environment. Therefore, natural polymers are an alternative to overcome this obstacle. Among the natural polymers, starch can be highlighted. Thus, the objectives of our investigation were to obtain sisal nanofibers using low concentrations of acid solutions to produce and characterize corn starch nanocomposites reinforced with these nanofibers. The films were produced by a casting technique using commercial corn starch and glycerol as plasticizing agents; the nanofibers were obtained using acid hydrolysis. The films were subjected to tensile tests to evaluate their resulting mechanical behaviors. The results of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed the possibility of obtaining cellulose nanofibers using a sulfuric acid concentration lower than that previously reported in the literature. The nanocomposites reinforced with plant nanofibers showed lower tensile stress and elongation characteristics than the matrices without nanofibers.

Given any sequence a = (an)n1 of positive real numbers and any set E of complex sequences, we write Ea for the set of all sequences y = (yn)n1 such that y=a = (yn=an)n1 2 E. In this paper, we use the spaces w1, w0 and w of strongly bounded, summable to zero and summable sequences, that are the sets of all sequences y such that ? n?1Pn k=1 jykj
n is bounded, tends to zero and such that y ? le 2 w0, for some scalar l, respectively, (cf. [24, 22]). These sets where used in the statistical convergence, (cf. [17, Chapter 4]). Then we deal with the solvability of each of the (SSIE) F
 E + F0x where E is a linear space of sequences, F = c0, c, `1, w0, w, or w1 and F0 = c0, c, or `1. For instance, the solvability of the (SSIE) w
 w0+s(c) x consists in determining the set of all sequences x = (xn)n1 2 U+ that satisfy the following statement. For every sequence y that satisfy the condition limn!1 n?1Pn k=1 jyk ? yk?1 ? lj = 0, there are two sequences u and v, with y = u+v such that limn!1 n?1Pn k=1 jukj = 0 and limn!1 (vn=xn) = L for some scalars l and L. These results extend those stated in [11, 12, 10].

This study analyzes the convergence between artificial intelligence (AI) and management accounting in hospital contexts. Management accounting plays a central role in the effectiveness of planning, control and decision-making in healthcare institutions such as hospitals. The application of AI in this scenario offers powerful tools to improve accounting processes, optimize operational efficiency and maximize the use of available resources, resulting in an improvement in the quality of care provided to patients. Through in-depth analysis, the article explores how AI is bringing about a revolution in hospital management accounting, presenting case studies illustrating its successful implementation, outlining the tangible benefits.

The basis of this project is a health literacy cohort study (LISA) being developed in the county of Leiria. The study aims to reach and monitor the adult population of the county over time. Counting with a multidisciplinary team, the study stakeholders asked the designers to develop the study’s brand so it could be more advertisable to the population, turning the communication between the stakeholders and the public easier. The development of the brand identity and elements of communication used some graphic design approaches. These approaches were reinforced by the opinions given by the interviewed sample of the population, that answered some of the study’s questions. The interviews held by designers allowed the team to receive information about what was expected the study to be, and how and where to better communicate the LISA’s Study. Trough the aforementioned process resulted in the current finalized outcomes of the study’s brand and communication materials. Both printable and digital communication elements (i.e., roll-up, id cards, flyers, QR Code, and website) were developed and disseminated according to the brand's strategy. Concluding, the communication elements created are seen as the first phase of this project, leaving a second phase related to the design and structuration of the Study to be developed, and published in future articles.

Stainless steel 316L (SS316L) and titanium-alloy Ti6AL4V exhibit properties for bio-medical applications; however their tribocorrosion associated with metallosis is still a major concern. Therefore smoothing DLC coatings aiming for the improvement of tri-bocorrosion and cell viability of stainless steel 316L (SS316L) and titanium-alloy Ti6AL4V with and without DLC coatings were compared. The motivation was due to many papers detailing metallosis caused by metal debris in the body's soft tissues. Nowadays, metallosis is responsible for almost of prosthesis replacement surgeries. DLC coatings were produced using the Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) technique; acetylene gas was used as a carbon precursor, and silane gas produced an amorphous silicon interface between the DLC coating and metal substrate. A combined setup of techniques thoroughly evaluated the coatings considering chemical composition, coatings adhesion at a metallic substrate, scratch resistance, and tribocorrosion susceptibility. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of metallic samples with and without DLC coatings were analyzed, considering cell viability and its correlation with coatings’ chemical composition

Polyalcohol liquefaction can be done by acid or basic catalysis producing polyols with different properties. This study compared the mechanical properties of foams produced using polyols from liquefied Cytisus scoparius obtained by acid and basic catalysis and using two different foam catalysts. The differences were monitored using FTIR analysis. Acid-catalyzed liquefaction yielded 95.1 %, with the resultant polyol having an OH index of 1081 mg KOH/g while basic catalysis yielded 82.5 %, with a similar OH index of 1070 mg KOH/g. Generally, compressive strength with dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) ranged from 16 - 31 kPa (acid-liquefied polyol) and 12 -21 kPa (base-liquefied polyol), while with stannous octoate (TIN), it ranged from 17 - 42 kPa (acid) and 29 - 68 kPa (base). Increasing water content generally decreased the compressive modulus and strength of foams. Higher water content led to a higher absorption at 1670 cm-1 in the FTIR spectrum due to the formation of urea. Higher isocyanate indices generally improved compressive strength, but high amounts led to unreacted isocyanate that could be seen by a higher absorption at 2265 cm-1 and 3290 cm-1. DBTL was shown to be the best foam catalyst due to higher trimer conversion seen in the spectra by a higher absorption at 1410 cm-1. Acid and base-derived polyols lead to different polyurethane foams with different FTIR spectra, particularly with a higher absorption at 1670 cm-1 for foams from acid-derived liquefaction.

The analysis of the morphological features can be framed in different temporal and spatial scales, depending on the specific objectives and methodologies of the various scientific fields that find in them a valuable source of information. The inventory and assessment of the geomorphological heritage may be based not exclusively in geophysical factors, but also in its contribution to the structuring of the biosphere, in its interrelation with other types of heritage or even in its potential for research or education purposes. In this article, we proceeded to the selection of a set of geomorphosites, at different scales, in Serra do Alvão (northern Portugal), seeking to demonstrate the importance of the broad lines of relief and intermediate and detailed landforms to the organization of the cultural landscape. Based on a questionnaire applied to a sample of 104 persons, it was intended to assess the value of the geomorphosites, concerning the scientific, preservation, use, cultural and educational dimensions.

There is mounting evidence that patients with severe COVID-19 disease may have symptoms that continue beyond the acute phase, extending into the early chronic phase. Often referred to as 'Long COVID'. Simultaneously, case investigations have shown that COVID-19 individuals might have a variety of neurological problems. The accurate and accessible assessment of cognitive function in patients post COVID-19 infection is thus of increasingly high importance for both public and individual health. Little is known about the influence of COVID-19 on the general cognitive levels but more importantly, at sub functions level. Therefore, we first aim to summarize current level of evidence supporting a negative impact of COVID-19 infection on cognitive functions. 27 studies have been included in the systematic review representing a total of 94,103 participants (90,317 COVID-19 patients and 3,786 healthy controls). We then performed a meta-analysis summarizing the results of 5 studies (959 participants, 513 patients) to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive functions. The overall effect, expressed in Standardized Mean Differences, is -0.56 [95%CI -0.79 ; -0.34]. To prevent disability, we finally discuss the different approaches available in rehabilitation to help these patients and to avoid long-term complication.

The efficient and sustainable management of hospitals is an increasingly relevant challenge in the healthcare sector. With limited financial resources, regulatory pressures and increasing demands for quality services, hospitals are faced with the want to approve sound policies to certify financial and operational sustainability. Management accounting is critical in this instance. In Portugal the DL nº 284, of July 26, 1999, allow us to confirm the need to reinforcement of profitability and efficiency in the provision of healthcare. Management accounting is an essential tool for monitoring and controlling costs, making strategic decisions, efficiently allocating resources and evaluating performance in the hospital environment. It allows a comprehensive view of financial and operational aspects, providing valuable information for management and strategic planning. However, the sustainability of hospital management accounting is a critical and complex topic that deserves special attention. Hospitals face several challenges, such as the complexity of hospital costs, the integration of information systems and the measurement of healthcare value. These challenges can compromise the effectiveness of management accounting and its ability to provide relevant and reliable information for decision making. As a result, it is required to address the sustainability of hospital management accounting by identifying the specific challenges faced in this area and exploring opportunities to overcome them. By addressing these challenges and seizing opportunities, hospitals can strengthen their position in the healthcare sector, improve their operational efficiency, optimize resource allocation and ensure the provision of quality services to patients. In this article, the challenges faced by hospital management accounting will be analysed, such as the complexity of costs, the integration of information systems and the measurement of value in healthcare. Additionally, opportunities to improve financial and operational management will be highlighted through the adoption of advanced technologies, an emphasis on value-based management and collaborative partnerships. By exploring these themes, this essay aims to make a contribution. to the advancement of hospital management accounting and the sustainability of hospitals in the current healthcare scenario.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is one of the most popular elastomers and has been used in different fields, especially in biomechanics research. Among the many interesting features of this material, its hyperelastic behaviour stands out, which allows the use of PDMS in various applications, like the ones that mimic soft tissues. However, the hyperelastic behaviour is not linear and needs detailed analysis, especially the characterization of shear strain. In this work, two approaches, numerical and experimental, were proposed to characterize the effect of shear strain on PDMS. The experimental method was implemented as a simple shear testing associated with 3D digital image correlation and was made using two specimens with two thicknesses of PDMS (2 and 4 mm). A finite element software was used to implement the numerical simulations, in which four different simulations using the Mooney-Rivlin, Yeoh, Gent, and Polynomial hyperelastic constitutive models were performed. These approaches showed that the maximum value of shear strain occurred in the central region of the PDMS, and higher values emerged for the 2 mm PDMS thickness. Qualitatively, in the central area of the specimen, the numerical and experimental results have similar behaviours and the values of shear strain are close. For higher values of displacement and thicknesses, the numerical simulation results move further away from experimental values.

