Wildland fires are responsible for large socio-economic impacts. Fires affect the environment, damage structures, threaten lives, cause health issues, and involve large suppression costs. These impacts can be mitigated via accurate fire spread forecast to inform the incident management team. We show that a fire forecast system based on a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model coupled with a wildland fire behavior model can provide this forecast. This is illustrated with the Chimney Tops II wildland fire responsible for large socio-economic impacts. The system is run at high horizontal resolution (111 m) over the region affected by the fire to provide a fine representation of the terrain and fuel heterogeneities and explicitly resolve atmospheric turbulence. Our findings suggest that one can use the high spatial resolution winds, fire spread and smoke forecast to minimize the adverse impacts of wildland fires.

Citizens face online privacy threats from social media, organisations and governments. Privacy-enhancing tools (PETs) can help people to preserve their privacy, but the uptake of these is limited. We developed a conceptual framework for privacy self-protection, using a classification framework of four distinct privacy threats and our own novel staged model of PET adoption requisites. Through an expert survey (N = 12) and a lay user survey (N = 500), we identified suitable PETs for non-expert users and identified potential barriers to PET adoption. Based on the studies and our theoretical framework, we then developed and implemented a PET decision support tool called PEDRO, and conducted expert evaluations (N = 10).

The need to carry different items, which become an extra load, is a characteristic of trail running. The aim of this study is to determine physiological-metabolic changes produced by running with extra load. Four male well-trained trail runners completed three treadmill maximal metabolic tests carrying different loads (0% (L0), 5% (L5), and 10% (L10) of their body mass) in a weighted vest. Gasses exchange was monitored to assess ventilatory thresholds 1 (VT1), and 2 (VT2), zone of maximal fat oxidation, and peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). Heart rate (HR), power and velocity (V) were tracked for comparing their behavior. A repeated measures ANOVA showed significant differences in V (p<.001; ηp2= 0.910) as a limitation for reaching peak velocity (Vpeak) with L10 respect to L0 (p=0.001), and L5 (p=0.011). Power expression showed differences (p=0.068; ηp2= 0.592). It tended to be greater with L10 than L0 (p=0.057), despite achieving lower V. VT2 tended to occur at different %VO2peak (p=0.069; ηp2= 0.591). L5 VT2 was reached at higher %VO2peak than L0 (p=0.062), and L10 (p=0.071). ANOVA also showed a tendency to signification for V at this point (p= 0.098; ηp2= 0.538). In conclusion, L10 seems to limit Vpeak while L5 may delay VT2 expression.

An easier method for the calibration of differential drive robots is presented. Most of the calibration is done on-board and it is not necessary to expend too much time taking note of the robot's position. The calibration method does not need a big free space to perform the tests. The bigger space is just in a straight line, which is easy to find. Results with the proposed method are compared with those from UMB as a reference, and they show very little deviation while the proposed calibration is much simpler.

BACKGROUND Detecting total cholesterol in dried blood spots could aid in identifying individuals with a high likelihood of familial hypercholesterolemia and could be used as a screening measure. This study aims to assess the diagnostic accuracy of dried blood spots on Whatman 903 paper cards using a manual enzymatic technique. METHODS A total of 394 samples collected as serum and dried blood spots were compared. Cholesterol was determined in serum using the automated reference method, while cholesterol on paper was measured using a manual enzymatic method. Within- and between-day diagnostic variability were analyzed. The correlation between both methods was assessed using Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman plot. Internal validation of our correlation formula was performed on 149 samples, along with external validation of the formula proposed by Corso et al. RESULTS The within- and between-day coefficient of variation was found to be lower than 10.14% and 14.09%, respectively. Method comparison yielded an area under the curve of 0.976, with a standard error of 0.009. Passing-Bablok regression indicated a precision of 0.803 and an accuracy of 0.96. Internal validation precision was measured at 0.716. Regarding internal validation, calculated cholesterol with our regression line did not differ from serum cholesterol analysis, while significant differences were observed in calculated cholesterol levels using the external formula. CONCLUSIONS Total cholesterol analysis in dot blood spots demonstrates high precision and reproducibility. This method reliably enables the incorporation of this biological marker into neonatal screening for familial hypercholesterolemia detection.

This article aims to serve as a guide for the construction of supply chain simulation models designed with a lean approach, using Promodel software. To achieve this, a supply chain was designed for a fictitious company located in the City of Celaya, Guanajuato and a set of suppliers located in different cities within the same State. It was used as a google tool to define the distances between each of the companies. As a final result, a representative model of a supply chain was obtained, as well as a methodology that allows the construction of lean supply chains regardless of the number of companies that comprise it. The effect of the variability in the delivery times between suppliers was incorporated into the simulation model, as well as an equation that calculates the pollution emissions of the vehicles that integrate the network that moves the products between the companies. With this work it is possible to represent networks of supply chains of real world companies, where the variability and contamination factor is included, to facilitate the decision making regarding the number of vehicles, inventory levels, quantities to be shipped, frequency in the shipments, etc. with the purpose of contaminating as little as possible and at the same time preventing interruptions in the supply chain using the least amount of resources possible.

We present the case of a 35-year-old male with first degree family history of gastric cancer (father diagnosed at the age of 45), that was presumed to have gastric cancer himself when evaluating the features of his upper endoscopy performed after hematemesis. Surprisingly, no cancer cells were found in the biopsies. Thanks to a different diagnostic suspicion subsequent to performing a full clinical history, a more favorable diagnosis was reached: gastric syphilis.

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is an inflammatory disease common in people aged 50 years and older. This condition is characterized by the presence of pain and stiffness involving mainly the shoulder and pelvic girdle. Besides the frequent association with giant cell arteritis (GCA), several conditions may mimic PMR or present with PMR features. Since the diagnosis is basically clinical, an adequate diagnosis of this condition is usually required. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) has proved to be a useful tool for the diagnosis of PMR. The use of 18F-FDG-PET imaging appears promising as it provides detailed information on inflammatory activity that may not be evident with traditional methods. However, since PET-CT is not strictly necessary for the diagnosis of PMR, clinicians should consider several situations in which this imaging technique can be used in patients with suspected PMR.

Background: Cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) is a growing concern for public health, with a growing incidence due to improved survival rates for patients with hematological malignancies due to diagnostic and therapeutic advances. Identification of patients at risk CTRCD is vital to develop preventive strategies. Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1 January 2017 and 15 February 2023. Medical records of patients with lymphoma treated with first-line anthracyclines were reviewed. Demographic data, cardiovascular risk factors, biomarkers of myocardial damage and echocardiographic information were collected. Results: A total of 200 patients were included. The incidence of CTRCD was 17.4 % (35/200). Patients with CTRCD were older than those without CTRCD, with a mean age of 65.17 years vs 56.77 (p = 0.008). Dyslipidemia (DL) (31.4% vs 13.4% p = 0.017) and previous cardiovascular disease (40% vs 13.3%, p< 0.001) were more frequent in the group who developed an event. Mean baseline NT-proBNP levels in the subgroup with cardiovascular events were 388.73 kg /L ± 101.02, and 251.518 kg /L ± 26.22 in those who did not (p = 0.004). Differences in Troponin I levels were identified during and after treatment without exceeding the laboratory’s upper reference limit. Patients were followed for a median of 51.83 months (0.76-73.49). The presence of a CTCRD event had a negative impact on overall mortality from any cause (HR = 2.23 (95% CI 1.08-2.93), p = 0.031). Conclusions: Early identification of risk factors is crucial to manage patients at risk for CTRCD.

This article presents an innovative approach to the design of a safe adaptive backstepping control system. Tailored specifically for underactuated marine robots, the system utilizes simple sensors for enhanced practicality and efficiency. Given their operation in diverse oceanic environments fraught with various sources of uncertainties, ensuring the system's safe and robust behavior holds paramount importance in the control literature. To address this concern, this paper introduces a control strategy designed to ensure robustness at both the kinematic and dynamic levels. By emphasizing the compensation for the system uncertainties, the design integrates a straightforward fuzzy system structure. To further ensure the system's safety, a funnel surface is defined, followed by the design of a suitable nonlinear sliding surface as a function of the funnel and tracking error. Specifically leveraging the Lyapunov function, the study formally establishes the Semi-globally Practically Finite-time Stability of the closed-loop system, validated through simulations conducted on underactuated marine robots.

Background. Increasing evidence demonstrate that concentration of protein in infant formula >1.9g/100Kcal with high levels of insulinogenic aminoacids is associated with accelerated weight gain, increased fat mass accumulation and risk of adiposity. Purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review to determine the metabolic effects in infants feed with infant formula optimized in protein. Methods. Systematic review was conducted according PRISMA Statement. RCTs with one intervention group (infant formula with 1.6-1.9gr of protein/100Kcal) and at least one comparative control group (infant formula with >1.9gr of protein/100Kcal) were included. Standardized mean differences (SMD), through random model were calculated. Results. 15 RCT were included. Optimized protein in infant formula was associated with less gain of BMI at 24 months of follow-up (SMD -0.25, IC95% -0.36 to -0.13, p 0.01) and less fat mass accumulation (SMD -0.68, IC95% -0.98 to -0.37, p 0.01). Optimized protein was also associated to less gain of weight, weight/age Z-score, weight/length Z-score, BUN (mmol/dL) and IGF1 (ng/ml). No effect on length/age Z-score was observed. Conclusions. Robust evidence showed optimized protein (1.6gr/100Kcal to 1.9gr/100Kcal) in infant formula is associated with metabolic benefits in infants with less weight gain, BMI and fat mass accumulation.

According to the cognitive radio (CR) paradigm, the efficient use of the radio spectrum is achieved by performing four main functions: spectral perception, spectral mobility, decision-making, and cooperation. In this work, a multivariable algorithm that considers geographic mobility (GM) is presented. The decision-making process includes a feedback mechanism for the dynamic selection of reservation channels in a wireless network with cognitive capabilities. Geographic mobility plays a crucial role in how radio takes advantage of its environment; however, it has been scarcely explored in the literature. In the present work, geographic mobility tests were carried out involving the interaction of CR and primary users (PU), where a measurement of the latency time of the proposed algorithm called: Algorithm for Decision-Making with Geographic Mobility (ATDeMoGeo) was evaluated and compared with other algorithms such as: Dijkstra's Algorithm, Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP), Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process (FAHP) and Decision-Making Algorithm with Modified Dijkstra (ATDDiM). It was found that the proposed algorithm is robust and that it considerably reduces the latency time to accurately determine the best communication channels, thanks to the decision-making function implemented to establish which channels the CRs can occupy. For the selection of the best reserve channels, a series of criteria were considered, such as: signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), bandwidth (BW), probability of channel availability (AP), estimated channel time of availability (ETA) using the random waypoint mobility model (RWPM). These criteria are evaluated for two types of service, i.e., real time (RT) and best effort (BE). For the evaluation and validation of the ATDeMoGeo algorithm, a network with cognitive characteristics in NS-3 was simulated. The simulation scenarios consisted of a base station (BS) with mobile CRs and PUs. Based on the previous criteria, i.e., BW, SINR, AP and ETA, the BS assesses the spectrum occupancy information obtained by the CRs. The results show that the proposed algorithm can be used without problem for the proposed scenarios with higher speed and accuracy for the selection of better communication channels.

Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare malignant growth characterized by the production of mucin and the potential for peritoneal relapse. This study aimed to investigate the immunohistochemical and biological characteristics of mucin in patients with cellular and acellular PMP. We prospectively analyzed mucin specimens obtained from our patient cohort and described the composition and type of mucin present in each sample. A metagenomic analysis of the samples was performed to investigate the bacterial composition of the PMP microbiome. Secreted mucins 2 and 5AC and membrane-associated mucin-1 were the primary components of mucin in both cellular and acellular tumor specimens. The metagenomic study revealed a predominance of the phylum Proteobacteria and the genus Pseudomonas. Notably, Pseudomonas plecoglossicida, a species not previously reported in the human microbiome, was found to be the most abundant organism in the mucin of pseudomyxoma peritonei. Our findings suggest that the presence of MUC-2 and mucin colonization by Pseudomonas is a characteristic feature of both cellular and acellular disease. These results may have significant implications for the diagnosis and treatment of this rare entity.

