bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bone ingrowth into open architecture PEEK interference screw after ACL reconstruction
Authors: Lind Martin , Nielsen Torsten , Sørensen Ole Gade , Mygind-Klavsen Bjarne , Faunø Peter , Leake-Gardner Stacey
Published: May 2020

Purpose Open or fenestrated interference screw design that allow bone ingrowth is a concept for improved bone healing to softtissue graft and bone filling in bone tunnels after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) The aim of the current study was to assess CT scanning evaluated bone ingrowth into an open architecture interference screws in the tibial tunnel of patients undergoing ACL with soft tissue grafts. It was hypothesized that open architecture interference screws would stimulate bone ingrowth into the screw cavities. Methods Twelve patients requiring ACLR were included. They underwent arthroscopic ACLR with semitendinosus-/gracilis tendon graft and an open architecture polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interference screw. The patients were scanned with a multi-slice CT scanner two weeks, six and twelve months postoperatively. On CT reconstruction slices bone ingrowth into the screw was measured. Subjective and objective clinical outcome international knee documentation committee score and instrumented knee laxity determination were collected. Results At six months no implants demonstrated more than 10 % bone ingrowth. At twelve months 42 % (5/12) implants had more than 10 % bone ingrowth (p = 0.009). The average bone filling into the screws was 7.7 %. There was no tunnel widening or cyst formation seen in relation to any of the implants. Subjective IKDC score improved significantly from 50.6 baseline to 80.1 at 24 month follow-up. Preoperative side-to-side knee laxity improved from 3.7 (2.1) to 1.4 (1.2) mm at twelve months. There were no serious adverse events in relation to the new open architecture thread PEEK interference screw during or after hamstring ACL reconstruction. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that open architecture thread PEEK interference screw can stimulate bone ingrowth into the screws after soft tissue ACL reconstruction with at twelve months with an average bone filling into screws was 7.7 %. Knee stability, functional, subjective and objective outcomes were similar to large volume ACL outcome studies. Trial registration The study was registered at ClinicalTrials # NCT023882341.
Complementary NAD+ Replacement Strategies Fail to Functionally Protect Dystrophin-Deficient Muscle
Authors: Frederick David , McDougal Alan V. , Semenas Melisa , Vappiani Johanna , Nuzzo Andrea , Ulrich John C. , Stewart Eugene L. , Sévin Daniel C. , Kramer H. Fritz
Published: May 2020

Background
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive muscle wasting disorder stemming from a loss of functional dystrophin. Current therapeutic options for DMD are limited, as small molecule modalities remain largely unable to lessen the incidence or mitigate the consequences of repetitive mechanical insults to the muscle during eccentric contractions (ECCs).
Methods
Using a metabolomics approach, we observed distinct and transient molecular phenotypes in muscles of dystrophin-deficient MDX mice subjected to ECCs. Among the most depleted metabolites was nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), an essential metabolic cofactor suggested to protect muscle from structural and metabolic degeneration over time. We tested whether the MDX muscle NAD pool can be expanded for therapeutic benefit by providing a biosynthetic precursor, nicotinamide riboside, or specifically inhibiting the NAD-degrading activity of the ADP-ribosyl cyclase, CD38.
Results
Administering a novel, potent, and orally available CD38 antagonist to MDX mice successfully reverted a majority of the muscle metabolome toward the wildtype state, while supplementing nicotinamide riboside did not significantly affect the molecular phenotype of the muscle. However, neither strategy effectively lessened muscle damage markers or improved hindlimb strength following repeated rounds of eccentric challenge and recovery.
Conclusions
Intramuscular NAD depletion occurs rapidly after eccentic injury, with broad pleitropic effects on the molecular phenotype of the tissue. Currently available means of protecting or replenishing the muscle NAD pool via orally administered small molecules are insufficient to functionally restore dystrophin-deficient muscle.
Exosomes derived from human placental MSCs carrying miR-4450 inhibitor alleviate intervertebral disc degeneration and ameliorate gait disturbances via up-regulation of ZNF121
Authors: Yuan Qiling , Wang Xinyi , Liu Liang , Cai Yongsong , Zhao Xiaoming , Ma Hongyun , Zhang Yingang
Published: May 2020

Background

Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as novel drug and gene delivery tools. Current study aimed to elucidate the potential therapeutic role of human placental MSC (hPLMSC)-derived exosomes carrying antagomiR-4450 (EXO-antagomiR-4450) in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) progression.
Methods

Initially, the differentially expressed miRNAs related to IDD were identified by microarray analysis which provided data predicting the interaction between miR-4450 and ZNF121 in IDD. Next, miR-4450 and ZNF121 were elevated or silenced to determine their effects on the damage of NPCs treated with TNF-α. The therapeutic effects of EXO-antagomiR-4450 on nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) were verified both in vitro and in vivo, especially gait analysis and fluorescent molecular tomopraphy were used in live IDD mice.
Results

