Worldwide emission standards are now required to cover engine operation under extreme ambient conditions, which affect the raw emissions and the efficiency of the exhaust aftertreatment systems. These regulations also target new combustion technologies for decarbonization, such as neat hydrogen (H2) combustion or dual-fuel strategies, which involve a challenge to the analysis of exhaust aftertreatment systems requirements and performance. This work addresses the impact of high altitude and low ambient temperature conditions on the reactivity of an oxidation catalyst in the presence of H2. A reaction mechanism is proposed to cover the main conversion paths of CO, HC, and H2, including the formation and consumption of high-energy surface reaction intermediates. The mechanism has been implemented into a faster-than-real-time reduced-order model for multi-layer washcoat honeycomb catalytic converters. The model was utilized to investigate the effect of H2 concentration on the reactivity of CO and HC within the catalyst under various operating and ambient conditions. By applying the model and examining the selectivity towards different reaction pathways in the presence H2, insights into surface intermediates and reactivity across different cross-sections of the monolith were obtained. This analysis discusses the underlying causes of reactivity changes promoted by H2 and its relative importance as a function of driving boundary conditions.

This study aims to examine the non-volatile Particle Number (PN) emissions of a retrofitted Heavy-Duty Spark-Ignition (HD-SI) engine powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) under both steady-state and transient conditions. The engine was tested under seven steady-state operating points to investigate the PN behavior and Particle Size Distribution (PSD) upstream and down-stream of the Three-Way Catalyst (TWC). This analysis intends to assess the impact of including particles with diameters ranging from 10 nm to 23 nm in the total particle count, a consideration for future regulations. The study employed the World Harmonized Transient Cycle (WHTC) for transient conditions to encompass the same engine working region used in the steady-state analysis. A Dekati FPS-4000 diluted the exhaust sample to measure the PSD and PN for particle diameters between 5.6 nm and 560 nm using the TSI-Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer (EEPS) 3090. Findings indicate that PN levels tend to increase downstream of the TWC under steady-state conditions in operating points with low exhaust gas temperatures and flows (equal to or less than 500 °C and 120 kg/h). Furthermore, the inclusion of particles with diameters between 10 nm and 23 nm leads to an increase in PN emissions by 17.70% to 40.84% under steady conditions and by an average of 40.06% under transient conditions, compared to measurements that only consider particles larger than 23 nm. Notably, in transient conditions, most PN emissions occur during the final 600 seconds of the cycle, linked to the most intense phase of the WHTC.

Two solvated rhenium(IV) complexes with formula [ReCl4(bpym)]·MeCN (1) and [ReCl4(bpym)]·CH3COOH·H2O (2) [bpym = 2,2'-bipyrimidine] have been prepared and characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT–IR), scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDX), single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) and SQUID magnetometer. 1 and 2 crystallize in the monoclinic system with space groups P21/n and P21/c, respectively. In both compounds, the Re(IV) ion is six-coordinate and bound to four chloride ions and two nitrogen atoms of a 2,2’-bipyrimidine molecule forming a distorted octahedral geometry around the metal ion. In the crystal packing of 1 and 2, intermolecular halogen⋯halogen and π⋯halogen type interactions are present. Hydrogen bonds take place only in the crystal structure of 2. Both compounds exhibit an akin crystal framework based on halogen bonds. Variable-temperature dc magnetic susceptibility measurements performed on microcrystalline samples of 1 and 2 show a similar magnetic behavior for both compounds, with antiferromagnetic exchange between the Re(IV) ions connected mainly through intermolecular Re-Cl···Cl-Re interactions.

This document presents, from environmental thinking (ecosystem - culture relations), the concept of the Main Agroecological Structure of Agroecosystems (MAS, EAP, for its acronym in Spanish), considered as a dissipative cultural structure. It discusses its possible applications (resilience, production, diversity) both inside and outside the farms. The MAS can be useful in the land planning on the farms, based on the concept of potential MAS that allows the quantification of the management of internal and external corridors, including natural vegetation. At the same time, it can be useful in the context of landscape management because it shows a series of cultural relations (economic, social, symbolic and technological) hidden from the partial analysis of landscape ecology.

Oxidative stress has been implicated in cellular senescence and aging, as well as in the onset and progression of many diverse genetic and acquired diseases and conditions. The search for biomarkers of oxidative stress has become relevant to many biomedical fields using many different methods and approaches. Fluorescence methodology is advantageous because of its simplicity and high sensitivity. Fluorescent probes are frequently used to investigate the role of reactive oxygen species in oxidative stress in experimental or clinical settings, often involving the use of flow cytometry and related single-cell based technologies. To assess the specific role of reactive oxygen species in oxidative stress studies by cytometric methodologies, it is essential to detect and characterize these species accurately. However, the detection and quantitation of individual intracellular ROS is still a challenge, but different and complementary strategies may focus on other endpoints of oxidative stress. In this review we present and discuss briefly the limitations and perspectives of such approaches. Based on our results, we also provide recommendations for proper design of cytometric studies of oxidative stress in order to prevent or minimize experimental errors..

Sr4Al6O12SO4 samples were obtained from the compound mixture formed by a solid–state reaction of Al2O3, SrSO4, and SrCO3. Samples were compacted at 100MPa to form pellets of 1 and 4cm in diameter and were sintered at 1400°C for 4 hours. The compound was analyzed by X–ray diffraction. Static immersion and wettability tests were performed to evaluate corrosion resistance in contact with Al–Si. Corrosion tests were carried out by immersion at 800, 900, and 1000°C for 24, 50, and 100 hours, while wettability was carried out at 900, 1000, and 1100°C for 2 hours. Subsequently, the samples were prepared metallographically. Samples were analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and image analysis. In general, reaction products consisting of alumina, spinel, oxides, and sulfates were found. The contact angles obtained were 124° to 135°. It is concluded that ceramic substrate Sr4Al6O12SO4 is resistant to corrosion by Al–Si alloy, since the slight thickness of the reaction products found in the samples (100μm) considering the severe conditions of the experiment: 1000°C and 100 hours of isothermal temperature. Furthermore, it can be said that Sr4Al6O12SO4 is not wettable by Al–Si alloys.

The conventional measure of cosmic acceleration, denoted as \( q \), relies heavily on the frame of reference and operates within a 3D space-like coordinate system, potentially leading to misinterpretations of underlying physics. In this study, we propose a novel measure, \( q_E \), grounded in distances between causal events in 4D null space. We compare \( q_E \) with the standard \( q \) using observational data from supernovae (SN) and radial galaxy/quasar (QSO) clustering (BAO) to find a better alignment of data with \( q_E \). Our analysis indicates that cosmic expansion, when viewed in the rest frame, is decelerating, with events confined by an Event Horizon akin to that of a Black Hole interior. Rather than invoking new dark energy or modified gravity, we propose that \( \Lambda \) corresponds to a boundary term exerting an attractive influence, analogous to a rubber band resisting further expansion and preventing horizon crossing of events. Contrary to prevailing notions, interpreting current cosmic expansion measurements as deceleration, rather than acceleration, offers a more accurate depiction of observed phenomena and the underlying physics. This reevaluation prompts further investigation into the nature of cosmic expansion, as well as the exploration of alternative frameworks and measures in cosmology.

Endophytic insect pathogenic fungi have a multifunctional lifestyle; in addition to its well-known function as biocontrol agents, it may also help plants respond to other biotic and abiotic stresses, such as iron (Fe) deficiency. This study explores M. brunneum EAMa 01/58-Su strain attributes for Fe acquisition. Firstly, direct attributes include siderophore exudation (in vitro assay) and Fe content in shoots and in the substrate (in vivo assay) were evaluated for three strains of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium bruneum. The M. brunneum EAMa 01/58-Su strain showed a great ability to exudate iron siderophores (58.4% surface siderophores exudation) and provided higher Fe content in both dry matter and substrate compared to the control and was therefore selected for further research to unravel the possible induction of Fe deficiency responses, Ferric Reductase Activity (FRA), and relative expression of Fe acquisition genes by qRT-PCR in melon and cucumber plants.. In addi-tion, root priming by M. brunneum EAMa 01/58-Su strain elicited Fe deficiency responses at transcriptional level. Our results show an early up-regulation (24, 48 or 72 h post inoculation) of the Fe acquisition genes FRO1, FRO2, IRT1, HA1, and FIT as well as the FRA. These results highlight the mechanisms involved in the Fe acquisition as mediated by IPF M. brunneum EAMa 01/58-Su strain.

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

Structural hydroxide groups in layered magnesium-aluminum double hydroxides were partially replaced by fluoride ions. Fluorinated and fluorine-free materials were used as hosts for two dyes, carminic acid and hydroxyl naphthol blue, resulting in a hybrid pigment color palette. Additionally, the pigments were protected with a magnesium hydroxide phase to prevent the color from fading over time. The color properties of the pigments were significantly influenced by the host of dye, since the presence of fluorine directly influences the acid-base properties of the layered double hydroxides. Finally, the pigments were successfully applied to prepare colored creams.

The electronic structure of 7/9-AGNR superlattices with up to eight unit cells has been studied by means of state of the art Density Functional Theory (DFT) and also by two model Hamiltonians, the first one including only local interactions (Hubbard model, Hu) while the second one is extended to allow long-range Coulomb interactions (Pariser, Parr and Pople model, PPP). Both are solved within mean field approximation. At this approximation level, our calculations show that 7/9 interfaces are better described by spin non-polarized solutions than by spin-polarized wavefunctions. Consequently, both Hu and PPP Hamiltonians lead to electronic structures characterized by a gap at the Fermi level that diminishes as the size of the system increases. DFT results show similar trends although a detailed analysis of the density of states around the Fermi level shows quantitative differences with both Hu and PPP models. Before improving model Hamiltonians, we interpret the electronic structure obtained by DFT in terms of bands of topological states: topological states localized at the system edges and extended bulk topological states which interact between them due to the long-range Coulomb terms of Hamiltonian. After careful analysis of the interaction among topological sates, we find that the discrepancy between ab initio and model Hamiltonians can be resolved considering a screened long-range interaction that is implemented adding an exponential cutoff to the interaction term of PPP model. In this way, an adjusted cutoff distance λ = 2 allows a good recovery of DFT results. In view of this, we conclude that the correct description of the density of states around the Fermi level (Dirac point) needs the inclusion of long-range interactions well beyond Hubbard model but not completely unscreened as is the case for the PPP model.

During the last years, epigenetic processes have emerged as important factors for many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). These complex diseases seem to have a heritable component; however, genome-wide association studies failed to identify the genetic loci involved in the eatiology. So, how can these changes be transmitted from one gen-eration to the next? Answering this question would allow us to understand how the environ-ment can affect human populations for multiple generations and explain the high prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD. This review pays particular attention to the relationship among epigenetics, cognition, and neurodegeneration across generations, deepening the under-standing of the relevance of heritability in neurodegenerative diseases. In fact, we highlight some recent examples of EI induced by experiences, focusing on their contribution of processes in learning and memory, to point out new targets for therapeutic interventions. Here, we first describe the prominent role of epigenetic factors in memory processing. Then, we briefly discuss aspects of EI. And ends, we summarize evidence of how epigenetic marks inherited by experi-ence and/or environmental stimuli contribute to cognitive status offspring, since better knowledge of EI can provide clues in the appearance and development of age-related cognitive decline and AD.

Thermal simulations are an important part in the design of electronic systems, especially as systems with high power density become common. In simulation-based design approaches, a considerable amount of time is spent by repeated simulations. In this work, we present a proof-of-concept study of the application of convolutional neural networks to accelerate those thermal simulations. The goal is not to replace standard simulation tools but to provide a method to quickly select promising samples for more detailed investigations. Based on a training set of randomly generated circuits with corresponding Finite Element solutions, the full 3D steady-state temperature field is estimated using a fully convolutional neural network. A custom network architecture is proposed which captures the long-range correlations present in heat conduction problems. We test the network on a separate dataset and find that the mean relative error is around 2 % and the typical evaluation time is 35 ms per sample ( 2 ms for evaluation, 33 ms for data transfer). The benefit of this neural-network-based approach is that, once training is completed, the network can be applied to any system within the design space spanned by the randomised training dataset (which includes different components, material properties, different positioning of components on a PCB, etc.).