Product Development Process is widely known among industry and automobile companies. With the advance of technology and the need to improve product efficiency, many companies have been applying Lean Thinking principles. Their benefits lead those companies to implement their concepts and tools, like Value Stream Design in Indirect Areas, Obeya, Just-in-time (JIT) which is based on the production control system developed and implemented by Toyota. This article describes the case study of the implementation of Lean Product & Process Development (LPPD) on the current Product Development Process (PDP) in an automotive company. The PDP was created by the organization and adapted from Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP). The main findings were a Value Stream Design model of an improved PDP as a useful and successfully contribution for the company. These improvements reduced the product development lead time from 700 days to 369 days. The process efficiency increased from 68% to 85%. The communication and transparency between the cross-functional team (CFT) was improved and show promise for achieving a successful launch of new products.

Negative temperature coefficient (NTC) materials are usually based on ceramic semiconductors and electrons are involved in their transport mechanism. A new type of NTC material, adequate for alternating current (AC) applications, is represented by zeolites. Indeed, zeolites are single-charge carrier ionic conductors with a temperature-dependent electrical conductivity. In particular, electrical transport in zeolites is due to the monovalent charge-balancing cations, like K⁺, capable of hopping between negatively charged sites in the aluminosilicate framework. Owing to the highly non-linear electrical behavior of the traditional electronic NTC materials, the possibility to have alternative types of materials, showing linearity in the electrical behavior, is very desirable. Among different zeolites, the natural clinoptilolite has been selected for investigating the NTC behavior since it is characterized by high zeolite content, convenient Si/Al atomic ratio, good mechanical strength, due to its compact microstructure, and low toxicity. Clinoptilolite has shown a rapid and quite reversible impedance change under heating, characterized by a linear dependence on temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been used to identify the natural zeolite, to establish all types of crystalline phases present in the mineral, and to investigate the thermal stability of these phases up to 150°C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis has been used for the chemical characterization of the natural clinoptilolite sample, providing important information on the cationic content and framework composition. In addition, since electrical transport takes place in the zeolite free-volume, a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis of the mineral has been also performed.

In this paper any superalgebra is generalized to a new form, namely ultra algebra. We study some algebraic structure results for ultra algebras and we have defined some maps on ultra algebras to know ultra derivation and Jordan ultra derivation. Moreover on certain assumptions we have proved that Jordan ultra derivation is an ultra derivation.

Research on Traffic Light Recognition (TLR) has grown in recent years, primarily driven by the growing interest in autonomous vehicles development. Machine Learning algorithms have been widely used to that purpose. Mainstream approaches, however, require large amount of data to properly work, and as a consequence, a lot of computational resources. In this paper we propose the use of Expert Instruction (IE) as a mechanism to reduce the amount of data required to provide accurate ML models for TLR. Given an image of the exterior scene taken from the inside of the vehicle, we stand the hypothesis that the picture of a traffic light is more likely to appear in the central and upper regions of the image. Frequency Maps of traffic light location were thus constructed to confirm this hypothesis. The frequency maps are the result of a manual effort of human experts in annotating each image with the coordinates of the region where the traffic light appears. Results show that EI increased the accuracy obtained by the classification algorithm in two different image datasets by at least 15%. Evaluation rates achieved by the inclusion of EI were also higher in further experiments, including traffic light detection followed by classification by the trained algorithm. The inclusion of EI in the PCANet achieved a precision of 83% and recall of 73% against 75.3% and 51.1%, respectively, of its counterpart. We finally presents a prototype of a TLR Device with that expert model embedded to assist drivers. The TLR uses a smartphone as a camera and processing unit. To show the feasibility of the apparatus, a dataset was obtained in real time usage and tested in an Adaptive Background Suppression Filter (AdaBSF) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) algorithm to detect and recognize traffic lights. Results show precision of 100% and recall of 65%.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in the globally. Morbidity and disability related to non-fatal events are increasing exponentially. There are several symptoms that may arise after invasive therapeutic approaches such as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), including chronic pain in anatomical areas connected to the mediastinum; these pains can be found not only initially after surgery, but also years later. We present a case where non-specific neck pain (NNP), in a patient undergoing CABG five years earlier, was approached with an osteopathic technique, working the pericardial area. To the knowledge of the Authors, it is the first case report where osteopathy is associated with a gentle treatment on the pericardial area to resolve a NNP.

Objectives This article focuses on exploring the evolution of Palliative Care in Portugal. Ten years after the approval of its Basic Law, the aim was to investigate the quality of the path followed and the guidelines that could promote its development. Thus, this study sought to identify a) the goals of the current members of parliament concerning Palliative Care, b) the major priorities that should guide the development of Palliative Care in the coming decade, c) the facilitating or hindering factors to accelerating the process, and d) to propose consensually agreed measures for an integral development of Palliative Care within the health system. Methods Qualitative data analysis was performed from the reading of literature and interviews conducted via Zoom with several intentionally chosen participants, leading to the creation of a Focus Group. The NVivo® 10 was used for data processing and categorisation. Results Three key themes emerged concerning the current status of palliative care: the policymakers, the technicians, and the society. This first line of structuring is explained by a second set of categories, namely, a) knowledge about palliative care; b) Palliative care organisation from the policymakers’ perspective. In the technicians' domain: a) knowledge about palliative care, b) clinical training, and c) medical specialty. Finally, in society: a) knowledge about palliative care. Significance of the Results Advancing general education, increasing qualitative training for the different health professionals, reformulating laws supporting them, promoting flexibility of the implementation methodologies, and establishing medical specialty, are crucial to achieving the proposed goal.

Background: Gender stereotypes and biases can influence perceptions of competence and suitability for certain medical specialties. Empathy is an important component of an optimal doctor-patient relationship. The scope of our study is to verify the correlation between “empathetic" behavioral style with attention and sensibility to the gender differences of patients of the medical students. Methods: An online survey was conducted using the Jefferson Scale for Empathy (JSE), to measure empathy in the context of health professions education and patient care; and the Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale (N-GAMS), which measures attitudes and assumptions about gender. A total of 234 students (52.1% M; mean age: 22.68±2.48) from Medicine and Surgery at the University of Salerno (Italy) participated, of whom n° 175 were third-year students and n° 59 were fifth-year students. Results: The JSE score shows that male students have higher scores (77.29±12.38) than females (75.91±10.39). Conversely, female students have higher perspective-taking (JSE Factor 1: Male= 51.26±11.84; Female= 52.72±11.88). In addition, third-year students are much more empathetic than their fifth-year colleagues (JSE Score: 3°ys= 77.35±11.46; 5°ys= 74.49±11.33). With reference to the GS, we found that male students have greater sensitivity than their female colleagues (GS: Male= 2.67±0.68; Female= 2.37±0.48); conversely, they have higher scores of gender stereotype towards patients (GRIP: Male= 2±0.88; Female= 1.59±0.61) and doctors (GRID: Male= 1.88±0.89; Female= 1.64±0.63). Also, the third-year students compared to their fifth-year colleagues are characterized by greater gender sensitivity (GS: 3°ys= 2.57±0.62; 5°ys= 2.42±0.57), less bias with respect to patients (GRIP: 3°ys= 1.77±0.79; 5°ys= 1.90±0.78) but, on the other hand, show more stereotypes and prejudices towards doctors (GRID: 3°ys= 1.77±0.81; 5°ys= 1.75±0.74). Conclusions: Humanistic attitudes, including empathy, should be instilled, and evaluated among trainees as an essential part of their postgraduate medical education.

Traditional population-based metaheuristic algorithms are effective in solving complex real-world problems but require careful strategy selection and parameter tuning. Parameter-less population-based optimization algorithms have gained importance due to their simplicity and efficiency. However, research on their applicability for solving large systems of nonlinear equations is still incipient. In this paper, a systematic review and detailed description of metaphor-less optimization algorithms is made, including the Jaya algorithm, the main Jaya variants for continuous optimization problems, with a focus on the Enhanced Jaya (EJAYA) algorithm, the three Rao algorithms, the best-worst-play (BWP) algorithm, and the very recent max-min-greedy-interaction (MaGI) algorithm. This paper also discusses a few previous parallelizations of the Jaya optimization algorithm, as well as recent GPU-based massively parallel implementations of the Jaya, Enhanced Jaya (EJAYA), Rao, and BWP algorithms developed by the authors. In addition, a novel GPU-accelerated version of the MaGI algorithm is proposed. The GPU-accelerated versions of the metaphor-less algorithms developed by the authors were implemented using the Julia programming language and tested primarily on GeForce RTX 3090 and NVIDIA A100 GPUs, as well as on Tesla V100S and Tesla T4 GPUs, using a set of difficult, large-scale nonlinear equation system problems. The computational experiments carried out produced quite significant speedups, which highlights the efficiency of the GPU-based versions of the metaphor-less algorithms developed for solving large-scale systems of nonlinear equations.