Our results revealed that miR-4450 was highly expressed, while ZNF121 was poorly expressed in IDD patients and NPCs treated with TNF-α. Furthermore, miR-4450 was identified to specifically target ZNF121. Additionally, the inhibition of miR-4450 exerted an alleviatory effect on the inflammation, apoptosis and damage of the NPCs by up-regulating ZNF121. Moreover, EXO-antagomiR-4450 retarded damage of NPCs in vitro, alleviated IDD damage and ameliorated gait abnormality in vivo.
Conclusion

hPLMSC-derived exosomes could be a feasible nanovehicle to deliver inhibitory oligonucleotides like antagomiR-4450 in IDD.
Variation in the material properties by nickel substitution in copper tellurate
Authors: Mardolkar Sudarshana Dhanarath , Salker A. V.
Published: May 2020

A series of pristine and nickel doped copper tellurates possessing a wide range of applications are studied here. Use of a simple wet chemical route that is co-precipitation method has been employed for the first time, which involves the formation of desired compounds at a relatively lower temperature, thus modifying their properties. All the prepared compounds are characterized and investigated by XRD, TG – DTA, XPS, SEM, TEM to examine their phase purity, thermal stability, chemical state, and microstructural properties. The electrical resistivity studies showed an insulator - semiconductor transition behavior. Magnetic studies revealed the paramagnetic nature of the material. Antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition was observed at T N ~ 60 K in case of Cu 2.7 Ni 0.3 TeO 6 sample. Thermoelectric studies indicated a change in conduction mechanism with temperature. Dielectric properties with respect to frequency showed an increase in dielectric parameters with increasing dopant content. Photoluminescence property has been studied and found to show emission in the visible region.
Image Contrast Enhancement using Selfish Herd Optimizer
Authors: Guha Ritam , Alam Imran , Bera Suman Kumar , Ghosh Kushal Kanti , Kumar Neeraj , Sarkar Ram
Published: May 2020

Contrast enhancement is an important pre-processing task in any Image Analysis (IA) system. In this paper, we formulate the image contrast enhancement problem as an optimization problem where the goal is to optimize the pixel intensity values of an input image to obtain a contrast enhanced version of the same. This optimization task is executed by suitably customizing a nature-inspired optimization algorithm called Selfish Herd Optimizer (SHO). The optimization problem is solved using two different solution representations: pixel wise optimization (SHO(direct)) and transformation function based optimization (SHO(transformation)). Moreover, an ablation study is performed to select the most appropriate parameters which can be used in tness measure for this optimization problem. On experimenting over the popular Kodak image dataset, it has been observed that the proposed methods outperform many existing methods published recently. Further comparisons indicate that the direct approach performs better than its transformation counterpart. This paper further investigates the robustness of SHO(direct) approach by applying it to enhance the degraded document images of H-DIBCO 2018.
Three-dimensional Printing Versus Conventional Machining in the Creation of a Meatal Urethral Dilator: a Cost and Mechanical Strength Analysis
Authors: Chen Michael Yue-Cheng , Skewes Jacob , Daley Ryan , Woodruff Maria Ann , Rukin Nicholas John
Published: May 2020

BackgroundThree-dimensional (3D) printing is a promising technology but the limitations are often poorly understood. We compare different 3D printingmethods with conventional machining techniques in manufacturing meatal urethral dilators which were recently removed from the Australian market. MethodsA prototype dilator was 3D printed vertically orientated on a low cost fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printer in polylactic acid (PLA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). It was also 3D printed horizontally orientated in ABS on a high-end FDM 3D printer with soluble support material, as well as on a SLS 3D printer in medical nylon. The dilator was also machined in stainless steel using a lathe. All dilators were tested mechanically in a custom rig by hanging calibrated weights from the handle until the dilator snapped. ResultsThe horizontally printed ABS dilator experienced failure at a greater load than the vertically printed PLA and ABS dilators respectively (503g vs 283g vs 163g, p < 0.001). The SLS nylon dilator and machined steel dilator did not fail. The steel dilator is most expensive with a quantity of five at 98 USD each, but this decreases to 30 USD each for a quantity of 1000. In contrast, the cost for the SLS dilator is 33 USD each for five and 27 USD each for 1000. ConclusionsAt the current time 3D printing is not a replacement for conventional manufacturing. 3D printing is best used for patient-specific parts, prototyping or manufacturing complex parts that have additional functionality that cannot otherwise beachieved.
Developing and validating the risk perceptions questionnaire for COVID-19 (Risk Precept COVID-19): an application of the extended parallel process model
Authors: Jahangiry Leila , Sarbakh Parvin , Reihani Parvin , Samei Sirous , Sohrabi Zahara , Tavousi Mahmoud , Montazeri Ali
Published: May 2020

Background

In order to understand how people perceive, process, and respond to COVID-19 risk information, a valid and reliable instrument is needed. This study aimed to develop an instrument to measure the risk perceptions of people about COVID-19 based on the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM).

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tabriz, Iran. First, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to develop the initial draft of Risk-percept COVID-19. Then, in order to obtain a pre-final version of the instrument, face and content validity were conducted. After that, construct validity (exploratory and confirmatory), internal consistency using test-retest reliability and Cronbach’s alpha of the instrument were measured.