Manual material handling tasks in industry cause work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Exoskeletons are being introduced to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. This study investigated the effect of using a passive lumbar exoskeleton in terms of moderate ergonomic risk. Eight participants were monitored by electromyogram (EMG) and motion capture (MoCap) while performing tasks with and without the lumbar exoskeleton. The results showed a significant reduction in the root mean square (VRMS) for all muscles tracked: erector spinae (8%), semitendinosus (14%), gluteus (5%), and quadriceps (10.2%). The classic fatigue parameters showed a significant reduction in the case of the semitendinosus: 1.7% zero-crossing rate, 0.9% mean frequency, and 1.12% median frequency. In addition, the logarithm of the normalized Dimitrov’s index showed reductions of 11.5, 8, and 14% in erector spinae, semitendinosus, and gluteus, respectively. The calculation of range of motion in the relevant joints demonstrated significant differences, but in almost all cases, the differences were smaller than 10. The findings of the study indicate that the passive exoskeleton reduces muscle activity and introduces a minor change of strategies for motion. Thus, EMG and MoCap appear to be appropriate measurements for designing an exoskeleton assessment procedure.

Abstract: Rhizobia are soil proteobacteria able to engage in a nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interaction with legumes which involves root rhizobial infection and bacterial invasion of new organs formed by the plant in response to the presence of appropriate bacterial partners. This interaction relies on a complex molecular dialogue between both symbionts. Bacterial N-acetyl-glucosamine oligomers called Nod factors are indispensable in most cases for early steps of the symbiotic interaction. In addition, different rhizobial surface polysaccharides, such as exopolysaccharides (EPS), may also be symbiotically relevant. EPS are acidic polysaccharides located out of the cell with little or no cell association that carry out important roles both in free-life and in symbiosis. EPS production is very complexly modulated and, frequently, co-regulated with that of Nod factors, but the type of co-regulation varies depending on the rhizobial strain. Many studies point out a signalling role of EPS-derived oligosaccharides in root infection and nodule invasion but, in certain symbiotic couples, EPS can be dispensable for a successful interaction. In summary, the complex regulation of the production of rhizobial EPS varies in different rhizobia and the relevance of this polysaccharide in symbiosis with legumes depends on the specific interacting couple.

Viral diseases pose a significant threat to tomato crops (Solanum lycopersicum L.), one of the world's most economically important vegetable crops. The limited genetic diversity of cultivated tomatoes contributes to their high susceptibility to viral infections. To address this challenge, tomato breeding programs must harness the genetic resources found in native populations and wild relatives. Breeding efforts may aim to develop broad-spectrum resistance against the virome. To identify the viruses naturally infecting 19 advanced lines, derived from native tomatoes, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of small RNAs and validation by PCR and RT-PCR were used. Single and mixed infections with Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), Tomato golden mosaic virus (ToGMoV), and Pepper huasteco yellow vein virus (PHYVV) were detected. The complete consensus genomes of three variants of Mexican ToMV isolates were reconstructed, potentially forming a new ToMV clade with a distinct 3' UTR. The absence of reported mutations associated with resistance-breaking to ToMV suggests that the Tm-1, Tm-2, and Tm-22 genes could theoretically be used to confer resistance. However, the high mutation rates and a 63 nucleotide insertion in the 3' UTR of Mexican ToMV isolates suggest the need to evaluate known resistance genes against these viral variants. The precise identification and characterization of viruses that naturally infect tomato germplasm could be used as a strategy for selecting the appropriate disease management and guiding breeding efforts.

Herein are reported the main pros and cons of using the conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) called “ChatGPT” as a tool to write essays in the academic and scientific community. Also, selected mathematical and scientific problems were solved to determine the effectiveness of this platform. To this end, a systematic case study was designed and conducted to obtain data generated by the chatbot that was further analyzed. Six different topics were chosen for the essay evaluation, and the introduction section was created using this AI. Meanwhile, six mathematical problems related to integrals, z-transform, Laplace transform, and resolution of ordinary differential equations were solved. Furthermore, a scientific problem associated with the structural properties of material was also solved. After data analysis, we concluded that the conversational platform could quickly create written essays with well-structured words. Nonetheless, in almost all cases, the chatbot only used basic information to complete the introduction, and no critical writing was obtained. For the mathematical case study, we observed that under the current status of the ChatGPT, this platform has no ability or skills to solve complex equations. Thus, significant changes need to be conducted to improve the performance of ChatGPT for mathematical solutions.

Data is the most valuable asset of a company or organisation nowadays, for the management of such data there are several techniques used for the storage and analysis of these data, if the organisation chooses wrongly among the alternatives it could face a very costly problem. Based on the above information we will study a very important issue today in the business world, with the global economic growth has also grown the world of technology and therefore organizations or companies also need to move forward with firm and fast pace how business evolves; Its weaknesses, strengths and the need to always be at the forefront of technological tools we will dive into the subject of business intelligence or also known as Business Intelligence (BI), Datawarehouse and Data Mining which is nothing more than a group of applications and tools that allow you to extract, transform and load some data to get to get information and knowledge in order to make a quick decision, accurate and efficient in the organization to achieve the objectives outlined. Due to the fact that there are still companies or organisations that make blind decisions in their customer or strategic processes. In order to solve this problem we rely on data mining as an alternative to minimise risks, which can lead to major and valuable losses within an organisation. In the case of a private company where data mining is applied to study patterns of customer behaviour on their own parameters of location, consumption, etc.. And third party data. The search for information is profitable for the business administration. Data mining is applied as a tool for the development of marketing tactics in competitive production and industrial sectors. This technology attempts to help perceive the attachment of databases. Data mining works on a preferential level looking for patterns, behaviours, orders or groupings that can create a model that allows us to better understand the concept and help in decision making so organisations rely on different systems such as CRM, ERP and many others, but to move from just information to generate business intelligence must be centralised in a single place where you can run data analysis of all types to discover trends that help decision making that place can be mainly a Lake or a Warehouse.

In relation to organizational performance measurement, there is a growing concern about the creation of value for people, society and the environment. The traditional corporate reporting does not adequately satisfy the information needs of stakeholders for assessing an organization’s past and future potential performance. Practitioners and scholars have developed new non-financial reporting frameworks from a social and environmental perspective, giving birth to the field of Integrated Reporting (IR). The Economy for the Common Good (ECG) model and its tools to facilitate sustainability management and reporting can provide a framework to do it. The present study is the first one that empirically validates such metrics on a sample of 206 European firms. Consequently, it allows knowledge to advance as it checks their statistical validity and reliability.

Tomato is considered moderately sensitive to salinity, which detracts from the quality and yield of its fruit; therefore, wild populations have been used as a genetic resource. The aim of this research was to identify lines derived from wild tomato populations with tolerance to salinity during the germination and seedling stages. During germination, 52 wild lines and 2 commercial hybrids (Imperial®, Reserva®) were subjected to 150 mM and 0 mM NaCl and evaluated. The test was carried out for 20 days in a germination chamber with constant darkness, temperature of 25±2 °C and relative humidity of 80±4%. At the seedling stage, 22 wild tomato lines with the best performance in the germination test and 2 commercial hybrids (Imperial®, Topanga®) were evaluated for 12 days in a floating raft system. Concentrations of 175 mM and 0 mM NaCl were used. During germination, the saline condition decreased germination percentage (65.2%), speed of germination (88.2%), steam length (72.5%), root length (46.56%), normal plants number (59.5%), stem dry matter (68.78%), root dry matter (61.99%), and total dry matter (67.1%). At the seedling stage, this condition decreased (P<0.05) the aerial part dry matter (46.37%), leaf area (59.35%), root length (42.43%), final plant height (40.24%), and growth rate (71.42%). Seventeen tolerant genotypes were identified at one of both developmental stages, while one genotype showed tolerance at both stages. These results indicate that there are different response mechanisms in each developmental stage. Native tomatoes play an important role in the identification of tolerant genotypes since they can be used as genetic resources for obtaining commercial genotypes with salt tolerance.

Conducting an accurate hydrological water balance at the regional and country-wide scales is paramount to assessing available water resources and adequately allocating them. One of the main components of these balances is the anthropogenic recharge of groundwater either intentionally, through managed aquifer recharge (MAR), or unintentionally, where infiltration from dams and dykes can play a significant role. In Spain, proper management of water resources is critical due to the arid to semiarid conditions prevalent in most of the territory and the relevance of water resources for maintaining a robust agricultural sector. Spanish Previous work has estimated country-wide recharge from MAR at 150-280 Mm3/year. Recently, water authorities have pointed out that, according to hydrological water balances, the total volume from "unintentional recharge" from water courses may exceed 500 Mm3/year. The present research aims to present a new inventory of transverse structures in Spain and use it to estimate country-wide unintentional recharge. The inventory, compiled by the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has more than 26,000 structures and includes construction characteristics, which allow for estimating the wet perimeter and the infiltration area. Structural data from the inventory was crossed through map algebra with thematic layers, such as lithology, permeability, the digital elevation model, the average groundwater levels, etc., in a GIS environment to arrive at the objective. Different analytical formulas to compute infiltration from small dams and dykes were also employed. The resulting volume of unintentional recharge from transverse structures in Spain is about 800 Mm3/year. This quantity can help close the hydrological balance at the national and river basin levels. Furthermore, this figure provides an order of magnitude for anthropogenic recharge at a national scale, which is difficult to obtain.

Quasicrystals are a class of ordered solids made of typical metallic atoms but they do not exhibit the physical properties usually signaling the presence of metallic bonding and their electrical and thermal transport properties resemble a more semiconductor-like than metallic character. In this paper I first review a number of experimental results and numerical simulations suggesting that the origin of the unusual properties of these compounds can be traced back to two main features. For one thing, we have the formation of covalent bonds among certain atoms grouped into clusters at a local scale. Thus, the nature of chemical bonding among certain constituent atoms should play a significant role in the onset of non-metallic physical properties of quasicrystals bearing transition-metal elements. On the other hand, the self-similar symmetry of the underlying structure gives rise to the presence of an extended chemical bonding network due to a hierarchical nesting of clusters. This novel structural design leads to the existence of quite diverse wave functions, whose transmission characteristics range from extended to almost localized ones. Finally, the potential of quasicrystals as thermoelectric materials is discussed on the basis of their specific transport properties.

For the first time in human history the majority of people no longer live in a rural environment. According to the United Nations, over 50% of the global population now lives in cities. The abandonment of the rural environment has grave consequences for society in general, as these areas are healthier places to live, produce the food we all depend on, and are an important factor for preserving biodiversity and environmental sustainability. In this paper we will provide a historical overview of rural repopulation models and analyse a number of models currently being applied in several countries in Europe and Latin America. We will also offer observations on a pilot repopulation project called “Habita Tierra” currently being developed. The common characteristics of different repopulation models prompted us to develop a model based on active listening and accompaniment of people and local agents as well as other important factors. Rural depopulation in Spain involves a number of interrelated problems, one of the most salient being the aging rural population. The average farmer in Spain is 61 years of age. There is also the problem of gender imbalance in rural areas, where women enjoy few opportunities or alternatives. In turn, low fertility rates, increasing stress on limited public healthcare, education and transpor-tation resources, a lack of cultural activities and poor connectivity are also factors driving rural depopulation. The only group which is increasing the rural areas in Spain are immigrants, who now account for 10% of the rural population, often performing the agricultural, fishing and livestock farming ac-tivities abandoned by native residents. This group, along with young people, and women of all ages and the programs which support them may offer a solution to the challenge of depopulation. The paper concludes with a list of the key features of successful repopulation programs, drawn from a comparison of historic and contemporary models.