The functioning of forest ecosystems depends on the taxonomic and ecological diversity of soil fungi. Urbanization is increasing worldwide and is regarded a major driver of environmental change altering local species assemblages in urban forest. We investigated whether the degree of urbanization and local forest characteristics affect the soil fungal community in 20 beech forests located along a rural–urban gradient in the city of Basel and its suburbs (Switzerland). We analyzed their soil fungal communities by DNA metabarcoding of the rDNA ITS2 region and related these data to local forest vegetation characteristics and soil properties. The number of fungal OTUs in the 20 forests examined ranged from 170 to 303. Richness, diversity and evenness of fungal OTUs were all significantly affected by the degree of urbanization, but in different ways. OTU richness was highest in forests in areas with a low degree of urbanization and lowest in forests in rural areas. In contrast, the diversity of OTUs increased with increasing degree of urbanization. Different fungal phyla and fungal guilds showed distinct patterns in their relative abundance along the rural-urban gradient. The degree of urbanization reduced the relative abundance of symbiotrophic fungi, but increased that of saprotrophic and pathotrophic fungi. Our results show that urbanization alters soil fungal community, which in turn can lead to changes in forest ecosystems.

Soils provide important regulating ecosystem services and have crucial implications for human well-being and environmental conservation. However, soil degradation and particularly soil erosion jeopardize the maintenance and existence of these services. This study explores the spatio-temporal relationships of soil erosion to understand the distribution patterns of sediment retention services in mainland Portugal. Based on Corine Land Cover maps from 1990 to 2018, the InVEST Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) model was used to evaluate the influence of sediment dynamics for soil and water conservation. Spatial differences in the sediment retention levels were observed within the NUTS III boundaries, showing which areas are more vulnerable to soil erosion processes. Results indicated that the Region of Leiria, Douro and the coastal regions have decreased importantly sediment retention capacity over the years. However, in most of the territory (77.52%) changes in sediment retention were little or not important (i.e., less than 5%). The statistical validation of the model proved the consistency of the results, highlighting the usefulness of this methodology to analyse the state of soil erosion in the country. These findings can be relevant to support strategies for more efficient land use planning regarding soil erosion mitigation practices.

B chromosomes are supernumerary chromosomes which are found in addition to the normal standard chromosomes (A chromosomes). B chromosomes are well known to accumulate several types of repeats. Although the evolution of B chromosomes has been subject of numerous studies, the mechanisms of accumulation and evolution of repetitive sequences is not fully understood. Recently, new genomic approaches have shed light on the origin and accumulation of different classes of repetitive sequences in the process of B chromosome formation and evolution. Here we discuss the impact of repetitive sequences accumulation on the evolution of plant B chromosomes.

The goal of background reconstruction is to recover the background image of a scene from a sequence of frames showing this scene cluttered by various moving objects. This task is fundamental in image analysis, and is generally the first step before more advanced processing, but difficult because there is no formal definition of what should be considered as background or foreground and the results may be severely impacted by various challenges such as illumination changes, intermittent object motions, highly cluttered scenes, etc. We propose in this paper a new iterative algorithm for background reconstruction, where the current estimate of the background is used to guess which image pixels are background pixels and a new background estimation is performed using those pixels only. We then show that the proposed algorithm, which uses stochastic gradient descent for improved regularization, is more accurate than the state of the art on the challenging SBMnet dataset, especially for short videos with low frame rates, and is also fast, reaching an average of 52 fps on this dataset when parameterized for maximal accuracy using GPU acceleration and a Python implementation.

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 main purpose of this article is to identify key areas of research on climate change in the context of the SDGs, focusing on the potential development impacts on Bolivia and Paraguay. Application of the Delphi technique with the involvement of a panel of experts allowed the consolidation of different perspectives and knowledge on climate change, focusing on those that experts considered to have the greatest potential impact on the regions. The results of this study constitute a valuable guide for decision-makers and funding bodies, highlighting research areas that could have a significant impact at the national and regional levels, as well as for researchers, identifying specific research areas crucial for regional development and climate change mitigation.

This paper makes a theoretical contribution by exploring the integration of sustainability principles into project management. It compares two recent methodologies, PM² and PRiSM^TM, and provides a practical contribution by advocating for the adoption of these sustainability-driven practices among practitioners. Sustainability remains relatively unknown in the realm of project management, and this research aims to bridge that gap. The study follows an interpretivist philosophy and employs a combination of interviews and archival data analysis. PM², created by the European Commission, provides a project management methodology free to organizations and includes best practices from other bodies of knowledge. However, it doesn't include sustainability, because it aims to be generic. PRiSM^TM, based on the P5™, aims to make the project management process more sustainable. PRiSM^TM has P5 Impact Analysis and Sustainability Management Plan as the main differentiating deliverables and is an extension of the Triple Bottom Line, also including product and process. The PM² Alliance CEO believes that PM² aims to be generic, so a focus on sustainability would remove the methodology's "elasticity". However, users wishing to use PM² and consider sustainability can include it in the additional objectives and use PRiSM^TM differentiating deliverables.

Enzymes are in high demand for very diverse biotechnological applications. However, natural biocatalysts often need to be engineered for fine-tuning their properties towards the end applications, such as the activity, selectivity, stability to temperature or co-solvents, and solubility. Computational methods are increasingly used in this task, providing predictions that narrow down the space of possible mutations significantly and can enormously reduce the experimental burden. Many computational tools are available as web-based platforms, making them accessible to non-expert users. These platforms are typically user-friendly, contain walk-throughs, and do not require deep expertise and installations. Here we describe some of the most recent outstanding web-tools for enzyme engineering and formulate future perspectives in this field.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is expected to be the second cause of cancer death by 2022. For nearly 80% of patients, diagnosis occurs at an advanced, non-surgical stage, making such patients incurable. Gemcitabine is still an important component in PDAC treatment and is most often used as a backbone to test new targeted therapies and there is, to date, no routine biomarker to predict its efficacy. Samples from a phase III randomized trial were used to develop trough a large approach based on blood-based liquid biopsy, transcriptome profiling, and machine learning, a 9 gene predictive signature for gemcitabine sensitivity. Patients with a positive test (41.6%) had a significantly longer progression free survival (PFS) (3.8 months vs. 1.9 months p=0.03) and a longer overall survival (OS) (14.5 months vs. 5.1 p<0.0001). In multivariate analyses, this signature was independently associated with PFS (HR=0.5 (0.28-0.9) p=0.025) and OS (HR=0.39 (0.21-0.7) p=0.002).

The Thermodynamic Formalism provides a rigorous mathematical framework to study quantitative and qualitative aspects of dynamical systems. At its core there is a variational principle and corresponding, in its simplest form, to the Maximum Entropy principle, used as a statistical inference procedure to represent, by specific probability measures (Gibbs measures), the collective behaviour of complex systems. This framework has found applications in different domains of scienThe Thermodynamic Formalism provides a rigorous mathematical framework to study quantitative and qualitative aspects of dynamical systems. At its core there is a variational principle and corresponding, in its simplest form, to the Maximum Entropy principle, used as a statistical inference procedure to represent, by specific probability measures (Gibbs measures), the collective behaviour of complex systems. This framework has found applications in different domains of science, in particular, has been fruitful and influential in neurosciences. In this article, we review how the Thermodynamic Formalism can be exploited in the field of theoretical neuroscience, as a conceptual and operational tool, to link the dynamics of interacting neurons and the statistics of action potentials from either experimental data or mathematical models. We comment on perspectives and open problems in theoretical neuroscience that could be addressed within this formalism.ce, in particular, has been fruitful and influential in neurosciences. In this article, we review how the Thermodynamic Formalism can be exploited in the field of theoretical neuroscience, as a conceptual and operational tool, to link the dynamics of interacting neurons and the statistics of action potentials from either experimental data or mathematical models. We comment on perspectives and open problems in theoretical neuroscience that could be addressed within this formalism.

To efficiently use its finite resources, the visual system selects for further processing only a subset of the rich sensory information. Visual masking and spatial attention control the information transfer from visual sensory-memory to visual short-term memory. There is still a debate whether these two processes operate independently or interact, with empirical evidence supporting both arguments. However, recent studies pointed out that earlier studies showing significant interactions between common-onset masking and attention suffered from ceiling and/or floor effects. Our review of previous studies reporting metacontrast-attention interactions revealed similar artifacts. Therefore, we investigated metacontrast-attention interactions by using an experimental paradigm in which ceiling/floor effects were avoided. We also examined whether metacontrast masking is differently influenced by endogenous and exogenous attention. We analyzed mean absolute-magnitude of response-errors and their statistical distribution. Our results support the hypothesis that metacontrast and endogenous/exogenous attention are largely independent with negligible likelihood for interactions. Moreover, statistical modeling of the distribution of response-errors suggests weak interactions modulating the probability of “guessing” behavior for some observers in both types of attention. Nevertheless, our data suggest that any joint effect of attention and metacontrast can be adequately explained by their independent and additive contributions.

Factors responsible of species distribution were intensively investigated in the past, including response at different spatial scales. The aim of the present research is to review the most relevant factors explaining chironomid species distribution focusing to factors operating at different spatial scales, such as latitude, longitude, altitude, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients acting at regional, country, water basin extension. Data including chironomid species abundances from different lentic and lotic waters from Italy and other surrounding countries were analyzed with different multivariate methods: partial canonical correspondence analysis and multiple discriminant analysis. Spatial analysis included univariate Moran’I correlograms, multivariate Mantel correlograms and Moran’s Eigenvectors Maps (MEM) calculation. The results confirmed previous conclusions, that is habitat type including different running waters reaches (kryal, krenal, rhthral, potamal) and different lake types is the most significant factor in separating chironomid assemblages and spatial factors act only as indirect influencers..