Results

Forty two item were initially generated. During the content validity, it was reduced to 29 items. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed four factors (perceived response efficacy, perceived threats (severity and susceptibility), perceived self-efficacy, and defensive responses (denial, avoidance and reactance) that accounted for 49.97 of the observed variance. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) designated a model with appropriate fitness for the data. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the dimensions ranged from .697 to .793, and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) ranged from .71 to .80 within acceptable ranges.

Conclusion

the current findings show that the Risk-percept COVID-19 is a valid and reliable instrument to assess the cognitions and perceptions of adults.
Point Prevalence survey of antimicrobial use in three hospitals in North-eastern Tanzania
Authors: Horumpende Pius Gerald , Mshana Stephen Eliatosha , Mouw Elise F , Mmbaga Blandina Theophil , Chilongola Jaffu Othniel , de Mast Quirijn
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background : Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most urgent global health threats with low-resource countries being disproportionately affected. Targeted interventions require insight in antibiotic prescription practices. A point prevalence survey (PPS) is a well-known tool to get insight in antibiotic dispensing practices in hospitals and identify areas for improvement. Here, we describe the results of a PPS performed in a tertiary, regional and district hospital in Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania.

Methods: A PPS was performed in the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC; tertiary hospital), Mawenzi (regional) and St. Joseph (district) hospital in November and December 2016. Antibiotic use in all patients admitted more than 24 hours and those undergoing surgery was recorded. All clinical wards were included except the pediatrics. Data from a single ward were collected on the same day.

Results : A total of 399 patients were included in the PPS: 232 patients from KCMC, 94 from Mawenzi hospital and 73 patients from St. Joseph hospital. Overall prevalence of antibiotic use was 44.0%: 38% in KCMC, 59% in Mawenzi and 63% in St. Joseph. C eftriaxone (n=94, 29.8%), metronidazole (n=79, 25.1%) and other antibiotics belonging to the penicillin class (n=89, 28.3%) were most commonly prescribed. Antibiotics prescribed for surgical prophylaxis were continued for more than 3 days in 57% of cases.
Conclusion: Our study shows a rate of broad-spectrum antibiotic use in Tanzanian hospitals and prolonged surgical antibiotic prophylaxis being a common practice. PPS is an important tool to improve future antibiotic use in Tanzania hospitals.
Butyrate mediates anti-inflammatory effects of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in intestinal epithelial cells through Dact3
Authors: Lenoir Marion , Martin Rebeca , Torres-Maravilla Edgar , Chadi Sead , González-Dávila Pamela , Sokol Harry , Langella Philippe , Chain Florian , Humaran Luis G. Bermudez
Published: May 2020

BackgroundThe commensal bacterium Faecalibacterium prausnitzii plays a key role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis and serves as a general health biomarker in humans. However, the host molecular mechanisms that underlie its anti-inflammatory effects remain unknown.MethodsA transcriptomic approach on human intestinal epithelial cells (HT-29) that were stimulated with TNF-α and exposed to F. prausnitzii culture supernatant (SN) was used. Modulation of the most upregulated gene after F. prausnitzii SN contact was validated both in vitro and in vivo.ResultsF. prausnitzii SN upregulates the expression of Dact3, a gene linked to the Wnt/JNK pathway. Interestingly, when we silenced Dact3 expression, the effect of F. prausnitzii SN was lost. Butyrate was identified as the F. prausnitzii effector responsible for Dact3 modulation. Dact3 upregulation was also validated in vivo in both healthy and inflamed mice treated with either F. prausnitzii SN or the live bacteria, respectively. Finally, we demonstrated by colon transcriptomics that gut microbiota directly influences Dact3 expression.ConclusionsOur results provide new clues about the host molecular mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory effects of the beneficial commensal bacterium F. prausnitzii.*Contributed equally to this work
Typology of Psychiatric Emergency Services in the United Kingdom: A narrative literature Review
Authors: Odejimi Opeyemi , Bagchi Dhruba , Tadros George
Published: May 2020

Background

Mental health crisis requiring emergency access to psychiatric service can occur at any time. Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) is described as one that provides an immediate response to an individual in crisis within the first 24 hours. Presently, several PESs are available in the United Kingdom (UK) with the aim of providing prompt and effective assessment, management and in some cases treatment and/or referral. Therefore, this study aims to provide a detailed narrative literature review of Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) currently available in the UK

Method

Electronic search of five key databases (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, EMBASE, AMED and PUBMED) was conducted. Studies were included if it described a service that provides immediate response in mental health crisis within the first 24 hours. Excluded studies did not describe a PES, non-English, and were not conducted in UK.

Results

Nine PESs were found. Amongst the 9 services, more papers described crisis resolution home treatment. Majority of the papers reported services within England than other countries within the UK.