Four decades have elapsed since the first quasiperiodic crystal was discovered in the Al-Mn alloy system, and many progresses have been made during this time interval in the science of quasicrystals (QCs). Notwithstanding this, a significant number of open questions still remain regarding both fundamental and technological aspects. For instance: What are QCs good for? How can we improve the current provisional QC definition? What is the role of the underlying quasiperiodic order and the characteristic inflation symmetry of these compounds in the emergence of their unusual physicochemical properties? or, What is the nature of chemical bonding in QCs formed in such different sorts of materials as alloys, oxides, or organic polymers? In this essay I will discuss these, and other closely related, issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and will comment on appealing prospectives in the field for the years to come.

The main purpose of this paper is to present a system to detect extrusion failures in Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printers by sensing that the filament is moving forward properly. After several years using these kind of machines, authors detected that there is not any system to detect the main problem in FDM machines. Authors thought in different sensors and used the Weighted Objectives Method, one of the most common evaluation methods, for comparing design concepts based on an overall value per design concept. Taking into account the obtained scores of each specification, the best choice for this work is the optical encoder. Once the sensor is chosen, it is necessary to design de part where it will be installed without interfering with the normal function of the machine. To do it, photogrammetry scanning methodology was employed. The developed device perfectly detects the advance of the filament without affecting the normal operation of the machine. Also, it is achieved the primary objective of the system, avoiding loss of material, energy and mechanical wear, keeping the premise of making a low-cost product that does not significantly increase the cost of the machine. This development has made it possible to use the printer with remains coil filament, which were not spent because they were not sufficient to complete an impression and also printing models in two colours with only one extruder.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease, first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in November 2019 and has since spread worldwide, is the latest human pandemic, and has officially infected over 800 million people and has caused nearly seven million deaths to date. Although SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the large family of coronaviruses, it has some unique biological characteristics in its interplay with the human host. Therefore, this narrative review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the structure of the virus, incubation and shedding in the human host, infectivity and biological evolution over time, as well as the main mechanisms for invading human host cells and replicating within. We also proffer that ongoing epidemiological surveillance of newly emerged variants must always be accompanied by biological studies aimed at deciphering new advantageous traits that may contribute to increasing virulence and pathogenicity, such that the most appropriate strategies for establishing a (relatively) safe coexistence with the human host can be implemented.

Keywords: Lightning; Land Cover and Land Use; Topographic Effects, Itacaiúnas River Hydrographic Basin

While adequate for English-speaking users in the United States, as well as many Commonwealth countries and other English-speaking jurisdictions (e.g., Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa among others), typing in Romance Languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian) by using a standard US-QWERTY Keyboard is not easy since it is not adapted to special characters such as accented vowels, tildes and cedillas or ligatures, used in Romance Languages. With regard to the International Layout, intended to enable access to the most common diacritics used in Western European Languages, the problem comes from the fact that accented vowels are spread throughout the Keyboard layout, and their uppercase versions need chord combinations which can require good manual dexterity. This paper will analyze how the Spanish or Portuguese Keyboards are the best options for these users since they are QWERTY-based and the most compatible ones for the different character sets in Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian Languages.

The processing of Mexican limes generates great amounts of peel as a byproduct. Lime peel is mainly rich in the flavonoid hesperidin, whose bioactivity is oriented mainly to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The purpose of this work was to develop a green process for the extraction and purification of hesperidin from Mexican lime peel. The extraction of hesperidin was investigated on a laboratory scale by varying the solvent composition and the solid-to-solvent ratio. The best conditions (solid-to-solvent ratio of 0.33 g/mL and 60% ethanol) were used for the extraction of hesperidin in a pilot scale (Volume = 20 L). The kinetics of the extraction was studied to find the maximum hesperidin concentration at 100 min. The concentrated extract had a hesperidin content of 0.303 mg/mL. Next, a purification process using adsorption resins was assessed. Through static tests, it was determined that higher adsorption efficiencies were achieved with the EXA-118 resin and diluted extract (4:6 ratio with 10% DMSO). Finally, the adsorption of hesperidin from the diluted extract (hesperidin concentration of 0.109 mg/mL) was carried out at 25 °C in a column packed with 80 mL of EXA-118 resin. The mean recovery efficiency of hesperidin from the extract was almost 90%.

Injury to the central nervous system (CNS), in most vertebrate animals, results in permanent damage and lack of function, due to their limited regenerative capacities. In contrast, echinoderms can fully regenerate their radial nerve cord (RNC) following transection, with little or no scarring. Investigators have associated the regenerative capacity of some organisms with the stress response and inflammation produced by the injury. Here we explore the gene activation profile of the stressed holothurian CNS. To do this, we performed RNA sequencing on isolated RNC explants submitted to the stress of transection and enzyme dissection and compared them to explants kept in culture for 3 days following dissection. We describe stress-associated genes, including members of heat-shock families, ubiquitin-related pathways, transposons, and apoptosis that were differentially expressed. Surprisingly, the stress response does not induce apoptosis in this system. Other genes associated with stress in other animal models, such as hero proteins and those associated with the integrated stress response, were not found to be differentially expressed either. Our results provide a new viewpoint on the stress response in the nervous system of an organism with an amazing regenerative capacity. This is the first step to deciphering the molecular processes that allow echinoderms to undergo fully functional CNS regeneration while also providing a comparative view for students of the stress response in other organisms.

There is a perception among the inhabitants of the Aburrá Valley Region, that this heavily populated region, situated in the Andean mountains of Colombia, has been suffering large temperature elevations in the last years, especially in the last decade. To give perspective about this issue, the authors have gone through the available information about temperature changes in three meteorological stations in the region and have correlated it with a set of variables of urban, climatic and energetic nature, with the intention of developing an approximate model to understand the temperature changes. Changes in the mean temperature, based on the linear correlation of the data were estimated on 0.47oC for the 20 years between 1995 and 2015; the study showed that 60% of change was found to be related to local human activities and 40% was attributed to the impact of global warming. For the local influences some practical mitigation actions are proposed, related to improve the energy management and paying more attention to the temperature changes trough improvements in the number and capability of sampling stations in the urban air and in the river, which serve as clear indicators of the changes and the effect of any mitigation measures.

There is a perception among the inhabitants of the Aburrá Valley Region, that this heavily populated region, situated in the Andean mountains of Colombia, has been suffering large temperature raises in the last years, especially in the last decade. To give perspective about this issue, the authors have gone through the available information about temperature changes in three meteorological stations in the region and have correlated it with a set of variables of urban, climatic and energetic nature, with the intention of developing an approximate model to understand the temperature changes. Changes in the mean temperature, based on the linear tendencies, were estimated on 0.47ºC for the 20 years between 1995 and 2015; 60% of change was found to be related to local human activities and 40% was attributed to the impact of global warming.

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

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

After 40 years of the discovery of metallocene catalysts, there are still several aspects that remain unresolved, especially when the “conventional” alkylaluminum activators are not used. Herein, we systematically investigate the synthesis of PE via three different zirconocene catalysts, with different alkyl substituents, activated via different organoboron compounds. The polymerization behavior, as well as the properties of the materials, are evaluated. The results demonstrate that the highest catalytic activity is shown by Bis(cyclopentadienyl)dimethylzirconium activated by trityl tetra(pentafluorophenyl)borate. Also finding that toluene is the optimum solvent for these systems and at these reaction conditions. Moreover, to validate our experimental results, a comprehensive mathematical model is developed on the basis of thermodynamic and kinetic principles. The concentration of ethylene transferred to the solvent phase (toluene) in a liquid-vapor equilibrium (LVE) system is estimated based on the Duhem’s theorem. Arrhenius expressions for the kinetic rate constants of a proposed kinetic mechanism are estimated by a kinetic model, in which the rate of polymerization is fitted by a least-square optimization procedure and the molecular weight averages by the method of moments. The simulations of the coordination polymerization suggest the presence of two types of active sites, principally at low temperatures, and the reactivation of the deactivated sites via a boron-based activator. However, the effect of the temperature on the reactivation step is no clear; a deeper understanding via designed experiments is required.

Materials known as Nd:YAG are crystalline materials of the cubic system made from neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet, which among others, have excellent optical properties. Nd:YAG four-level laser devices are highly used in both the health and industrial sectors. In this study, a simple and inexpensive alternative to manufacturing Nd:YAG materials through solid state reactions following powder processing routes was proposed. For this, an intense mixture of the precursor materials (Al2O3 and Y2O3) was carried out, followed by the addition of neodymium atoms to improve the optical properties of the resulting material. High energy mechanical mixing of the precursor powders resulted in submicron particles, with good size distributions of the powders. The advance of YAG formation was monitored by intermediate phase formation during heat treatment through interrupted tests at different temperatures and analysis by X-ray diffraction. From this analysis, it was found that reaction for the formation of the desired YAG is completed at 1500°C. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analyses determined the presence of functional groups corresponding to the YAG. Finally, the study by optical emission spectroscopy showed wavelengths in agreement with the electronic structure of the elements of the synthesized Nd:YAG.

Contamination by microplastics (MP) in aquatic ecosystems is largely due to the release of millions of these particles from treated effluents from Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP). Due to the lack of policies and regulations that establish criteria for the control and elimination of MP from WWTP effluents, this research evaluated the presence of MP for particle sizes of 38 and 150 µm in influents and effluents from three WWTP in the port of Acapulco, Mexico. Using optical microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques, the MP detected were polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). MP removal efficiencies of 82.5 to 98.7% (38 µm) and 86.8 to 97.5% (150µm) were obtained; the MP average daily emissions to the receiving bodies of these three WWTPs were in the ranges of 9.5 x 106 - 4.70 x 108 particles and the annual emissions in the range of 3.05 x 109 - 1.72 x 1011 particles. This work reveals the urgency of implementing regulatory policies to avoid the continuous emission of MP to aquatic ecosystems from WWTPs in Acapulco, Mexico.

The standard Cosmological model (LCDM) assumes that the expanding spacetime around us is infinite, which is inconsistent with the observed cosmic acceleration unless we include Dark Energy (DE) or a Cosmological Constant ($\Lambda$). But the observed cosmic expansion can also be explained with a finite mass $M$, inside a uniform expanding sphere, with empty space outside. An object with mass $M$ has a gravitation radius $r_S=2GM$. When $M$ is all contained within $r_S$, this is a Black Hole (BH). Nothing can escape from $r_S$, which becomes a boundary for the inside dynamics. In the limit where there is nothing outside, the inside corresponds to a local isolated Universe. The $r_S$ boundary condition corresponds to an effective force which is mathematically equivalent to $\Lambda=3/r_S^2$. We can therefore interpret cosmic acceleration as a measurement of the gravitational boundary of our Universe, with a mass $M = \frac{c^2}{2G}\sqrt{3/\Lambda} \simeq 6 \times 10^{22} M_{\odot}$. Such BH Universe (BHU) is observationally very similar to the LCDM, except for the very large scale perturbations, which are bounded by $r_S$.

In classical General Relativity, White Holes (WH) refer to the time reverse Schwarzschild (SW) Black Hole (BH) solution of a point mass $M$ and gravitational radius $r_S=2GM$. The SW metric is static so that a time reverse WH solution simply corresponds to a violation of causality. The WH solution does not make any physical sense here. For a more physical model, such as the Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) metric with finite mass inside $r_S$, we show that both the expanding and collapsing solutions correspond to a BH and not to a WH.

In paper I, we showed that the observed (LCDM) Universe can be modeled as a local Black Hole (BH) Universe (BHU) of fixed mass M, without Dark Energy (DE): cosmic acceleration is caused by the BH event horizon rS=2GM. %The same BHU solution can be used to model the interior of a stellar or galactic BHs. Here, we propose that our BHU could form from the hierarchical free-fall collapse of regular matter. We argue that the singularity could be avoided with a Big Bounce explosion, caused by neutron degeneracy pressure (Pauli exclusion principle). This happens at GeV energies, like in core collapse supernova, well before the collapse reaches Planck energies (1E19 GeV). If our universe formed this way, there is no need for cosmic Inflation or a singular start (The Big Bang). Nucleosynthesis and recombination follow a hot expansion, like in LCDM, but cosmological measurements, which are free parameters in LCDM, could be estimated from first principles. Dark Matter could be made up of a wide mass range of primordial compact objects (BHs and Neutron stars), remnants of the collapse and bounce, which can provide a faster start for galaxy formation. We present a simple prediction to explain the observed value of Lambda and the coincidence problem.

