bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Catalizadores para la Reacción de Electrooxidación de Amoniaco: Estudio con Diferentes Concentraciones de NH_4OH
Authors: Saab Emir , Castro Luna Ana , Asteazarán Mariano , Céspedes Germán
Published: October 2020

Las celdas de combustible son dispositivos electroquímicos que convierten directamente la energía química proveniente de una reacción en energía eléctrica. La búsqueda de un combustible limpio, sustentable y con alta energía ha llevado a la creciente consideración de combustibles basados en nitrógeno, como el amoníaco.El amoníaco líquido se puede almacenar en grandes tanques a temperatura ambiente de forma seguro como los actuales combustibles fósiles. Cada año se producen más de 200 millones de toneladas de amoníaco y se distribuyen a nivel mundial a través de tuberías, y camiones cisterna lo que hace que el amoníaco esté disponible y sea barato.El platino (Pt), es el catalizador por excelencia en las celdas de combustible debido a su alta electroactividad. Sin embargo, este metal precioso no es abundante en la naturaleza y su costo es elevado, lo que provoca que el desarrollo de celdas de combustible no sea comercialmente atractivo (Cespedes et al., 2016). El Departamento de Energía de EE. UU. (DoE) ha estimado que para hacer un uso masivo de las celdas el precio debería reducirse a unos 40 USD/kW en sistemas de 80 kW (Qaseem et al., 2016). Para reducir el costo asociado con el uso de Pt se sintetizan catalizadores nanoestructurados, aumentando así en gran medida la superficie específica y el número de átomos que se encuentran en la superficie del catalizador. Además, el Pt se suele combinar con otros elementos para potenciar su actividad catalítica (Zhong et al., 2013). La actividad catalítica de los materiales a preparar depende fuertemente del método de síntesis a implementar, ya que puede controlar el tamaño, forma y composición de las nanopartículas catalíticas. En los últimos años se han desarrollado métodos sintéticos reproducibles. De esta forma, se pueden obtener nanopartículas combinando diferentes metales en forma de aleación. Se evaluaron electrocatalizadores conocidos como el ya mencionado Pt, en su forma comercial Pt-ETEK a distintas concentraciones de amoníaco y bimetálicos del tipo PtM (con M = Ni, Ru) dispersos sobre un soporte conductor de alta superficie, preparados utilizando métodos de síntesis que implican la reducción química de los precursores metálicos para el catalizador en cuestión.
Síntesis y caracterización de materiales compuestos por Ti-HAP y Ti-HAP-Poros para aplicaciones como biomateriales
Authors: Cantero Santiago Marcelo , Oldani Carlos , Lucci Roberto Oscar
Published: October 2020

Este trabajo investiga dos procesos de obtención de materiales compuestos de Ti-HAP e Ti-HAP-Poros mediante procesos pulvimetalúrgicos. Las muestras “en verde” son conseguidas por compactación para el primer proceso y por aplicación de la técnica de Gel-Casting para el segundo; en donde dichas muestras son posteriormente sinterizadas para obtener el material compuesto Ti-HAP o Ti-HAP-Poro. Los polvos utilizados son hidruro de titanio (TiH2), hidroxiapatita (HAP) y resina acrílica (RA). Se realiza análisis por microscopía óptica (OM), microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM) y espectroscopía de rayos X de energía dispersa (SEM-EDS) junto al análisis de imágenes mediante el software Matlab.
Avance de tesis doctoral: Aceros de alta resistencia como refuerzo en estructuras de hormigón
Authors: Castillo María José , Svoboda Hernán , Andrade María María
Published: October 2020

Este trabajo resume el trayecto de trabajo experimental vinculado a la temática de la tesis en curso. El objetivo es analizar el efecto de los parámetros de soldadura por resistencia en barras de acero de uso comercial y aceros DP obtenidos mediante tratamiento térmico de austenización parcial. En primera instancia, se resumió la puesta a punto de equipos y técnicas de caracterización. Posteriormente, se evaluó el comportamiento de uniones soldadas por proyección en barras ATR 500 N y enaceros DP obtenidos por tramitamiento térmico de austenización parcial.
UiO-66-NH_2 para la obtención de ésteres levulínicos derivados de biomasa
Authors: Bravo Fuchineco Daiana Antonella , Crivello Mónica Elsie , Heredia Angélica Constanza , Rodríguez Castellón Enrique
Published: October 2020

Como resultado de la explotación masiva del petróleo y su agotamiento, el estudio de materias primas alternativas para reacciones orgánicas provenientes de la biomasa, es una tendencia de investigación en la actualidad. En este contexto, el presente trabajo plantea la obtención de metil y etil levulinato mediante la reacción catalítica de esterificación del ácido levulínico como molécula plataforma, con metanol y etanol. El catalizador utilizado es el MOF UiO-66-NH2, constituido por circonio como precursor metálico y ácido aminotereftálico como agente ligante orgánico. Se presenta una vía de síntesis con condiciones ambientales y económicas más favorables, utilizándose solventes alternativos. Se planteó el remplazo de la tradicional dimetilformamida (DMF), usada en la síntesis solvotermal, por un 50% v/v de acetona. Además, las síntesis se realizaron con agitación por vía magnética y ultrasónica, buscando mejorar las propiedades estructurales de los catalizadores. Para comprender la estructura cristalina, morfología y porosidad, los materiales se analizaron por difracción de rayos X, microscopía electrónica de barrido, espectroscopia infrarroja, espectroscopía fotoelectrónica de rayos X, espectroscopia de emisión atómica por plasma de microondas, medición de acidez y adsorción de N2. El progreso de la reacción catalítica fue seguido por cromatografía gaseosa y espectroscopía de masa. Dentro de los materiales sintetizados, el que presentó la mayor actividad, fue el obtenido con un 100% de DMF mediante la síntesis con ultrasonido. La conversión fue del 63,57% para el levulinato de metilo y del 38,69% para el levulinato de etilo.
Uso de ontologías y tecnologías de la web semántica para la integración, recuperación e intercambio de conocimiento de arquitecturas de software
Authors: Peña Veitía Francisco Javier , Vegetti María Marcela , Roldán María Luciana
Published: October 2020