Podiatric surgeons routinely use electrosurgical devices to cut and coagulate tissue during surgical procedures. Although advances in technology have made electrosurgery increasingly safer for patients and personnel, its use is still poorly understood by those using it and the hazards associated with its use still exist presently. Human error, direct or indirect transfer of electricity to a conductive device, or device malfunction can cause serious adverse events, including burns, electrical shocks, and or fires. Here, we report a rare case of a 43-year-old man who suffered severe burns during hallux valgus surgery. The surgeon and the nursing staff did not notice any injuries during the surgical intervention. This case highlights the need to implement tools to help health professionals improve patient safety during surgery. Based on the case herein reported, a specific checklist was implemented to prevent adverse events related to electrosurgery in our podiatric unit to reduce the risk of electrosurgical complications.

Glypicans are a family of heparan sulfate proteoglycans that are attached to the outer plasma membrane leaflet of the producing cell by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. Glypicans are involved in the regulation of many signalling pathways, including those that regulate the activities of Wnts, Hedgehog (Hh), Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs) and Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs), among others. In the Hh signalling pathway, glypicans have been shown to be essential for ligand transport and the formation of Hh gradients over long distances, for the maintenance of Hh levels in the extracellular matrix and for its unimpaired reception in distant recipient cells. Recently, two mechanistic models have been proposed to explain how Hh can form the signalling gradient and how glypicans may contribute to it. In this review, we describe the structure, biochemistry and metabolism of glypicans and their interactions with different components of the Hh signalling pathway that are important for the release, transport and reception of Hh.

The aim of the current study has been to assess externalizing problems from a gender perspective in the juvenile population. This objective has been evaluated though the Child and Adolescent Assessment System questionnaire (SENA), to measure the dimension of externalized problems. A total of 128 Spanish students took part in the survey, comprising 58 (45.3%) male and 67 (52.3%) female, aged between 12 and 16 years old (M= 13,7; Sd= 1,14). The sample was taken from three High- Schools (state and private-subsidized) in Madrid, Spain. The research for this study was conducted through a descriptive, inferential, quantitative, ex post facto design. The data analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0. The result revealed an increase in externalized problems: Attention (M= 2.65, Sd=.88), Anger Control (M= 2.27, Sd=.85) and Hyperactivity- Impulsivity (M= 2.26, Sd=.68). In addition, female students score highly in Attention Problems (F= 4.124; Sig.: .004), Hyperactivity-Impulsivity (F: 6.18; Sig.: <.001), and Anger Control (F: 2.3; Sig.: .062). This study highlights the impact and increase on students externalized mental health problems currently. It is essential to have a protective environment and promote the development of emotional intelligence, encouraging the mental health in young people. This article is part of the findings of the research project “Therapeutic Innovation Classroom for the accompaniment of teenager with Serious Mental Disorder” (Reference: 2021V/EU-UNED/02).

Background: RNA helicase DHX15 plays a significant role in vasculature development and lung metastasis in vertebrates. In addition, several studies have demonstrated the overexpression of DHX15 in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, we hypothesized that this helicase may play a significant role in liver regeneration, physiology and pathology. Methods: Dhx15 gene deficiency was generated by CRISPR/Cas9 in zebrafish and by TALEN-RNA in mice. FANA Antisense-Oligonucleotides were used to silence Dhx15 in wild-type mice. The hepatocellular carcinoma tumor induction model was generated by subcutaneous injection of Hepa 1-6 cells. Results: Homozygous Dhx15 gene deficiency was lethal in zebrafish and mouse embryos. Dhx15 gene deficiency impaired liver organogenesis in zebrafish embryos and liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in mice. Also, heterozygous mice presented decreased number and size of liver metastasis after Hepa 1-6 cells injection compared to wild-type mice. Dhx15 gene silencing with FANA Antisense-Oligonucleotides in wild-type mice resulted in 80% reduced expression in the liver and a significant reduction in other major organs. In addition, Dhx15 gene silencing significantly hindered primary tumor growth in the hepatocellular carcinoma experimental model. Regarding the potential use of DHX15 as a diagnostic marker for liver disease, patients with hepatocellular carcinoma showed increased levels of DHX15 in blood samples compared with subjects without hepatic affectation. Conclusion: Dhx15 is a key regulator of liver physiology and organogenesis, is increased in the blood of cirrhotic and hepatocellular carcinoma patients and has a key role in controlling hepatocellular carcinoma tumor growth and expansion in experimental models.

Sensing Technology (ST) plays a key role in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems. ST focuses on developing sensors, sensory systems or smart materials that monitor a wide variety of materials properties aiming to create smart structures and smart materials, using Embedded Sensors (ESs), and allowing continuous and permanent measurements of the structural integrity. The integration of ESs is limited to the processing technology to embed the sensor due to its high-temperature sensitivity and the possibility of damage during its insertion into the structure. In addition, the technological process selection is dependent on the base material composition, either metallic or composite parts. The selection of smart sensors or the technology underlying them is fundamental to the monitoring mode. This paper presents a critical review of the fundaments and applications of sensing technologies for SHM employing ESs, focusing on the actual developments and innovation of these, as well as analysing the challenges that these technologies present, to build a path that allows a connected world through distributed measurement systems.

(1) Background: the use of force by Public and Private Security Forces is currently an issue of great relevance because of the potential injuries that any excessive use of force by either the active or passive subjects or a deficit in the real mastery of the appropriate Physical Intervention Techniques (PIT) may cause. For this reason, certain traditionally used Physical Intervention Techniques have been questioned by scientific research studies and punished by justice. On the other hand, certain media have dealt with this matter in a biased and unfair manner by broadcasting videos where the use of force by police officer is displayed out of context. As a consequence, this problem has been brought under the spotlight, causing general uneasiness of the communities and rapidly spreading over social networks while favoring all sorts of parallel judgments. (2) Research method: A suit equipped with 19 Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) and a Biomechanics of Bodies software application for the Marras’ analysis of the data collected on trajectory, trunk twisting velocity, its sagittal angle, load, nature and severity of the injuries associated to the different intervention techniques that have been examined. (3) Results: according to the data registered, the implementation of Operational Tactical Procedures (OTP) reduces the probability of injuries and leads to a more satisfactory outcome. (4) Conclusions: the implementation of Operational Tactical Procedures, to-gether with the awareness on the risks associated to the excessive use of force by Public and Private Security Forces and Bodies, could reduce the risk of injuries suffered by both officers and citizens.

Larus michahellis increased its population throughout the 20th century in its worldwide distribution area. The increase in the Salinas de San Pedro del Pinatar has produced changes in the habitats due to the contribution of guano, predation on birds, incidents with workers, and the production of salt. The objective is to analyze the impacts of L. michahellis on the landscape, habitats, waterfowl, salt production, and workers, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of control activities. Censuses of wintering L. michahellis have been carried out between 1990-2021, of nesting aquatic birds between 1994-2021, and nests and eggs of L. michahellis have been eliminated between 2000-2021. The result has been a decrease in pairs of L. michahellis, recovery of waterfowl populations, colonization of others, absence of incidents with workers, and reduction of damage to salt production. However, to reach a definitive solution, measures should be adopted to prevent L. michahellis from accessing the main sources of human food: urban solid waste dumps, aquaculture farms, and fish discards.

Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology offers an alternative to conventional photovoltaic systems, focusing on the concentration of solar radiation through the optics of the system onto smaller and more efficient solar cells. However, the surface on which the solar beam is incident must remain oriented towards the position of the sun, which requires the use of large and heavy external elements known as solar trackers. In addition to their size, these elements must be as accurate as possible to avoid misalignment. To avoid the need of these solar trackers, the concept of tracking-integrated concentrating systems has been developed. This technology has been researched to make CPV systems accessible in places where conventional systems are not viable, such as building roofs or agrivoltaic fields. This review presents a detailed classification of the existing designs in the literature and providing an overview of this type of system. By eliminating the need for external solar trackers, tracking-integrated CPV systems offer a promising solution to increase the adoption of this technology. Therefore, it is expected that these systems will be a viable and effective option for solar power generation.

The existing environmental imbalances and the need to promote actions that minimize the impact and promote awareness and behavior change is now a primary need. This paper aims to show how the activities developed under FISU's Healthy Campus (HC) program can be an asset in promoting the environment, sustainability and social responsibility in Higher Education Institutions. The methodology used includes (1) diagnosis, (2) drawing up the action plan and (3) preparation, development and monitoring of activities. The methodology approach adopted to analyze the activities uses: (1) mentimiter tool; (2) mind map and (3) SWOT analysis. Results show that when activities are designed in a collaborative and participatory way, they end up towards the aspirations of the participants, allowing for greater involvement of people and growth of the institution in the aspects of the environment, sustainability, and social responsibility. The HC program is an asset program to align, HC requirements, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrated and transdisciplinary approach, and people's environmental awareness and sustainable mindset.

Microbial electrochemical technologies (MET) rely on the presence of the metabolic activity of electroactive bacteria for the use of solid-state electrodes for oxidizing different kind of compound, that could lead to the synthesis of chemicals, bioremediation of polluted matrices, the treatment of contaminants of interest, as well as the recovery of energy. Keeping in mind those possibilities, since the beginning of the present century, there has been a growing interest in the use of electrochemical technologies for wastewater treatment, and if possible with simultaneous power generation. In the last years, there has been a growing interest to explore the possibility of merging MET with constructed wetlands, to offer a new option of intensified wetland system that could keep a high performance with a lower footprint. Based on that interest, this paper explains the general principles of MET, and the different known extracellular electron transfer mechanisms ruling the interaction between electroactive bacteria and potential solid-state electron acceptors. Also, the adoption of those principles for the development of MET set-ups for simultaneous wastewater treatment and power generation, and the challenges that the technology face. Ultimately, the most recent developments in set-ups that merges MET with constructed wetlands are presented and discussed.

This study investigates how traumatic injuries alter joint movements in the ankle and foot. We used a brain injury model in rats, focusing on the hippocampus between the CA1 and dentate gyrus. We assessed the dissimilarity factor (DF) and vertical displacement (VD) of the ankle and metatarsus joints before and after the hippocampal lesion. We analyzed joint movements in rats after the injury or in rats treated with resveratrol, exercise, or a combination of both. Resveratrol facilitated the recovery of DF in both legs, showing improvements in the ankle and metatarsus joints on the third- and seventh days post-injury. The hippocampal lesion affected VD in both legs, observed on the third or seventh day after the injury. Both exercise and resveratrol partially recovered VD in the ankle and metatarsus joints on these days. These effects may be linked to increased hippocampal neurogenesis and reduced neuroinflammation. The study highlights the benefits of resveratrol and exercise in motor recovery following brain injury, suggesting their potential to enhance the quality of life for patients with neurological disorders affecting motor function and locomotion. These findings also suggest that resveratrol could offer a promising or complementary alternative in managing chronic pain and inflammation associated with orthopedic conditions, thus improving overall patient management.

Taking into account Bar-On’s postulations about social-emotional intelligence, the aim of the current work is to find out the differences in the five dimensions of this intelligence between children that practice organized sport and those children that do not practice it at elementary school level, to show that an increasing in the number of hours per day performing this activity causes differences in some of these dimensions. Hence, a sample of 940 children from elementary schools, ranging in age from 6 to 12 years old, attending different schools from the Autonomous Community of Extremadura (Spain), was used. Results showed that children who practiced organized sport had better coping abilities for stress, adaptability, and mood states, and that they are more emotionally intelligent than those who did not. Moreover, children who practiced for fewer hours daily (up to 2 hours) had better stress coping than those who practiced more. To conclude, it is important to promote the sport federative practice in elementary education, in order to ensure that children learn to better regulate and manage their emotions, without increasing it to an excessive number of hours per day, which may generate greater stress that might be difficult to control.

Live video streaming has become one of the main multimedia trends in networks in recent years. Providing Quality of Service (QoS) during live transmissions becomes a challenge due to the stringent requirements for low latency and minimal interruptions. This scenario has led to a high dependence on cloud services, implying a widespread usage of Internet connections, which constrains contexts where an Internet connection is not available. Thus, alternatives such as Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) emerge as potential communication techniques. These networks operate autonomously with mobile devices serving as nodes, without the need for coordinating centralized components. However, these characteristics lead to challenges to live-video streaming, such as dynamic node topologies or periods of disconnection. Considering these constraints, this paper investigates the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based classification techniques to provide adaptive streaming in MANETs. For this, a software-driven architecture is proposed to route stream in offline MANETs, predicting the stability of individual links and compressing video frames accordingly. The proposal has been implemented and assessed in a laboratory context, analyzing the model performance and QoS metrics. As a result, the model is implemented in a decision forest algorithm, which provides 95.9% of accuracy. Also, obtained latency values become assumable for video streaming, manifesting a reliable response for routing and node movements.