The emergence of COVID-19 has prompted an unprecedented scientic publication with the aim of better understanding this new disease. This study assessed the scientic impact and disciplinary priorities of the published papers on the pandemic by comparing epidemiological (EP) and social sciences (SS) research interests. Papers were identified via keywords searching using Google Scholar and Scopus databases. From an initial 1720 papers, we identified 597 relevant articles, of which 347 were for EP researches and 250 for SS studies. We extracted information, such as authors' countries, and research thematic related to EP and SS. The results revealed that most papers were authored by Asian (37.5%), European (30.5%) and American (19.6%) scientists. Only 10.1% and 2.3% of authors were aliated with African and Oceanian institutions, respectively, indicating that the regions most affected by the pandemic mainly contributed to the scientic publications. In total, 26 research themes were recorded from both EP and SS studies. There was a high signicant dierence among themes in both research fields (Chi-square = 1204.3, df = 1, p-value < 0.001). EP papers mostly dealt with clinical trials (54.5%) and diagnosis (53.3%). These papers assessed the incidence and epidemiological characteristics of the disease (incubation period, symptomatic period, recovering or death), testing tests developed, drugs and vaccines used. SS papers were mainly concerned with the sociocultural analyses (78%) and economic impact (55.6%) of the pandemic. They mainly focused on behavioral changes induced by the pandemic and strategies developed to mitigate its impacts. This study highlights the difference between regions and gaps between scientific disciplines concerning the proposed responses to control the pandemic. It is important to promote collaborative and interdisciplinary studies for health emergencies.

Water footprint has been widely used to illustrate the consumption of water in many situations; for instance, in products, processes or regions of interest. In this work, we analyzed – using a sensitivity analysis approach – the effect of some variables in the calculation of the water footprint in the viticulture in Brazilian Serra Gaúcha (the major producing region of Brazilian Wine).The classical Penman-Monteith model for evapotransporation was considered, with uncertainties in some parameters (dead mulch covering fraction in the vineyard, maximum temperatures for some months, altitudes and latitudes of the site). The sensitivity analysis was conducted using the SAFE toolbox under Octave framework. The results indicated that the the portion of the water footprint corresponding to the evapotranspiration is more sensitive to the values of mulch covering fraction and the altitude of the site in comparison with the latitude and the maximum temperatures.

Hazelnut shells (HS), scientifically known as Corylus avellana L. shells, are a waste produced in companies that process nuts. The main objective of this study was to find an efficient way to maximize the chemical potential of HS by solubilizing the hemicelluloses, which could then be used to recover sugars and at the same time increase the lignin content of this material in order to produce adhesives or high strength foams. In order to optimize the pre-hydrolysis process, two different temperatures (160 and 170 C) and times varying from 15 to 180 min were tested. All the remaining solid materials were then liquefied by polyalcohols with acid catalysis. The chemical composition of hazelnut shells was determined before and after the pre-hydrolysis. All the process was monitored by FTIR-ATR by determining the spectra of solids and liquids after pre-hydrolisis and liquefactions steps. The highest solubilization of hazelnut shells was found for 170 C and 180 min, resulting in a 25.8% solubilization. Chemical analysis after the hydrolysis process showed a gradual increase in the solubilization of hemicelluloses as both the temperature and time of the reactor were increased. Simultaneously, the percentages of α-cellulose and lignin in the material also increased with rises in temperature and duration. FTIR-ATR allowed for the detection of significant spectral changes in the hazelnut shells from their initial state to the solid residue and further into the liquefied phase. This confirmed that pre-hydrolysis was effective in enhancing the chemical composition of the material, making it more suitable for the production of adhesives or polyurethane foams with enhanced mechanical strength.

Telemonitoring and telerehabilitation have shown promise in delivering individualized healthcare remotely. We introduce STASISM, a Sensor-Based Telerehabilitation and Telemonitoring System, in this work. This platform has been created to facilitate individualized telerehabilitation and telemonitoring for those who need rehabilitation or ongoing monitoring. To gather and analyze pertinent and validated physiological, kinematic, and environmental data, the system combines a variety of sensors and data analytic methodologies. The platform facilitates customized rehabilitation activities based on individual needs, allows for remote monitoring of patients' progress, and offers real-time feedback. To protect the security of patient data and to safeguard patient privacy, STASISM also provides secure data transmission and storage. The platform has the potential to significantly improve the accessibility and efficacy of telerehabilitation and telemonitoring programs, enhancing patients' quality of life and allowing healthcare professionals to provide individualized care outside of traditional clinical settings/

Background Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) is a dissociative anaesthetic that is sometimes used recreationally. The prevalence of N₂O use is difficult to quantify but appears to be increasing. Research on N₂O harms and application of harm reduction strategies are limited. The aim of this mixed method systematic review was to collate and synthesise the disparate body of research on recreational nitrous oxide use to inform harm reduction approaches tailored for young people. Methods To identify publications reporting recreational use of N₂O, a search of public health, psychology and social science databases was conducted. Databases included PubMed, CIHNAL, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science. Gray literature and Google advanced search were also used. Due to limited published literature on the recreational use of N₂O, no limit was placed on publication date or study type. A thematic synthesis extracted descriptive and analytical themes from the selected studies. Quality appraisal was conducted using the CASP Tool for Qualitative studies and the Joanna Briggs Institute case report assessment tool Results The search retrieved 407 reports. Thirty-four were included in the final analysis including sixteen case reports. The included studies were primarily concerned with raising awareness of the apparently increasing use and subsequently increasing harms of recreational N₂O use. There was limited reference to policy or legislative responses in any published studies, no suggestions for harm reduction strategies or application of service level responses. In general, individuals lack awareness of N2O related harms. Conclusion The review found three key areas that deserve further consideration including: 1) policy, 2) service delivery, and 3) harm associated with N₂O use. We recommend a top-down (policy) and bottom-up (services delivery/services users) approach to harm reduction for N₂O use which also includes further consultation and research with both groups. Future research could explore young people’s experience of N₂O use including benefits and problems to inform contextually relevant harm reduction strategies.

Important current limitations of the implementation of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in the rehabilitation field are related to the validation process of new technologies and interventions. Indeed, most of the strict guidelines that have been developed for the validation of new drugs (i.e., double or triple blinded, strict control of the doses and intensity) cannot – or only partially – be applied in rehabilitation. Well powered high quality randomized controlled trials are more difficult to organize in rehabilitation (e.g., longer duration of the intervention in rehabilitation, more difficult to standardize the intervention compared to drugs’ validation studies, limited funding’s since not sponsorized by big pharma companies), which reduces the possibility of conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as currently high level of evidence is sparse. The current limitations of EBP in rehabilitation are presented in this paper and innovative solutions are suggested such as: technology-supported rehabilitation systems, continuous assessment, pragmatic trials, rehabilitation treatment specification systems, and advanced statistical methods, to tackle the limitations to increase the quality of the research in rehabilitation. The development and implementation of new technologies should increase the quality of research and the level of evidence supporting rehabilitation provided some adaptation in our research methodology.

Near-fault ground motions can cause severe damage to civil structures, including bridges. Safety assessment of these structures for near fault ground motion is usually performed through Non-Linear Dynamic Analyses, while faster methods are often used. IMPAb (Incremental Modal Pushover Analysis for Bridges) permits to investigate the seismic response of a bridge by considering the effects of higher modes, which are often relevant for bridges. In this work, IMPAb is applied to a bridge case study considering near-fault pulse-like ground motion records. The records were analyzed and selected from the European Strong Motion Database and the pulse parameters were evaluated. In the paper results from standard pushover procedures and IMPAb are compared with nonlinear Response-History Analysis (NRHA), considering also the vertical component of the motion, as benchmark solutions and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). Results from the case study demonstrate that the vertical seismic action has a minor influence on the structural response of the bridge. Therefore IMPAb, which can be applied considering vertical motion, remains very effective conserving the original formulation of the procedure, and can be considered a well performing procedure also for near-fault events.

A large number of bridges are designed and built without considering seismic actions and, differently from buildings, there are currently no comprehensive guidelines to evaluate existing bridges without performing, as in the well known incremental dynamic analysis (IDA), complex non linear dynamic analyses (RHA). Bridges are structurally very different from building but, at the same time, are sensitive to higher modes as well as many multi-storey buildings that inspired innovative pushover procedures such as the well known modal pushover analysis (MPA). In the present study the incremental modal pushover analysis (IMPA), a pushover based approach already proposed and applied on buildings by the same authors, is revised and proposed for bridges (IMPAβ). IMPAβ accounts for the effects of higher modes in order to accurately estimate the seismic response of bridges; the effect of higher modes is considered by introducing a suitable number of modes to ensure the participation of a predefined total effective modal mass. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated by conducting a study on two bridges, one regular and one irregular, and the IDA analysis is employed as reference solution. Numerical results indicate good accuracy of the proposed method in assessing the seismic response and a very good accuracy if compared to other available pushover procedures available in the literature.

Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss (Apiaceae), popularly known as parsley, is a ubiquitous aromatic herb used for culinary and medicinal purposes worldwide. Besides the richness in nutrients, sev-eral bioactive secondary metabolites, especially the flavone apigenin and its glycosides, have been described in the species. Parsley has already been shown to have several health-promoting activi-ties, such as antithrombotic, antihypertensive, and hypolipidemic. The multiple studies conducted in animal models so far suggest the species is a potential source of cardioprotective agents. This review provides up to date information and perspectives on the potential of parsley and its bioac-tive compounds for the development of nutraceutical products and drugs for the promotion of cardiovascular health. It includes not only a discussion on reported bioactivities, but also the knowledge of supplements and food additives developed as innovative parsley-based products.