A medida que los sistemas de software evolucionan, sus arquitecturas de software se vuelven más complejas, y crece la cantidad de datos generados durante los procesos de desarrollo, los cuales contienen alguna forma de conocimiento arquitectónico. Si bien muchas organizaciones han adoptado algunas estrategias y herramientas para brindar soporte a los productores de estos datos, existen aún dificultades para la extracción y/o formalización del conocimiento intrínsicamente embebido en esta información, así como su uso y distribución en proyectos de software posteriores. La importancia del estudio, captura y representación del conocimiento sobre arquitecturas de software (CAS) y su gestión ha dado lugar a numerosos trabajos de investigación, algunos de ellos haciendo uso de ontologías aplicadas como herramienta de soporte al conocimiento. Con el surgimiento del concepto de decisión arquitectónica, aparecieron las primeras ideas en el empleo de ontologías aplicadas al diseño de arquitecturas de software, por ejemplo, para describir decisiones arquitectónicas y relaciones entre ellas, para registrar decisiones arquitectónicas, artefactos de software, hojas de ruta e intereses arquitectónicos. El objetivo general de la investigación abordada es la definición de metodologías, herramientas y mecanismos para explotar el conocimiento de arquitecturas de software que se encuentra codificado en fuentes diversas y heterogéneas, haciendo uso de ontologías, tecnologías de la web semántica y algoritmos de aprendizaje automático; para facilitar el acceso, integración, recuperación, y aplicación en nuevos proyectos de diseño, así como también para inferir nuevo conocimiento a partir del existente.
Investigation of The Pain and Disability Situation of The Individuals Working "Home-Office" At Home At The Covid-19 Isolation Process
Authors: Özünlü Pekyavaş Nihan , Pekyavas Engin
Published: October 2020

The aim of our study is to examine pain and disability in low back, knee and shoulder regions of individuals working at home during COVID-19 isolation process. In our study, 87 volunteers were included in digital media by questionnaire with data collection method. Individuals who worked in the office before COVID-19 isolation but started working from home during the isolation were included in our study. In addition to the socio-demographic characteristics of the individuals, their situation about the working environment at home was questioned. In addition, pain in the low back, knee and shoulder regions was evaluated with an 11-point pain scale (EPPS). In order to determine the level of disability, individuals were asked to fill in the Oswestry Disability Index (for the lumbar region), Lysholm Knee Score (for the knee region) and the Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH) (for the shoulder region). It was seen that 86.2% preferred desk environment more frequently as home working environment and 65.5% spent 3 to 8 hours in this environment. During the home isolation process, the highest pain was observed for low back pain (50.6%) in individuals (EPPS:4-5), then shoulder pain (44.8%) (EPPS:5) and knee pain (35.6%) (EPPS:4-5). When the levels of disability were evaluated, the Oswestry score was found 13.08±11.98, the Lysholm score was found 91.20±12.23 and the DASH score was found 9.61±16.78. It has been observed that individuals working at home during COVID-19 isolation process may develop shoulder and knee pain, and mostly in the low back region, and all these pain are defined as moderate severity pain. However, when we look at the levels of disability, it was seen that low back pain, knee pain or shoulder pain did not pose a significant problem in the life of the patient and the level of disability was low.
Educação fitoterápica e ambiental como meio de propagação do seu uso racional através da extensão universitária para a comunidade: relato de experiência
Authors: Santos Bernadete , Medeiros Jessika Paiva , Alencar Josilanny Araújo de Souza , Almeida Jonathan Francisco de , Holanda Júlia Kiara da Nóbrega , Farias João Henrique Anizio de , Silva Neto João Vieira da , Medeiros Maurício André Campos de , Morais Laura Vanessa da Silva , Costa Anderson Rannier Nascimento , Martins Rosemaria Rogério , Anjos Raline Mendonça dos , Brito Júnior Luciano de , Almeida Maria das Graças Veloso Marinho de , Oliveira Filho Abrahão Alves de
Published: October 2020