The impact of instructional guidance on learning outcomes in higher biomedical education is subject of intense debate. There is the teacher-centered or traditional way of teaching (TT) and, on the other side, the notion that students learn best under minimal guidance (problem-based learning, PBL). Although the benefits of PBL are well-known, there are aspects susceptible to improvement. Hence, a format merging TT and PBL (hybrid-PBL, h-PBL) may advance education in biomedical sciences. Here, we systematically reviewed studies that employed h-PBL in higher biomedical education compared to TT and/or pure PBL. We found that h-PBL resulted in better overall students’ performance and perception than TT or pure PBL. These findings encourage more research on investigating the pedagogical benefits of h-PBL and posit an eclectic system in which the pedagogical tools from TT and PBL are used cooperatively in the best interest of the education and satisfaction of the students.

In a recent article, the author derived a new generalized Langevin equation and its associated Fokker-Planck equation of a Brownian particle in a parabolic potential where the thermal bath, consisting of $N$ harmonic oscillators, interacts bilinearly with the external field. The time needed for the system to reach a steady state is longer than that for the classical version where such an interaction is off. We find that there is a marked effect of the field-bath interaction on the average heat and entropy production of the bath represented through strong oscillations in such properties. The new theory applied to the system should improve the physical description of previous works done with the classical approach.

This paper is the first of a series of papers which aims to address Islamist violent radicalization from different angles: the nature of violent radicalization in the context of Spain, a comparison between European, North American and Indian violent radicalization, the need to refine territorial radicalization indexes within the context of preventing violent radicalization and the relation between Islamist violent radicalization and other forms of violent radicalization in Europe. This set of articles builds upon the general theoretical framework set by the author on two previous works (García, 2018; 2019). These works are framed under the known conception of three layers of micro, meso and macro factors contributing to violent radicalization processes (McCauley, Moskalenko, 2017). The paper starts by defining Islamist violent radicalization, then it explores different theoretical explanations and finally proposes an explanatory hypothesis that is tested against, on the one hand, data proceeding from different institutional sources in Spain and, on the other, some initial conversations which will become life stories and a in depth interviews to Spanish security officials and people who whether radicalized and regretted or lived very close to others that did it.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an Athletic Performance Program, performed in addition to teams’ regular training routines, on match performance variables in professional football players. Twenty-nine professional football players (age=27.21±4.95 years; body mass=79.56±5.21 kg) of the Spanish First Division (LaLiga) underwent a 10-week training program focused on the development of mobility, stability, strength, and multidirectional running skills. The APP included 5 indoor sessions per week and on-field micro-dosing stimulus in addition to regular training practices. Match performance variables obtained with GPS devices during official matches and jump performance were measured before and after the APP. The APP increased peak running speed (31.1±1.4 vs 32.1±1.0 km/h, P < 0.001, d=1.88), the number of sprints (0.14±0.03 vs 0.16±0.03 sprint/min, P< 0.001, d=1.44) and the sprint distance (6.45±1.43 vs 8.35±1.22 m/min P< 0.001, d=2.49) during the matches. The intervention also increased countermovement jump height (34.1±2.7vs 35.8±2.5 cm, P< 0.001, d=2.20). The APP was effective to improve intense actions during competitive match play in professional football players. Strength and conditioning coaches may consider the use of multicomponent physical training programs included in the usual training week to enhance players’ match running at high intensity.

With the goal of representing common denominators of aging in different organisms López-Otín et al. in 2013 described nine hallmarks of aging. Since then, this representation has become a major reference point for the biogerontology field. The template for the hallmarks of aging account originated from landmark papers by Hanahan and Weinberg (2000, 2011) defining first six and later ten hallmarks of cancer. Here we assess the strengths and weaknesses of the hallmarks of aging account. As a checklist of diverse major foci of current aging research, it has provided a useful shared overview for biogerontology during a time of transition in the field. It also seems useful in applied biogerontology, to identify interventions (e.g. drugs) that impact multiple symptomatic features of aging. However, while the hallmarks of cancer provide a paradigmatic account of the causes of cancer with profound explanatory power, the hallmarks of aging do not. A worry is that as a non-paradigm the hallmarks of aging have obscured the urgent need to define a genuine paradigm, one that can provide a useful basis for understanding the mechanistic causes of the diverse aging pathologies. We argue that biogerontology must look and move beyond the hallmarks to understand the process of aging.

Costa Rica, widely acknowledged for its environmental leadership, is now facing a significant challenge in managing waste, a situation that could potentially compromise both its environmental and public health achievements. This analysis delves into the waste management issues in Costa Rica, particularly in urban areas such as San José, responsible for nearly half of the country's waste. The study identifies several pressing concerns, including the heavy burden on landfill capacities, a recycling rate of just 9.6%, and substantial regional differences in waste management practices.To address these challenges, the research employs a combined methodology, utilizing Linear Regression (LR) and AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models to project future trends in CO2e emissions and waste minimization from 2024 to 2050. This method underscores the vital need for public involvement and the introduction of innovative strategies in waste management. The research also introduces a Waste Management Innovation Index to compare Costa Rica’s practices with those of leading nations like Germany and South Korea, identifying key areas for improvement.Furthermore, the study incorporates insights from stakeholders, revealing the intricate balance of cultural, economic, and regulatory factors that shape waste management policies. Despite efforts by the government, such as the Environmental Health Route and the National Circular Economy Strategy, results show limited progress, particularly in rural regions. The study highlights the urgent need for better infrastructure, targeted public awareness campaigns, and the use of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain to enhance sustainable waste management practices. The research provides strategic recommendations to help Costa Rica improve its waste management systems in line with international standards, ensuring long-term environmental sustainability and protection of public health.

Peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases (PPIases) are present in a wide variety of microorganisms, including protozoan parasites such as Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, Trichomonas vaginalis, Leishmania major, Leishmania donovani, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Entamoeba histolytica, and Giardia intestinalis, all of which cause important neglected diseases. PPIases are classified as cyclophilins, FKBPs, or parvulins and play crucial roles in catalyzing the cis-trans isomerization of the peptide bond preceding a proline residue. This activity assists in correct protein folding. However, the biological structure‒function characterization of PPIases from these protozoan parasites is still incomplete. The recombinant production of these enzymes is highly relevant for this ongoing research. In this review, we explore the structural diversity, functions, recombinant production, and activity and inhibition of protozoan PPIases. We also highlight their potential as biotechnological tools for the in vitro refolding of other recombinant proteins from these parasites. These applications are invaluable for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

The anthropogenic deterioration of aquatic ecosystems affects water resources due to agricultural malpractices, pollution from domestic septic tanks, recreational activities, and poor watershed management, among others. This study examines the management of Las Curias Reservoir (176,974 m2), San Juan, Puerto Rico, post the 2016 arrival of the invasive aquatic fern Salvinia molesta. In December 2019, a community-led initiative introduced the Cyrtobagous salviniae weevil, an effective biological control agent for S. molesta, and commenced a mechanical removal campaign using an aquatic harvester. Limnological sampling (September 2019 to March 2022) and drone flights were employed to measure physicochemical and floating plant cover changes, respectively, in the reservoir. Monitoring of weevils in the reservoir demonstrated a rapid establishment and dispersal, which resulted in visible damage including browning of plants and eventually sinking of entire mats. By January 29, 2021, 71% (125,652 m2) of the reservoir surface was covered by salvinia. In 2022, the reservoir recorded an average dissolved oxygen concentration of 2.38 mg/L -1 (± 0.021, n = 144), the highest in the study period and indicative of ecosystem recovery. After three years of control efforts, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance returned to levels recorded prior to Salvinia molesta introduction. This ecosystem recovery, a first in Puerto Rico, could be attributed to an early use of mechanical control and a long-term impact of biological control.

A mechanical ventilation system is a big support for breathing complications, in which an external solution is quite necessary to keep oxygen compensation in the patients. Its knowledge is well widespread and different equipment has been developed. However, they are very expensive and their quantity in medical centers is not sufficient, especially in Peru. Hence, it has been required to develop new methods to provide oxygen by a low cost equipment; Protofy, a research group from Spain, designed one of the first low cost mechanical ventilation systems which was medically validated by its government. In this sense, a redesign of the mechanical ventilation system was carried out according to the local requirements and available technology, a different airbag resuscitator with different properties and geometry, but maintaining its working concept based on a cam compression mechanism. Sensors and a display were added to improve the performance with a control algorithm for the rotation frequency and to show the ventilation curves over time to the medical staff. It was necessary to develop a mathematical model to relate the behavior between ventilation curves for a patient and physical variables of the design, especially in the epidemic COVID 19, that many countries are dealing with at the time research is being conducted. The mechanical ventilation system was redesigned, fabricated, and tested measuring its ventilation curves over time. Results indicate that this redesign provides a sturdy equipment able to work during a longer lifetime than the original. The replicability of the ventilation curves behavior is assured, while the mechanism dimensions are adapted for a particular airbag resuscitator. The mathematical model of the whole system can predict satisfactorily the ventilation curves over time and was used to provide the air pressure, volume, and flow as a function of the rotation angle measured by sensors.

Shot peening is an attractive technique for fatigue enhanced performance of metallic components, because it promotes crack initiation retardation and later crack growth. Engineering design based on fatigue crack propagation predictions applying the principles of fracture mechanics is commonly used in aluminum structures for aerospace engineering. The main purpose of present work was to analyze the effect of shot peening on the fatigue crack propagation of the 7475 aluminum alloy, under both constant amplitude loading and periodical overload blocks. The tests were performed on 4 and 8 mm thickness specimen's with stress ratios of 0.05 and 0.4. The analysis of the shot-peened surface showed a small increase of the micro-hardness values, due to the plastic deformations imposed by shot peening. The beneficial effect of surface peening on fatigue crack growth rates is quite limited to an increasing near the threshold. The specimens’ thickness has only marginal influence on the crack propagation, in opposite to the stress ratio. Periodic overload blocks of 300 cycles promotes a reduction of the fatigue crack growth rate for both intervals of 7,500 and 15,000 cycles.

Explaining the emergence of behavior and understanding on the basis of neuronal mechanisms is still elusive. One renowned proposal is the Free Energy Principle (FEP), which uses an information-theoretic framework derived from thermodynamic considerations to describe how behavior and understanding would emerge. FEP starts from a whole organism approach, based on mental states and phenomena, mapping them into the neuronal substrate. An alternative approach, the Energy Homeostasis Principle (EHP), initiates a similar explanatory effort, but starting from single neuron phenomena and building up to the whole organism’s behavior and understanding. In this work, we develop the EHP as an alternative but complementary vision to FEP and try to explain how behavior and understanding would emerge from the local requirements of the neurons. Based on EHP and a strict naturalist approach that sees living beings as physical and deterministic systems, we explain scenarios where learning would emerge without the need for volition or goals. Given these starting points, we state several considerations of how we see the nervous system, particularly the role of function, purpose, and the conception of goal-oriented behaviors. We problematize these conceptions, giving an alternative teleology-free framework in which behavior and, ultimately, understanding would still emerge. We reinterpret neural processing explaining basic learning situations up to simple anticipatory behavior. Finally, we end the work with an evolutionary perspective of how this non-goal-oriented behavior appears. We acknowledge that in the current form of our proposal, we are still far from explaining the emergence of understanding. Still, we set the ground for an alternative neuron-based framework to ultimately explain understanding.

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

Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, was an almost neglected pathogen until its introduction in the Americas in 2015, where it has been responsible for a threat to global health, causing a great social and sanitary alarm due to its increased virulence, rapid spread, and an association with severe neurological and ophthalmological complications. Currently, no specific antiviral therapy against ZIKV is available, and treatments are palliative and mainly directed to symptoms relief, such as fever and rash, by administering antipyretics, anti-histamines, and fluids for dehydration. Nevertheless, lately, a great effort has been made to search for antiviral candidates using different approaches and methodologies, ranging from repurposing of specific compounds with known antiviral activity to the screening of libraries and of natural compounds. The identified antiviral candidates include drugs targeting viral components (structural proteins and enzymes), as well as cellular ones. Here, we present an updated review of current knowledge about anti-ZIKV strategies, focusing on host-directed antivirals as a realistic alternative to combat ZIKV infection.