Conclusion

All forms of PES are beneficial, particularly to mental health service users, but not without some shortcomings. There is a need to continue carrying out methodological research that evaluate impact, cost-effectiveness as well as identify methods of optimising the beneficial outcomes of all models of PES. This may help inform researchers, policy makers and commissioners, service users and carers, service providers and many more on how to ensure current and future PES meet the needs as well as aid recovery during crisis.
Energy Gap: Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Pavlyk Vladyslavr V.
Published: May 2020

The paper deals with analyses of the leading scientific directions to investigate the energy gap. The main goal of the paper is to analyse the tendency in the scientific literature on energy gap to identify the future research directions of the primary determinant, which influenced its volume. In the paper, the author used VOSviewer and Scopus Tools. The article reviewed papers (published 1991-2019) which indexed by Scopus and Web of Science. Using the Scopus analyse tools showed that in 2014 the numbers of paper which focused on energy gap began to increase. The scientists from the USA, China and India, had the most significant share of the documents on the energy gap. At the same time, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored most of the papers on energy gap. In 2014 the number of documents which focused on analyses of energy gap increased in such journals with high impact factor as follows: Journal of Economic Perspectives, Economic Modelling, Functional Ecology. The findings showed that the theme of energy gap is in the current trends of sustainable development and green energy. The data from VOSviewer identified 8 clusters of the papers which investigated the energy gap from the different points of views. The first significant cluster involved the keywords as follows: energy efficiency, energy-saving, energy efficiency gap etc. The third cluster focused on sustainability and climate change. The second and fourth clusters concentrate on engineering and technological aspect of the energy gap. The third and the first clusters located close to each other. It allowed proving that one of the significant parameters on energy gap were: sustainability; energy efficiency gap; share of the renewable energy. Such tendency allows concluding that the energy gap should be analysed from economic and management point of views. Besides, considering the findings, the main dimensions which influenced the energy gap could be grouped as follows: technological; ecological; energy efficiency; sustainable development.

Key words: energy, energy efficiency, green energy, gap, meta-analysis, Scopus, Web of Science.
Economic Mechanism for Managing the Communication Business Process of Industrial Enterprises in the Context of Globalization
Authors: Zavrazhnyi Konstyantyn Yu.
Published: May 2020

The paper provides a definition of the economic mechanism for managing the communication business processes of industrial enterprises in the context of globalization as a set of a system of relations, authorities, forms and methods of organization and operation, which are regulated by legal and other norms of activity and provide effective interaction in internal and external environments. This allows to deepen the understanding of the essence in the context of globalization under the orientation towards communication (we mean interaction first of all).
The composition of the comprehensive economic mechanism for managing the communication business processes of industrial enterprises is studied. This mechanism includes organizational, economic, legal, political, technical and technological, market, production, social, motivational, adaptive and communication submechanisms. This allows further formalization of the process of elemental improvement of the communication business processes of industrial enterprises.
The components of mechanism are detailed. In particular, the economic submechanisms include the mechanisms of profits distribution, economic stimulus, financial, equity, investment and reinvestment in development and other mechanisms. The legal submechanisms include the mechanisms, which govern communication and professional legal relations. Organizational submechanisms include structural mechanisms, administrative and information mechanisms that ensure the development and modernization of communication activities at the enterprise, its information security. Political submechanisms include mechanisms of information policy, social and economic policy and foreign economic policy. Market submechanisms include the ones of market competition, demand and supply, etc. Social submechanisms include the ones of transparency of doing business, social responsibility, social and psychological impact, etc. Production submechanisms include the following ones: resource, implementation of new types of software and hardware and other. Technical and technological submechanisms include the ones of scientific and technological progress, technological updates. Motivational submechanisms include the mechanisms of material and non-material incentives of personnel. Adaptive submechanisms are the submechanisms of innovative development (including implementation of innovations in information field), managing the personnel potential, etc. Communication submechanisms include the ones of information-and-analytical activities (including research conducting); external communications (including the system of integrated communications tools, modern telecommunications and communications facilities); internal communications (including creating corporate culture).

Key words: economic mechanism, submechanisms, management, communications, business processes, industrial enterprise.
State Regulation in the System of Managing Food Security of Children
Authors: Konovalenko Anastasia S.
Published: May 2020

The article reveals the role of state regulation in the system of managing food security of children, as one of the priority directions for the implementation of state policy in the field of food security. It is noted that the role of the state in the process of managing child nutrition is to ensure preservation and improvement of children’s health, implementation of measures aimed at preventing diseases that may be caused by malnutrition, creating conditions for improving the demographic situation in Ukraine. A person, his life and health, honor and dignity, integrity and security in Ukraine are recognized as the highest social value. The paper provides expert conclusions on the possibilities of increasing the level of food security of the population in Ukraine through the implementation of a number of measures aimed at stabilizing the economic situation by strengthening state policy in this field. Managing child nutrition goes beyond the problem of hunger and has a direct impact on the life quality of the population. The need for state regulation is exacerbated by a worsening tendency for deterioration of children's health in Ukraine, which reinforces the need for government programs to promote good nutrition through creation of a favorable environment in the food market for school-age children. It is stated that the current legislation of Ukraine establishes a system of measures for protection of childhood, including state guarantees for creation of safe life conditions and healthy development of the child, rational nutrition, the formation of healthy lifestyle skills. The author emphasizes the need for further research in the field of managing the safety of school children’s nutrition. The fact that the category "baby food" refers to children under 3 years of age contradicts the current legislation that states that the status of "a child" implies a person before reaching the age of 18 years old. The necessity to form a system of child nutrition management on the basis of the public-private partnership’s development in this field and to create a marketing mechanism as an effective means of overcoming public administration’s defects through its orientation to market principles for the implementation of state programs has been outlined in the article.