Práticas fitoterápicas costumam utilizar plantas com potencial terapêutico voltado ao tratamento de patologias, tanto na forma “in natura”, quanto sob a forma medicamentosa no cuidado à saúde. O Brasil geralmente é caracterizado pela grande biodiversidade, com uma rica história de uso das plantas medicinais no tratamento dos problemas de saúde da população desde os grupos tribais. Por isso, é de fundamental importância conscientizar a população sobre o uso adequado das plantas medicinais já que se utilizadas de forma inadequada podem produzir substâncias potencialmente tóxicas. Diante disso, o presente estudo teve como objetivo explanar a experiência sobre a disseminação do uso racional de fitoterápicos pelos discentes dos cursos de Ciências Biológicas e Odontologia da Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), contribuindo com o conhecimento acerca das propriedades farmacológicas das plantas medicinais, formas de preparo dos chás e suas indicações. Foram explanados para a comunidade os conhecimentos, por meio de recursos tecnológicos (slides), para o auxílio na propagação da informação. Todas as etapas da oficina de produção dos fitoterápicos foram desenvolvidas pelos alunos com auxílio dos indivíduos presentes da comunidade. Realizou-se orientações sobre preparações caseiras medicinais e distribuição de materiais sobre o emprego terapêutico de algumas plantas medicinais típicas da região Nordeste. Destarte, a experiência teve sua contribuição em levar o conhecimento a comunidade sobre algumas plantas terapêuticas, contribuindo nas ações naturais e na saúde da população.
Dinâmica da cobertura do solo em três bacias hidrográficas da região amazônica do estado de Mato Grosso, Brasil
Authors: Wenzel Denise Aline , Sousa Junior Marionei Fomaca de , Uliana Eduardo Morgan , Mendes Múcio André dos Santos Alves
Published: October 2020

O impacto gerado a partir das modificações do uso do solo reflete expressivamente nos componentes do ciclo hidrológico, impactando no uso dos recursos naturais. O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a dinâmica da ocupação do solo nas bacias hidrográficas do rio Caiabi, Nandico e Celeste, situadas na região médio norte do Estado de Mato Grosso, entre os períodos de 1986 e 2015. Foram aplicadas técnicas de geoprocessamento como combinações coloridas falsa-cor e classificação supervisionada empregando o algoritmo de máxima verossimilhança (maxver). Foram definidas duas classes temáticas de ocupação do solo, sendo elas floresta e área antropizada. Os resultados são apresentados em mapas temáticos que mostram a distribuição espacial das mudanças ocorridas na cobertura do solo. Concluiu-se que 44% da área de floresta foi removida entre 1986 e 2015. A maior mudança na cobertura do solo ocorreu entre os anos de 1997 e 2006, resultando em uma redução de 1017,0 km2 de área de floresta.
Organic bench model applied to surgical suture training
Authors: Costa Neto João Moreira Da , Rodrigues Gabriel Menezes , Sala Pollyana Linhares , Morais Rafael Da Cruz , Ramalhais Alysson , Borges Talita Bianchin , Quessada Ana Maria
Published: October 2020

Veterinary and human medicine students should be trained in skills necessary to perform surgical procedures. Regarding the practice of surgical sutures, the methods used include the use of various materials such as fabric device, sponge, pieces of the animals and pieces of ethylene vinyl acetate. This article proposes to use banana and eggplant to train surgical suture techniques. The work was carried out by monitors from the veterinary surgical technical discipline. These monitors performed sutures in the vegetables (green banana and eggplant) and completed a questionnaire on the method. All monitors agreed that vegetables are easy to handle. Most stated that it was a pleasant experience for not using live animals. An advantage of using vegetables is handling, including storage and disposal. Besides, they do not transmit diseases. Animal materials such as bovine tongue, and swine parts that are widely used in suture teaching, present the risk of zoonosis transmission. The proposed organic bench model (banana and eggplant) may be indicated as a complementary alternative to advanced surgical sutures training. In addition, the model in question avoids the use of animals, while respecting ethical and legal issues.
Crise Econômica e Emprego Formal: uma análise para as cidades médias baianas
Authors: Lopes Bruno Mota , Souza Laumar Neves , Medeiros Junior Helcio de
Published: October 2020

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo investigar em que medida a crise experimentada pela economia brasileira nos anos recentes (2014-2018) impactou o estoque de empregos formais das cidades médias baianas, tomando como referência as informações disponibilizadas na RAIS. A análise registra um mosaico de tendências do comportamento do emprego formal regional baiano fora da RMS, onde ficam as 20 cidades médias baianas. Nestas cidades, estão distribuídos os principais polos produtivos com sua vida societária e seus estoques de trabalho, que apresentaram comportamentos peculiares nas diversas dimensões abordadas que refletem as especificidades de cada um de seus sistemas sociais, gerando redução de custos por exigirem menores salários em época de crise econômica, mas que se caracterizam por maior incerteza dos trabalhadores na busca por sua sobrevivência.
The implementation of credit relaxation through credits restructuring for debtors in terms of credit payments delaying obligations in the era of pandemic 19 in Indonesia
Authors: Ambarita Lenny Mutiara , Mardayanti Imelda
Published: October 2020

Applying business capital for a loan from a bank is a common thing to do for every aspiring businessman. In making the loan, the businessman uses a period and pays the monthly installments in accordance to what has been agreed. At the end of 2019, the outbreak of the Corona Pandemic 19 virus in the world has begun and without exception in Indonesia, resulting in decreased income from business sector. In order to address this problem as well as to ease bank installments for business people, Credit Restructuring can be carried out. This research is a normative juridical research, namely legal research by employing secondary data as a basic material by conducting an examination of the regulations and literature related to Credit Restructuring. As a result, it can be argued that the implementation of restructuring for each debtor is unquestionably different depending on the credit risk by the debtor and depends on the policy and analysis of the bank itself. Not all parties can accept this credit relaxation where banks or multi-finance companies are still required to be watchful for it is full of risk management calculations, thus relaxation is only given to debtors who have a good track record and are certainly affected by economic pressure due to the corona virus Pandemic 19. Credit Relation is running in accordance with the provisions of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) Number 1 of 2020 which is followed up by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) through policies, one of which regulates the Credit Relaxation Policy through Credit Restructuring for Debtors affected by Covid 19 especially for Small Micro Medium Enterprises.
Concordata Vaticano e Moçambique (2012): laicidade, liberdade religiosa e educação
Authors: Lanza Fabio , Fernando Ilídio , Patrocino Luis Gustavo , Rodrigues Franciele
Published: October 2020