Legacy mining industry has left a large number of tailings ponds exposed to water and wind erosion that causes serious environmental and health problems. Prior to rehabilitation actions a deep sampling of the materials infilling the pond used to be necessary. Thus, the primary objective of this study is to demonstrate the usefulness of the Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method as a non-invasive tool to determine the physicochemical composition of mine tailings ponds, enabling more efficient and low-cost surveys. To achieve this objective, three ERT profiles and three boreholes in each profile were carried out, from each borehole three waste samples from differents depths were collected and a geochemical characterization of the samples was carried. In order to estimate the composition of the infilling wastes in tailing ponds from electrical resistivity measures, several regression models were calculated for different physicochemical properties and metal concentrations. As a result, a high resistivity area was depicted in profiles G2 and G3 while a non-resistive area (profile G1) was also found. Relationships among low resistivity values and high salinity, clay content and high metal concentrations and mobility were established. Specifically, calibrated models were obtained for electrical conductivity, particles sizes of 0.02-50 µm and 50-2000 µm, total Zn and Cd concentration, and bioavailable Ni, Cd and Fe. Therefore, the ERT technique could be considered as a useful tool for mine tailings ponds characterization, and it can be used to estmate some physicochemical properties and metal concentrations of this mine waste.

Chromatin is dynamically remodeled to adapt to all DNA-related processes, including DNA damage responses (DDR). This adaptation requires DNA and histone epigenetic modifications, which are mediated by several types of enzymes; among them are lysine methyltransferases (KMTs). Methods: KMT inhibitors, chaetocin and tazemetostat (TZM), were used to study their role in the DDR induced by ionizing radiation or doxorubicin in two human sarcoma cells lines. The effect of these KMT inhibitors was tested by the analysis of chromatin epigenetic modifications, H4K16ac and H4K20me2. DDR was monitored by the formation of γH2AX, MDC1, NBS1 and 53BP1 foci, and the induction of apoptosis. Results: Chaetocin and tazemetostat treatments caused a significant increase of H4K16 acetylation, associated with chromatin relaxation; and increased DNA damage, detected by the labeling of free DNA-ends. These inhibitors significantly reduced H4K20 dimethylation levels in response to DNA damage and impaired the recruitment of 53BP1, but not of MDC1 and NBS1, at DNA damaged sites. This modification of epigenetic marks prevents DNA repair by the NHEJ pathway and leads to cell death. Conclusion: KMT inhibitors can function as sensitizers to DNA damage-based therapies and be used in novel synthetic lethality strategies for sarcoma treatment.

The architectural configuration of the space plays a crucial role in the acoustics of Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The design of the environment, the materials used in construction, and the organisation of noise sources within the room significantly influence the noise levels present in these critical areas. For this research, noise levels found in two hospitals, with different architectural configurations and sizes but similar construction materials, have been analyzed. Data were recorded at 1-second intervals over a period of more than 24 hours. The data collected in these hospitals confirm the magnitude of the noise problem in NICUs, highlighting the urgent need to address it effectively to ensure an appropriate and safe environment for the recovery of neonates. Good architectural planning can help mitigate noise, while poor configuration can exacerbate acoustic problems, negatively affecting both patients and healthcare staff. It is crucial to involve architects, acoustic engineers, and healthcare staff in the design and renovation of NICUs to create spaces that not only meet medical needs but also consider the auditory well-being of neonates.

Irregular female migration to Europe is a growing phenomenon, as more and more women are fleeing their countries of origin due to gender inequality and violence. During the migration process, women experience physical, psychological and social problems that affect their sex lives. The aim of our study is to describe and understand how irregular migrant wom-en living in humanitarian reception centers experience their sexuality at different stages of the migration process. This qualitative phenomenological study collected data through a sixteen in-depth interviews with irregular migrant women between January and February 2023. Data anal-ysis was carried out using ATLAS-ti 23.0 software, from which three themes were extracted: 1) The sexual reality of sub-Saharan women, 2) In search of a better life: take the risk or surrender, and 3) The migrant sexual revolution. The sexual reality of sub-Saharan women is subject to a complex normative order. The migratory process has severe consequences on migrant women's sex life. The sexual needs of irregular migrant women admitted to humanitarian reception cen-ters undergo a process of change that must be understood by healthcare providers in order to make improvements to care provision.

The present review paper aims at collecting and discussing the research work, numerical and experimental, carried out in the field of Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) in one-dimensional (1D) pressurized transient flow in the time-domain approach. Background theory and basic definitions are provided for the proper understanding of the assessed literature. A novel frame of reference is proposed for the classification of FSI models based on pipe degrees-of-freedom. Numerical research is organized according to this classification, while an extensive review on experimental research is presented by institution. Engineering applications of FSI models are described and historical accidents and post-accident analyses documented.

Hydrophilic coatings have recently emerged as a new approach to avoid the adhesion of (bio)organisms on surfaces immersed in water. In these coatings the hydrophilic character is crucial for the anti-fouling (AF) performance. However, this property can be rapidly lost due to the inevitable damages which occur at the surface, reducing the long-term effectiveness of the AF functionality. We report hydrophilic polycarbonate-mPEG polyurethane coatings with tunable hydrophilic properties as well as an excellent and long-term stability in water. The coatings exhibit low protein adhesion values and are able to self-replenish their hydrophilicity after damage, due to the existence of a reservoir of hydrophilic dangling chains incorporated in the bulk. The combination of low T_g and sufficient mobility of the mPEG dangling chains (enabled by chains with higher molecular weight) proved to be crucial to ensure autonomous surface hydrophilicity recovery when the coatings were immersed in water. This coatings and design approach offer new possibilities towards high performance AF coatings with an extended service life-time which can be used in several major applications areas, such as marine and biomedical coatings, with major economic and environmental benefits.

Mining for resources extraction may lead to several geological and associated environmental changes due to ground movements, collision with mining cavities and deformation of aquifers. Geological changes may continue in a reclaimed mine area, and the deformed aquifers may entail a breakdown of substrates and an increase in ground water tables, which may cause surface area inundation. Consequently, a reclaimed mine area may experience surface area collapse, i.e. subsidence, and degradation of vegetation health. Thus, monitoring short-term landscape dynamics in a reclaimed mine area may provide important information on the long-term geological and environmental impacts of mining activities. We studied landscape dynamics in Kirchheller Heide, Germany, which experienced extensive soil movement due to longwall mining without stowing, using Landsat imageries between 2013 and 2016. A Random Forest image classification technique was applied to analyse land-use and land-cover dynamics and the growth of wetland areas was assessed using a Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA). We also analyzed the changes in vegetation health using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We observed a 19.9% growth of wetland area within the four years with 87.2% of growth in the coverage of two major waterbodies in the reclaimed mine area. NDVI values indicate that 66.5% of the vegetation of the study area was degraded due to changes in ground water tables and surface flooding. Our results inform environmental management and mining reclamation authorities about the subsidence spots and priority mitigation areas from land surface and vegetation degradation in Kirchheller Heide.

This work presents the results of three connection types in double-shear with dowel fasteners, using the simplified equations from the Eurocode 5. All design parameters were established and compared using three different wood strength and density properties, which constitute the members connections. Eighty-one connections were obtained, allowing to conclude about the number of fasteners needed to the applied tensile load. An increase in the number of dowels was obtained with the increased applied tensile load, lower dowel diameter, lower wood density, and lower strength material in all connection types in the study. The design characteristic load-carrying capacity per shear plane and fastener also decrease with the previously considered parameters.

(1) Background: The CEECCA questionnaire assesses the ability to communicate among individuals with aphasia. It was designed using the NANDA-I and NOC standardised nursing languages (SNLs), reaching high content validity index and representativeness index values. The questionnaire was pilot-tested, demonstrating its feasibility for use by nurses in any healthcare setting. This study aims to identify the psychometric properties of this instrument. (2) Methods: 47 individuals with aphasia recruited from primary and specialist care facilities. The instrument was tested for construct validity and criterion validity, reliability, internal consistency, and responsiveness. The NANDA-I and NOC SNLs and the Boston test were used for criterion validity testing. (3) Results: 5 language dimensions explain 78.6% of the total variance. Convergent criterion validity tests showed concordances of up to 94% (Cohen’s κ: 0.9; p&lt;0.001) using the Boston test, concordances of up to 81% using DCs of NANDA-I diagnoses (Cohen’s κ: 0.6; p&lt;0.001), and concordances of up to 96% (Cohen’s κ: 0.9; p&lt;0.001) using NOC indicators. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was 0.98. Reliability tests revealed test-retest concordances of 76%-100% (p&lt;0,001). (4) Conclusions: The CEECCA is an easy-to-use, valid, reliable instrument to assess the ability to communicate among individuals with aphasia.

Sustainability addresses environmental and social issues affecting this and future generations. When family businesses perceive that the community is disrupted, recognize an environmental problem and respond by implementing new environmental policies or regulations, the family business’s socio-emotional values press to transition to a more sustainable production system, such as the ‘Circular Economy.’ Drawing on the Dubin (1978) methodology—a paradigm for building models through deduction—we design a sustainable model, which shows family businesses’ responses to changes in the environment. It explains the reasons why family firms transition to the Circular Economy, based on the theory of Socio-Emotional Wealth (SEW). We check the model through the case study of the food retail leader in the Spanish market—Mercadona—which applies policies about energy, resources and waste to become a Circular Economy business model. Because of the strong family character of Mercadona, this case can be useful for the decision-making of other family businesses.

Proprioception is an essential part of human movement and body awareness. It is the body's perception of its own spatial understanding, which helps us to accurately move our limbs and maintain balance. Purpose: This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and analyse bibliometric data about proprioception in gymnastics and acrobatics. Methodology: This article consisted of two phases: 1) a bibliometric review (based Web of Science) and 2) a systematic review (Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus) of literature. "Gymnast*", "propriocep*", were utilized as search terms to find and choose published data. From a total of 164 studies, 30 were included for data extraction (n participants= 1432 of different age, sports, physical activities, and physical condition. Heterogeneity of studies design and assessment make it difficult to interpret the outcomes and the effect of proprioceptive interventions and comparations between samples. Proprioception is difficult to define in gymnastics considering the evidence references and the physiological considerations. Also, assessment tools used do not necessary evaluate proprioception globally considering the senses involved in gymnastics. Gymnastics training enhances joint awareness and force sense, improving proprioception and reducing injury risk. Proprioceptive exercises should be incorporated into gymnastics programs to enhance stability and precision in movements.

The Self-determination theory and The Vallerand's Hierarchical Model has been studied with different types of social factors that can bring different consequences. The purpose of this work was if responsibility and social climate could predict the social and prosocial behaviors and vio-lence. For this, 429 students (M = 11.46, SD = 1.92) participated in this study answering a ques-tionnaire with five variables: school climate, responsibility, motivation, satisfaction of psycholog-ical needs, prosocial and antisocial behaviors and violence. The main results saw that the most part of variables were correlated positive and directly except with antisocial behaviors and vio-lence. On the other hand, prediction model (X2 = 584.145 (98); RMSEA = 0.104 [90% CI = 0.096, 0.112]; TLI = 0.849; CFI = 0.894) showed that responsibility and school climate can predict psy-chological basic needs and these needs, can improve the autonomous motivation and finally have positive consequences improving prosocial behaviors and reducing antisocial behaviors and vio-lence. In conclusion, school climate and responsibility can improve positive consequences to the classroom, specifically, prosocial behaviors and reducing violence and antisocial behaviors.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the glycemic index and the satiety response of three Mexican kinds of honey. The values of fructose ranged from 272.40-395.10 g/kg, while the glucose value ringed 232.20-355.50 g/kg. The ratio F/G of sample honey was 1.45, 1.00, and 1.17 for Highland, Multifloral, and Avocado honey, respectively. Twenty-six participants completed this study, which was previously approved by the ethics committee of the Facultad de Salud Pública y Nutrición (CE 2/2018-19). Highland and Avocado honey is classified as medium-GI (69.204.07 and 66.365.74, respectively), while Multifloral honey is classified as high-GI (74.245.98). The Highland honey presented the best satiety response. The difference in IG values and the effect of the satiety response of Highland honey could be explained by the different fractions of carbohydrates in samples and other components such as phytochemicals.