We propose that the Big Bang does not have a singular start, but that it originates from gravitational collapse of a low density cloud that collapsed 25 Gyrs ago to form a Black Hole (BH) of mass M ≃ 6 × 1022M⊙. The collapse continued inside the BH for 11Gyrs until the density achieves neutron degeneracy and the collapse bounces into expansion like a core collapse supernova. From observations today, this model is very similar to the standard Big Bang cosmology but there is no need for Inflation or Dark Energy (DE). The observed cosmological constant Λ is not a new form of DE, but results from the dynamics of the Big Bang expansion inside the BH event horizon rS = 2GM = √3/Λ. Why our Universe has such a large mass M (or small Λ value)? If τO(≃ 10Gyr) is the astronomical timescale needed for observers like us to exist, we find a simple anthropic prediction, based only on gravitational collapse from Gaussian fluctuations, that the maximum probability for M is MO < M < 3MO where MO = τO/3G. This agrees well with the measured values for τO and M in our Universe.

The standard model of cosmology assumes that our Universe began 14 Gyrs (billion years) ago with a hot Big Bang expansion out of nothing. It can explain a vast range of different astrophysical data from a handful of free cosmological parameters. However successful this model is, we have no direct evidence or fundamental understanding of some key assumptions: low entropy start, Inflation, Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Here we present a simpler and more physical explanation for the same observations that do not require such assumptions or new laws of Physics. It is based on the evidence that we live inside a Black Hole (BH) of mass $ M \simeq 5 \times 10^{22} M_{\odot}$, which we observed as cosmic acceleration. How did the Big Bang end up inside such a BH? We propose that 25 Gyrs ago, a very low density dust cloud collapsed and form such BH. As there was no pressure support, the collapse continued inside until it reached neutron energy densities (GeV). Causal regions of solar mass size rebound by neutron degeneracy, like a supernovae, producing the Big Bang expansion and compact dark matter remnants. During collapse, perturbations exit the horizon to re-enter during expansion, given rise to the observed universe. We review the evidence for such BH Universe.

A signal analysis of the genoma sequenced of coronavirus variants: B.1.1.7, B.1.135, B.1.429-B.1.427, B.1.525 and P1 is presented. We deal with a certain type of finite alternating sum series having independently distributed terms associated with binary (0,1) indicators for the nucleotide bases A,C,G,T. This method provides additional information to conventional Similarity comparisons and Power Spectrum approaches. It leads to uncover distinctive patterns regarding the intrinsic data organization of genomic sequences according to its progression along the nucleotide bases position. Hence, the method could be useful for survelliance of genoma variants.

A fully analytical treatment of the base-pair and codon dynamics in double-stranded DNA molecules is introduced, by means of a realistic treatment which considers different mass values for G, A, T, and C nucleotides and takes into account the intrinsic three-dimensional, helicoidal geometry of DNA in terms of a Hamitonian in cylindrical coordinates. Within the framework of the Peyrard-Dauxois-Bishop model we consider the coupling between stretching and stacking radial oscillations as well as the twisting motion of each base pair around the helix axis. By comparing the linearized dynamical equations for the angular and radial variables when going from the bp local scale to the longer triplet codon scale, we report an underlying hierarchical symmetry. The existence of synchronized collective oscillations of the base-pairs and their related codon triplet units are disclosed from the study of their coupled dynamical equations. The possible biological role of these correlated, long-range oscillation effects in double standed DNA molecules containing mirror-symmetric codons of the form XXX, XX’X, X’XX’, YXY, and XYX is discussed in terms of the dynamical equations solutions and their related dispersion relations.

By introducing a suitable renormalization process the charge carrier and phonon dynamics of a double-stranded helical DNA molecule is expressed in terms of an effective Hamitonian describing a linear chain, where the renormalized transfer integrals explicitly depend on the relative orientations of the Watson-Crick base pairs, and the renormalized on-site energies are related to the electronic parameters of consecutive base pairs along the helix axis, as well as to the low-frequency phonons dispersion relation. The existence of synchronized collective oscillations enhancing the π-π orbital overlapping among different base pairs is disclosed from the study of the obtained analytical dynamical equations. The role of these phonon-correlated, long-range oscillation effects on the charge transfer properties of double standed DNA homopolymers is discussed in terms of the resulting band structure.

We prove that a diffeological space is diffeomorphic to the categorical join of any generating family of plots.

Piperine, an active plant alkaloid from black pepper (Piper nigrum), has several pharmacological effects: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory, which involves inhibiting molec-ular events associated with various stages of cancer development. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms of action of piperine in relation to its potential anticancer effect on head and neck cancer cells. Parameters related to neoplastic potential, analysis of cyto-kine, protein and gene expression were investigated in the head and neck cancer cell lines (HEp-2 and SCC-25) treated with piperine. The results of the tests indicated that piperine modified mor-phology, inhibited viability and the formation of cell colonies. Piperine promoted genotoxicity by triggering apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G2/M and S. A decrease in cell migration was also observed, and decreased expression of MMP2/9 genes. Piperine also reduced the expression of inflammatory molecules (PTGS2 and PTGER4), regulated the secretion of cytokines (IF-y and IL-8) and modulated the expression of ERK and p38. These results suggest that piperine exerts anti-cancer effects on tumor cells, and could be a promising natural treatment by regulating signaling pathways associated with head and neck cancer.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an emerging pathogen frequently associated with acute diarrhea in children and travelers to endemic regions. EAEC was found the most prevalent bacterial diarrheal pathogen from hospitalized Bolivian children less than five years of age with acute diarrhea from 2007 to 2010. Here, we further characterized the epidemiology of EAEC infection, virulence genes, and antimicrobial susceptibility of EAEC isolated from 414 diarrheal and 74 non-diarrheal cases. EAEC isolates were collected and subjected to a PCR-based virulence gene screening of seven virulence genes and a phenotypic resistance test to nine different antimicrobials. Our results showed that atypical EAEC (a-EAEC, AggR-negative) was significantly associated with diarrhea (OR, 1.62, 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.09, P < 0.001) in contrast to typical EAEC (t-EAEC, AggR-positive). EAEC infection was most prevalent among children between 7 - 12 months of age. The number of cases exhibited a biannual cycle with a major peak during the transition from warm to cold season (April – June). Both typical and a-EAEC infections were graded as equally severe; however, t-EAEC harbored more virulence genes. aap, irp2, and pic were the most prevalent genes. Surprisingly, we detected 60% and 52.6% of multidrug resistance (MDR) EAEC among diarrheal and non-diarrheal cases. Resistance to ampicillin, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines was most common, being the corresponding antibiotics, the ones that are frequently used in Bolivia. Our work is the first study that provides comprehensive information on the high heterogenicity of virulence genes in t-EAEC and a- EAEC and the large prevalence of MDR EAEC in Bolivia.

Biogenic-Silver nanoparticles emerge as new nanosilver platfmorm that allow to obtain silver nanoparticles via “green chemistry”. In our study we obtained biogenic-Silver nanoparticles from Iris tuberosa leaves extract. Nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, dinnamical light scattering technique and Transmission electron microscope, showing spheric and irregular nanoparticles with 5 to 50 nm in diameter. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were evaluated against typical microbial contaminants found in cosmetic products, showing high antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. We formulated a natural moisturizing cream with biogenic-silver nanoparticles to evaluate the preservative efficiency trought challenge test, confirming that our nanoparticles are a promising alternative to use as cosmetic preservative.

There are laws and rights aimed at people with disabilities, especially those with Mild Intellectual Disability (LDD), who actively participate in society but face barriers in learning and participating in various activities. In Colombia, where 1.3 million people with disabilities are registered, 16.8% correspond to the category of DIL, some of whom are part of the economically active population. Despite this, significant employment gaps persist.In order to address this gap, this research focuses on the analysis of the specific problems related to the labor inclusion of people with IDL in logistics environments, particularly in cold rooms. The aim is to prevent occupational hazards through the application of Industry 4.0 technologies.Through the collaboration of the Analytics and Design Research Seedbed, with entrepreneurs and experts in the field, significant challenges in labor inclusion in low-temperature environments were identified. The agile Scrum methodology was used to develop a prototype of an application that addresses these issues. This prototype meets the functional and non-functional requirements necessary to ensure the protection and prevention of risks for workers with DIL who perform functions in refrigerated rooms.This prototype manages to provide an inclusive alternative for people with disability Intellectual Light, challenging business cultural paradigms, by integrating mobile devices with Industry 4.0 technologies, encouraging greater interaction between machines and human beings, thus prioritizing the health and safety of employees in their daily activities.

Immune response stimulation may be an adjuvant to antimicrobial treatment. Here, we evaluated the impact of immune response modification by lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) combined with imipenem or ceftazidime in murine models of peritoneal sepsis (PS) and pneumonia by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Imipenem and ceftazidime-susceptible strain (Pa39), and imipenem and ceftazidime-resistant strain (Pa238) were used. Ceftazidime pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters were determined. Therapeutic efficacy, and TNF-α and IL-10 levels were determined in murine models of PS and pneumonia by Pa39 and Pa238 treated with LPC, imipenem or ceftazidime, alone or in combination. In PS model, LPC+ceftazidime reduced spleen and lungs Pa238 concentrations (-3.45 and -3.56 log10 CFU/g; P<0.05) than ceftazidime monotherapy, while LPC+imipenem maintained the imipenem efficacy (-1.66 and -1.45 log10 CFU/g; P>0.05). In pneumonia model, LPC+ceftazidime or LPC+imipenem reduced lungs Pa238 concentrations (-2.37 log10 CFU/g, P=0.1, or -1.35 log10 CFU/g, P=0.75). For Pa39 no statistically significant difference has been observed in PS and pneumonia models between combined therapy and monotherapy. Moreover, LPC+imipenem and LPC+ceftazidime decreased and increased significantly TNF-α and IL-10 levels, respectively, in comparison with untreated controls and monotherapies. These results demonstrate the impact of immune response modification by LPC plus antibiotics on the prognosis of infections by ceftazidime-resistant P. aeruginosa.

In bone tissue engineering, ceramics have been the choice due to their excellent biological properties. But the paradigm changed with the discovery of bioactive glasses (BGs) in 1969 by Larry Hench and co-workers, due to their ability to bond to living tissues through the formation of an interfacial bone-like hydroxyapatite layer when the bioglass was put in contact with biological fluids in vivo. Among a number of tested compositions, the one exhibiting the highest bioactivity index is the well-known trademarked 45S5 Bioglass®. The topic received increasing attention particularly after 1985 when this material entered in the market of biomedical devices, inspiring many other investigations aiming at further exploring the in vitro and in vivo performances of this BG, or developing other related BG compositions. The research efforts gradually revealed a number of shortcomings of 45S5 Bioglass®, mostly derived from its high sodium content, initially intended to decrease the melting temperature and accelerating the degradation of the silicate network over time. But the extensive release of sodium from 45S5 Bioglass® in the biological fluids creates a high pH cytotoxic environment. Other serious drawbacks include a fast degradation rate, and a poor sintering ability, which hinders the reliable fabrication of porous scaffolds. Therefore, sol-gel was regarded as an attractive alternative to prepare alkali-free BG compositions. The process uses inorganic and/or organic precursors, which undergo hydrolysis and condensation at room-temperature, being less costly. When properly conducted, the sol-gel process might result in amorphous structures with all the components intimately mixed at the atomic scale. Moreover, developing new better performing materials for bone tissue engineering is a growing concern, as the ageing of the world’s population leads to lower bone density and osteoporosis. This work describes the sol-gel synthesis of a novel quaternary silicate-based BG with the composition 60 SiO2 – 34 CaO – 4 MgO – 2 P2O5 (mol%) was prepared using acidified distilled water as single solvent. By controlling the kinetics of the hydrolysis and condensation steps, an amorphous glass structure could be obtained. The results of XRD of samples calcined within the temperature range from 600-900 ºC demonstrated that amorphous nature was maintained until 800 ºC, followed by partial crystallization at 900 ºC. The specific surface area, an important factor in osteoconduction, was also evaluated over different temperatures, ranging from 160.6 ± 0.8 m2/g at 600 ºC down to 2.2 ± 0.1 m2/g at 900 ºC, being accompanied consistent changes in average pore size and agreeing pore size distribution. The immersion of the BG particles in simulated body fluid (SBF) led to the formation of an extensive apatite layer on its surface. These overall results indicate the proposed material is very promising for biomedical applications in bone regeneration and tissue engineering.