Key words: food security, state regulation, marketing, marketing mechanism, children's nutrition, management system.
Assessment of Country Investment Attractiveness Evaluation Approaches
Authors: Lyulyov Oleksii V. , Moskalenko Bogdan A.
Published: May 2020

Investment attractiveness of a country, and approaches to its evaluation have been thoroughly debated over few last decades. Initially, the key question concerned the reasons as to why large number of resource holders (financial funds, technologies, management systems etc.) would locate their assets, especially research and development projects, in other countries rather than remaining in their home economies. Increasing the quantity and quality of contacts with developed countries within investment process is crucially important for the development of Ukrainian economy. As follows from that point, the authors have identified features of approaches to investment attractiveness evaluation on a macroeconomic level analyzing latest works of scientists and researchers around the world.
It is believed, that the most valuable type of investments for future GDP growth is funds from multinational corporations: they bring not only money, but technologies, and decision how make new businesses profitable. Thus, the fundamental consideration for countries competing for investments is the influencing and improvement of such factors through effective investment incentives policies. Within this work, we researched recent studies of investment attractiveness evaluation around the world, and assumed key points for improving and applying those approaches in Ukrainian economy.
Within literature analysis the authors structured approaches to the evaluation based on the methods and subjects those approaches used. The most common methods are related to econometric analysis of statistical data that is collected and published by international institutions and rating agencies. Current analysis shows a tangible dependence between country investment attractiveness and the dynamics of FDI inflows. This dependence is not always straightforward, which is explained by influence of many other determinants within decision-making process. The authors suggest that involving independent experts from respective sectors of the economy could help to optimize the results of statistical data analysis. The expert survey provides the necessary correction coefficients which are to increase the accuracy and relevance of the investment attractiveness evaluation. The authors proposed a generalized approach to assessing the country investment attractiveness, taking into account international experience and features of the Ukrainian economy.

Key words: investments, country investment attractiveness, foreign direct investment, investment attractiveness evaluation.
Reduction of risk of perioperative complications in case of cardiac comorbidity
Authors: Kozlov I. A. , Ovezov A. M. , Pivovarova A. A.
Published: May 2020

The objective: based on the published data to describe the conceptual issues of the problem of perioperative cardiac complications in non-cardiac surgery.

Results: changes made to international guidelines over the past 3–4 years based on evidence-based studies and meta-analyzes have been analyzed. The article presents data on the etiopathogenesis of various postoperative cardiac complications, assessment of their risk based on the evaluation of functional activities of patients, cardiac risk indices, and modern biomarkers (B-type natriuretic peptides, cardiospecific troponins). The contemporary recommendations on adjuvant pharmacological cardioprotection and rational pharmacotherapy in the perioperative period are analyzed. The article describes specific parameters of diagnostic, treatment and prevention tactics in patients with coronary heart disease, hypertension, chronic heart failure, heart defects, and implanted electronic devices. It concludes that the implementation of the comprehensive strategy aimed at the reduction of risk of pulmonary complications should ensure the decrease in their frequency and mortality due to them.
Oral nutritional supplements in nutrition support for cancer surgery
Authors: Potapov A. L.
Published: May 2020

The objectiveis to present current data about the role of oral nutrition supplements (ONS) in cancer surgery. 

Results:this type of nutritional support should be considered as an integral part of the enhanced recovery after surgery.  Despite the apparent simplicity of prescription, it should be treated as one of the types of medical nutrition with its own indications, providing for the individual selection of specific formulas and evaluation of effectiveness. For the initial assessment of cancer patient nutritional status, European Society for Medical Oncology scale (ESMO, 2008) is the most appropriate. ONS should be combined with diet recommendations and physical activity maintaining.  Inability to provide with ONS > 60% of the daily energy requirements within 5–7 days, should be considered as an indication to start artificial nutrition – enteral and/or parenteral.
Goldstone equivalence and high energy electroweak physics
Authors: Cuomo Gabriel , Vecchi Luca , Wulzer Andrea
Published: May 2020

The transition between the broken and unbroken phases of massive gauge theories, namely the rearrangement of longitudinal and Goldstone degrees of freedom that occurs at high energy, is not manifestly smooth in the standard formalism. The lack of smoothness concretely shows up as an anomalous growth with energy of the longitudinal polarization vectors, as they emerge in Feynman rules both for real on-shell external particles and for virtual particles from the decomposition of the gauge field propagator. This makes the characterization of Feynman amplitudes in the high-energy limit quite cumbersome, which in turn poses peculiar challenges in the study of Electroweak processes at energies much above the Electroweak scale. We develop a Lorentz-covariant formalism where polarization vectors are well-behaved and, consequently, energy power-counting is manifest at the level of individual Feynman diagrams. This allows us to prove the validity of the Effective $W$ Approximation and, more generally, the factorization of collinear emissions and to compute the corresponding splitting functions at the tree-level order. Our formalism applies at all orders in perturbation theory, for arbitrary gauge groups and generic linear gauge-fixing functionals. It can be used to simplify Standard Model loop calculations by performing the high-energy expansion directly on the Feynman diagrams. This is illustrated by computing the radiative corrections to the decay of the top quark.
SISTEMA NEXT XADREZ (NX): NOVAS MODALIDADES DE XADREZ DESENVOLVIDAS COM BASE NO SISTEMA FISCHER RANDOM (XADREZ960)
Authors: Pereira Kariston , Pavanati Iandra
Published: May 2020

