Search results for: Alexander García Mariaca

Authors: K. P. Valdés García, E. I. Rodríguez Fonseca, L. G. Juárez Cantú

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Suicide is a global, multidimensional and dynamic problem of mental health, which requires a constant study for its understanding and prevention. When research of this phenomenon is done, it is necessary to consider the different characteristics it may have because of the individual and sociocultural variables, the importance of this consideration is related to the generation of effective treatments and interventions. Adolescents are a vulnerable population due to the characteristics of the development stage. The investigation was carried out with the objective of identifying and describing the conceptualization of adolescents of suicide, and in this process, we find possible differences between men and women. The study was carried out in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The sample was composed of 418 volunteer students aged between 11 and 18 years. The ethical aspects of the research were reviewed and considered in all the processes of the investigation with the participants, their parents and the schools to which they belonged, psychological attention was offered to the participants and preventive workshops were carried in the educational institutions. Natural semantic networks were the instrument used, since this hybrid method allows to find and analyze the social concept of a phenomenon; in this case, the word suicide was used as an evocative stimulus and participants were asked to evoke at least five words and a maximum 10 that they thought were related to suicide, and then hierarchize them according to the closeness with the construct. The subsequent analysis was carried with Excel, yielding the semantic weights, affective loads and the distances between each of the semantic fields established according to the words reported by the subjects. The results showed similarities in the conceptualization of suicide in adolescents, men and women. Seven semantic fields were generated; the words were related in the discourse analysis: 1) death, 2) possible triggering factors, 3) associated moods, 4) methods used to carry it out, 5) psychological symptomatology that could affect, 6) words associated with a rejection of suicide, and finally, 7) specific objects to carry it out. One of the necessary aspects to consider in the investigations of complex issues such as suicide is to have a diversity of instruments and techniques that adjust to the characteristics of the population and that allow to understand the phenomena from the social constructs and not only theoretical. The constant study of suicide is a pressing need, the loss of a life from emotional difficulties that can be solved through psychiatry and psychological methods requires governments and professionals to pay attention and work with the risk population.

Keywords: adolescents, psychological construct, semantic networks, suicide

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Authors: Roman Matejka, Vaclav Prochazka, Tibor Izak, Jana Stepanovska, Martina Travnickova, Alexander Kromka

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Cell-based impedance spectroscopy is suitable method for electrical monitoring of cell activity especially on substrates that cannot be easily inspected by optical microscope (without fluorescent markers) like decellularized tissues, nano-fibrous scaffold etc. Special sensor for this measurement was developed. This sensor consists of corning glass substrate with gold interdigitated electrodes covered with diamond layer. This diamond layer provides biocompatible non-conductive surface for cells. Also, a special PPFC flow cultivation chamber was developed. This chamber is able to fix sensor in place. The spring contacts are connecting sensor pads with external measuring device. Construction allows real-time live cell imaging. Combining with perfusion system allows medium circulation and generating shear stress stimulation. Experimental evaluation consist of several setups, including pure sensor without any coating and also collagen and fibrin coating was done. The Adipose derived stem cells (ASC) and Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were seeded onto sensor in cultivation chamber. Then the chamber was installed into microscope system for live-cell imaging. The impedance measurement was utilized by vector impedance analyzer. The measured range was from 10 Hz to 40 kHz. These impedance measurements were correlated with live-cell microscopic imaging and immunofluorescent staining. Data analysis of measured signals showed response to cell adhesion of substrates, their proliferation and also change after shear stress stimulation which are important parameters during cultivation. Further experiments plan to use decellularized tissue as scaffold fixed on sensor. This kind of impedance sensor can provide feedback about cell culture conditions on opaque surfaces and scaffolds that can be used in tissue engineering in development artificial prostheses. This work was supported by the Ministry of Health, grants No. 15-29153A and 15-33018A.

Keywords: bio-impedance measuring, bioreactor, cell cultivation, diamond layer, gold interdigitated electrodes, tissue engineering

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Authors: Thomas Abraham, Garcia de la Vega Felipe, Lubna Nishath, Nzekwe Nduka, Powell Anne-Marie

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Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effectiveness of a peer support network created to provide medical education, pastoral support, and reliable resources to registrars to help them pass the MRCGP exams. This paper will include a description of the network and its purpose, discuss how it has been used by trainees since its creation, and explain how this methodology can be applied to other areas of medical education and primary care. Background: The peer support network was created in February 2021, using Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp platforms to facilitate discussion of cases and answer queries about the exams, share resources, and offer peer support from qualified GPs and specialists. The network was created and is maintained by the authors of this paper and is open to anyone who is registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and is studying for the MRCGP exams. Purpose: The purpose of the network is to provide medical education, pastoral support, and reliable resources to registrars to help them pass the exams. The network is free to use and is designed to take the onus away from a single medical educator and collate a vast amount of information from multiple medical educators/trainers; thereby creating a digital library of information for all trainees - exam related or otherwise. Methodology The network is managed by a team of moderators who respond to queries and facilitate discussion. Smaller study groups are created from the main group and provide a platform for trainees to work together, share resources, and provide peer support. The network has had thousands of trainees using it since February 2021, with positive feedback from all trainees. Results: The feedback from trainees has been overwhelmingly positive. Word of mouth has spread rapidly, growing the groups exponentially. Trainees add colleagues to the groups and often stay after they pass their exams to 'give back' to their fellow trainees. To date, thousands of trainees have passed the MRCGP exams using the resources and support provided by the network. Conclusion The success of this peer support network demonstrates the effectiveness of creating a network of thousands of doctors to provide medical education and support.