Abstract: Pasteurella spp. is a gram-negative bacterium that is part of the oral and upper respira-tory tract microbiota of many animals such as canids and felines. In humans it can produce pa-thology primarily associated with animal bites or scratches. In addition, members of this genus, and especially Pasteurella multocida, may also be involved in systemic infections, mainly in im-munocompromised patients in close contact with pets. The aim of this study is to analyse the prevalence and clinical characteristics of infections caused by Pasteurella spp. as well as the sensitivity profile of these isolates obtained in the Microbiology laboratory of the Hospital Can Misses (Ibiza, Ibiza and Formentera Health Area, ASEF) in the period from January 2013 to December 2018. The group of islands of Ibiza and Formentera is known as the Pitiusas Islands. Retrospective descriptive study in which all Pasteurella spp. isolates were analysed in the Microbiology Laboratory of Hospital Can Misses from 1 January 2013 to 31 De-cember 2018. Bacterial identification was performed by Vitek 2 automated biochemical test panel (bioMérieux, Spain) and antimicrobial susceptibility by E-test or antibiotic discs in Mueller-Hinton blood agar, interpreted based on European Committee on An-timicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) standards, 2022 version. Medical records were systematically reviewed by collecting demographic data of infected patients, comorbidities, epidemiological data and clinical features of the infection. A total of 22 isolates of Pasterurella spp. were obtained from 22 different patients, 62.8% female, from three different species: 18 P. multocida, 2 P. canis and 2 P. pneumo-tropica. Most isolates came from soft tissue infection samples: 7 wound exudates and 5 abscess material. The antibiotics tested with the highest sensitivity profile were gen-tamicin and cefepime (100% sensitivity). The species most commonly isolated in our environment is P. multocida. Close contact with companion animals, especially cats and dogs, is the main risk factor for Pasteurella spp. infections, although in many cases such contact cannot be established. So Pasteurella spp. infection should be considered a zoonosis in possible emergency, especially in rural areas such as Pitiusas Islands.

We have much to learn from historic buildings. The fact that they are still standing is obvious, but unfortunately often not appreciated. In this paper the results obtained from a series of parametric analyses, where the influence that geometric and mechanical parameters have in the structural response of existing cob walls within an Irish context, are presented. A design of experiments using central composite designs was implemented along with analysis of variance following two computational approaches, namely, finite element method and kinematic limit analysis. As results, a series of response surfaces and parametric equations with which it is possible to compute safety factors and collapse multipliers (within the range of values studied) are provided. Based on the results obtained, it could be concluded that traditional cob walls in Ireland are very robust. Relatively high acceleration values, unlikely to happen in a low seismic hazard region such as Ireland, would be needed to start the collapse mechanisms studied or cause yielding in typical vernacular cob walls. Furthermore, the equations generated with the refined regression models, can be used by practitioners as a first approach to estimate the safety levels of existing cob buildings with similar characteristics.

Several researchers have contemplated deep learning-based post-filters to increase the quality of statistical parametric speech synthesis, which perform a mapping of the synthetic speech to the natural speech, considering the different parameters separately and trying to reduce the gap between them. The Long Short-term Memory (LSTM) Neural Networks have been applied successfully in this purpose, but there are still many aspects to improve in the results and in the process itself. In this paper, we introduce a new pre-training approach for the LSTM, with the objective of enhancing the quality of the synthesized speech, particularly in the spectrum, in a more efficient manner. Our approach begins with an auto-associative training of one LSTM network, which is used as an initialization for the post-filters. We show the advantages of this initialization for the enhancing of the Mel-Frequency Cepstral parameters of synthetic speech. Results show that the initialization succeeds in achieving better results in enhancing the statistical parametric speech spectrum in most cases when compared to the common random initialization approach of the networks.

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.

The present study investigates the impact of electrode surface roughness on the electrofreezing of water. This research focuses on how the electrode roughness induced by a laser treatment affects the nucleation and growth of ice crystals under controlled electric fields. To achieve this, a series of experiments were conducted using deionized water samples placed between electrodes with varying surface roughness. The electrodes, fabricated with the Al6061 T6 alloy were structured via the Laser Shock Processing (LSP) method. For this purpose, the pulsed densities during the LSP process were varied from 900 to 2500 pulses/cm2. The increase of the pulse density was correlated to the surface structuring and to the microstructural features and average roughness of the LSP-treated Al6061 alloy. A wavy-like microstructure was induced upon the LSP treatment with average roughnesses between ~ 3.5 and 6 µm at the selected pulse densities. The results indicate that electrode roughness significantly influences the electrofreezing process. Rougher electrodes were found to lower the nucleation temperature compared to smoother ones, suggesting enhanced ice nucleation activity. The findings are attributed to the increased electric field concentration at the asperities of the rough surfaces, which may facilitate the alignment of water molecules and the formation of critical ice nuclei.

Variations in geochemical signatures of fossil brachiopod shells may be due to diagenesis and/or biological processes (i.e. ‘vital effects’). Characterize them is crucial to identify reliable areas into the shell suitable to paleoclimatological studies. This investigation contributes to an in-depth understanding of geochemical variations of Gigantoproductus sp. shells (SW Spain, Serpukhovian age), which could affect to the Late Paleozoic Ice Age interpretation. Microstructural, crystallographic, cathodoluminescence and geochemical (minor and trace elements, δ18O, δ13C, and strontium isotopes) characterisation have been performed on the tertiary layer of the ventral valve, to assess the preservation state. Poorly-preserved areas exhibit microstructural and geochemical changes such as recrystallisation, fracturing and higher Mn and Fe enrichment. Moreover, these areas have higher dispersion of ⁸⁶Sr, ⁸⁷Sr, δ18O and δ13C than well-preserved areas. Three structural regions have been identified in well-preserved areas of ventral valve by differences in valve curvature and thickness, such as the umbonal, thick and thin regions. These regions have different proportions of Mg, S, Na, δ18O, and δ13C, whom are interpreted as ‘vital effects’ and probably are related with growth rate differences during shell growth. Gigantoproductus tertiary layer seems the best suitable to paleoclimatological studies because it retains the original microstructure and geochemistry.

The SARS-CoV-2 infection is a cause of hypoxemic acute respiratory failure, leading to frequent intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Due to invasive organ support and immunosuppressive therapies, these patients are prone to nosocomial infections. Our aim was to assess the value of daily measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP) and Procalcitonin (PCT) in the early identification of ICU-acquired infections in COVID-19 patients Methods: We undertook a prospective observational cohort study (12 months). All adult me-chanically-ventilated patients admitted for ≥ 72 hours to the ICU with COVID-19 pneumonia were divided into an infected group (n=35) and a non-infected group (n=83). Day 0 was considered as the day of the diagnosis of infection (infected group) and day 10 of ICU stay (non-infected group). The kinetics of CRP and PCT were assessed from day -10 to day 10 and evaluated using a general linear model, univariate, repeated-measures analysis. Results: 118 patients (mean age 63 years, 74% males) were eligible for the analysis. The groups did not differ in patients' age, gender, CRP, and PCT serum levels at ICU admission. However, the infected group encompassed patients with a higher severity (SOFA score at ICU admission, p=0.009) and a higher 28-day mortality (p<0.001). Before D0, CRP kinetics showed a significant increase in infected patients, whereas in noninfected it remained almost unchanged (p<0.001), while PCT kinetics did not appear to retain diagnostic value to predict superinfection in COVID-19 patients (p=0.593). Conclusion: COVID-19 patients who develop ICU-acquired infections exhibited different biomarker kinetics before the diagnosis of those infections. Daily CRP monitoring and the recognition of the CRP kinetics could be useful in the prediction of ICU-acquired infections.

This work aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality and incidence of complications in patients with bacteremia due to Staphylococcus aureus (BSA). All episodes of BSA at the Costa del Sol University Hospital (Marbella, Spain) were recorded during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 - March 2022), compared with a previous period (February 2018 - February 2020). Demographic, clinical and prognostic variables were recorded. The outcome was measured as 14 and 30-day mortality and the incidence of complications-death. Mortality during the pandemic was 28.7% at 14 days and 35% at 30 days, while in the pre-pandemic group it was 18.9% and 23.3%, respectively. In overall complication-death, the incidence rate is higher in the pandemic group with 42.7%. No significant differences were obtained between groups. 17 patients with COVID-19 were identified, with a mortality rate of 64.7% and 70.6% at 14 and 30 days. Multivariate analysis established the presence of sepsis at diagnosis as a predictor of mortality, but not BSA during the pandemic phase. In conclusion, BSA is a disease with high mortality, slightly higher during the pandemic phase. No differences were found in adherence to the bundle in our centre.

Recent advancements in deep learning have spurred the development of numerous novel semantic segmentation models for land cover mapping, showcasing exceptional performance in delineating precise boundaries and producing highly accurate land cover maps. However, to date, no systematic literature review has comprehensively examined semantic segmentation models in the context of land cover mapping. This paper addresses this gap by synthesizing recent advancements in semantic segmentation models for land cover mapping from 2017 to 2023, drawing insights on trends, data sources, model structures, and performance metrics based on a review of 106 extracted articles. Our analysis identifies top journals in the field, including MDPI Remote Sensing, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Earth Science, and IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, ISPRS Journal Of Photogrammetry And Remote Sensing as the leading journals. We find that research predominantly focuses on land cover, urban areas, precision agriculture, environment, coastal areas, and forests. Geographically, 35.29% of the study areas are located in China, followed by USA (11.76%), France (5.88 %), Spain (4%) and others. Sentinel-2, Sentinel-1, and Landsat satellites emerge as the most commonly used data sources. Benchmark datasets such as ISPRS Vaihingen &amp; Potsdam, LandCover.ai, DeepGlobe, and GID datasets are frequently employed. Model architectures predominantly utilize encoder-decoder, and hybrid convolutional neural network-based structures because of their impressive performances, with limited adoption of transformer-based architectures due to its computational complexity issue, and slow convergence speed. Lastly, this paper highlights existing key research gaps in the field to guide future research directions.

The forehead and temporal region are a frequent area of skin cancer development. After tumor removal, reconstruction must be performed maintaining the frontal-temporal line of the scalp and the symmetry of the eyebrows, trying to hide the scars in these marks or in natural folds and wrinkles. Second wound healing and skin grafts generally do not produce an acceptable cosmetic result. When direct closure is not possible, the technique of choice is skin flaps. In the midfrontal line, continuation of the glabella, there is a remnant of skin to be used as a donor area for local flaps; similarly, it occurs in the preauricular cheek, which can move towards the temple. In addition to the classic advancement and rotation flaps, the frontalis myocutaneous transposition flap is an excellent technique for closing defects which are wider than higher on the forehead. Its design is very versatile and can be done between the two pupil lines at different heights depending on the location of the defect. On the other hand, the preauricular skin advancement flap with an infralobular Burow's triangle is also an excellent option for reconstructing tumors in the temporal area.

Androgenetic alopecia, the most common cause of hair loss affecting both men and women, is typically treated using pharmaceutical options such as minoxidil and finasteride. While these medications work for many individuals, they are not suitable options for all. To date, the only non-pharmaceutical option that the United States Food and Drug Administration has cleared as a treatment for androgenetic alopecia is low-level laser therapy (LLLT). Various clinical trials utilizing LLLT devices of various types are available. However, a myriad of other physical treatments for this form of hair loss are reported in the literature. This review evaluated the effectiveness of microneedling, pulsed-electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, low-level laser therapy (LLLT), fractional laser therapy, and non-ablative laser therapy for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA). It also explores the potential of multimodal treatments combining these physical therapies. LLLT has the majority of evidence in the literature as a physical therapy for androgenetic alopecia. However, other physical treatments, such as non-ablative laser treatments, and multimodal approaches, such as PEMF-LLLT, seem to have the potential to be equally or more promising and merit further exploration.

Syndemics theory has been applied to study interactions between biomedical and social factors leading to clustering of diseases. Because syndemics theory focuses on interactions that enhance risk, the concept of vulnerability is central to this approach. We conducted a scoping review to better understand how syndemics theory helped to define, operationalize, and tackle issues of vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Original research, review, and opinion pieces elaborating on syndemics, vulnerability and COVID-19, published between December 2019 and October 2022 and available in PubMed, were eligible. We analysed 40 records and identified three framings of syndemics operating during this period: (1) interactions between COVID-19, diseases/health conditions and specific social factors; (2) interactions between COVID-19 and social determinants of health; and (3) impacts of COVID-19 on specific populations. Emerging conceptualizations described vulnerability to COVID-19 as a systemic issue; explained the impact of COVID-19 control measures on increased vulnerability; and presented COVID-19 as a syndemic on its own. However, this theory's potential for deepening our understanding of vulnerability during this pandemic was constrained by superficial explorations of the interactions between biomedical and social spheres, and insufficient theoretical and methodological support from the social sciences.