Interactions of soil moisture with plant root systems are very important for plant growth. For non-invasive determination of volumetric soil moisture in a rhizobox, a microwave system based on transmittance of electromagnetic waves in the microwave frequency range was developed using microstrip patch antennas. Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs) were used to measure the S-parameters at frequency ranges close to 5 GHz. A transmission system with microstrip patch antennas was developed. The result of this attenuation is in the frequency domain. The antennae were designed as resonant microstrip antennae. The antennae were placed on both sides of a rhizobox, which allowed non-invasive measuring soil moisture in the box. The attenuation (S21(dB)) was used to measure the effect of temperature, and different types of soil; as well as sensitivity, reproducibility and repeatability of the system. In this work we present quantitative results of soil moisture in rhizobox. The microwave technique, using microstrip patch antennas, is a reliable and accurate system, and showed very promising potential applications for rhizobox-based investigations of root performance.

After the ban on tributyltin-based antifouling paints, DCOIT (4,5-Dichloro-2-octylisothiazol-3(2H)-one) became one of the most used antifouling biocides. DCOIT is a pseudo-persistent contaminant in port areas and is toxic to non-target species, but its ability to bioaccumulate and be transferred along the trophic chain remains unknown. This study aimed to preliminarily investigate the bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, and biomagnification of DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT (DCOIT immobilized in silica mesoporous nanocapsules) from the microalga Tetraselmis chuii to the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis during exposure experiments considering 24 h of uptake followed by 72 h depuration. Mussels rapidly internalized and metabolized both DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT. The predator-prey biomagnification factors (BMFTL) suggested that both forms of the biocide can be trophically transferred, with higher concentrations of DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT in mussels than in microalgae (BMFTL &gt; 1). However, the bioaccumulation and bioconcentration factors indicated a low bioaccumulation capability in the short term, suggesting that the depuration rate overcomes the uptake. Our findings contribute to the development of environmental risk assessments for DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT, but do not exclude the possibility of DCOIT bioaccumulation in the long-term in areas with constant input of DCOIT. Further studies are needed to understand these processes under continuous exposure scenarios to DCOIT.

The concept of {\it quantum ratio} emerged in the recent efforts to understand how Newton's equations appear for the center of mass (CM) of an isolated macroscopic body at finite body-temperatures, as the first approximation to quantum-mechanical equations. It is defined as $Q\equiv R_q/L_0$, where the quantum fluctuation range $R_q$ is the spatial extension of the pure-state CM wave function, whereas $L_0$ stands for the body's linear size (the space support of the internal, bound-state wave function). The two cases $R_q /L_0 \lesssim 1$ or $R_q/ L_0 \gg 1$, roughly correspond to the body's CM behaving classically or quantum mechanically, respectively. In the present note we elaborate more on this concept, illustrating it in several examples. An important notion following from introduction of the quantum ratio is that the elementary particles (thus the electron and the photon) are quantum mechanical, even when the environment-induced decoherence turns them into a mixed state. Decoherence and classical state should not be identified. This simple observation, further illustrationed by the consideration of a few atomic or molecular processes, may have significant implications on the way quantum mechanics works in biological systems.

Screening of pollen traits in diploid wild potatoes (Solanum sect. Petota, Solanaceae) is desirable to develop heat-tolerant potato (S. tuberosum) cultivars. To accomplish this goal requires exploring potato genetic resources that are conserved in genebanks. The goal of this study was to assess pollen viability and 2n pollen production of the diploid potato wild relatives under heat stress condition. We assessed pollen viability and size of nine potato accessions conserved at the Embrapa Potato Gene Bank, including eight wild potatoes S. chacoense (BRA 00167447-2, BRA 00167017-3, BRA 00167023-1, BRA 00167028-0), S. commersonii (BRA00167007-4, BRA00167420-9, BRA00183760-8), and S. malmeanum (BRA 00183755-8), along with a control accession from the cultivated species S. tuberosum (BRA 00167251-8). The plant accessions were cultivated in different growth chambers, subjected to both control temperature (ranging from 14 to 27°C) and supraoptimal temperature conditions (ranging from 24 to 34°C). At heat stress, the accessions BRA 00167251-8 did not bloom, and BRA 00167023-1 did not produce pollen. The remaining accessions did not exhibit a significant reduction in pollen viability as the temperature increased. Pollen viability at the control temperature had the lowest value in BRA-00167420-9 (S. commersonii) with 68.5% and the highest in BRA 00183755-8 (S. malmeanum) with 100%. At the supraoptimal temperature the lowest value was in BRA 00167420-9 (S. commersonii) with 54.5% and the highest in BRA 00167017-3 (S. chacoense) with 94%. The average of pollen diameter was 20 μm in all wild potato genotypes, and the increase of temperature did not lead to 2n pollen production. Estimated Genotypic Coefficient of Variation (GCV) was lower than Phenotypic Coefficient of Variation (PCV) for pollen viability. The observed heritability values ranged from 58.82% in BRA00167007-4 to 91.32% in BRA 00183755-8. Our results highlight the genetic variability available in wild potato germplasm concerning pollen viability under heat stress. Furthermore, these first insights offer valuable guidance for ongoing and future endeavors in diploid potato breeding.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic eczematous inflammatory disease that may arise from environmental, genetic and immunological factors. Despite the efficacy of current treatment options like corticosteroids, such approaches are mainly focused on symptoms relief, and may present certain undesirable side effects. In recent years, investigation regarding isolated natural compounds, oils, mixtures and/or extracts, have gained scientific attention because of their high efficiency and moderate to low toxicity. Despite their promising therapeutic effects, the applicability of such natural health care solutions is somehow limited by their instability, poor solubility, and low bioavailability. Therefore, novel nanoformulation-based systems have been designed to overpass these limitations, thus enhancing the therapeutic potential, by promoting the capacity of these natural drugs to properly exert their action in AD-like skin lesions. For the best of our knowledge, this is the first literature review that focused on summarizing the last nanoformulation-based solutions loaded with natural ingredients, and specifically for the management of AD. We suggest that future studies should focus on robust clinical trials that may confirm the security and effectiveness of such natural-based nanosystems, thus paving the way for more reliable AD treatments.

Master Valentim’s fountain became an important historical patrimony for Brazil, being portrayed by famous artists among them Jean-Baptiste Debret. In 1938, it was registered as cultural heritage by the Brazilian National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN), and in 1990 it was subjected to excavation and restoration works. The fountain was built in Gneiss and Lioz limestone, with metallic plates and mortar connecting the Gneiss blocks. Currently, deteriorations in the fountain stones can be observed such as light stains and some aesthetic modifications caused by inadequate restorations. Petrography, XRF, XRD, Physical Properties, Colorimetry, Electrical Conductivity, ICP-OES, SEM-EDX, and TGA were performed in order to characterize the Gneiss blocks, the metallic plates, the stones used in previous restorations, as well as light stains observed on the Gneiss blocks. The petrography and XRD analyses inferred that light stains may have been caused by the formation of an insoluble salt as a result of the association of the lead from the plates with other elements. The XRD analysis on the light staining area indicated presence of cerussite (PbCO₃), and anglesite (PbSO₄), which are the probable cause of the light stains. The SEM-EDX results suggested that sulfur is the main element associated to lead.

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) represent a set of substances that contribute directly to the triggering and/or aggravation of pathologies associated with ageing. AGEs are produced by the reaction between reducing sugars (or α-dicarbonyl compounds) proteins and amino acid residues. Current methodologies require an incubation period of 1-3 weeks to generate AGEs. In this study the reaction time for the formation of AGEs (48 and 3 hours) is significantly reduced by coupling and adapting procedures already existing in the literature to the free radical generation system called the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase assay. The capacity of different classes and chemical compounds (aminoguanidine, chlorogenic acid, rutin, extracts of Hancornia speciosa Gomes) were evaluated to inhibit the protein glycation process, acting as capturing agents of α-dicarbonyl species. Aminoguanidine, rutin and the leaf extracts of Hancornia speciosa Gomes show a high capacity to act as α-dicarbonyl compound scavengers (RCS-trapping) and resulting in the inhibition of AGEs formation.

Neuropathic pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory system and is one of the most incapacitating pain types, representing a significant non met medical need. Due to the increase in research in the field and since innovative therapeutic strategies are required, namely in intractable neuropathic pain, neurostimulation has been used. Within this approaches, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) that uses a transient magnetic field to produce electrical currents over the cortex emerges in the literature. Since this is an area in expansion and due to the putative role of TMS, we performed a bibliometric analysis in Scopus with the primary objective of identify the scientific production related to the use of TMS to manage neuropathic pain. The research had no restrictions and the analysis focused on the characteristics of the literature retrieved, scientific collaboration and main research topics from inception to July 6, 2023. A total of 474 articles were collected. A biggest co-occurrence between the terms “neuropathic pain” and “transcranial magnetic stimulation” was obtained. The journal “Clinical Neurophysiology” leads the Top 5 most productive sources. The United States is the most productive country with 50% of the documents being “review articles” followed by France with 56% of the documents being “original articles”. Lefaucheur, JP and Saitoh, Y are the two most influents authors. The most frequent type of documents was “original article”. This study allows to perform a general overview in the field of TMS application for neuropathic pain and is useful to establish future directions of research in this field.

In this work we explore the utilization of plasmonic resonance (PR) in silver nanowires to enhance the performance of organic solar cells. Plasmonic resonance is a phenomenon in which nanoscale conductive materials exhibit oscillation of conduction electrons, resulting in the creation of an electric field. Enhancing light absorption is crucial for improving organic solar cell efficiency and incorporating metallic nanostructures to induce surface plasmon resonance (SPR) shows promise in achieving this goal. We discuss the two key mechanisms of plasmonic effects: far-field scattering and near-field resonance modes. Far-field scattering extends the optical path of incident light, while near-field plasmonic effects involve localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and plasmonic cavity modes, enhancing absorption by strengthening electric fields near the nanostructures. Silver nanowires are the focus of this study, and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation software is used to investigate their plasmonic resonance behavior in a ZnO/Silver nanowires/ZnO (ZAZ) electrode structure. The simulations reveal the dominance of LSPR in this configuration, with intense electric fields inside the nanowire and propagation into the surrounding medium, offering opportunities for enhanced light absorption in the organic solar cell's active layer.