At present, the applications and efficacy of non-ionizing radiations (NIR) in oncotherapy are limited. In terms of potential combinations, the use of biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles as heat mediators has been extensively investigated. Nevertheless, the development of more efficient heat nanomediators that may exhibit high specific absorption rates still is an unsolved problem. Our aim was to investigate if externally applied magnetic fields and a heat-inducing NIR affect tumor cell viability. To this end, under in vitro conditions, different human cancer cells (A2058 melanoma, AsPC1 pancreas carcinoma, MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma) were treated with the combination of electromagnetic fields (EMFs, using solenoids) and hyperthermia (HT, using a thermostated bath). The effect of NIR was also studied in combination with standard chemotherapy and targeted therapy. An experimental device combining EMFs and high intensity focused ultrasounds (HIFU)-induced HT was tested in vivo. EMFs (25 T, 4h) or HT (52C, 40 min) showed a limited effect on cancer cell viability in vitro. However, their combination decreased viability to approx. 16%, 50%, and 21% of controls values in A2058, AsPC1, and MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. Increased lysosomal permeability, release of cathepsins into the cytosol and mitochondria-dependent activation of cell death are the underlying mechanisms. Cancer cells could be completely eliminated combining EMFs, HT and standard chemotherapy or EMFs, HT and anti-Hsp70-targeted therapy. As a proof of concept, in vivo experiments performed in AsPC1 xenografts showed that combination of EMFs, HIFU-induced HT, standard chemotherapy and a lysosomal permeabilizer induces a complete cancer regression.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multifactorial lung inflammatory disease affecting 174 million people worldwide, with a recently reported increased incidence in female patients. Patients with COPD are especially vulnerable to the detrimental effects of environmental exposures, especially from air particulate and gaseous pollutants. Exposure to air pollution severely influences COPD outcomes, resulting in acute exacerbations, hospitalizations, and death. In the current study, we conducted a review of the literature addressing air pollution induced acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) in order to determine whether air pollution affects COPD patients in a sex-specific manner. We found that while the majority of studies enrolled both male and female patients, only a few reported results disaggregated by sex. Most studies had a higher enrollment of male patients, only four compared AECOPD outcomes between sexes, and only one study identified sex differences in AECOPD, with females displaying higher rates. Overall, our analysis of the literature confirmed that air pollution exposure is a trigger for AECOPD hospitalizations and revealed a significant gap in our knowledge of sex-specific effects of air pollutants on COPD outcomes, highlighting the need for more studies considering sex as a biological variable.

Noise induces oxidative stress in the cochlea followed by sensory cell death and hearing loss. The proof of principle that injections of antioxidant vitamins and Mg²⁺ prevent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been established. However, effectiveness of oral administration remains controversial and otoprotection mechanisms unclear. Using auditory evoked potentials, quantitative PCR and immunocytochemistry, we explored effects of oral administration of vitamins A, C, E and Mg²⁺ (ACEMg) on auditory function and sensory cell survival following NIHL in rats. Oral ACEMg reduced auditory thresholds shifts after NIHL. Improved auditory function correlated with increased survival of sensory outer hair cells. In parallel, oral ACEMg modulated the expression timeline of antioxidant enzymes in the cochlea after NIHL. There was increased expression of Glutathione peroxidase-1 and Catalase at 1 and 10 days, respectively. Also, pro-apoptotic Caspase-3 and Bax levels were diminished in ACEMg-treated rats, at 10 and 30 days, respectively, following noise overstimulation, whereas, at day 10 after noise exposure, the levels of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, were significantly increased. Therefore, oral ACEMg improves auditory function by limiting sensory hair cell death in the auditory receptor following NIHL. Regulation of the expression of antioxidant enzymes and apoptosis-related proteins in cochlear structures is involved in such otoprotective mechanism.

Increasing evidence of sexual dimorphism in pathophysiology of metabolic complications caused by sex steroids is under investigation. The gut microbiota represents a complex microbial ecosystem involved in energy metabolism, immune response, nutrition acquisition, and health of host organisms. Gender-specific differences in composition are present between females and males. The purpose of this study was to use cross-sex fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for the detection of sex-dependent metabolic, hormonal, and gut microbiota changes in female and male recipients. Healthy non-obese female and male Wistar rats were divided into donor, same-sex, and cross-sex recipient groups. After a 30-day period of FMT administration, biochemical markers (glucose and lipid metabolism) and sex hormones were measured and gut microbiota was analyzed. Cross-sex male recipients displayed significantly lower testosterone concentration compared to males that received same-sex FMT. Sex-dependent changes caused by cross-sex FMT were detected, while several bacterial taxa correlated with plasma testosterone levels. This study represents the first to study the effect of cross-sex changes in the gut microbiome concerning metabolic and hormonal changes/status in adult non-obese Wistar rats. Herein, we present the cross-sex FMT as a potential tool to modify sex-specific pathologies.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the intensity of the annual sexual behavior (SB) of Boer bucks under tropical conditions in southern Mexico. For one year, 16 extensively grazing males were evaluated for SB individually with estrogenized goats. From the beginning of the experiment and every 30 days, body weight (BW), body condition (BC), testicular circumference (TC), odor intensity (OI) and SB (nudging, ano-genital sniffing, flehmen, mounting attempts, mounts with intromission, and self-urination) were recorded. The bucks showed a more intense SB during the months of November to May than during the months of June to October (p < 0.05). Greater frequency was found for nudging, ano-genital sniffing, mounting attempts, and self-urination in the months of November to May (p < 0.001). BW was lower during the months of January to August than in the months of September to December (p < 0.05). On the other hand, TC increased from October to December (p < 0.05). Similarly, the OI in males varied over time (time effect; p < 0.001). In fact, an increased odor was found from October to December. The conclusions were that breed male goats from the tropics of Guerrero have a more intense SB during the months of November to May, which corresponds to the time of the year when forage availability is the greatest.

Two polyurethanes (PUs) were similarly synthesized by reacting a cycloaliphatic isocyanate with 1,4 butanediol and two polyols of different nature (polyester, polycarbonate diol) with molecular weights of 1000 Da. The PU made with polycarbonate diol polyol (YCD) was the only showing intrinsic self-healing at 20 °C. For assessing the mechanism of intrinsic self-healing of YCD, a structural characterization by molecular weights determination, infrared and X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopies, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis was carried out. It was concluded that the self-healing at 20 °C of YCD was due to non-covalent dynamic exchange interactions among the carbonate groups of the soft segments. Therefore, the chemical nature of the polyol played a key role in developing PUs with intrinsic self-healing at 20 °C.

This paper analyses the application of deep learning techniques for predicting wave overtopping events in port environments using sea state and weather forecasts as inputs. The study was conducted in the outer port of Punta Langosteira, A Coruña, Spain. A video recording infrastructure was installed to monitor overtopping events from 2015 to 2022, identifying 3709 overtopping events. The data collected was merged with actual and predicted data for the sea state and weather conditions during the overtopping events, creating three datasets. We used these datasets to create several machine learning models to predict whether an overtopping event would occur based on sea state and weather conditions. The final models achieved a high accuracy level during the training and testing stages: 0.81, 0.73, and 0.84 average accuracy during training and 0.67, 0.48, and 0.86 average accuracy during testing, respectively. The results of this study have significant implications for port safety and efficiency, as wave overtopping events can cause disruptions and potential damage. Using deep learning techniques for overtopping prediction can help port managers take preventative measures and optimize operations, ultimately improving safety and helping to minimize the economic impact that overtopping events have on the port's activities.

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

Introduction: The objective of the study is to assess the failure of therapies with HFNO (High-Flow Nasal Oxygen), CPAP, Bilevel or combined therapy in patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure due to SARS-CoV-2 during their hospitalization. Methods: Retrospective and observational study of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients who required non-invasive respiratory support (NIRS), at the Reina Sofía General University Hospital of Murcia between March 2020 and May 2021. Results: Of 7355 patients, 197 (11,8%) were included. 95 of them failed this therapy (48,3%). We objectivated that during hospitalization in the ward the combined therapy with HFNO and CPAP had a lower failure rate overall and the highest treatment purely with Bilevel (p = 0,005). In the comparison of failure in therapy without two levels of airway pressure, HFNO, CPAP and combined therapy of HFNO with CPAP, (35,6% of patients) presented a 24,2% failure compared to those who did have two levels of pressure with Bilevel and combined therapy of HFNO with Bilevel (64,4% of patients) with 75,8% associated failure (OR: 0, 374; CI 95%: 0,203-0,688. p=0,001).Conclusions: The use of NIRS in conventional hospitalization is safe and effective in patients with respiratory failure secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The therapeutic strategy with Bilevel increases the probability of failure, with the combined therapy strategy with CPAP and HFNO being the most promising option.

This study analyses the detection efficiency of the Worldwide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) of sensors over Spain, a comparison is made with the Meteorological Spanish Agency (AEMET) Lightning Detection Network. The WWLLN operates a planetary distributed network of Very Low Frequency (VLF) antennas which detect lightning VLF signals around the Earth. Very high currents from lightning strokes radiate strong VLF signals in the band 6-22 kHz, which are detected up to 10,000 km, therefore WWLLN receiving sensors can be sparsely spaced. However the detection capability of VLF signals depends on the environment, and clean areas with a good ground and no metal parts around must be selected for proper reception. For the area of Spain and Portugal we had two WWLLN sensors in 2012, and three sensors later on for the data of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The sensors in Iberian Peninsula are at a distance of around 760 km; that is very close in comparison with other WWLLN sensors in the Earth which are around 5.000-15.000 km. The WWLLN sensors send the timing of the detection to the central sensor where the location of the lightning is determined with an improved algorithm when a mini-mum of 5 sensors detect the VLF signal. We show that detection efficiency was excellent and consistent with previous studies. Lightning location data from 1st January 2012 to 30st April 2012 from AEMET was used to analyze time and space shared events with the WWLLN network with 0.5s time difference and 20 km distance. The results improved in 2020, 2021 and 2022. More than 40,000 lightning strikes were analyzed in the present work, and we found a detection efficiency > 38%.

In the vaginal ecosystem there is a symbiotic relationship between the microbiota and the host, particularly Candida spp., which are considered commensals of the vaginal mucosa. During pregnancy there is an increase in hormonal secretion that alters the vaginal microbiota and favors the development of Candida infection. Several studies have shown the increased prevalence of Candida during pregnancy, as well as its association with perinatal complications and current clinical practice guidelines recommend fluconazole as the treatment of choice during pregnancy in case of infection by Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida. However, in the Mexican population, this association has not been studied. So in this study, an intentional search for colonization by Candida spp. in pregnant women who attended the obstetric triage of the Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de Ixtapaluca during the period from May to October 2019, and they were followed up until the end of the pregnancy. Data on age, number of pregnancies, gestational age, body mass index, and perinatal outcomes were analyzed. Of 83 patients included in the study, yeasts corre-sponding to C. albicans (12) and C. glabrata (4) were isolated in 16. In the group of patients with Candida, the maternal age range was from 15 to 36 years old, of which 7 were adolescents and 2 with advanced maternal age, with an average of 2 gestations, the range of body mass index was from 19.3 to 42.4, of which 4 were overweight and 7 obese. Perinatal complications were observed in three patients, one presented chorioamnionitis and in two the neonates were small for gestational age. No association was found between colonization by Candida spp. and the number of preg-nancies, gestational age, body mass index or perinatal results. However, it was found that age (adolescence) may be a risk factor for the development of vulvovaginitis during pregnancy.