O novo sistema de xadrez desenvolvido pelo NexT – Núcleo de Estudos em Xadrez & Tecnologias da UDESC (Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina) é denominado "NexT Xadrez" (NX), e seu propósito é instituir um padrão de jogo que valorize mais a intuição, a criatividade e o raciocínio durante a partida. Este sistema de xadrez visa, principalmente, eliminar a necessidade de memorização de variantes de abertura, seja pela instituição de sorteio (no NX 08/32, assim como é no Xadrez960), seja pela introdução da assimetria (no NX 64/1K, que ao aumentar drasticamente as possibilidades de lances na abertura, inviabiliza a memorização de sistemas e linhas extensas). Apesar de ser um subsistema do Xadrez960 (no caso do NX 08/32), diferentemente do Xadrez960, o NX mantém um padrão semiótico e estético compatível com o xadrez tradicional, mantendo os conceitos de “Ala da Dama” e “Ala do Rei”, e, em consequência, tanto o roque grande como o roque pequeno também continuarão a ser de fácil assimilação. Nesse sentido, acredita-se que o NX atenda também às recomendações do Grande Mestre Garry Kasparov, ao se limitar o número de posições do Xadrez960 a um conjunto mais harmônico e "decente", composto por posições que não "violem nosso senso para a geometria normal do xadrez". Com isso, busca-se desenvolver e testar a capacidade intuitivo-criativa dos enxadristas, suprida por um adequado esforço de desenvolvimento de uma consciência situacional mais apropriada, para fomento de um raciocínio abdutivo de maior qualidade, mas sem desmerecer completamente os conhecimentos de princípios e ideias a respeito das aberturas estudadas para o xadrez tradicional (xadrez 1), que é o atual sistema oficial de xadrez da FIDE (Federação Internacional de Xadrez). A modalidade NX08 já foi verificada por meio de análises de software e utilizada experimentalmente em torneios desde 2017 no NexT.
CATEGORIA FEMININA EM XEQUE: REFLEXÕES SOBRE A CATEGORIA FEMININA EM TORNEIOS DE XADREZ
Authors: Carneiro Cristiana Fiusa , Coelho Marília Lira da Silveira
Published: May 2020

Nas últimas décadas temas relacionados ao gênero têm atraído a atenção de pesquisadores de áreas do conhecimento como educação, medicina, gestão, esportes entre outras.  Entretanto, no universo enxadrístico, constata-se que há um considerável número de trabalhos que abordam questões cognitivas, mas poucos versam sobre a diferença entre os gêneros. Além disso, há um número muito maior de praticantes do sexo masculino do que feminino. Contudo, o xadrez é um esporte que demanda um alto desempenho intelectual e não envolve força física. Partindo dessas premissas, este estudo tem como objetivo verificar se hoje ainda é pertinente a divisão entre a categoria feminina e absoluta em torneios de xadrez, sob a perspectiva da Neurociência. Para isso foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica em que as buscas dos artigos científicos foram feitas por meio das bases de dados Pubmed, ScienceDirect e Scielo e as palavras-chaves utilizadas foram xadrez, gênero, neurociência, psicologia e mulher, em três idiomas, português, inglês e espanho.l O período de abrangência partiu das primeiras pesquisas com xadrez em 1894 até os artigos mais recentes de 2018. Através dessa revisão, ficou elucidada a existência de um número maior de praticantes do sexo masculino, bem como a existência de diferenças nas bases neurobiológicas entre os sexos. Entretanto, trata-se de diferenças morfológicas e estruturais e não devem ser estendidas para o funcionamento cerebral, pois não trazem relevância nem diferença no desempenho cognitivo.  Diante disso, os fatores biológicos não fundamentam a diferença existente entre os sexos no xadrez e a atenção deve recair para os fatores culturais, históricos e sociais, principalmente para os processos de desnaturalização das desigualdades entre os gêneros. Por fim, evidencia-se a necessidade de novas pesquisas para aprofundar a discussão sobre gênero e xadrez.
GÊNERO E XADREZ: A POSIÇÃO DA MULHER NO MUNDO ENXADRÍSTICO
Authors: Trivilin Maria Isabel
Published: May 2020