Anxiety is a multifactorial pathology associated with oxidative stress and changes in different neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS). Sarcomphalus joazeiro (Rhamnaceae) has a predicted effect on the CNS, being considered an alternative for pre-clinical investigations of anxiolytic drugs. The objective of this study is to evaluate the chemical composition, analyze the antioxidant capacity and the anxiolytic effect of the ethanolic extract of S. joazeiro leaves (EEFSJ) in zebrafish. The chemical profile was analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-PDA-ESI-QDA). Antioxidant action by DPPH• elimination and ABTS•⁺ capture assays. The 96 h acute toxicity and open field and light and dark tests, for sedative and anxiolytic evaluation, respectively, were applied in vivo, using zebrafish. It was possible to identify 11 compounds from the flavonoid and saponin class. EEFSJ exhibited a mean inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 185.2 ± 2.2 µg/mL and 74.17 ± 1.5 µg/mL against the DPPH• and ABTS•⁺ radicals, respectively. In vivo, EEFSJ demonstrated reduced locomotor activity and an anxiolytic effect similar to diazepam via GABAergic systems, without presenting toxicity within 96 h. These results suggest the safety of using EEFSJ for the development of clinical trials for the production of new anxiolytic drugs.

In this paper we investigate in different scenarios the feasibility of using massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) to boost the throughput and coverage performances with high energy efficiency, considering sub-6 GHz, mmWave and THz bands. With that objective, a centralized radio access network (C-RAN) suitable for beyond fifth generation (B5G) systems is considered, where we integrate the base stations (BSs) with multiple RISs and devices or user equipment. RISs with a large number of quasi-passive reflecting elements constitute a low-cost approach capable of shaping the radio wave propagation and improve wireless connectivity. We consider a scenario where multiple RISs are combined with mMIMO in the uplink in order to provide connectivity to Smart City (thousands of active low power devices) wirelessly, in the 3.6GHz and 28GHz bands. We also address a scenario where RISs are adopted with mMIMO in the downlink so as to offer connectivity to a Stadium with Pitch, (thousands of active user equipment) in the 28GHz band. Finally, we have also studied the connectivity at 100GHz of a Factory where several RIS panels replacing most of the BSs equipped with mMIMO assure improved throughput and coverage. We concluded that RISs are capable of improving the performance in any of these analyzed scenarios at the different frequency bands, justifying that they are a key enabling technology for 6G.

Both academic literature and global organizations have emphasized the need for responsible water consumption, as stated in the Sustainable Development Goal 12. However, individuals’ water-saving behaviors in their current state are not enough. This situation entails a resistance to change (RC) in consumer habits and a lack of perceived risk of scarcity. The novelty of this study lies in examining the influence of RC (through its emotional, cognitive, and confidence components) and perceived risk on water-saving intention. Interviews (n = 384) were conducted in the southeast Mediterranean area of Spain by interviewers using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. The results of the structural equation modeling show that the perceived risk and the components of cognitive rigidity and negative emotions exert a direct influence on water-saving habits and an indirect influence on water-saving intention. None of the components of RC directly influence intention, and a lack of confidence in the outcomes of water saving does not influence water-saving habits or water-saving intention. In addition to the results obtained, the novelty of the work lies in the idea that in order to influence the perception of the risk of water scarcity through awareness campaigns, it is better to use an emotional message rather than showing facts or information, because this does not drive water saving behavior.

(1) Background: Nursing homes’ preparedness in managing a public health crisis has been fragile, with effects on safety culture. The objective of this study was to assess nursing homes’ COVID-19 preparedness in Southern Portugal, including personnel’s work experiences during the pandemic. (2) Methods: We used a COVID-19 preparedness checklist to be completed by management teams, followed by follow-up calls to nursing homes. Thereafter, a survey to personnel was applied. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and thematic analysis of open-end questions. (3) Results: In total, 71% (138/195) of eligible nursing homes returned the preparedness checklist. We conducted 83 follow-up calls and received 720 replies to the personnel survey. On average, 25% of nursing homes did not have an adequate decision-making structure to respond to the pandemic. Outbreak capacity and training were fragile areas among nursing homes’ contingency plans. We identified compliance with procedures and nonpunitive response to mistakes as fragile areas of safety culture, and teamwork as a strong safety area. (4) Conclusions: To strengthen how nursing homes cope with upcoming phases of the COVID-19 pandemic or future public health emergencies, nursing homes’ preparedness and safety culture should be fostered and closely monitored.

Overcrowding in the emergency department is a problem that generates several implications for bed management, which is deemed one of a hospital's most critical processes. Effective management of hospital production capacity includes bed management processes, which can be improved in order to leverage hospital performance. Thus, this study sought to understand how bed management works and identify the main factors that influence its management. The study was performed through a case study, with data collected from semi-structured interviews and bibliographic research, which were triangulated. Thematic content analysis of the interviews and cross-analysis were performed. As a result, the main factors that influence hospital Bed management were identified: communication between teams and units; definition of performance goals; decisions shared between units; occupation and discharge planning by the teams; length of stay; the role of the nurses; and COVID-19. The greatest difficulties in the management process are related to these factors. Additionally, suggestions are provided to mitigate such reported difficulties.

Bimetallic (or multimetallic) catalysis has emerged as a powerful tool in modern chemical synthesis, offering improved reaction control and versatility. This review focuses on the recent de-velopments in bimetallic sequential catalysis for the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles, essential building blocks in pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. The cooperative action of two (and sometimes more) different metal catalysts enables intricate control over reaction pathways, enhancing selectivity and efficiency of N-heterocyclic compounds synthesis. By activating less reactive substrates, this multimetal catalytic strategy opens new synthetic possibilities for challenging compounds. The use of catalytic materials in bimetallic systems reduces waste and improves atom efficiency, aligning with green chemistry principles. With a diverse range of metal combinations and reaction conditions, bimetallic catalysis provides access to a broad array of N-heterocyclic compounds with various functionalities. This paper highlights the significant progress made in the past decade in this topic, emphasizing the promising potential of bimetallic catalysis in drug discovery and the fine chemical industries.

The odontogenic cysts can lead to a bone destruction that can hamper the dental implant place-ment in the ideal 3D position. Different biomaterials and techniques that allow bone regeneration are described in the literature, each with its advantages and disadvantages. This clinical case with 18 months of follow-up shows the enucleation of an odontogenic cyst fol-lowing the guide bone regeneration with fence technique. After 6 months 2, dental implants were placed at the region of tooth 11 and 21, being rehabilitated nine weeks after. The fence technique allowed the recovery of the bone morphology and the placement of the dental implants in the 3D ideal position.

A review of desiccant dehumidification technologies for improving air-quality has been presented, especially focusing on alternatives for air conditioning systems for minimizing the Sick Building Syndrome. The principles and types of desiccant wheels, as well as the existing selection software for these types of equipment, were reviewed and comparatively evaluated. The study focuses on the Brazilian context, therefore, information about air condition systems and laws of this country were evaluated. Possible applications of desiccant wheels are also analyzed, such as their integration into cooling cycles and the sensible heat wheel. Finally, several commercial desiccant wheel selection software were evaluated, which are useful in many situations. Nevertheless, it was evidenced that the available softwares are not capable of performing an operation analysis for only a specific period. Therefore, it is essential to create computational tools to select desiccant wheels, considering the data from the different Brazilian regions for a year.

Despite the use of commercial forest carbon protocols (CFCPs) for more than two decades, claiming ~566 MMtCO₂e and a market value of ~USD $15.7 billion, comparative analysis of CFCP methodology and offset results is limited. In this study, five widely used biometric-based CFCPs are characterized, and common characteristics and differences are identified. CFCP claims of net forest carbon sequestration are compared with results of directly measured CO₂ by eddy covariance, a meteorological method integrating gross vertical fluxes of forest and soil carbon, and the only alternative non-biometric source of net forest carbon sequestration data available. We show here that CFCPs share a structural feature delimiting forest carbon values by zero-threshold carbon accounting (gC m^-2 ≤ 0), a pattern opposite to natural emissions of forest CO₂ exchange based on direct measurement and a fundamental biological constraint on net forest carbon storage (i.e., soil efflux, ecosystem respiration). Exclusion of forest CO₂ sources to the atmosphere precludes net carbon accounting, resulting in unavoidable over-crediting of CFCP project offsets. CFCP carbon results are significantly different from global forest CO₂ net ecosystem exchange population results (FluxNet2015 gC m^-2) at the 95% to 99.99% confidence levels, inferring an annual median error of ~247% (gC m^-2), consistent with over-crediting. Direct CO₂ measurement provides an urgently needed alternative method for commercial forest carbon products that has the potential to harmonize global markets and catalyze the role of forests in managing climate change through nature-based solutions.