Background: Recent advances allow the usage of Augmented Reality (AR) for many medical procedures. We perform different AR-assisted knee surgery techniques using optical surgical navigation with ArUco-type artificial marker sensors. Our study aimed to evaluate the system’s accuracy using an in vitro protocol. We hypothesised that the system’s accuracy was equal to or less than 1mm and 1° for distance and angular measurements, respectively. Methods: Our research was an in-vitro laboratory with a 316 L steel model. We evaluated absolute reliability according to the Hopkins criteria with seven independent evaluators. Each observer measured the thirty palpation points and the trademarks to acquire direct angular measurements on three occasions separated by at least two weeks. Results: The accuracy of the system to assess distances had a mean error of 1.203mm and an un-certainty of 2.062, and for the angular values, a mean error of 0.778° and an uncertainty of 1.438. The intraclass correlation coefficient was for all intra-observer and inter-observer almost perfect or perfect. Conclusions: The mean error for the distance’s determination has been statistically larger than 1mm (1.203mm) but with a trivial effect size. The mean error assessing angular values was sta-tistically minor than 1°. Our results are similar to those published by other authors in accuracy analyses of AR systems.

Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) causes significant economic losses in tomato crops worldwide. Since its first detection infecting tomato in 1999, aggressive PepMV variants have emerged. This study aimed to characterize two aggressive PepMV isolates, PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2. Both isolates were identified in South-Eastern Spain infecting tomato plants, which showed severe symptoms, including bright yellow mosaics. Full-length infectious clones were generated, and phylogenetic relationships were inferred using their nucleotide sequences and another 35 full-length sequences from isolates representing the five PepMV known strains. Our analysis revealed that PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2 belong to the EU and CH2 strains, respectively. Amino acid sequence comparisons between these and mild isolates identified 8 and 15 amino acid substitutions for PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2, respectively, potentially involved in severe symptom induction. None of the substitutions identified in PepMV-H30 had previously been described as symptom determinant. The E236K substitution, originally present in the PepMV-H30 CP, was introduced into a mild PepMV-EU isolate, resulting in a virus that causes symptoms similar to those induced by the parental PepMV-H30. In silico analyses revealed that this residue is located at the C-terminus of the CP and is solvent-accessible, suggesting its potential involvement in CP-host proteins interactions. We also examined the subcellular localization of PepGFPm2E236K in comparison to that of PepGFPm2, focusing on chloroplast affection, but no differences were observed in the GFP subcellular distribution between the two viruses. Due to the easily visible symptoms that PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2 induce, these isolates represent valuable tools in programs destined to breeding resistance to PepMV in tomato.

Climate change is one of the main issues that humanity is currently facing due to carbon dioxide emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels. Organic Rankine cycles may play an important role in reducing these emissions since they can be operated by using industrial waste heat of renewable energies. The present study presents a comprehensive bibliographic review of organic Rankine cycles. The study not only actualizes previous reviews that mainly focused on basic cycles operating on subcritical or supercritical conditions but also includes the analysis of novel cycles such as two-stage and hybrid cycles and the used fluids. Recuperative and regenerative cycles are more efficient than reheated and basic single-stage cycles. The use of two-stage cycles makes it possible to achieve higher thermal efficiencies and net power outputs of up to 20% and 44%, respectively, compared with those obtained with single-stage cycles. Theoretical studies show that hybrid systems, including Brayton and organic Rankine cycles, are the most efficient; however, they require very high temperatures to operate. Most organic Rankine cycle plants produce net power outputs from 1 kW up to several tens of kW, mainly using microturbines and plate heat exchangers.

In this paper we deal with the resolution of a fuzzy multiobjective programming problem using the level sets optimization. We compare it to other optimization strategies studied until now and we propose an algorithm to identify possible Pareto efficient optimal solutions.

Objective: The primary objective of this trial was to assess the transfer of drospirenone to breast milk after daily administration of an oral test preparation containing 4 mg of drospirenone at the steady state. The secondary objective of the trial was to assess the safety of the preparation based on safety clinical and laboratory measurements (at the beginning and at the end of the trial) and reporting of adverse events and/or adverse drug reactions. Patients and Methods: This was an open label, non-comparative single center study. Drospirenone 4mg per day was the first postpartum contraceptive for the study participants who were no longer breastfeeding yet were still lactating. It was administered for 7 (seven) days to achieve steady-state concentration. All participants were volunteers who planned to use oral contraceptives as their family planning method in the future. Results: A total number of 12 volunteers completed the trial according to the protocol and the samples of all the 12 study completers were analyzed. The average concentration-time curve of drospirenone in plasma 24 h after the administration of the last dose (AUC(0-24h)) was 635.33 ng*h/mL and 120 h after the single repeat dose administration (AUC(0-120h) was 1180.57 ng*h/mL, respectively. The average Cmax was 48.64 ng/mL. The average concentration-time curve of drospirenone in milk 24 h after the administration of the last dose (AUC(0-24h)) was 134.35 ng*h/mL and 120 h after the single repeat dose administration (AUC(0-120h) was 227.17 ng*h/mL respectively. The average Cmax was 10.34 ng/mL. Conclusion: On average 18.13% of plasma drospirenone made it to breast milk and the highest concentration of drospirenone in breast milk was 17.55% of that in plasma. The total quantity of drospirenone passing to breast milk is on average 4478 ng during a 24 h period representing 0.11% of the maternal daily dose. Thus, at the recommended doses, no effects on breastfed newborns/infants are anticipated with drospirenone 4 mg.

Cascalote pods are an important source of phenolic compounds, mainly recovered using solvent extraction methods. As a sustainable alternative, this study aimed to evaluate solid-state fermentation (SSF) to enhance the extractability of total phenolic compounds (TPC) with antioxidant activity (AA) from cascalote pods. Aspergillus niger GH1 was selected based on the amount of TPC released and AA measured (ABTS, DPPH, FRAP) in a shorter time. Moreover, moisture, temperature, inoculum size, and mineral composition were evaluated. The largest amount of TPC released was 124.17 mg/gdm (g of dry material) after 12 h of culture, strongly and highly significantly correlated with the AA. Moisture and KH2PO4 concentration were the main influencing factors on TPC release. Treatment 6 [1x 107 spores/gdm, 30 °C, 60% moisture, mineral composition (g/L): KH2PO4, 1.52; NaNO3, 7.65; and MgSO4, 1.52] was selected due to the highest values of both TPC and AA. SSF-assisted extraction allowed increase 118 % and 93 % in TPC and AA values, respectively. Corilagin, lagerstannin, geraniin, and ellagic acid were the main phenolic compounds identified by RP-HPLC-ESI-MS in cascalote extracts. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of SSF-assisted extraction as a biotechnological alternative for the recovery of important bioactive molecules from this underutilized material.

Inflammation is considered an important target for stroke therapy because it induces secondary brain damage after the initial ischemic insult. Peripheral monocytes migrate to the brain parenchyma after a central insult. They then differentiate to macrophages in a positive feedback fashion contributing to damage instead of ischemic resolution and inflammation control. A cyclic diterpenoid, (1S,2E,4R,6R,7E,11E)-cembra-2,7,11-triene-4,6-diol (4R), decreases neurodegeneration after ischemia with central anti-inflammatory activity. This study aims to determine whether the central anti-inflammatory effect of 4R is effective against peripheral inflammation triggered by brain ischemia. To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of 4R, we treated macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as an inflammatory model, followed by treatment with 4R. Microarray transcriptome analysis of over 30,000 genes identified the differential expression of 393 genes. Genes related to inflammation, cell adhesion, and transcription were validated with qPCR, and reduced expression was determined. Quantification of NF-kB phosphorylation served as a marker for the modulation of inflammation through gene transcription. Our results show that 4R was associated with a reduction in NFKB1 and ITGB5 gene expression, increased phosphorylation of NF-kB, and a decrease in macrophage adhesion in a blood-brain barrier model. These results indicate that 4R can partially modulate the peripheral immune response, making 4R a potential drug against post-ischemic inflammation.

Objective: To provide mechanistic evidence for the epidemiological link between long-term use of alcohol containing mouthwashes and oral cancer.Methods: Human epithelial keratinocytes were exposed for 30 seconds to concentrations of ethanol commonly present in mouthwashes. After a recovery period, cell viability was assessed with the MTT assay.Results: A marked cytotoxic effect was observed for ethanol concentrations of 20% and above. Conclusions: The cytotoxicity of ethanol can explain the epidemiological association between mouthwash use and oral cancer. Recent findings indicate that the risk of developing cancer in a tissue is strongly determined by the number of stem cell divisions accumulated by the tissue during a person's lifetime; cell division is a major source of mutations and other cancer-promoting errors. Since cell death activates the division of stem cells, the cytotoxicity of ethanol on the cells lining the oral mucosa will promote the division of the stem cells located in deeper layers to produce new cells to regenerate the damaged epithelium. If we regularly use mouthwashes containing cytotoxic concentrations of ethanol, we will force the stem cells of the oral cavity to divide more often than usual and our risk of developing oral cancer will probably increase.Clinical significance: Many mouthwashes contain percentages of ethanol above 20%. Because ethanol is not crucial to prevent and reduce gingivitis and plaque, members of the dental team should consider the potential risk of oral cancer associated with frequent use of alcohol containing mouthwashes when advising their patients.

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.

Background: Effectiveness of Anastrozole and levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (LNG-IUD, Mirena®) in the treatment of endometriosis. Methods: Randomized clinical trial. Elegibility criteria: Endometriomas >3×4 cm, CA-125>35 U/mL and symptoms suggestive of endometriosis. Thirty-one women were randomized to anastrozole+Mirena®+Conservative Surgery(CS) (n=8), anastrozole+Mirena®+transvaginal ultrasound-guided puncture-aspiration(TUGPA) (n=7), Mirena®+CS (n=9), or Mirena®+TUGPA (n=7). Interventions: Anastrozole 1 mg/day and/or only Mirena® for 6 months. CS or TUGPA one month after starting medical treatment. Results: A significant improvement in symptoms during the treatment (difference of 43%, 95% CI 29.9-56.2) occurred, which was maintained at 1 and 2 years. It was more significant in patients treated with anastrozole. For CA-125, the most significant decrease was observed without anastrozole. After CS for endometriosis, a reduction of findings of endometriomas and long-term recurrences occurred, with or without anastrozole, although anastrozole seems to delay recurrences. At 4,2±1,7 years, 88% of the patients who underwent CS were asymptomatic, compared to only 21% if TUGPA was performed, with or without anastrozole (p=0.019). Conclusion: Dosing anastrozole for 6 months, starting one month before CS of endometriosis, reduces more significantly the painful symptoms and delays recurrences, but has no other significant advantages over the single insertion of LNG-IUD (Mirena®) during the same time.

The principal aim of a spectral observer is twofold: the reconstruction of a signal of time via state estimation and the decomposition of such a signal into the frequencies that make it up. A spectral observer can be catalogued as an online algorithm for time-frequency analysis because is a method that can compute on the fly the Fourier transform (FT) of a signal, without having the entire signal available from the start. In this regard, this paper presents a novel spectral observer with an adjustable constant gain for reconstructing a given signal by means of the recursive identification of the coefficients of a Fourier series. The reconstruction or estimation of a signal in the context of this work means to find the coefficients of a linear combination of sines a cosines that fits a signal such that it can be reproduced. The design procedure of the spectral observer is presented along with the following applications: (1) the reconstruction of a simple periodical signal, (2) the approximation of both a square and a triangular signal, (3) the edge detection in signals by using the Fourier coefficients, (4) the fitting of the historical Bitcoin market data from 2014-12-01 to 2018-01-08 and (5) the estimation of a input force acting upon a Duffing oscillator. To round out this paper, we present a detailed discussion about the results of the applications as well as a comparative analysis of the proposed spectral observer vis-à-vis the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT), which is a well-known method for time-frequency analysis.

Cogging torque is a pulsating, parasitic and undesired torque ripple intrinsic of the design of a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), which should be minimized due to its adverse effects: vibration and noise. In addition, as aerodynamic power is low during start-up at low wind speeds in small wind energy systems, the cogging torque must be as low as possible to achieve a low cut-in speed. A novel mitigation technique using compound pre-slotting, based on a combination of magnetic and non-magnetic materials, is investigated. The finite element technique is used to calculate the cogging torque of a real PMSG design for a small wind turbine, with and without using compound pre-slotting. The results show that cogging torque can be reduced by a factor of 48% with this technique, while avoiding the main drawback of the conventional pre-slotting technique: the reduction of induced voltage due to leakage flux between stator teeth. Furthermore, through a combination of pre-slotting and other cogging torque optimization techniques, 84%, cogging torque can be eliminated for a given design.