O presente artigo aborda a complexidade da laicidade na educação da sociedade moçambicana, tendo especial atenção na análise da Concordata firmada entre os Estados de Moçambique e Vaticano, 2012. Este acordo contém a autorização para que o “Ensino Religioso Católico” (ERC) ligado à Igreja Católica seja realizado em qualquer unidade escolar moçambicana. O tema exige aprofundamento e investigação sociológica por se tratar de uma tensão existente entre a noção de laicidade que o recente Estado laico de direito democrático, também baseado no “respeito e na garantia dos direitos e liberdades fundamentais”, exprime em sua carta Magna e, a Concordata que disponibiliza o Sistema Nacional de Educação para ações de cunho proselitistas inserido em um sistema confessional oferecido à população. A problemática possibilita refletir sobre a estratégia católica internacional junto aos países lusófonos, bem como, relacionar a adoção do ERC nas escolas/unidades que prestam serviços de educação contratados pelo governo moçambicano à população em geral. Tendo em vista a pluralidade religiosa local e a imposição do ERC nas respectivas escolas. A pesquisa foi realizada de forma bibliográfica, eletrônica e documental (May, 2004) sob a perspectiva qualitativa com a base teórica das Ciências Sociais e Sociologia das Religiões. Logo, a oferta confessional, estabelecida da Concordata Internacional entre o Vaticano e Moçambique, e as dinâmicas decorrentes, além de contribuírem para o enfraquecimento da pluralidade religiosa e, portanto, da democracia, tornam a educação um campo de disputas também religiosas no país.
Panorama da produção científica oriunda dos grupos de pesquisa do Instituto Federal do Mato Grosso (IFMT) vinculados ao campus Cuiabá - Cel. Octayde Jorge da Silva
Authors: Grasel Gleydnara de Carvalho França , Tavares Nicolle Oliveira , Gadonski Paula Tombesi , Maltezo Benilde , Ferreira Ed Wilson Tavares , Santos Vanderley Severino dos , Mello Geison Jader
Published: October 2020

Os Institutos Federais se destacam no fomento do ensino, pesquisa e extensão e os grupos de pesquisa representam um importante papel na função de promover e disseminar o conhecimento científico. Nesse sentido, os grupos de pesquisa do Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia de Mato Grosso (IFMT), objeto do estudo da presente investigação representam uma importante contribuição para a pesquisa como princípio educativo. Sendo assim, este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as publicações dos participantes cadastrados como pesquisadores dos grupos de pesquisa do IFMT, vinculados ao Campus Cuiabá - Cel. Octayde Jorge da Silva, e identificar o registro de suas publicações na Plataforma Lattes. Ao analisar a trajetória das publicações científicas dos referidos grupos espera-se compreender como se dá a produção e a ampliação do conhecimento através de suas publicações. Para tanto, foi delimitado o período temporal que abrange as publicações de 2018 a 2020, por meio de pesquisa na Plataforma Lattes dos participantes. Na metodologia adotada para esta pesquisa descritiva e quantitativa, fez-se o uso de levantamento de dados bibliográficos e documentais. Como principais resultados alcançados, destaca-se a evidência demonstrada de que os grupos de pesquisa analisados possuem uma atuação ativa, identificou-se as principais áreas predominantes nos grupos de pesquisa, a participação de seus integrantes em projetos de pesquisa, bem como os tipos de publicações desenvolvidas por seus membros e os registros na plataforma Lattes. Dessa forma, ressaltou-se a importância dos grupos de pesquisa na difusão e socialização do conhecimento científico, caracterizando-os como ferramentas relevantes nos processos educacionais desenvolvidos pelos Institutos Federais.
Anti-malarial activity and toxicity of Aspidosperma nitidum Benth: a plant used in traditional medicine in the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Brandão Dayse Lucia do Nascimento , Martins Michel Tavares , Silva Adreanne Oliveira , Almeida Amanda Dias , Paula Renata Cristina de , Oliveira Alaíde Braga de , Coelho-Ferreira Marlia Regina , Gomes Antonio Taylon Aguiar , Vasconcelos Flavio de , Pereira Washington Luiz Assunção , Vale Valdicley Vieira , Percário Sandro , Dolabela Maria Fâni
Published: October 2020