Purpose: The goal of this article was to introduce a new technique for root coverage (RC), the Mixed-Thickness Tunnel access (MiTT), approaching a full-split design, showing the results obtained in a case series and demonstrating it step-by-step. Methods: Healthy individuals, non-smokers, and non-diabetics, who were diagnosed with gingival recession (GR) type 1 or 2 (RT1 or RT2). After all necessary evaluations, prophylaxis was performed 14 days before the surgical procedure. Then, after the basics clinical conduct and anesthesia, one or two vertical incision(s) on the mucosa (around 1-2 mm apical to the MGJ), lateral to the papilla base, were done. Initial detachment of the mucosa from the muscles (split design); it was permitted (but not mandatory) to do intrasulcular incisions; from the MGJ to coronal, subperiosteal access was done to raise the full-thickness tunnel. It must communicate up to the gingival sulcus area and the papilla’s base, keeping the papilla’s tip intact. A connective tissue graft was harvested, which was inserted through the linear incision or intrasulcularly. Interrupted sutures were done and may be used as adjunctive material. Results: Nine healthy individuals (7 females and 2 males) aged 19 and 43 years were enrolled. They were treated following the MiTT steps. There were four cases with a single GR, 2 patients with 2 teeth involved, and three with 3 or 4 GR. Seven cases were RT1 and two RT2. All RT1 cases achieved 100% RC, while the mean RC obtained for RT2 was around 80%. Conclusion: MiTT can be considered a more straightforward approach for minimally invasive surgical technique, which is a feasible option to treat RC with a high success rate, predictability, and esthetic preservation. There is a technical sensitivity to performing the full-split design procedure.

Since it was proposed, the Robot Operating System (ROS) has fostered solutions for various problems in robotics in the form of ROS packages. One of these problems is Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), a problem solved by computing the robot pose and a map of its environment of operation at the same time. The increasingly availability of robot kits ready to be programmed and also of RGB-D sensors often pose the question of which SLAM package should be used given the application requirements. When the SLAM subsystem must deliver estimates for robot navigation, as is the case of applications involving autonomous navigation, this question is even more relevant. This work introduces an experimental analysis of GMapping and RTAB-Map, two ROS compatible SLAM packages, regarding their SLAM accuracy, quality of produced maps and use of produced maps in navigation tasks. Our analysis aims ground robots equipped with RGB-D sensors for indoor environments and is supported by experiments conducted on datasets from simulation, benchmarks and from our own robot.

The Haar wavelet decomposition technique is used to detect the planetary magnetosphere boundaries and discontinuities. We use the magnetometer data from the CASSINI and MESSENGER spacecraft to identify the abrupt changes in the magnetic field when the spacecraft crossed the magnetospheric bow shocks and magnetopauses of Saturn and Mercury, respectively. The results confirm that the Haar transform can efficiently identify the planetary magnetosphere boundaries characterized by the abrupt magnetic field changes. It is suggested that this technique can be applied to detect the planetary boundaries as well as the discontinuities such as the shock waves in the interplanetary space.

The saltmarsh plant Halimione portulacoides was shortly exposed to realistic levels of inorganic mercury (iHg), aiming to investigate adaptative processes of the roots and leaves regarding re-dox homeostasis, physiology, and Hg accumulation. Plants were collected at a contaminated (CONT) and a reference (REF) site, addressing the interference of contamination background. The influence of major abiotic variables (i.e., temperature and light) was also examined. Total Hg lev-els, antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation (LPO), and photosynthetic activity were analyzed after 2 and 4 hours of exposure. Accumulation of iHg in the roots was noticed poorly, and no translocation to stems and leaves was found, but plants from CONT seemed more prone to iHg uptake (in winter). Despite that, antioxidant modulation in roots and leaves was found, disclos-ing, in winter, higher thresholds for the induction of enzymatic antioxidants in CONT leaves compared to REF, denoting that the former are better prepared to cope with iHg redox pressure. Consistently, CONT leaves exposed to iHg had remarkably lower LPO levels. Exposure did not impair the photosynthetic activity, pinpointing H. portulacoides ability to cope with iHg toxicity under a very short-term exposure. Biochemical changes were noticed before enhancements in ac-cumulation, reinforcing the relevance of these responses in precociously signaling iHg toxicity.

The recent outbreak of a new Coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic with about 10,5 million reported cases and over 500,000 deaths worldwide. Our prospective paper reports an updated analysis of the impact that this pandemic had on the Italian agri-food sector during the national lockdown and discusses why and how this unprecedented economic crisis could be a turning point to deal with the overall sustainability of food and agricultural systems in the frame of the forthcoming European Green Deal. Its introductory part includes a wide-ranging examination of the first quarter of pandemic emergency, with a specific focus on the primary production, to be understood as agriculture (i.e. crops and livestock, and their food products), fisheries and forestry. The effect on the typical food and wine exports, and the local environment tourism segments is also taken into account in this analysis, because of their old and deep roots into the cultural and historical heritage of the country. The subsequent part of the paper is centered on strategic lines and research networks for an efficient socio-economic and territorial restart, and a faster transition to sustainability in the frame of a circular bio-economy. Particular emphasis is given to the urgent need of investments in research and development concerning agriculture, in terms of not only a fruitful penetration of the agro-tech for a next-generation agri-food era, but also a deeper attention to the natural and environmental resources, including forestry. As for the rest of Europe, Italy demands actions to expand knowledge and strengthen research applied to technology transfer for innovation activities aimed at providing solutions for a climate neutral and resilient society, in reference to primary production to ensure food security and nutrition quality. Our expectation is that science and culture return to play a central role in national society, as their main actors are capable of making a pivotal contribution to renew and restart the whole primary sector and agri-food industry, addressing also social and environmental issues, and so accelerating the transition to sustainability.

The goal of this study was to analyze the instability during stepping of young and older adults at fast and spontaneous speed. To this aim, the anteroposterior and the mediolateral distances between the body center of mass (COM) and the minimum moment axis (MMA) were computed. A total of 15 young adults (25y.o. [19-29]) and 15 older adults 68.7y.o. [63-77] volunteered for this study. For the computation of the distances, a complete biomechanical protocol combining two force platforms and a 3D motion capture analysis system was setup. The subjects were equipped with 47 reflective markers and were modeled as a frictionless multibody with 19 segments, 18 joints and 42 degrees of freedom and were asked to perform a stepping at both speeds. The stepping was divided in 5 phases with successive swing and double stance phases. The greater instability was observed during the swing phases. The distances indicate a significant higher instability at fast speed for both groups (p &lt; 0.001) for all the phases. The anteroposterior distance also increases significantly for older adults highlighting greater instability while no differences were observed for the mediolateral distance all along the 5 phases suggesting higher risks of backward of forward falls during stepping.

Diseases caused by arboviruses are on the increase worldwide. In addition to arthropod bites, most arboviruses can be transmitted via accessory routes. Products of human origin (labile blood products, solid organs, hematopoietic stem cells, tissues) present a risk of contamination for the recipient if the donation is made when the donor is viremic. This narrative review describes the risks of acquiring certain arboviral diseases from human products, mainly solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells, in the French context. Mainland France and its overseas territories are exposed to a complex array of imported and endemic arboviruses, which differ according to their respective location. The main risks considered in this study are infections by West Nile virus, dengue virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus. The ancillary risks represented by Usutu virus infection, chikungunya and Zika are also addressed more briefly. For each disease, the guidelines issued by the French High Council of Public Health, which is responsible for issuing guidelines to mitigate the risks associated with products of human origin and for supporting public health policy decisions, are briefly outlined. The aim of this review is also to contribute to the standardization of recommendations at international level in areas with the same viral epidemiology.

Among the leading immersive technologies, Augmented Reality is one of the most promising and empowering to support designers in production environments. This research investigates the application of mobile augmented reality, based on the Web, as a mediation tool focused on cognitive activities of reading and understanding of Technical Drawings in the production and assembly for Tailor Made projects of the scenographic industry. In this context, the research presents a method to use the WebAR to improve the reading of technical drawings, seeking efficiency on the visualization of models and the exchange of information between professionals, involved in the processes of design, production and assembly of products, in the scope of scenography. This mediation tool was developed using Web AR platforms, compatible with native libraries (ARCore and ARKit) to ensure, first, compatibility with commonly used devices that workers or businesses can access, and secondly, to leverage hybrid tracking techniques that combine vision and sensors to improve the reliability of augmented reality viewing. The proposed solution adopts multiple tracking and navigation techniques in order to expand Space Skills components to provide greater exploratory freedom to users. The research process took place in the light of the Design Science Research Methodology and the DSR-Model, since it aimed to develop a solution to a practical problem, as well as to produce knowledge from this process. Field experiments were conducted in two real companies, with end users on their respective mobile devices, in order to evaluate usability and behavioral intent, through the Acceptance, Intent and Use of Technology questionnaires; and perceived mental workload, NASA-TLX. The experimental results show that the adoption of this tool reduces the cognitive load in the process of reading technical drawings and project´s understanding. In general, it´s usability and intent to use provide significant levels of satisfaction, being positively accepted by all participants involved in the study.

Today's unstable labor market increasingly requires flexibility and adaptability to cope with the threat of unemployment. It can cause distress in people and have a more significant negative impact on fragile workers, such as migrants. This study aimed to test whether a Career Counseling intervention designed for Migrants (CCfM) can develop Career Adaptability and, therefore, both Work Self-efficacy (WSe) and Job Search Self-efficacy (JSSe) perceptions. It was conducted in Italy and involved a sample of 233 migrants, who were asked to respond to a questionnaire available in three languages (Italian, French, and English). Data analysis showed that an improvement was demonstrated in all the variables considered, namely career adaptability (including concern, control, confidence, and curiosity), WSe, and JSSe, even though the CCfM was not directly designed to increase the last one. In addition, the development of career adaptability explained the increase in migrants' WSe and JSSe, and the initial level of career adaptability was found to explain the increase in WSe due to the initial positive level of curiosity.