Quality control is a critical component in industrial manufacturing, directly influencing efficiency, product reliability, and ultimately, customer satisfaction. In the dynamic environment of industrial manufacturing, traditional methods of inspection may not adequately meet the evolving complexity, necessitating innovative approaches to bolster precision and productivity. In this study, we explore the application of mixed reality (MR) technology for real-time quality control in the assembly process. Our methodology involved the integration of smart glasses with a server-based image recognition system, designed to conduct real-time component analysis. The innovative aspect of our study lies in the harmonization of MR and computer vision algorithms, providing immediate visual feedback to inspectors and thereby improving the speed and accuracy of defect detection. YOLOv8 have been adopted in this study for detection object model. The project implementation occurred in a controlled environment to enable a comprehensive evaluation of the system functionality, the identification of possible problems and improvements in the system performance. The results indicated the viability of mixed reality as a powerful tool for enhancing traditional inspection processes. The fusion of MR and computer vision offers possibilities for future advancements in industrial quality control, paving the way for more efficient and reliable manufacturing ecosystems.

Due to the growing demand for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (PAMs), environmental risks associated with overexploitation and inadequate waste management are increasing. Since MAPs residues have a notable potential to be valorised, the implementation of Circular Economy solutions can play a central role in transforming waste management problems into economic opportunities and in responding to the growing demand for MAPs. Circular economy is viewed as a solution for fostering a sustainable system planet and positively contributes to the economy and society. A systematic review was conducted aiming to identify potential applications for the valorisation of MAP, under a sustainable waste management and circular economy approach. A total number of 47 studies were analysed and it was verified that MAPs residues can be valorised for energy purposes, crop management and applications in chemical, food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic industries, among others. Despite the wide range of possible applications, to promote a progressive implementation of circular economy strategies by the industry, further investigation is needed regarding the development of more efficient techniques and technology to develop value-added products and the assessment of sustainable performance in empirical investigations, considering both economic and environmental indicators.

Sound absorbing materials are used in building to dissipate sound energy into heat by viscous and thermal processes. Sound absorbers increase the transmission loss of walls, decrease the reverberation time of rooms and attenuate the noise generated by internal sound sources. Porous absorbers (fibrous, cellular or granular) are the most used materials in noise control applications, since their high performance-to-cost ratio in the frequency band of interest. However, when cleaning and health reasons are of concern, microperforated panel (MPP) absorbers can be preferred. MPPs, consisting of many minute (sub-millimetric) holes in a panel, are tunable absorbers in a prescribed frequency band, which main shortcomings are high manufacturing cost and limited absorption frequency band. Production cost of MPP can nowadays be drastically cut down by means of modern techniques. Absorption frequency band can be considerably enlarged by designing multiple-layer MPPs (ML-MPPs). The aim of this article is to review the high potential of ML-MPPs as a modern, clean and healthy alternative of porous materials for sound absorption.

Novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOC) are constantly threatening global public health. With no end date, the pandemic still persists with the emergence of novel variants that threaten the effectiveness of diagnostic tests and vaccines. Mutations in the Spike surface protein of the virus are regularly observed in the new variants, potentializing the emergence of novel viruses with different tropism from the current ones, which may change the severity and symptoms of the disease. Growing evidence has shown that mutations are being selected in favor of variants that are more capable of evading the action of neutralizing antibodies. In this context, the most important factor guiding the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 is its interaction with the host’s immune system. Thus, as current vaccines cannot block the transmission of the virus, measures complementary to vaccination, such as the use of masks, hand hygiene, and keeping environments ventilated remain essential to delay the emergence of new variants. Importantly, in addition to the involvement of the immune system in the evolution of the virus, we highlight several chemical parameters that influence the molecular interactions between viruses and host cells during invasion and are also critical tools making novel variants more transmissible. In this review, we dissect the impacts of the Spike mutations on biological parameters such as (1) increase of Spike binding affinity to hACE2; (2) bound time for the receptor to be cleaved by the proteases; (3) how mutations associate with increase of RBD up-conformation state in the Spike ectodomain; (4) expansion of uncleaved Spike protein in the virion particles; (5) increment of Spike concentration per virion particles; and (6) evasion of the immune system. These factors play key roles in the fast spreading of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including the Omicron.

High-throughput screening technologies continues to produce large amounts of multiomics data from different populations and cell types for various diseases, such as cancer. However, analysis of such data encounters difficulties due to cancer heterogeneity, further exacerbated by human biological complexity and genomic variability. There is a need to redefine the drug discovery development pipeline, bringing an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered informational view that integrates relevant biological information and explores new ways to develop effective anticancer approaches. Here, we show SynPred, an interdisciplinary approach that leverages specifically designed ensembles of AI-algorithms, links omics and biophysical traits to predict synergistic anticancer drug synergy. SynPred exhibits state-of-the-art performance metrics: accuracy – 0.85, precision – 0.77, recall – 0.75, AUROC – 0.82, and F1-score - 0.76 in an independent test set. Moreover, data interpretability was achieved by deploying the most current and robust feature importance approaches. A simple web-based application available online at http://www.moreiralab.com/resources/synpred/ was constructed to predict synergistic anticancer drug combinations requiring only the upload of the two drug SMILES to be tested, allowing easy access by non-expert researchers.

Multicompartment compliance aids (MCAs) are devices with each discrete section denoting a single dosing occasion. The purpose of an MCA is to maximize patient adherence and thereby optimize the treatment benefits. These devices are widely employed throughout western Europe and UK and use appears to be rapidly increasing (2) although the RPS as moved away from these devices as a means to improve adherence. We analysed MCAs from various pharmacies over a wide geographic area in England and North Wales. We concluded that most MCA users are elderly patients. Also, most of the patients suffer of combined cardiovascular disease. However, a significant proportion of patients falls in the mental/ neurological disease category. Additionally, most of the externals added to MCAs are inhalers and painkillers. Moreover, SDIs are more frequent in female patients and these SDI are mainly related with mental health medication, cardiovascular disease medication and neurological medication. In conclusion, a directive for dispensing of MCAs in pharmacies by pharmacists through an enhanced service should be elaborated having in consideration PIMs, SDIs, drug stability and use of externals and MCA design and brand.

This review paper presents a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on the contamination of water systems by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs, organic contaminants characterized by two or more fused aromatic rings, are notably problematic due to their persistence, bioaccumulation, and significant health risks. The review commences with an examination of various sources of PAHs in aquatic environments, encompassing both anthropogenic activities, such as industrial discharges, urban runoff, and oil spills, and natural phenomena including volcanic eruptions and wildfires. Subsequently, the discussion shifts to the distribution patterns of PAHs within different aquatic ecosystems, with an analysis of factors that influence their transport. Considerable focus is placed on the entry mechanisms of PAHs into water systems and their interactions with diverse environmental matrices. Additionally, the ecotoxicological effects of PAHs on aquatic life are scrutinized, with particular emphasis on molecular, individual, and ecosystemic impacts. This includes an exploration of PAH bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms and their potential mutagenic and carcinogenic consequences. The review further addresses the challenges associated with detecting and quantifying PAHs in aquatic settings, reflecting on the advancements in analytical methodologies and the complexities introduced by their varied physicochemical properties. The paper concludes with a summary of existing regulatory frameworks and guidelines governing PAH contamination in water systems, underscoring the imperative for global collaboration in the monitoring and management of PAH pollution.

Topology optimization has become a very popular design tool when an optimum design with a concrete objective and subjected to several restrictions is searched. However, the resultant shape of the optimization process isn’t usually easy to manufacture with a typical manufacturing method as machining, being necessary an interpretation and validation of the result; besides, some parameters can be chosen, and the final shape is directly dependent on them. In this paper, a sensitivity analysis of the main parameters involved in 3D topology optimization, the penalization and the filter radius, is carried out for the concrete case of the density-based method, analyzing how manufacturable the results are for 3 axis machining. Also, a new filter and method is proposed for obtaining highly manufacturable and low interpretable parts. The main aim of the study is to help designers to choose the more appropriate parameters and showing what they must have into account for obtaining the desired optimized shapes. Note that the density-based topology optimization method has been chosen due to its popularity in commercial packages, so the conclusions may have direct applications in designers’ work. Finally, the results of the study are verified through different cases for checking the validity of the conclusions.

Microbes do not live in isolation but in microbial communities. The relevance of microbial communities is increasing due to the awareness about their biotechnological influences in a huge number of environmental, health and industrial processes. Hence, being able to control and engineer the output of both natural and synthetic communities would be of great interest. However, most of the available methods and biotechnological applications (both in vivo and in silico) have been developed in the context of isolated microbes. In vivo microbial consortia development, i.e. to reproduce the community life conditions in the wet-lab, is extremely difficult and expensive requiring of computational approaches to advance knowledge about microbial communities, mainly with descriptive modelling, and further with engineering modelling. In this review we provide a detailed compilation of available examples of engineered microbial communities as a launch pad for an exhaustive and historical revision of those computational methods devoted so far toward the better understanding, and rational engineering of natural and synthetic microbial communities.

The Atlantic Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822) is thought to occur on both sides of the Atlantic, from the Carolinas (USA) to Brazil in the western Atlantic, and from North Senegal to North Angola off West Africa in the eastern Atlantic. While there are fairly good data on their distribution in the western Atlantic, genetic verification of species status, confirmed occurrences, population status, fishing reports, and trade data are almost non-existent off West Africa. Part of the problem is that tropical West African countries lack a network of marine reserves that might protect this species. Add to this destruction of mangrove forests and other coastal habitats on which the species depends when in the post-larval and juvenile stages coupled heavy pollution and intense overfishing and it becomes clear that their survival is deeply threatened. The focus of this paper is to describe all of the known historical data and examine all current data to better evaluate their present status.

Introduction: Studies of the socio-economic function of entrepreneurship have emphasized the critical role that entrepreneurial competence and its implementation play at different stages of the education system. In this paper, we seek to determine the entrepreneurial interest of Spanish youth aged between 15 to 18 years of age, who find themselves in the state-regulated education system, at an initial stage in the development of entrepreneurship. A previously validated ad hoc questionnaire was applied through simple random sampling to 1,764 students at a secondary school in Spain. The analysis is done with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), a technique that reduces the high dimensionality of data through Cooperative Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning (CMLHL), applying neurocomputational methods to the educational sciences. Spanish youth expressed a medium level of interest in entrepreneurship. Analysis with ANN shows that education in entrepreneurial competence is an influential aspect of interest in entrepreneurship. As conclusion, educational and curricular reforms must be undertaken to promote the development of entrepreneurial competence at various stages of compulsory education to increase interest in entrepreneurship.

Optoacoustic imaging is an emerging technology that holds great promise for improving general clinical practice since it offers a unique combination of optical absorption contrast, high resolution, and high penetration depth. This combination of factors provides a distinct advantage over alternative imaging modalities in oncology, cardiology, dermatology, or endocrinology among other medical fields. Optoacoustic technology affords the medical practitioner the possibility of visualizing light-absorbing biomolecules like water, lipids, oxy/deoxy hemoglobin, or melanin in deep tissue with relatively cheap and small form factor instruments, without the need of contrast agents or ionizing radiation. Moreover, exogenous fluorescent contrast agents like indocyanine green or methylene blue can also be observed. Driven by its potential for new applications in the clinic, the field has experienced intense changes in the last 20 years. Continuous technological advancements in instrumentation, image formation methods, or acquisition geometries, have led to the development of numerous clinical devices also motivating the creation of several startup companies that aim to translate the technology from the lab to the clinic. Thus, the question arises: how far are we from clinical adoption? In this article, we aim to shed light on such question by reviewing the clinical studies that have been performed in the last 10 years. Our intention is to go beyond the classical review format by providing a brief general overview of the steps that new imaging methods undergo on their journey from the lab to clinical adoption. Then we examine the progress that optoacoustic technology has made on such a journey.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged people are disproportionally more likely to develop obesity and obesity-related diseases. However, it remains unclear to what extent diet quality contributes to socioeconomic inequalities in obesity. We aimed to assess the role of diet quality in the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity. Data originated from the national nutrition survey, a cross-sectional sample of the adult Swiss population (N=1860). We used education and income as proxies for SES; calculated the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) as measure of diet quality; and used body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as obesity markers. We applied counterfactual mediation modelling to generate odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and the proportion mediated by diet quality. Individuals with less than a tertiary education were two to three times more likely to be obese, regardless of the marker (OR; 95% CI: 3.36 (2.01, 5.66) using BMI; 2.44 (1.58, 3.75) using WC; 2.48 (1.63, 3.78) using WHR; and 2.04 (1.43, 2.96) using WHtR). The proportion of the association between educational level and obesity that was mediated by diet quality was 22.1% using BMI, 26.6% using WC, 31.4% using WHtR, and 35.8% using WHR. Similar findings were observed for income. Our findings suggest that diet quality substantially contributes to socioeconomic inequalities in obesity while it does not fully explain them. Focusing efforts on improving the diet quality of disadvantaged groups could help reduce social inequalities in obesity.