The objective of this work was to evaluate the antiplasmodial activity and toxicity of the extract and fractions obtained from the bark of Aspidosperma nitidum. The ethanol extract obtained from the powdered bark of plants was acid-base partitioned and phytochemically analyzed. The antiplasmodial activity, in vivo antimalarial activity and in vitro cytotoxicity were acessed. The selectivity index (SI) was calculated. The acute oral toxicity and pathological effects, of the ethanol extract was evaluated in mice. The major constituent of the ethanol extract was suggestive of a β-carboline chromophore. The alkaloid and neutral fractions contained compounds with an aspidospermine core as the major constituent. The ethanol extract (IC50 = 3.60 µg/mL), neutral fraction (IC50 = 3.34 µg/mL) and alkaloid fraction (IC50= 2.32 µg/mL) showed high activity against P. falciparum (W2 strain). The ethanol extract and the alkaloid fraction reduced 80% of the parasitemia of P. berghei (ANKA)-infected mice (dose of 500 mg/kg) in the 5th day, which was not sustainable at the 8th day. A similar result was obtained for chloroquine. The ethanol extract (CC50 = 410.65 µg/mL; SI = 114.07), neutral fraction (CC50 = 452.53 µg/mL; SI = 135.49), and alkaloid fraction (CC50 =346.73 µg/mL; SI 149.45) demonstrated low cytotoxicity and high SI. The ethanol extract (5000 mg/kg; gavage) presented low acute oral toxicity, with no clinical or anatomopathological modifications being observed (in comparison to the control group). In vitro studies with a chloroquine-resistant clone of P. falciparum confirmed the antiplasmodial activity of the A. nitidum ethanol extract, and its fractions had low cytotoxicity for HepG2 cells. In vivo studies with P. berghei–infected mice and acute toxicity studies corroborated these results.
Condições operacionais de barragens destinadas ao armazenamento de água no Vale do Rio Pajeú, Brasil
Authors: Rocha Ana Karlla Penna , Barros Junior Genival
Published: October 2020

Dentre os problemas relacionados aos recursos hídricos no Brasil, além do uso inconsciente e em demasia feito pela população, é a sua distribuição geográfica irregular. Um dos rios mais importantes e que constitui a maior bacia hidrográfica pernambucana é o Pajeú. Por se tratar de rio intermitente, uma das principais iniciativas do poder público para aumentar a oferta hídrica ao longo do tempo foi e continua sendo a construção de grandes obras hidráulicas como açudes e barragens, cujo propósito é de armazenar água para abastecimento das cidades, agricultura e pecuária. No entanto, ao visualizarmos a conservação destes reservatórios e suas respectivas bacias de armazenamento ao longo da bacia, constata-se que o estado atual das condições operacionais destes corpos hídricos apresenta uma visível e preocupante decadência, grande parte em função da ausência de ações do poder público destinadas ao manejo e conservação dos mesmos. Em função deste quadro de degradação das estruturas hídricas, o presente trabalho se propôs a levantar o nível de deterioração em que se encontram os 6 dos principais corpos hídricos do Rio Pajeú e seus afluentes. Constatou-se que a maioria das estruturas apresentam um quadro de abandono preocupante e podem ser classificadas como de alto dano potencial associado e alta categoria de risco, portanto, propensas a rupturas caso permaneçam sem a contemplação a curto prazo de um plano de manutenção preventivo.
Development of visual perception test for children aged 3-8 years
Authors: Natalia Maria Yulinda Ayu , Azwar Saifuddin
Published: October 2020

Eyesight is an essential sense. The eyes are responsible for 80% of the information we receive about the world around us. The ability to perceive visual stimuli should therefore be considered the most effective ability when compared to other senses. Furthermore, it predisposes all developmental and growth issues in children. Impairment in visual perception leads to several problems, such as learning disorders, behavioral disorders, emotional problems and social disorders. Visual perception impairment is also often comorbid with other disabilities. Using the Frostig test, the examination of visual perception has begun to be carried out by several health workers, such as psychologists and occupational therapists. Although the Frostig test has been used in Indonesia, some of its aspects need to be reviewed. Indonesia’s visual perception tests are limited, and infrequently inspected. This study aims to modify the Frostig test into a testing instrument that is appropriate to the culture of child development in Indonesia and to be a child-friendly instrument, especially for children aged three-to-eight years. Modifications that will be made include the amendment of item content, additional dimensions, items and response options. The measurement of content validity involved 20 participants, a trial test of 30 participants, a visual attention test of 111 participants and a test for validity and reliability in 219 participants. The exploratory factor analysis confirmed six sub-tests, consisting of 38 items, with composite reliabilities ranging from 0.648-0.823.
Queijo coalho tipo B com adição de extrato aquoso de coentro
Authors: Araújo Liderlanio de Almeida , Marinho Marcella Estanislau , Melo Alexciana Pereira , Paiva Sérgio Carvalho de , Lima Edna Barboza de , Silva Edvane Borges da , Navarro Daniela Maria do Amaral Ferraz , Leite Lucia Fernanda Cavalcanti da Costa
Published: October 2020

O queijo coalho produzido com leite de vaca é um produto típico do Brasil, sendo considerado um patrimônio da região Nordeste, local de sua origem. Este agrega fonte de renda para seus produtores e comerciantes movimentando a economia de diversas cidades. Assim, este trabalho tem por finalidade avaliar a ação do extrato aquoso das folhas do coentro adicionado ao queijo coalho frente aos microrganismos Salmonella spp. e Staphylococcus aureus bem como analisar a qualidade sensorial deste produto após a adição do extrato e a sua influência em alguns parâmetros físico–químico. Pode-se observar que na avaliação sensorial o coentro promoveu pequenas alterações nos parâmetros avaliados, assim, como nos aspectos físico-químico, porém não foram significativos a nível estatístico. Na avaliação microbiológica constatou-se uma redução do teor de S. aureus para o queijo contendo o extrato. Concluísse que mais estudos são necessários para avaliar a redução microbiana na amostra contendo o extrato aquoso do coentro e que a aceitabilidade do queijo foi positiva.
Is meconium exposure associated with autism spectrum disorders in children?
Authors: Jenabi Ensiyeh , Ayubi Erfan , Khazaei Salman , Bashirian Saeid , Khazaei Mojtaba
Published: October 2020