The impact of large atmospheric attenuation events on data quality and availability is a critical aspect for future altimetry missions based on Ka-band altimetry. The SARAL/AltiKa mission and its Ka-band nadir altimeter offer a unique opportunity to assess this impact. Previous publications (Tournadre et al. 2009, 2015) already analyzed the impact of rain on the waveforms at Ka-band and proposed a definition of an elaborate rain flag. This notion tends to give a simpler black and white view of the atmospheric attenuation when the effect on the altimeter measurement is intense. But in practice, there is continuum of measurements that may be partially distorted or corrupted by rain events. The present study proposes a wider point of view , the ACECAL approach providing statistics on rain cells occurrences as well as their amplitude and their size, as guidelines for future Ka-band missions concerning the impact of the atmosphere. At global scale, 1 % of the measurements are affected by an attenuation larger than 23 dB and 10 % of the atmospheric attenuation events have a size larger than 40 km. This study demonstrates that the data quality and availability over some regions of particular interest for oceanography as Gulf Stream, North Pacific and Brazil currents could be affected compared to global statistics. It also opens some perspectives on the benefits that the community could be drawn from the systematic distribution of the rain cells parameters as secondary products of altimetry missions.

Despite polycarbonate (PC) being a widely used engineering plastic, its notch and crack sensitivity pose challenges in critical applications. To address this, PC was blended with elastomeric polymers to explore the improvement in toughness. This study systematically investigates the toughening mechanisms of PC blended with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), copolyether ester elas-tomer (COPE), and ABS and styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) copolymer grafted with maleic anhydride (MA). The morphology and mechanical behavior were evaluated under qua-si-static and high-speed tensile tests and Charpy impact tests using optical, electronic, and atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The morphological analysis reveals cavitation and crazing phenomena for COPE and SEBS-g-MA systems, and mostly debonding for ABS, indicating an improvement in toughening. While the addition of ABS improves the PC plastic deformation, modifying ABS with maleic anhydride enhances the elastic modulus. Blending PC with SEBS-g-MA increases the strain at break, and the addition of COPE significantly improves the deformation behavior of PC (by around 115%). This comparative study provides valuable insights into the performance of different PC-elastomer blends under similar conditions, supporting the selection of appropriate materials for given applications.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain cancer characterized by significant molecular and cellular heterogeneity, complicating treatment efforts. Current standard therapies, including surgical resection, radiation, and temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy, often fail to achieve long-term remission due to tumor recurrence and resistance. A pro-oxidant environment is in-volved in glioma progression, with oxidative stress contributing to the genetic instability that leads to gliomagenesis. However, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) results in the dysregulation of antioxidant defenses in GBM cells, creating a vulnerability that can be thera-peutically exploited. Evaluating pro-oxidant therapies in brain tumors is crucial due to their po-tential to selectively target and eradicate cancer cells by exploiting the elevated oxidative stress levels inherent in these malignant cells, thereby offering a novel and effective strategy for overcoming resistance to conventional therapies. This study investigates the therapeutic potential of doxorubicin (DOX) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) with Me-ALA, focusing on their effects on redox homeostasis. Basal ROS levels and antioxidant gene expression (NFE2L2, CAT, GSR) were quantitatively assessed across GBM cell lines, revealing significant variability probably linked to genetic differences. DOX and PDT treatments, both individually and in combination, were ana-lyzed for their efficacy in inducing oxidative stress and cytotoxicity. An in silico analysis further explored the relationship between gene mutations and oxidative stress in GBM patients, providing insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying treatment responses. Our findings suggest that pro-oxidant therapies, such as DOX and PDT in combination, could selectively target GBM cells, highlighting a promising avenue for improving therapeutic outcomes in GBM.

Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. Therefore, timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment are very important. There are many disadvantages that come with traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In these treatments, the specific drug concentration affects not only the tumor site but also healthy tissues or organs. One of the foremost promising uses of nanotechnology is in the field of medical technology and specific site targeting can be achieved due to manipulation of materials at a nanometric scale. Nanotechnology offers specific benefits in terms of cancer therapy by enhancing it and reducing its adverse effects by guiding drugs to selectively target cancer cells. In addition, the use of minute amounts of medicine can lead to cost savings. Furthermore, nanoparticles can also be used as imaging agents to improve cancer diagnostics, therapeutics, and treatment management. Thus, this review has focused on the different types of nanoparticles used in cancer therapy, their action mechanisms, and their benefits and applications in diagnosis, imaging, and treatment. This review sums up the parameters that need to be considered when designing systems for cancer therapy while considering the desired characteristics of the nanoparticles from the biological point of view.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) represents the most frequent type of dementia in elderly people. There are two major forms of the disease: sporadic (SAD) - whose causes are not completely understood - and familial (FAD) - with clear autosomal dominant inheritance. The two main hallmarks of AD are extracellular deposits of amyloid-beta (Ab) peptide and intracellular deposits of the hyperphosphorylated form of the tau protein (P-tau). An ever-growing body of research supports the infectious hypothesis of sporadic forms of AD. Indeed, it has been documented that some pathogens, such as herpesviruses and certain bacterial species, are commonly present in AD patients, prompting recent clinical research to focus on the characterization of Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) in this pathology. Literature also demonstrates that Ab can be considered itself as an AMP thus representing a type of innate immune defense peptide that protect the host against a variety of pathogens. Beyond Ab, other proteins with antimicrobial activity, such as lactoferrin, defensins, cystatins, thymosin β4, LL37, histatin 1 and statherin have been shown to be involved in AD. Here we have summarized and discussed these findings and explored the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of AMPs in AD.

The present work reports an experimental thermodynamic study of two nitrogen heterocyclic organic compounds, fenclorim and clopyralid, that have been used as herbicides. The sublimation vapor pressures of fenclorim (4,6-dichloro-2-phenylpyrimidine) and of clopyralid (3,6-dichloro-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid) were measured, at different temperatures, using a Knudsen mass-loss effusion technique. The vapor pressures of both crystalline and liquid (including supercooled liquid) phases of fenclorim were also determined using a static method based on capacitance diaphragm manometers. The experimental results enabled accurate determination of the standard molar enthalpies, entropies and Gibbs energies of sublimation for both compounds and of vaporization for fenclorim, allowing a phase diagram representation of the (p,T) results, in the neighborhood of the triple point of this compound. The temperatures and molar enthalpies of fusion of the two compounds studied were determined using differential scanning calorimetry. The standard isobaric molar heat capacities of the two crystalline compounds were determined at 298.15 K, using drop calorimetry. The gas phase thermodynamic properties of the two compounds were estimated through ab initio calculations, at the G3(MP2)//B3LYP level, and their thermodynamic stability was evaluated in the gaseous and crystalline phases, considering the calculated values of the standard Gibbs energies of formation, at 298.15 K.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) challenges include understanding what triggered SARS-CoV-2 emergence, how this RNA virus is evolving or how the genomic variability may impact the primary structure of proteins that are targets for vaccine. We analyzed 19471 SARS-CoV-2 genomes and 199,984 spike glycoprotein sequences available at the GISAID database from all over the world and 3335 genomes of other Coronoviridae family members available at Genbank, collecting SARS-CoV-2 high-quality genomes and distinct Coronoviridae family genomes. Here, we identify a SARS-CoV-2 emerging cluster containing 13 closely related genomes isolated from bat and pangolin that showed evidence of recombination, which may have contributed to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. The analyzed SARS-CoV-2 genomes presented 9632 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) corresponding to a variant density of 0.3 over the genome, and a clear geographic distribution. SNPs are unevenly distributed throughout the genome and hotspots for mutations were found for the spike gene and ORF 1ab. We describe a set of predicted spike protein epitopes whose variability is negligible. All predicted epitopes for the structural E, M and N proteins are highly conserved. This result favors the continuous efficacy of the available vaccines.

Genetic discoveries related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias have been performed using either large cohorts of affected subjects or multiple individuals from the same pedigree, therefore disregarding mutations in the context of healthy groups. Moreover, a large portion of studies so far have been performed on individuals of European ancestry, with a remarkable lack of epidemiological and genomic data from underrepresented populations. The present study aims at scanning 70 single-point mutations on the APP gene in a publicly available genetic dataset including 2.504 healthy individuals from 26 populations, and analyzing their distribution. Moreover, after gametic phase reconstruction, a pairwise comparison of the segments surrounding the mutations was performed to reveal patterns of haplotype sharing that could point to specific cross-population and cross-ancestry admixture events. Eight mutations have been detected in the worldwide dataset, with several of them being specific for a single individual, population or macroarea. Patterns of segment sharing reflect recent historical events of migration and admixture possibly linked to colonization campaigns. These observations reveal the population dynamics of the considered APP mutations in worldwide human groups, and support the development of ancestry-informed screening practices for the improvement of precision and personalized approaches to neurodegeneration and dementias.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a substantial revolution in the incorporation of digital solutions in healthcare. This systematic review investigates the enduring physical and psychological consequences individuals experience up to two years post-recovery. Additionally, it focuses on examining the influence of mHealth interventions on these effects. Significantly, 41.7% of survivors experience lingering symptoms that have not been addressed, while 14.1% encounter difficulties in returning to work. The presence of anxiety, compromised respiratory functioning, and persistent symptoms highlight the immediate requirement for specific therapies. Telehealth, particularly telerehabilitation, presents itself as a possible way to address these difficulties. The study thoroughly examines 10 studies encompassing 749 COVID-19 patients, investigating the efficacy of telerehabilitation therapies in addressing various health markers. Telerehabilitation-based breathing exercises yield substantial enhancements in functional performance, dyspnea, and overall well-being. The results emphasize the potential of telerehabilitation to have a favorable effect on patient outcomes, however more research is needed to strengthen the existing evidence basis as one of the most important limitation is the limited number of trials and the evaluation of varied therapies. The analysis highlights the significance of digital solutions in post-COVID care and calls for ongoing research to improve comprehension and implementation of telehealth interventions in a swiftly changing healthcare environment.