Background: In susceptible hosts, SARS-CoV2 induced hyperinflammation accounts for an increased mortality. The search of adjuvant immunomodulatory therapies has been ongoing ever since the pandemic outbreak. Aim: Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of cyclosporin A (CsA) as add-on therapy to standard of care in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: We conducted a randomized clinical trial in patients admitted to 8 Spanish Tertiary Hospitals. Patients were stratified into two severity categories and randomized 1:1 to receive a high dose corticosteroid-based standard therapy with or without CsA. The primary endpoint was FiO2 recovery by day 12 without relapses. Results: 109 patients were included and 98 randomized: 51 of them were assigned to CsA+SoC group and 47 to Standard of Care (SoC). 96/98 of them were included in the Intention to Treat population. 35 (68.6%) patients from CsA+SoC group and 32 (71,1%) patients from SoC group reached the primary endpoint in the ITT analysis. No differences were found after stratification into age groups, severity level at admission or the combination of both. Overall, time to FiO2 normalization was 7.4 days vs 7.9 days in the experimental and control groups, respectively. Global mortality was 8.2%. Severe adverse events were uncommon and equally distributed between arms. Conclusion: Addition of CsA did not show differences over a high-dose corticosteroids-based treatment in the clinical course of included patients. A better identification of candidates who will benefit from receiving immunomodulatory drugs is necessary in future studies.

This review paper investigates the influence of gestures on foreign language (FL) vocabulary learning through a series of experiments conducted in our laboratory. The manipulation of the gesture-word relationship was a consistent factor across the studies. Firstly, we examined the impact of gestures on noun and verb learning. The results revealed that participants exhibited better learning outcomes when FL words were accompanied by congruent gestures compared to a no gesture condition. This suggests that gestures have a positive effect on FL learning when there is a meaningful connection between the words and the accompanying gestures. However, in general, the recall of words in conditions where gestures were incongruent or lacked meaning was lower than in the no gesture condition. This indicates that under certain circumstances, gestures may have a detrimental impact on FL learning. We analyzed these findings in terms of their implications for facilitating or interfering with FL acquisition. Secondly, we addressed the question of whether individuals need to physically perform the gestures themselves to observe the effects of gestures on vocabulary learning. To explore this, participants were divided into two experimental groups. In one group, participants learned the words by actively performing the gestures ("do" learning group), while the other group simply observed the gestures performed by others ("see" learning group). The processing of congruent gestures facilitated the recall of FL words in both the "see" and "do" learning groups. However, the interference effect associated with processing incongruent gestures was more pronounced in the "see" learning group than in the "do" learning group. Thus, the performance of gestures appears to mitigate the negative impact that gestures may have on the acquisition of FL vocabulary. In conclusion, our findings suggest that iconic gestures can serve as an effective tool for learning vocabulary in a FL, particularly when the gestures align with the meaning of the words. Furthermore, the active performance of gestures helps counteract the negative effects associated with inconsistencies between gestures and word meanings. Consequently, if a choice must be made, a FL learning strategy in which learners acquire words while making gestures congruent with their meaning would be highly desirable.

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.

SARS-CoV-2 is a new coronavirus that has caused a worldwide pandemic. It produces severe acute respiratory disease (COVID-19), which is fatal in many cases, characterised by cytokine release syndrome (CRS). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), those who smoke are likely to be more vulnerable to infection. Here, in order to clarify the epidemiologic relationship between smoking and COVID-19, we present a systematic literature review until 28 April 2020 and a meta-analysis. It includes 18 recent COVID-19 clinical and epidemiological studies based on smoking patient status from 720 initial studies in China, USA, and Italy. The percentage of hospitalised current smokers was 7.7% (95%CI: 6.9-8.4) in China, 2.3% (95%CI: 1.7-2.9) in the USA and 7.6% (95%CI: 4.2-11.0) in Italy. These percentages were compared to the smoking prevalence of each country and statistically significant differences were found in them all (p <0.0001). By means of the meta-analysis, we offer epidemiological evidence showing that smokers were statistically less likely to be hospitalised (OR=0.18, 95%CI: 0.14-0.23, p<0.01). CRS and exacerbated inflammatory response are associated with aggravation of hospitalise patients. In this scenario, we hypothesise that nicotine, not smoking, could ameliorate the cytokine storm and severe related inflammatory response through the cholinergic-mediated anti-inflammatory pathway.

The use of selective pro resolving mediators including the monohydroxylates are promising substances for the management of different acute and chronic diseases.In the field of obstetrics many clinical entities like uterine contractions or the occurrence of pre-eclampsia are still serious complications during pregnancy.The use of enriched marine oil nutritional’s may contribute to an attenuation of these diseases as the containing selective pro resolving mediators exhibit pro resolutive actions that can positively modulate inflammatory diseases and those leading to serious obstetrical complications.

Rapid and extensive urbanization has adversely impacted humans and ecological entities in the recent decades through a decrease in surface permeability and the emergence of urban heat islands (UHI). While detailed and continuous assessments of surface permeability and UHI are crucial for urban planning and management of landuse zones, they have mostly involved time consuming and expensive field studies, and single sensor derived large scale aerial and satellite imageries. We demonstrated the advantage of fusing imageries from multiple sensors for landuse and landcover (LULC) change assessments as well as for assessing surface permeability and UHI emergence in Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu, India. Cartosat-2 and Landsat-7 ETM+ imageries from 2007 and 2017 were fused and classified using a Rotation Forest (RF), while surface permeability and temperature were quantified using Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) index, respectively. Fused images exhibited higher classification accuracies than non-fused images, i.e. overall kappa coefficient values 0.83 and 0.75, respectively. We observed an overall increase of 20 km2 (45%) in the coverage of urban (dry, real estate plots and built-up) areas, while a decrease of 27 km2 (37%) for vegetated (cropland and forest) areas in Tirunelveli between 2007 and 2017. The SAVI values indicated an extensive decrease in surface permeability for Tirunelveli overall (0.4) and also for almost all LULC zones. The LST values exhibited an associated overall increase (1.30C) of surface temperature in Tirunelveli with the highest increase (2.40C) for urban built-up areas between 2007 and 2017. The SAVI-LST combined metric depicted the Southeastern built-up areas in Tirunelveli as a potential UHI hotspot, while a caution for the Western riparian zone for UHI emergence in 2017. Our results provide important metrics for surface permeability and UHI monitoring, and inform urban and zonal planning authorities about the advantages of satellite image fusion.

This communication reports an improvement of the quality of the electrical data obtained from the application of electrical resistivity tomography method on archaeological studies. The electrical contact between ground and electrode enhances significantly by using carbomer-based gel during the electrical resistivity tomography measurements. Not only does the gel promote the conservation of the building surface under investigation, but it also virtually eliminates the necessity of conventional spike electrodes, which in many archaeological studies are inadequate or not permitted. Results evidenced an enhancement in the quality of the electrical data obtained in the order of thousands of units compared with those without using the carbomer-based gel. The potential and capabilities of this affordable gel make it appropriate to be applied to other geoelectrical studies beyond archaeological investigations. Moreover, it might solve corrosion issues on conventional spike electrodes, and electrical multicore cables usually provoked for added saltwater attempting to improve the electrical contact.

Objective. To test the hypothesis that a session of unilateral tSMS over the dominant primary motor cortex (M1) in healthy subjects produces a transient decrease in manual dexterity. Methods. A triple-blinded randomized control trial was conducted in 40 healthy participants who were allocated to real- or sham-tSMS group. Each participant underwent one session of tSMS and were assessed before, immediately after, 15 minutes, and 40 minutes after stimulation. Outcome measures were Finger Tapping Test (FTT), 5-seconds FTT, nine Hole Peg Test, and the hand grip assessment. Results: Significant differences were found between groups 15 minutes after stimulation in favor of the tSMS group in the FTT (2.2 ± 0.99; CI= .18-4.22; d= .84p=.034), and 5-second FTT (4.2 ± 1.98; CI= .199-8.2, d= .68; p=.04). In the intragroup analysis, a significantly lower number of taps 15 minutes after stimulation was observed in sham group (3.3 ± 1.01; CI= .47-6.13; d= .42; p=.015), but not in the real stimulation group. Conclusion: A unilateral session of tSMS in the M1 of the dominant hemisphere of healthy individuals does not reduce manual dexterity or grip strength. This technique could have benefits on the motor performance of the arm contralateral to the stimulated motor cortex

Globally mangrove forests are substantially declining and a globally synthesized database of the drivers of deforestation and drivers’ interaction is scarce. Here we synthesized the key social-ecological drivers of global mangrove deforestation by reviewing about two hundred published scientific studies over the last four decades (from 1980 to 2021). Our focus was on both natural and anthropogenic drivers with gradual and abrupt impacts and their geographic ranges of effects and how these drivers interact. We also summarized the patterns of global mangrove coverage decline between 1990 and 2020 and identified the threatened mangrove species and their geographic ranges. Our consolidated studies reported a 8,600 km2 decline in the global mangrove coverage between 1990 and 2020 with the highest decline occurring in South and Southeast Asia (3870 km2). We could identify 11 threatened mangrove species, two of which are critically endangered (Sonneratia griffithii and Bruguiera hainseii). Our reviewed studies pointed to aquaculture and agriculture as the predominant driver of global mangrove deforestation though the spatial distribution of their impacts varied. Gradual climate variations, i.e. seal-level rise, long-term precipitation and temperature changes and driven coastline erosion, constitute the second major group of drivers. Our findings underline a strong interaction across natural and anthropogenic drivers with the strongest interaction between the driver groups aquaculture and agriculture and industrialization and pollution. Our results suggest prioritizing globally coordinated empirical studies linking drivers and mangrove changes and a global development of policies for mangrove conservation.

Thermodynamics of protein-ligand interactions seems to be associated to a narrow range of Gibbs Free Energy. As a consequence, a linear enthalpy-entropy relationship showing an apparent Enthalpy-Entropy compensation (EEC) is frequently observed associated to the study of protein-ligand interactions. This EEC affects negatively the design and discovery of new and more efficient drugs capable of binding protein-targets with a higher affinity. Originally attributed to experimental errors, compensation between H and TS values is a real observable fact, although its molecular origin has remained obscure and controversial. Herein we show the results of a data search of G values of 2558 protein-ligand interactions and 3025 “in vivo” ligand concentrations from the Protein Data Bank bind Database and the Metabolome Data Base (2020). These results, together with the mechano-statistical interpretation of the thermodynamic properties leads to the conclusion that the EEC has no basis in statistical thermodynamics. It can be plausibly explained as a consequence of the narrow range of G associated to protein-ligand interactions. The Gaussian distribution of the G values matches very well with that of ligands. These results suggest the hypothesis that the set of G values for the protein-ligand interactions is the result of the evolution of proteins. The conformation versatility of present proteins and the exchange of thousands (even millions) of minute amounts of energy with the environment may have functioned as a homeostatic mechanism to make G of proteins adaptive to changes in availability of ligands, and therefore achieve the maximum regulatory capacity of the protein function. Finally, a plausible strategy to avoid the EEC is suggested.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) has been proposed as biomarker for fertility in cattle, yet this associative relationship appears to be influenced by heat stress. Objective was to test serum AMH and AMH-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as markers potentially predictive of reproductive traits in heat-stressed dairy cows. The study included 300 Holstein cows that were genotyped using BovineSNP50 (54,000 SNP) after blood samples were collected and DNA extracted. A genome wide association study was then executed. Nine intragenic SNPs within the pathways that influence the AMH gene were found important with multiple comparisons adjustment test (p&lt;1.09x10-6). A further validation study was performed in an independent Holstein cattle population, which was divided into moderate (MH; n=152) and severe heat-stressed (SH; n=128) groups, and subjected to a summer reproductive management program. Serum AMH was confirmed as a predictor of fertility measures (p&lt;0.05) in MH but not in SH group. Cows were genotyped using the TaqMan allelic discrimination method and qPCR, which revealed four SNPs as predictive markers for serum AMH (p&lt;0.01), reproductive traits (p&lt;0.01) and physiological variables (p&lt;0.05). These SNPs were in the genes AMH, IGFBP1, LGR5 and TLR4. In conclusion, both serum AMH concentrations and AMH-related SNPs appear to be associated with fertility traits in dairy cows managed during summer.