Background: The results differ among published studies regarding exposure to meconium and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).Purpose: The present study pooled all of the epidemiologic studies retrieved from broader databases on the association between meconium exposure and risk of developing ASD in children.Methods: The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched without language restrictions for articles published between their inception to February 20, 2020, using relevant keywords. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated as random-effect estimates of the associations among studies. A subgroup analysis was conducted to explore any potential sources of heterogeneity among studies.Results: The pooled estimate of OR reported a weakly significant association between meconium exposure and ASD development in children (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03–1.24). There was low heterogeneity among the articles reporting risk for ASD among children (I2=19.3%; P=0.259). The results of subgroup analysis based on meconium exposure showed a significant association between a meconium-stained neonate and ASD development (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.11–1.24).Couclusion: Meconium exposure was weakly associated with an increased risk of ASD. However, more evidence based on large prospective cohort studies is required to provide conclusive evidence about whether meconium exposure is associated with an increased risk of ASD development.
Management of non-vital immature root canal of right maxillary central incisor with Metapex-MTA Coating: A Case Report
Authors: Srivastava Vinay Kumar
Published: October 2020

Brief background: A tooth with Blunderbuss canal and periapical lesion is difficult to treat by traditional root canal procedures. The dentinal wall surrounding the Blunderbuss canal is very thin, fragile and prone to fracture with a slight blow/ trauma. Therefore, a new strategy is required to treat such a case.

Materials and Methods: Canal was cleaned and irrigated with 5.25% NaOCl and 0.2% Chlorhexidine. It was temporized with Ca (OH) 2 for one week to obtain canal disinfection. After one week, Ca(OH) 2 was removed from the canal with a sterilized file and rinsed out with the help of saline. A 2-3mm thick Metapex layer was placed at the apical region of 11, followed by an MTA layer, once the apical MTA layer obtained sufficient strength; the rest of the canal was filled with MTA.

Discussion: This new treatment procedure not only closes the open root apices but also provides strength to the dentinal wall. Metapex –MTA combination provides advantages of both the materials; like calcium hydroxide of Metapex stimulates odontoblast of residual apical pulp and MTA stimulates cementoblast cells to bring about root apex closure.

Summery & Conclusion: Two year follow-up & a positive clinical outcome of this case were encouraging for the use of Metapex-MTA coating as an apical plug. The rest of the canal was filled with MTA to strengthen and supports the thin dentinal wall for better compliance with the occlusal forces.

Key Words: Blunderbuss canal, MTA, Metapex
Comparative Performance of Integrated Nutrient Management between Composted Agricultural Wastes, Chemical Fertilizers, and Biofertilizers in Improving Soil Quantitative and Qualitative Properties and Crop Yields under Arid Conditions
Authors: Al-Suhaibani Nasser , Selim Mostafa , Alderfasi Ali , El-Hendawy Salah
Published: October 2020

The primary goal of integrated nutrient management (INM) strategies is to substitute a portion of chemical fertilizers with a more sustainable and environmentally safe organic compost in order to mitigate soil degradation, improve crop production, and protect the environment. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the impacts of different INM practices, namely full-dose NPK (T1), compost of cow manure at 5 t ha−1 (T2), compost of poultry manure at 5 t ha−1 (T3), compost of mixed sheep and camel manure at 5 t ha−1 (T4), 50% NPK combined with the mixture of the three types of composts at the rate of 5 t ha−1 (T5) or 10 t ha−1 (T6), and mixture of the three types of composts at the rate of 10 t ha−1 (T7), 15 t ha−1 (T8), or 20 t ha−1 (T9) with or without biofertilizers for each treatment on several physiochemical and biological proprieties of soil and final grain yield of field crops after 2 years of field-scale experiments. The results showed that all INM practices generally significantly (p < 0.05) improved the initial values of all tested soil physiochemical and biological proprieties, whereas improvement was more prominent for the plots treated with T5–T9, compared with those treated with T1–T4. Seed inoculation with biofertilizers also significantly (p < 0.05) increased different soil proprieties by 2.8–12.0%, compared to that of the non-inoculation treatment. Principal component analysis revealed that most soil chemical properties were closely associated with T5–T6 treatments, while most soil physical and biological properties appeared to be more related to T7–T9 treatments. Our results indicated that recycling agricultural wastes into new productive composts and integrating it into appropriate INM practices as shown in T5–T9 treatments may induce favorable changes in soil properties and improve crop production under arid conditions even in the short term.
Effects of Deoxynivalenol-Contaminated Diets on Productive, Morphological, and Physiological Indicators in Broiler Chickens
Authors: Riahi Insaf , Marquis Virginie , Ramos Antonio J. , Brufau Joaquim , Esteve-Garcia Enric , Pérez-Vendrell Anna Maria
Published: October 2020