Total edentulism is the loss of all teeth for any cause by a multifactorial process that involves biological and patient-related factors. Studies on edentulism and risk factors in Mexico are limited, and the epidemiological surveillance data is scarce and controversial since official governmental reports are not statistically representative of the country. We estimate the distribution for edentulism according to sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables in adults from a low-income state in 2003 and its progress in Mexico. We analyzed data from the National Performance Evaluation Survey in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the annual reports of the Epidemiological Surveillance System of Oral Pathologies in 2009-2019 using X². Oaxacan patients older than 75 y.o (17.9%, p<0.05), those with lower schooling (11.2%), and diabetes (14.5%) presented the highest percentage of edentulism. We do not observe differences in edentulism between sex or residence (p>0.05). From 2009 to 2019, country data reports the lowest rate of edentulism in adults over 20 y.o (0.32%; 95% CI 0.18%-0.48%) and the most affected population over 79 y.o. (7.29%; 95% CI 5.2%-9.30%). As it is a cumulative phenomenon, it is necessary to establish better surveillance, prevention, and treatment programs to improve the oral health of older thus reducing edentulism.

For developmental processes we know most of the gene networks controlling specific cell responses. We still have to determine how these networks cooperate and how signals become integrated. The JNK pathway is one of the key elements modulating cellular responses during development. Yet, we still know little on how the core components of the pathway interact with additional regulators or how this network modulates cellular responses in the whole organism in homeostasis or during tissue morphogenesis. We have performed a promoter analysis searching for potential regulatory sequences of puc and identified different specific enhancers directing gene expression in different tissues and at different developmental times. Remarkably, some of these domains respond to the JNK activity, but not all. Altogether, these analyses show that puc expression regulation is very complex and that JNK activities participate in non-previously known processes during the development of Drosophila.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Candida albicans on subgingival biofilm formation on dental implant surfaces. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were used to compare biofilm structure and microbial biomass in the presence and absence of the fungus after periods of 24, 48, and 72 h. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to quantify the number of viable and total micro-organisms for each of the biofilm-forming strains. A general linear model was applied to compare CLSM and qPCR results between control and test conditions. The biofilm developed with C. albicans at 72 h had a higher bacterial biomass, with a significantly higher cell viability (p &lt; 0.05). After both 48 and 72 h of incubation, in the presence of C. albicans, there was a significant increase in counts of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis and in the cell viability of Streptococcus oralis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, F. nucleatum, and P. gingivalis. Using a dynamic in vitro multispecies biofilm model, C. albicans exacerbated the development of the biofilm grown on dental implant surfaces, significantly increasing the number and cell viability of periodontal bacteria.

This article presents a unique set of voltage and current data from a public building and acquired using a hybrid measurement solution that combines Python and Grafana. The transversal purpose consists of contributing to the community with a vision of the quality of the supply more oriented to the monitoring of the state of the network, providing a more realistic vision, which allows a better understanding, and the adoption of the best decisions to achieve the efficient energy management and thus optimize the operation and maintenance of power systems. The work focuses on higher order statistical estimators that, combined with exploratory data analysis techniques, improve the characterization of the shape of the stress signal. These techniques and data, together with the acquisition and monitoring system, present a unique combination in the line of low-cost measurement solutions. It also incorporates the underlying benefit of the contribution to industrial benchmarking. The paper also includes a computational comparison between Python and LabVIEW to elicit the performance of the measurement solution.

Landscape changes based on spectral responses allow showing plant cover changes through diversity, composition, and ecological connectivity. The spatial and temporal vegetation dynamics of the Bijagual Massif from 1986 to 2021 were analyzed as a measure of ecological integrity, conservation, and territory. The covers identified were high open forest (Hof), dense grassland of non-wooded mainland (Dgnm), a mosaic of pastures and crops (Mpc), lagoons (Lag), and bare and degraded lands (Bdl). The Bijagual Massif has 8,574.1 ha. In 1986, Dgnm occupied 42.6% of the total area, followed by Mpc (32.8%) and Hof (24.5%); by 2000, Mpc and Hof increased (43.7 and 28.1%, respectively), while Dgnm decreased (28%); by 2021, Dgnm was restricted to the northeastern zone and continued to decrease (25.2%), Mpc occupied 52.9%, Hof 21.7% and Bdl 0.1%. Of the three fractions of the connectivity probability index, only dPCintra and dPCflux contribute to ecological connectivity. Hof and Dgnm show patches with biota habitat quality and availability. Between 1986 and 2021, Dgnm lost 1,489 ha (41%) and Hof 239.5 ha (11%). Mpc replaced various covers (1,722.2 ha; 38%) in 2021. Bijagual has a valuable biodiversity potential limited by Mpc. Territorial planning and sustainable agroecological and ecotourism proposals are required due to the context of the ecosystems.

Brucellosis infection induces fever, chills, sweats, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, anorexia, fa-tigue, and mood disorders. In mice, it causes a rise in IL-6, TNF-, and IFN-; and reduces sero-tonin and dopamine levels in hippocampus. There is loss in muscle strength and equilibrium and increased anxiety and hopelessness. Imipramine (ImiP) is a tricyclic antidepressant that increases the capacity of macrophages to destroy intracellular microorganisms in vivo. The effect of ImiP was evaluated in Balb/c mice infected with Brucella abortus 2308. Serum levels were determined in IFN-, IL-6, TNF-, IL-12, MCP-1, and IL-10 by FACS; the bacterial count in the spleen, by CFU; the serotonin concentration in the hippocampus, by HPLC; and strength, equilibrium, and mood by behavioral tests. Our results showed that infected vs. control mice had a significant rise in lev-els of IFN-, IL-6, TNF-, and IL-12 with a low IFN-/IL-6 ratio, elevated bacterial-counts, alter-ations in serotonin concentration at hippocampus, and decreased muscular strength, equilibrium, and mood. Infected mice treated with ImiP vs. infected mice showed: 1) improved mood; 2) in-creased hippocampal serotonin availability, splenic dendritic cells, and macrophage phagocytic activity; and 3) upturn inflammation and reduced CFU ability. Our results support that ImiP fa-vors positive outcomes in subjects handling Brucella infections likely by improving psychoim-mune resilience.

Objectives: To assess the short-term impact of a single global stretching session on plantar pressures and lumbar range of motion (RoM) over one week in sedentary university students. Design: A randomised controlled trial with two parallel groups. Participants: Sixty-four university students were randomly assigned to a stretching group or control group. The stretching group received a single session of global stretching and the control group remained seated for the same length of time as the stretching session. Main outcome measures: Lumbar RoM and plantar pressures were assessed before, immediately after, 48 hours after, and 7 days after intervention. Results: Group-by-time interaction was significant for lumbar lateral flexion (p = 0.044), right maximal pressure (p = 0.003), left maximal pressure (p = 0.008), right mean pressure (p = 0.025), left mean pressure (p = 0.002), and maximal pressure minus mean pressure in right foot (p = 0.007). The model with plantar pressures showed a significant difference for group-by-time interaction (p = 0.010).Conclusion: Global stretching seems to counteract the ill-effects of prolonged sitting up to seven days with respect to plantar pressure in standing without improving lumbar ROM

The practice of physical activity is an effective non-pharmacological strategy for preventing and treating chronic diseases. A large body of evidence has contributed to establishing a positive correlation between a physically active lifestyle and health benefits, including enhanced vaccination responses, lower numbers of senescent T-cells, increased T-cell proliferative capacity, lower levels of inflammatory cytokines, and improved neutrophil and macrophage function. While females are generally thought to exert more robust immune responses than males in response to a variety of challenges, and both male and female sex hormones have been suggested as mediators of immune function, research on this topic has not always been designed with a sex-specific lens. The goal of this review is to summarize the available experimental and clinical evidence linking exercise and immune function in male and female subjects, with an emphasis on sex differences and sex-specific mechanisms. Overall, the available evidence indicates that moderate exercise and physical activity improves immune function in both sexes, whereas prolonged and high-intensity exercise temporarily impairs immune responses at a higher degree in females. A role of male and female sex hormones in these sex-specific effects is also discussed.

Background: There is little clarity in the application of content related to improper integrals in university students, due to the absence of meaning, which prevents them from making a connection with everyday problem situations. Methods: we designed a mathematical modelling proposal where a specific situation involving the instrumentation, use and application of this type of integrals is experimented and solved with a population of engineering students, who learn to use them. Results: The importance of using mathematical modelling as a didactic-dynamic resource is highlighted because it helps students to reach an understanding of real situations involving improper integrals in different contexts. Conclusions: Despite the numerous errors detected in the students, this strategy made it possible to demonstrate the development of advanced mathematical thinking skills in young people.

Cultivating research competencies facilitated by the use of technology in the university is crucial to boost acquisition of knowledge, educational innovation, and successful professional development. The objective of this article is to analyze the evolution and characteristics of scientific production that has had the greatest impact on the momentum of investigative competencies and their articulation within technological scenarios. Applying various selection criteria in the Scopus database, we utilized systematic, bibliometric mapping as a methodological strategy in which 250 articles related to the topic were identified, then analyzed with the semantic analysis software VOSViewer. The results indicate that there is an emerging line of research on the subject since 2016 and point to the underdevelopment of lines that associate research skills with digital literacy, information literacy, digital libraries databases, and the development of critical thinking.

The aim of this study of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is to assess the safety of daily consumption of walnuts on the physiological levels of phosphorous, potassium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), and to assess the short-term benefits of this intervention on risk factors associated with cardiovascular events. This led us to perform a prospective, randomized, cross-over, pilot clinical trial examined 13 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Subjects were randomly assigned to a diet of 30 g of walnuts per day or the control diet. After 30 days, each group was given a 30-day washout period, and then switched to the alternate diet for 30 days. Urinary and serum levels of phosphorous and potassium, multiple vascular risk factors, and urinary inositol phosphates (InsPs) were measured at baseline and at the end of the intervention period. Our results showed that the walnut dietary supplement led to reduced blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and serum albumin, but had no effect on the physiological levels of phosphorous, potassium, PTH, and FGF23. This is the first report to show that daily consumption of walnuts by patients with CKD does not alter their physiological levels of phosphorous, potassium, PTH, and FGF23. Consequently, this dietary supplement may prevent cardiovascular events in patients with CKD.

Currently, companies and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are looking to be more competitive. In order to achieve this, they are adopting new business models and strategies that allow them to move towards sustainability. Strategies such as CSR (Corporate social responsibility) and supply chain management have become essential for ensuring a company’s permanence and financial consolidation. The literature has stated that the theories of Stakeholders and Sustainability are fundamental pillars for the development and sustained growth of business. The purpose of this article is to examine the effects of CSR and the SC (supply chain) on innovation, image and reputation, and in turn, their influences on profitability in SMEs. This research is based on a sample of 143 companies in the city of Guaymas Sonora, in Mexico. For the analysis and validation of the results, we used the SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) statistical technique based on the variance, through PLS (Partial Least Squares) (using SmartPLS version 3.2.6 Professional). The findings show that SMEs that develop social and sustainable practices increase their level of innovation, and improve their image, their reputation, and their financial profitability. This work contributes mainly to the development of Stakeholders and Sustainability.

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a species is widely distributed in Córdoba, despite this, there are few studies that have been carried out to understand its genetic diversity. For this reason, the objective of this research was to evaluate the genetic diversity and variability of guava (Psidium guajava L) using microsatellite markers in Montería, Córdoba-Colombia. Forty-five accessions were evaluated. For DNA extraction, the CTAB 2x extraction protocol was used with modifications. The extracted DNA was amplified by the PCR technique using seven microsatellite markers. A total of 46 alleles were found with an average of 6.5 alleles per locus. A total of 28 private alleles were identified in the populations, possibly fixed by different evolutionary forces. The evaluated population presented an average expected heterozygosity of 0.572 and the observed heterozygosity was lower (0.058). The fixation index presented a total average of 0.906, indicating that in Montería there is an excess of homozygotes. The PIC values allowed us to determine that the markers mPgCIR9, mPgCIR11, mPgCIR13, mPgCIR16, mPgCIR19 and mPgCIR22 are highly informative, while mPgCIR23 is moderately informative. The guava population in Montería presented a low genetic diversity within the subpopulations, which could be related to inbreeding events such as self-pollination..