A pesquisa tem por objeto de investigação a condição das mulheres no mundo do xadrez. Seu objetivo é analisar as relações sociais de gênero e as desigualdades presentes nesse universo, bem como a posição ocupada por mulheres nas competições desta natureza. Após uma reunião da literatura, a etnografia aproximou-se do campo através da análise de um torneio profissional do esporte e de outras competições amadoras, na intenção de coletar dados e informações sobre a diferença de participação e performance entre os gêneros, além de investigar os comportamentos de um ambiente majoritariamente masculino e qual o lugar das mulheres. A pesquisa de caráter quantitativo e qualitativo utilizou referenciais construídos a partir de instrumentos como levantamento bibliográfico e documental, observação e registro em diário de campo, entrevistas, questionários, dados audiovisuais e publicações em periódicos. Além disso, conta também com análises biográficas de quatro destacados mestres de xadrez, de ambos os gêneros, a fim de compreender as diferentes posições a eles atribuídas e as dificuldades que enfrentam por suas distintas condições sociais. Verificou-se, nesse sentido, que na atualidade há uma grande diferença de participação de homens e mulheres no âmbito profissional do xadrez e, consequentemente, em seus resultados. Contrariando os argumentos de que tais discrepâncias possuem caráter congênito e, portanto, imutável e apontam para uma suposta inferioridade feminina no que diz respeito não só às habilidades físicas, mas intelectuais e emocionais da mesma forma, procurou-se investigar a relação dessa realidade com as diferenças sociais e os comportamentos que são assimilados e impostos a cada gênero por nossa sociedade.
Fate and fractionation of aluminum in a full-scale Al-based drinking water treatment plant
Authors: Liu Hongyuan , Liu Haoran , Xie Yawei
Published: May 2020

Residual aluminum in drinking water is widely concerning due to its potentially harmful effect on human health and drinking water distribution systems. The fate and fractionation of aluminum and the factors influencing residual aluminum in a full-scale Al-based drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) was presented in Jiaxing, China. The results showed that treated water residual aluminum concentration was less than 0.1 mg/L regardless of the seasonal change of raw water aluminum concentration. The addition of secondary flocculation had a negligible influence on treated water residual aluminum concentration due to the efficient removal of particulate aluminum by sand filter. Residual aluminum concentration of treated water was lower (mean 0.037 mg/L) in summer (average water temperature was 29 °C) than that (mean 0.067 mg/L) in winter (average water temperature was 16 °C). Significant positive relationships between particulate aluminum concentration and particle counts, as well as the total aluminum concentration of treated water and turbidity, were found. Those relationships provided the possibility to estimate residual aluminum concentration by monitoring particle counts and turbidity.
Bias correction capabilities of quantile mapping methods for rainfall and temperature variables
Authors: Enayati Maedeh , Bozorg-Haddad Omid , Bazrafshan Javad , Hejabi Somayeh , Chu Xuefeng
Published: May 2020

This study aims to conduct a thorough investigation to compare the abilities of quantile mapping (QM) techniques as a bias correction method for the raw outputs from general circulation model (GCM)/regional climate model (RCM) combinations. The Karkheh River basin in Iran was selected as a case study, due to its diverse topographic features, to test the performances of the bias correction methods under different conditions. The outputs of two GCM/RCM combinations (ICHEC and NOAA-ESM) were acquired from the coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment (CORDEX) dataset for this study. The results indicated that the performances of the QMs varied, depending on the transformation functions, parameter sets, and topographic conditions. In some cases, the QMs' adjustments even made the GCM/RCM combinations' raw outputs worse. The result of this study suggested that apart from DIST, PTF:scale, and SSPLIN, the rest of the considered QM methods can provide relatively improved results for both rainfall and temperature variables. It should be noted that, according to the results obtained from the diverse topographic conditions of the sub-basins, the empirical quantiles (QUANT) and robust empirical quantiles (RQUANT) methods proved to be excellent options to correct the bias of rainfall data, while all bias correction methods, with the notable exceptions of performed PTF:scale and SSPLIN, performed relatively well for the temperature variable.
Fate of Ascaris at various pH, temperature and moisture levels
Authors: Senecal Jenna , Nordin Annika , Vinnerås Björn
Published: May 2020

Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are intestinal worms that infect 24% of the world's population. Stopping the spread of STH is difficult, as the eggs are resilient (can withstand high pH) and persistent (can remain viable in soils for several years). To ensure that new sanitation systems can inactivate STH, a better understanding of their resilience is required. This study assessed the inactivation of Ascaris eggs under various conditions, in terms of moisture content (MC) (<20 to >90%), temperature (20–50 °C) and pH (7–12.5). The results highlight that the exposure of Ascaris eggs to elevated pH (10.5–12.5) at temperatures ≤27.5 °C for >70 days had no effect on egg viability. Compounding effects of alkaline pH (≥10.5) or decreasing MC (<20%) was observed at 35 °C, with pH having more of an effect than decreasing MC. To accelerate the inactivation of STH, an increase in the treatment temperature is more effective than pH increase. Alkaline pH alone did not inactivate the eggs but can enhance the effect of ammonia, which is likely to be present in organic wastes.
Nano-Lipidic Carriers as a Tool for Drug Targeting to the Pilosebaceous Units
Authors: Ramkar Shweta , Sah Abhishek K. , Bhuwane Nagendra , Choudhary Ishwari , Hemnani Narayan , Suresh Preeti K.
Published: May 2020