The present study with 1-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) was conducted to evaluate the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) at different levels (5 and 15 mg/kg feed) on growth performance, relative weight of organs, morphology of the small intestine, serum biochemistry, and welfare parameters of broiler chickens. Forty-five broiler chicks were randomly divided into three different experimental groups with five replicates each: (1) control group received a non-contaminated diet, (2) contaminated diet with 5 mg DON/kg of feed, and (3) contaminated diet with 15 mg DON/kg of feed for 42 days. Results showed that feed artificially contaminated with DON at guidance level (5 mg/kg diet) did not affect growth performance parameters. However, 15 mg/kg reduced body weight gain and altered feed efficiency. DON at two assayed levels significantly increased the absolute and relative weight of thymus and the relative weight of gizzard and decreased the absolute and the relative weight of the colon. Compared to controls, both doses affected small intestine morphometry parameters. In terms of biochemical indicators, DON at 5 mg/kg reduced the creatine kinase level and at 15 mg/kg DON reduced the cholesterol level. Furthermore, DON at 15 mg/kg induced more fear in broilers compared to broilers fed the guidance level. It was concluded that even the guidance level of DON did not affect the chickens’ performance. However, its toxic effect occurred in some organs and biochemical parameters.
A Pilot Serosurvey for Selected Pathogens in Feral Donkeys (Equus asinus)
Authors: Goodrich Erin L. , McLean Amy , Guarino Cassandra
Published: October 2020

Recent removal and relocation of feral donkeys from vast public lands to more concentrated holding pens, training facilities, and offsite adoption locations raises several health and welfare concerns. Very little is known regarding the common equid pathogens that are circulating within the feral donkey population in and around Death Valley National Park, California, USA. The aim of this study was to utilize serologic assays to assess previous exposure of these donkeys to equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), equine influenza (EIV), West Nile virus (WNV), and Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease). The results of this study indicate that this feral equid population is mostly naïve and likely susceptible to these common equid pathogens upon removal from the wild.
Comparison of Canine Behaviour Scored Using a Shelter Behaviour Assessment and an Owner Completed Questionnaire, C-BARQ
Authors: Clay Liam , Paterson Mandy B A , Bennett Pauleen , Perry Gaille , Phillips Clive C J
Published: October 2020

In shelters, it is usual to conduct a standardised behaviour assessment to identify adoption suitability. The information gathered from the assessment is used to identify the behaviour of the dogs, its suitability for adoption and to match the dog with an ideal home environment. However, numerous studies have demonstrated a lack of predictability in terms of the post-adoption behaviour in these assessments. We investigated if the owners’ perception of dogs’ behaviour in the home was reflected in the RSPCA Queensland behaviour assessment, conducted on the same dogs during a visit to the shelter. A total of 107 owners and their dogs aged 1–10 years were assessed in-home and in the shelter. The owners of the dogs completed a questionnaire (the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) survey) 1–2 weeks before bringing their dog to the shelter for the standardised behavioural assessment conducted at the RSPCA Queensland. An ordinal logistic regression analysis identified positive correlations for fear, arousal, friendliness and anxiousness, identified in in-home behaviour and the behaviour assessment. Furthermore, the behaviours of friendliness, fearfulness, arousal, anxiousness, and aggression were positively predictive between home behaviour and tests in the behaviour assessment. This research therefore led to a greater understanding of current canine behaviour assessment protocols used at the RSPCA Queensland in regard to the predictability of behaviour, behavioural problems and the efficiency, effectiveness and predictability of current behaviour testing procedures.
Microbiome Shift, Diversity, and Overabundance of Opportunistic Pathogens in Bovine Digital Dermatitis Revealed by 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing
Authors: Espiritu Hector M. , Mamuad Lovelia L. , Kim Seon-ho , Jin Su-jeong , Lee Sang-suk , Kwon Seok-won , Cho Yong-il
Published: October 2020

This study analyzed the diversity and phylogenetic relationship of the microbiome of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) lesions and normal skin from cattle foot by using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Three BDD samples and a normal skin sample were pre-assessed for analysis. The Illumina Miseq platform was used for sequencing and sequences were assembled and were categorized to operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on similarity, then the core microbiome was visualized. The phylogeny was inferred using MEGA7 (Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 7.0). A total of 129 and 185 OTUs were uniquely observed in normal and in BDD samples, respectively. Of the 47 shared OTUs, 15 species presented increased abundance in BDD. In BDD and normal samples, Spirochetes and Proteobacteria showed the most abundant phyla, respectively, suggesting the close association of observed species in each sample group. The phylogeny revealed the evolutionary relationship of OTUs and the Euclidean distance suggested a high sequence divergence between OTUs. We concluded that a shift in the microbiome leads to richer diversity in BDD lesions, and the overabundance of opportunistic pathogens and its synergistic relationship with commensal bacteria could serve as factors in disease development. The influence of these factors should be thoroughly investigated in future studies to provide deeper insights on the pathogenesis of BDD.
Promising Antibiofilm Agents: Recent Breakthrough against Biofilm Producing Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Abd El-Hamid Marwa I. , Y. El-Naenaeey El-sayed , M kandeel Toka , Hegazy Wael A. H. , Mosbah Rasha A. , Nassar Majed S. , Bakhrebah Muhammed A. , Abdulaal Wesam H. , Alhakamy Nabil A. , Bendary Mahmoud M.
Published: October 2020