The current management of colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRCLM) patients involves a multidisciplinary approach with surgical resection remaining the primary curative option. The advances in liver surgery have improved outcomes, enabling more patients to undergo surgery successfully. In addition, the development of imaging software has improved the preoperative planning and patient selection for surgery and other interventions. Systemic therapies, such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies have enhanced the chances of complete resection. Targeted agents in combination with chemotherapy, have shown efficacy in downstaging tumors and increasing resectability.

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

As companies increasingly undergo digital transformation, the role of talent management pro-cesses becomes pivotal in enhancing overall organizational performance. The research addresses the significance of talent management in corporate digital transformation, examining whether variations in the digitalization of these processes can be attributed to company size. A qualitative approach was employed, utilizing a questionnaire, collecting responses from 202 organizations across diverse sectors. Findings reveal disparities in digitalization throughout the talent man-agement process, with pronounced presence in the attracting, selecting, and rewarding phases, but diminishing in deployment and development, further declining in planning. A positive cor-relation between company size and adoption of specific digital platforms was observed. Larger enterprises exhibit greater utilization of digital platforms in talent deployment and development. Moreover, corporate communication tools are consistently utilized in the rewarding phase, irre-spective of company size. These findings offer practical insights for organizations to optimize their digitalization strategies based on their scale, thereby contributing to more effective and tailored digitalization endeavors. The uniqueness of this research lies in its exploration of the in-fluence of company size on the digitalization of talent management processes and its potential to explain variations across different stages of these processes.

‘Arrayana’ mandarin fruits have a short postharvest life and are sensitive to chilling injury (CI) during cold storage. Brassinosteroids (BR) have been used as a sustainable technology to alleviate CI in fruits and improve postharvest quality. This study evaluated the effect of applying the 24-epibrasinolide analogue (EBR), at doses of 5 mg L-1; DI-31 analogue, at 5 and 10 mg L-1; and control, on the main physical and biochemical characteristics of 'Arrayana' mandarin stored at 4°C for 40 days and, subsequently, 7 days at room temperature (shelf life). The application of EBR and DI-31 analogues reduced the appearance of CI in the exocarp of 'Arrayana' mandarin fruits by reducing electrolyte leakage, maintaining membrane integrity, and increasing antioxidant activity and phenol content at the end of cold storage and shelf life. This was especially pronounced with 5 mg L-1 of EBR. Similarly, the BR maintained the postharvest quality of mandarins by reducing weight loss, respiratory intensity and chlorophyll degradation; increasing β-carotene; and maintaining titratable acidity, and soluble solids. Our research reports for the first time CI tolerance in Arrayana mandarin using natural (EBR) and spirostanic (DI-31), analogues and illustrates the tolerance functionality of the DI-31 analog on CI in fruit postharvest.

Emerging autologous cellular therapies that utilize platelet-rich plasma (PRP) applications have the potential to play adjunctive roles in a variety of regenerative medicine treatment plans. There is a global unmet need for tissue repair strategies to treat musculoskeletal (MSK) and spinal disorders, osteoarthritis (OA), and patients with chronic complex and recalcitrant wounds. PRP therapy is based on the fact that platelet growth factors (PGFs) support the three phases of wound healing and repair cascade (inflammation, proliferation, remodeling). Many different PRP formulations have been evaluated, originating from human, in vitro, and animal studies. However, recommendations from in vitro and animal research often lead to different clinical outcomes because it is difficult to translate non-clinical study outcomes and methodology recommendations to human clinical treatment protocols. In recent years, progress has been made in understanding PRP technology and the concepts for bioformulation, and new research directives and new indications have been suggested. In this review, we will discuss recent developments regarding PRP preparation and composition regarding platelet dosing, leukocyte activities concerning innate and adaptive immunomodulation, serotonin (5-HT) effects and pain killing. Furthermore, we discuss PRP mechanisms related to inflammation and angiogenesis in tissue repair and regenerative processes. Lastly, we will review the effect of certain drugs on PRP activity, and the combination of PRP and rehabilitation protocols.

This article analyzes the assessment of the four development levels of the Digital Teaching Competence (DTC) to recognize the needs and formulation of challenges in training and educational innovation required in the pedagogical practices of university professors under the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study used an empirical-analytical methodology with a non-experimental, transactional, descriptive design. The sample design was probabilistic, estimated with 95% confidence and 5% error among 252 teachers from various faculties of the University of La Guajira. The selected instrument corresponded to the rubric's application to evaluate the university professor's digital teaching competence in Latin America. Among the study's significant results, we highlight that the rubric presented a high Cronbach's alpha reliability (α: 0.947). In the general assessment of DTC development, it was estimated that 78.2% of teachers are in the first two levels of DTC development assessment (Beginning and Middle). The evaluation rubric allows identifying challenges and opportunities that teacher training must address to advance the professional development of professors.

Ultrasonic imaging & NDE applications can greatly improve their signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) by driving each transducer (composing piezoelectric arrays) with a spike giving pulsed power of k-Watts, repetitively at a PRF = 5000 spikes/s, by using a HV capacitive-discharge generator. However very-high levels, of pulsed intensities (3-10 A) and voltages (300-700 V) must be considered for a rigorous spike modeling. Even though the consumed "average" power will be small, the intensity through each transducer achieves several amperes, so the pulsed powers delivered by each HV generator can attain levels higher than in CW high-power ultrasonic applications: e.g., up to 5 kW / spike. This is concluded here from a transient modeling of the loaded generator. Then, unforeseen phenomena rise: intense brief pulses of driving power & emitted force in transducers, and non-linearities in driver semiconductors, because their characteristic curves only include linear ranges. But fortunately, piezoelectric devices working in this intense regime do not show serious heating problems, because the average power remains being moderate. Intensity, power and voltage, driving a broadband transducer from a HV capacitive pulser, are calculated to drastically improve (in ≅ 40 dB) the ultrasonic net dynamic range available, with emitted forces ≅ 250 Newtons pp and E/R received pulses of 70 V pp.

Animal welfare assessment protocols are important for identifying welfare problems in conservation programs. This study aimed to develop a baseline welfare protocol for the assessment of welfare in huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in conservation centers. This protocol is based on the Welfare Quality® (WQ) framework for cattle, considering the available literature on the behaviours, ecology, conservation plans, captive management of this species, and welfare assessment protocols for other ungulate species. As a result, the protocol was specifically developed for huemuls and included four principles, 12 criteria, and 23 animal- and resource-based indicators. The 12 criteria of the WQ protocol were reduced to nine, and three new criteria were added because they were both feasible and essential for welfare assessment in captive huemuls. This protocol is mainly intended to identify welfare problems in endangered species in the context of conservation centers (reproduction, rescue, rehabilitation, or treatment centers). Thus, aggregation of different measures to obtain a global score has not been proposed. However, a scoring system that assigns a value on a 0-2 scale (0= No welfare concern; 1= welfare concern; 2= urgent welfare concern) is proposed for each category. Although further research is still needed to fully validate the protocol, this is the first development of a completed protocol for huemul welfare assessment.

Exercise produces oxidants from a variety of intracellular sources, including NADPH oxidases (NOX) and mitochondria. Exercise-derived ROS are beneficial, and the amount and location of these ROS are important to avoid muscle damage associated with oxidative stress. We discuss here some of the evidence that involves ROS production associated with skeletal muscle contraction and the potential oxidative stress associated with muscle contraction. We also discuss the potential role of H2O2 produced after NOX activation in the regulation of glucose transport in skeletal muscle. Finally, we propose a model based on evidence for the role of different populations of mitochondria in skeletal muscle in the regulation of ATP production upon exercise. The sub-sarcolemmal population of mitochondria has the enzymatic and metabolic components to establish a high mitochondrial membrane potential when fissioned at rest but lacks the capacity to produce ATP; calcium entry to the mitochondria will further increase the metabolic input. Upon exercise, sub-sarcolemmal mitochondria will fuse to intermyofibrillar mitochondria and will transfer the membrane potential to them. These mitochondria are rich in ATP synthase and will subsequentially produce the ATP needed for muscle contraction in long-term exercise. These events will optimize energy use and minimize mitochondria ROS production.

There are several well-described molecular mechanisms that influence cell growth and are relat-ed to the development of cancer. Chemokines constitute a fundamental element which are not only involved in local growth but also affect angiogenesis, tumor spread and metastatic disease. Among them, the C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) and its specific receptor the chemo-kine C-X-C motif receptor 4 (CXCR4) have been widely studied. The overexpression in cell mem-branes of CXCR4 has been shown to be associated with the development of different kinds of his-tological malignancies, such as adenocarcinomas, epidermoid carcinomas, mesenchymal tumors or neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). The molecular synapsis between CXCL12 and CXCR4 leads to the interaction of G proteins and activation of different intracellular signaling pathways in both gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) and bronchopulmonary (BP) NENs conferring greater ca-pacity for locoregional aggressiveness, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the ap-pearance of metastases. Therefore, it has been hypothesized how to design tools that target this receptor. The aim of this review is to focus on current knowledge of the relationship between CXCR4 and NENs, with a special emphasis on diagnostic and therapeutic molecular targets.

Social networks have captured the attention of many people worldwide. However, these services have also attracted a considerable number of malicious users whose purpose is to compromise digital assets of other members by using messages as an attack vector to execute different variants of cyberattacks against them. Therefore, this work presents an approach based on Natural Language Processing tools and a Convolutional Neural Network architecture to detect and classify, on social network messages, four types of cyberattacks, such as malware, phishing, spam, and even one whose purpose is deceiving the user into spreading malicious messages to other users, which in this work is identified as bot attacks. One notable feature of this work is that it analyzes textual content without depending on any characteristics from a specific social network, making its analysis independent from particular data sources. Finally, this work was tested on real data, demonstrating its results in two stages. The first detects the existence of any of the four cyberattacks within the message, obtaining an accuracy value of 0.91. After detecting a message as a cyberattack, the next stage is to classify it into one of the four types of cyberattack, achieving an accuracy value of 0.82.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted from January 2017 to June 2018. One-hundred and four consecutive patients with DM2 were given lateral lumbar X-rays in order to quantify aortic abdominal calcification AAC. Circulating levels of AGEs and classical cardiovascular risk factors were determined. Clinical history was also registered. Patients with higher AGEs values had higher grades of aortic calcification and higher number of diabetic related complications. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being older, male and having high levels of AGEs and triglycerides were the independent risk factors associated to moderate-severe AAC when compared to no-mild AAC. Our results suggest that AGEs plays a role in the pathogenesis of aortic calcifications. In addition, the measurement of AGEs levels may be useful for assessing the severity of AAC in the setting of diabetic complications.

We are currently facing a potential ‘polycrisis’, a critical inflection point that requires a whole-of-society response aimed at building collective foresight and preparedness for short-, medium-, and long-term risks. The role of higher education institutions and social stakeholders is decisive to make an impact. This paper depicts the alignment of academia, governance, and industry with the aim to challenge, inspire, and encourage universities to go beyond commodified courses and mere employability, enhance student growth and bind macro-scale measures that lead to a sustainable future. A modest teaching innovation project has served as a transforming lever, with the private sector joining in, to create a platform that reaches more than 50 000 undergraduate students and teaching staff. The resulting structure, rooted in the University’s strategic plan, has served to channel local and regional initiatives, establish effective partnerships with broad social members, raise awareness and promote actions to advance in the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals. Chronology, materials and methodology, together with a description of the different courses, programmes and actions are provided. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future research, policy and cooperation among stakeholders. Research methodology posted on clinicaltrials.gov under ID NCT04392869, NCT05598944, and NCT05775978.