The pilosebaceous unit is the triad comprising of hair follicle, arrector pilli muscle, and sebaceous
gland. Drug delivery to and through the hair follicles has garnered much attention of the researchers and the hair
follicles represent an attractive target site via topical applications. They are bordered by capillaries and antigenpresenting
cells, connected to the sebaceous glands and the bulge region of the hair follicle anchors the stem cells.
The nano lipid carriers have the propensity to penetrate through the skin via transcellular route, intracellular route
and follicular route. It has been established that nano lipid carriers have the potential for follicular drug delivery
and provide some advantages over conventional pathways, including improved bioavailability, enhanced penetration
depth, fast transport into the skin, tissue targeting and form a drug reservoir for prolonged release. This
review describes the pilosebaceous unit (PSU) and related diseases and the recent lipid-based nanotechnology
approaches for drug delivery to the follicular unit as well as related issues. Different types of nano lipid carriers,
including ethosomes, liposomes, nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), and nano lipid carriers
(NLCs) have been reported for follicular drug delivery. Targeted drug delivery with nano-lipid carriers has the
potential to augment the efficacy of drugs/bioactives to treat diseases of PSU. This review systematically introduces
the activities of different formulations and the use of nano lipid carriers in treating PSU related disorders
like alopecia, acne, and hirsutism.
Alopecia Triangular congénita temporal en edad pediátrica. A propósito de un caso
Authors: Nieto Jiménez Adrian Isacc , Benitez Sànchez Yanel
Published: May 2020

Se presenta el caso de una niña de 9 años de edad, valorada en el servicio de Dermatología provincial por ausencia de cabello presente desde el nacimiento. Se evalúa en conjunto y se concluye clínicamente como una Alopecia Triangular Congénita Temporal, sin necesidad de biopsia cutánea. Esta entidad es un trastorno de prevalencia desconocida, aunque quizá más frecuente de lo que podamos pensar, pero que en ocasiones puede constituir motivo de consulta al pediatra y/o al dermatólogo. Es una forma de Alopecia no cicatricial. Es necesario conocerla para evitar tratamientos y pruebas innecesarias para su diagnóstico por la gran similitud con otras dermatosis.
Cellulose for the effective decontamination of water pollution
Authors: Aldaz Bryan , Figueroa Freddy , Bravo Isaac
Published: May 2020

The widespread industrialization, urbanization, and technological development have triggered the daily release of considerable amounts of pollutants, specifically in aquatic environments. Previous research and work-studies indicate the existence of defined properties, such as low cost, non-toxicity, biodegradability, reusability, and easy synthesis, preparation or extraction, which make a material an ideal agent for the remediation of water or the environment. Therefore, the scientific community has focused on the development and study of several novels, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective materials. Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer encountered worldwide. Thereby, due to the unique biological properties that this biopolymer possesses, it has emerged as a potential candidate to replace synthetic materials for practical bioremediation of contaminated water. Furthermore, the presence of hydroxyl groups on its surface makes this biopolymer highly malleable, thus significantly enhancing its physicochemical properties by using a wide variety of functional groups and modification methods. The present review describes the different biopolymers useful for remediation of environmental pollution, explores in more detail the characteristics of cellulose and its promising applications in the decontamination of water pollution, and pays special attention to the removal of heavy metal ions, dyes, and hydrophobic organic compounds.
LOX-1 en las afecciones cardiovasculares, perspectivas terapéuticas futuras
Authors: Ramos Gómez Thelvia I. , Toledo Alonso Jorge Roberto
Published: May 2020

El receptor de la lipoproteína de baja densidad oxidado tipo lectina 1 (LOX-1), también conocido como OLR-1, es un receptor scavenger (SR) clase E, que media la absorción del colesterol LDL en su forma oxidada, por las células vasculares. LOX-1 está involucrado en la disfunción endotelial, la adhesión de monocitos, la proliferación, migración y apoptosis de las células del músculo liso, la formación de células espumosas, la activación de plaquetas, así como la inestabilidad a nivel del endotelio vascular; todos eventos críticos en la patogénesis de la aterosclerosis. LOX-1 contribuyen a la inestabilidad de la placa ateroesclerótica y a las últimas secuelas clínicas de ruptura endotelial e isquemia tisular cardíaca potencialmente mortal. No existe en la actualidad ningún fármaco aprobado o en desarrollo clínico a partir de LOX-1, debido a sus complejos mecanismos biológicos no dilucidados completamente. Se han utilizado diversas terapias con el objetivo de inhibir la acción de LOX-1; medicamentos como: antioxidantes, estatinas, agentes antinflamatorios naturales, que actúen sobre su expresión, pero todos con eficacia moderada. También se ha evaluado la administración de anticuerpos anti-LOX-1 inhibe la aterosclerosis al disminuir eventos celulares. El diseño de fármacos enfocados en el conocimiento de las vías de señalización de LOX-1 y la aplicación de herramientas biotecnológicas permite el desarrollo de nuevas dianas terapéuticas basadas en la potencialidad que tienen los anticuerpos monoclonales. Con estos antecedentes el, receptor LOX-1, representa un objetivo terapéutico atractivo para el tratamiento de enfermedades ateroscleróticas humanas. La evidencia reciente indica que la acción sobre este SR es una posible estrategia para el tratamiento de la enfermedad vascular, explorando en esta revisión su papel y posibles futuras aplicaciones en el diagnóstico y la terapéutica.