Multidrug resistant (MDR) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a superbug pathogen that causes serious diseases. One of the main reasons for the lack of the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy against infections caused by this resistant pathogen is the recalcitrant nature of MRSA biofilms, which results in an increasingly serious situation worldwide. Consequently, the development of innovative biofilm inhibitors is urgently needed to control the biofilm formation by this pathogen. In this work, we thus sought to evaluate the biofilm inhibiting ability of some promising antibiofilm agents such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (Zno NPs), proteinase K, and hamamelitannin (HAM) in managing the MRSA biofilms. Different phenotypic and genotypic methods were used to identify the biofilm producing MDR MRSA isolates and the antibiofilm/antimicrobial activities of the used promising agents. Our study demonstrated strong antibiofilm activities of ZnO NPs, proteinase K, and HAM against MRSA biofilms along with their transcriptional modulation of biofilm (intercellular adhesion A, icaA) and quorum sensing (QS) (agr) genes. Interestingly, only ZnO NPs showed a powerful antimicrobial activity against this pathogen. Collectively, we observed overall positive correlations between the biofilm production and the antimicrobial resistance/agr genotypes II and IV. Meanwhile, there was no significant correlation between the toxin genes and the biofilm production. The ZnO NPs were recommended to be used alone as potent antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents against MDR MRSA and their biofilm-associated diseases. On the other hand, proteinase-K and HAM can be co-administrated with other antimicrobial agents to manage such types of infections.
Antimicrobial and Antivirulence Impacts of Phenolics on Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium
Authors: Alvarado-Martinez Zabdiel , Bravo Paulina , Kennedy Nana-Frekua , Krishna Mayur , Hussain Syed , Young Alana C. , Biswas Debabrata
Published: October 2020

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) remains a major infectious agent in the USA, with an increasing antibiotic resistance pattern, which requires the development of novel antimicrobials capable of controlling ST. Polyphenolic compounds found in plant extracts are strong candidates as alternative antimicrobials, particularly phenolic acids such as gallic acid (GA), protocatechuic acid (PA) and vanillic acid (VA). This study evaluates the effectiveness of these compounds in inhibiting ST growth while determining changes to the outer membrane through fluorescent dye uptake and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), in addition to measuring alterations to virulence genes with qRT-PCR. Results showed antimicrobial potential for all compounds, significantly inhibiting the detectable growth of ST. Fluorescent spectrophotometry and microscopy detected an increase in relative fluorescent intensity (RFI) and red-colored bacteria over time, suggesting membrane permeabilization. SEM revealed severe morphological defects at the polar ends of bacteria treated with GA and PA, while VA-treated bacteria were found to be mid-division. Relative gene expression showed significant downregulation in master regulator hilA and invH after GA and PA treatments, while fliC was upregulated in VA. Results suggest that GA, PA and VA have antimicrobial potential that warrants further research into their mechanism of action and the interactions that lead to ST death.
Self-Adaptive Priority Correction for Prioritized Experience Replay
Authors: Zhang Hongjie , Qu Cheng , Zhang Jindou , Li Jing
Published: October 2020

Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) is a promising approach for general artificial intelligence. However, most DRL methods suffer from the problem of data inefficiency. To alleviate this problem, DeepMind proposed Prioritized Experience Replay (PER). Though PER improves data utilization, the priorities of most samples in its Experience Memory (EM) are out of date, as only the priorities of a small part of the data are updated while the Q network parameters are updated. Consequently, the difference between storage and real priority distributions gradually increases, which will introduce bias into the gradients of Deep Q-Learning (DQL) and make the DQL update toward a non-ideal direction. In this work, we propose a novel self-adaptive priority correction algorithm named Importance-PER (Imp-PER) to fix the update deviation. Specifically, we predict the sum of real Temporal-Difference error (TD-error) of all data in EM. Data are corrected by an importance weight, which is estimated by the predicted sum and the real TD-error calculated by the latest agent. To control the unbounded importance weight, we use truncated importance sampling with a self-adaptive truncation threshold. The conducted experiments on various games of Atari 2600 with Double Deep Q-Network and MuJoCo with Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient demonstrate that Imp-PER improves the data utilization and final policy quality on discrete states and continuous states tasks without increasing the computational cost.
Verification of a Nondestructive Method for Assessing the Humidity of Saline Brick Walls in Historical Buildings
Authors: Hoła Anna , Sadowski Łukasz
Published: October 2020

The paper presents the results of the verification of the neural method for assessing the humidity of saline brick walls. The method was previously developed by the authors and can be useful for the nondestructive assessment of the humidity of walls in historic buildings when destructive intervention during testing is not possible due to conservation restrictions. However, before being implemented in construction practice, this method requires validation by verification on other historic buildings, which to date has not been done. The paper presents the results of such verification, which has never been carried out before, and thus extends the scope of knowledge related to the issue. For experimental verification of the artificial neural network (ANN), the results of moisture tests of two selected historic buildings, other than those used for ANN learning and testing processes, were used. An artificial unidirectional multilayer neural network with backward error propagation and the algorithm for learning conjugate gradient (CG) was found to be useful for this purpose. The obtained satisfactory value of the linear correlation coefficient R of 0.807 and low average absolute error |Δf| of 1.16% confirms this statement. The values of average relative error |RE| of 19.02%, which were obtained in this research, were not very high for an in-situ study. Moreover, the relative error values |RE| were mostly in the range of 15% to 25%.