We are currently facing a potential ‘polycrisis’, a critical inflection point that requires a whole-of-society response aimed at building collective foresight and preparedness for short-, medium-, and long-term risks. The role of higher education institutions and social stakeholders is decisive to make an impact. This paper depicts the alignment of academia, governance, and industry with the aim to challenge, inspire, and encourage universities to go beyond commodified courses and mere employability, enhance student growth and bind macro-scale measures that lead to a sustainable future. A modest teaching innovation project has served as a transforming lever, with the private sector joining in, to create a platform that reaches more than 50 000 undergraduate students and teaching staff. The resulting structure, rooted in the University’s strategic plan, has served to channel local and regional initiatives, establish effective partnerships with broad social members, raise awareness and promote actions to advance in the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals. Chronology, materials and methodology, together with a description of the different courses, programmes and actions are provided. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future research, policy and cooperation among stakeholders. Research methodology posted on clinicaltrials.gov under ID NCT04392869, NCT05598944, and NCT05775978.

Topological data analysis (TDA) is a recent approach for analyzing and interpreting complex data sets, based on ideas a branch of mathematics called algebraic topology. TDA has proven useful to disentangle non-trivial data structure in a broad range of data analytics problems including the study of cardiovascular signals. This review aims to provide an overview of the application of TDA to cardiovascular signals and its potential to enhance the understanding of cardiovascular diseases and their treatment. We first introduce the concept of TDA and its key techniques, including persistent homology, Mapper, and multidimensional scaling. We then discuss the use of TDA in analyzing various cardiovascular signals, including electrocardiography, photoplethysmography, and arterial stiffness. We also discuss the potential of TDA to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases, as well as its limitations and challenges. Finally, we outline future directions for the use of TDA in cardiovascular signal analysis and its potential impact on clinical practice. Overall, TDA has shown great promise as a powerful tool for the analysis of complex cardiovascular signals and may offer significant insights into the understanding and management of cardiovascular diseases.

This Thesis is concerned with one of the most promising probes to constrain the "Dark Universe", and, particularly, the dark matter distribution. Based on MICE cosmological simulation, and the all-sky convergence maps generated by Fosalba et al. [58], we perform a mass calibration of the dark matter halos there contained up to z=1. In order to do that, we analyse the average halo density proÖles of all the halos with masses ranging from 5E13 to 3.75E14 M/h , divided into four mass bins and three redshift bins. Through this analysis we address two main issues: the relatively low mass resolution of the simulation (mp=2.34E11M/h) and the relatively high softening length (lsoft=50Kpc/h). We do that by using a two-step procedure. First, we simulate analytical pure NFW density proÖles (with di§erent mass resolutions) using two input values: the virial radii of MICE halos and the expected concentrations, according to the Öxed mass-concentration relation from Oguri and Hamana [130]. Second, we model the e§ect of the softening length with a Gaussian Ölter, smoothing the halo core. The results show that MICE halos are, in average, NFW halos. Best-fit NFW radii are in very good agreement with the average radii of our samples, overestimating the data by ~1%, but best-fit NFW concentrations are in average 50% lower than the expected values. It is possible to account for part of this deviation by distinguishing between relaxed and unrelaxed halos, finding that, depending on the degree of relaxedness, the improvement can be as high as 30%. We also find that the analytical NFW halos simulated with MICE mass resolution have an overall concentration 40% lower than the input concentration, in the case of 3D proÖles, and 25% lower in that of the projected profiles. The Gaussian-smoothed NFW profile is a good approximation for our projected halos. Additionally, we analyse the morphology of the halos, characterizing their triaxiality at R200 and calculating their orientation with respect to the line-of-sight (LOS). MICE halos tend to adopt a more prolate morphology, as might be expected from a CDM simulation (Shaw et al. [159]), and the percentage of prolate halos grows as their mass grows. The mass resolution is, nonetheless, not good enough to draw conclusive inferences from the shape analysis, but it allows us to discern a trend and estimate the e§ect of halo shape and orientation on the weak lensing masses. Finally, we use the all-sky convergence maps to study the scatter in mass measurements of MICE halos. We determine the intrinsic scatter in the recovered masses by assuming the smoothed NFW profile as the 'true' profile, and creating two new convergence maps from different mass cuts. We estimate also the scatter due to the correlated structure by studying the angles between the major axes of the halos and the LOS, and also that due to projection e§ects (i.e. all the dark matter between observer and source). We Önd an irreducible scatter (intrinsic) of 10-14%, a scatter around a 30% of the intrinsic one due to correlated structure, and a scatter around 40-70% of the intrinsic one due to projection e§ects. The size of our halo sample allows us to improve the characterization of the cosmic noise, of great importance for present and future surveys.

Lipid metabolism is clearly associated to Parkinson´s disease (PD). Although lipid homeostasis has been widely studied in multiple animal and cellular models as well as in blood derived from PD individuals, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lipidomic profile in PD remains largely unexplored. In this study, we have characterized the CSF lipidomic imbalance between neurologically intact controls (n=10) and PD subjects (n=20). The combination of dual extraction with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-qToF-MS/MS) allowed to monitor 257 lipid species across all samples. Complementary multivariate and univariate data analysis pointed out that glycerolipids (mono-, di-, and triacylglycerides), saturated and mono/polyunsaturated fatty acids, primary fatty amides, glycerophospholipids (phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines), sphingolipids (ceramides, sphingomyelins), N-acylethanolamines and sterol lipids (cholesteryl esters, steroids) were significantly increased in the CSF of PD compared to control group. These results, despite the limitation of being obtained in a small population, demonstrate and extensive CSF lipid remodelling in PD, shedding new light on the deployment of CSF lipidomics as a promising tool to identify potential lipid markers as well as discriminatory lipid species between PD and other atypical parkinsonisms.

Soil amendments with composted organic materials are recommended to increase soil organic matter (SOM), promote soil fertility, and the Circular Economy. Growing areas of hedged olive groves in southern Iberia peninsula generate huge amounts of olive leaves whose potential as soil organic amendment is not fully studied. An experimental field trial in a hedged olive grove (cv. “Cobrançosa”) was set up near Portalegre, Portugal, to test a compost of olive leaves plus sheep manure (2:1) applied in the row, at soil surface. Three nominal rates (0 or control, 2.5 and 5.0 kg m-2) were used, in a complete randomized block setup (3 treatments, 3 replicas, 9 plots) and soil chemical properties of layers 0-5, 5-15, and 15-30 cm deep were annually monitored. Results (mainly in layer 0-5 cm) showed increases in total N, carbon of the particulate organic matter (POM-C), permanganate oxidizable carbon (POX-C), extractable phosphorus, and zinc, after one year, and increases in soil organic carbon (SOC), C-stock, pHKCl, extractable phosphorus, and zinc, after two years. POX-C was the most sensitive SOM-related indicator, showing increases up to 30 cm deep after one year. This compost improved soil fertility, but should be monitored over longer periods of time, namely for SOC and extractable zinc content.

The aim of this study was to examine the post-injury psychological impact looking for to avoid sources of health issues. We have analyzed differences in the stress, anxiety and depression levels between male and female football players who have suffered at least one injury during the last season played respect to similar players who have not been injured. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. The participants were 187 football players and data on the player’s injuries were collected. A Self-reported Questionnaire collected number, type and severity of injuries sustained during the previous sports season (twelve months), and also the player’s current situation being injured or not injured. To evaluate the psychological variables, the DASS-21 questionnaire was used. Results indicated that the male injured players presented anxiety levels higher than those who were non-injured. When we observe the female players’ data, the stress levels of the non-injured ones are higher than those of the injured players. Regarding the non-injured athletes, results showed that the female non-injured players presented values in anxiety higher than those corresponding to the non-injured male players. Thus, sport injury affects mental health issues such as anxiety and stress, and in a different way regarding gender.

The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is a vulnerable specie from Central and South America and is considered extinct in Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Uruguay. Therefore, studies describing the reproductive characteristics of this species are pivotal for its conservation. Thus, this study aimed to provide a morphological description of their female reproductive tissues. We collected tissue samples from six female giant anteaters, and performed gross, morphological, and histochemical analyses. Five adult and one young subjects were enrolled in the study. In the ovary, classifications were made according to the follicle and oocyte sizes: primordial, primary, secondary, early antral, or antral. Typical follicles with a single oocyte surrounded by a simple or stratified layer of cubic epithelium, atretic follicles, corpora lutea, corpora albicans, and ovarian cysts were also observed. No ovarian lesions were observed. By contrast, endometritis, metritis, mucometra, and endometrial cysts were identified in the uterus. Uterine alterations in these subjects were frequent and could affect reproduction.

We present a model that incorporates the effect of two-body currents in quasielastic electron-nucleus scattering within the framework of a consistent superscaling formalism. This is achieved by defining an averaged single-nucleon hadronic tensor based on the 1p1h matrix element of the one-body current plus meson-exchange currents (MEC). The consistent treatment of one- and two-body currents in our model enables the calculation of exchange current effects in the kinematical region where the Fermi gas response is zero, but not the scaling function. The effect of MEC is consistently taken into account when extracting the phenomenological scaling function from electron scattering data. With this model, we investigate the effect of MEC on the response functions taking into account the effective mass of the nucleon, and examine the consequences it has on the inclusive (e,e′) cross section. We find that 1p1h MEC deplete the quasielastic transverse response, while they not alter significantly the scaling behavior of (e,e′) data.

Optical modes bearing optical vortices are important light systems in which to encode information. Optical vortices are robust features of optical beams that do not dissipate upon propagation. Thus decoding the modal content of a beam is a vital component of the process. In this work we present a method to decode modal superpositions of light beams that contain optical vortices. We do so using shear interferometry, which presents a simple and effective means of determining the vortex content of a beam, and extract the parameters of the component vortex modes that constitute them. We find that optical modes in a beam are easily determined. Its modal content can be extracted when they are of comparable magnitude. The use of modes of well defined topological charge but not well defined radial-mode content, such as those produced by phase-only encoding, are much easier to diagnose than pure Laguerre-Gauss modes.

WHO estimates that around 600 million people suffer from high blood pressure which causes high costs for health systems and influences the economy of these countries. In this study, we investigate the sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors related to hypertension among individuals from Huambo, Angola. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 158 participants consulted in the Cardiology services at Hospital Geral do Huambo, between January and July 2023. A total of 67.1% of the studied patients were hypertensive. The mean age of the hypertensive (55.8±11.3) patients was higher than non-hypertensive (53.1±13.4) patients, although no significance was observed (p=0.199). Patients aged between 30 and 40 (OR=1.19, P=0493), male (OR=1.17, P=660), employees (OR=9.94, P=0935), patients consuming alcohol (OR=1.11, P=0.864), and practising physical activity (OR=1.12, P=0.742) presented a high chance of developing hypertension, while those living in urbanized areas (OR=0.78, P=0.59) and with a low educational level (OR=0.43, P=0.194), had a low chance to develop hypertension. There was no statistical significance between demographic or behavioural characteristics with hypertension (P>0.05). Regarding clinical characteristics, body mass index was statistically related to hypertension (p=0.011). Our findings show that hypertension is a major health problem for the young population of Huambo. There is an urgent need to create strategies to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of hypertension, not only in Huambo but throughout the country. Further studies to understand determinants related to hypertension should be carried out among the young population in Angola.

At present, business strategies in SMEs (Small and medium enterprises) are crucial for consolidation in highly competitive markets, in achieving a better image and in business profitability. One of the strategies that have the most success and business success are sustainable practices and social responsibility such as: ISO 14001 and ISO 26001. The literature related to sustainable business is based mainly on the theory of resources and capabilities, and in theory based on Stakeholders. These currents state that companies should focus on profitable strategies to ensure significant and long-term results, in order to achieve organizational and financial results for stakeholders. In this work, the sample consists of 215 companies from the commerce, services and industry sectors, located in the southern region of the State of Sonora in Mexico. The objective of the work is to analyze the influence of ISO 14001 and 26001 standards on the image and profitability of SMEs. The statistical analysis of the data has been carried out through the linear regression technique by OLS (Ordinary Least Squares). The findings prove that the ISO 14001 standard is the one that most influences the improvement of the business image and the level of profitability of the SME. In addition, we discovered that ISO 26001 has a partial influence on the image and profitability of the SME.