Keywords: peer support, medical education, pastoral support, MRCGP exams

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Authors: Omoruyi G. Idemudia, Alexander P. Sadimenko

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The need for the development of new sustainable bioactive compounds with unique properties that can become potential replacement for commonly used medicinal drugs has continued to gain tremendous research concerns because of the problems of disease resistant to these medicinal drugs and their toxicity effects. NOS-donor heterocycles are particularly of interest as they have showed good pharmacological activities in the midst of their interesting chelating properties towards metal ions, an important characteristic for transition metal based drugs design. These new compounds have also gained application as dye sensitizers in solar cell panels for the generation of renewable solar energy, as greener water purification polymer for supply and management of clean water and as catalysts which are used to reduce the amount of pollutants from industrial reaction processes amongst others, because of their versatile properties. Di-ketone acylpyrazolones and their azomethine schiff bases have been employed as pharmaceuticals as well as analytical reagents, and their application as transition metal complexes have being well established. In this research work, a new 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one-thiosemicarbazone was synthesized from the reaction of 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one and thiosemicarbazide in methanol. The pure isolate of the thiosemicarbazone was further reacted with aqueous solutions of palladium and platinum salts to obtain their metal complexes, in an effort towards the discovery of transition metal based synthetic drugs. These compounds were characterized by means of analytical, spectroscopic, thermogravimetric analysis TGA, as well as x-ray crystallography. 4-propyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one thiosemicarbazone crystallizes in a triclinic crystal system with a P-1 (No. 2) space group according to x-ray crystallography. The tridentate NOS ligand formed a tetrahedral geometry on coordinating with metal ions. Reported compounds showed varying antioxidant free radical scavenging activities against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl DPPH radical at 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 µg/ml concentrations. The platinum complex have shown a very good antioxidant property against DPPH with an IC50 of 76.03 µg/ml compared with standard ascorbic acid (IC50 of 74.66 µg/ml) and as such have been identified as a potential anticancer candidate.

Keywords: acylpyrazolone, free radical scavenging activities, tridentate ligand, x-ray crystallography

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Authors: Adriana Garcia-Gurrola, Carlos Adrian Peña Natividad, Ana Laura Martinez Martinez, Alberto Abraham Escobar Puentes, Estefania Ochoa Ruiz, Aracely Serrano Medina, Abraham Wall Medrano, Simon Yobanny Reyes Lopez

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels. Quercetin is a natural flavonoid with a hypoglycemic effect, but reported data are inconsistent due mainly to the structural instability and low solubility of quercetin. Nanoencapsulation is a distinct strategy to overcome the intrinsic limitations of quercetin. Therefore, this work aims to develop a quercetin nano-formulation based on biopolymeric starch nanoparticles to enhance the release and hypoglycemic effect of quercetin in T2DM induced mice model. Starch-quercetin nanoparticles were synthesized using high-intensity ultrasonication, and structural and colloidal properties were determined by FTIR and DLS. For in vivo studies, CD1 male mice (n=25) were divided into five groups (n=5). T2DM was induced using a high-fat and high-sugar diet for 32 weeks and streptozotocin injection. Group 1 consisted of healthy mice fed with a normal diet and water ad libitum; Group 2 were diabetic mice treated with saline solution; Group 3 were diabetic mice treated with glibenclamide; Group 4 were diabetic mice treated with empty nanoparticles; and Group 5 was diabetic mice treated with quercetin nanoparticles. Quercetin nanoparticles had a hydrodynamic size of 232 ± 88.45 nm, a PDI of 0.310 ± 0.04 and a zeta potential of -4 ± 0.85 mV. The encapsulation efficiency of nanoparticles was 58 ± 3.33 %. No significant differences (p = > 0.05) were observed in biochemical parameters (lipids, insulin, and peptide C). Groups 3 and 5 showed a similar hypoglycemic effect, but quercetin nanoparticles showed a longer-lasting effect. Histopathological studies reveal that T2DM mice groups showed degenerated and fatty liver tissue; however, a treated group with quercetin nanoparticles showed liver tissue like that of the healthy mice group. These results demonstrate that quercetin nano-formulations based on starch nanoparticles are effective alternatives with hypoglycemic effects.

Keywords: quercetin, diabetes mellitus tipo 2, in vivo study, nanoparticles

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Authors: Alexander I. Dovgyallo, Evgeniy A. Zinoviev, Svetlana O. Nekrasova

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The most of works applied for the pulse tube converters contain the workflow description implemented through the use of mathematical models on stationary modes. However, the study of the thermoacoustic systems unsteady behavior in the start, stop, and acoustic load changes modes is in the particular interest. The aim of the present study was to develop a mathematical thermal excitation model of acoustic oscillations in pulse tube engine (PTE) as a small-scale scheme of pulse tube engine operating at atmospheric air. Unlike some previous works this standing wave configuration is a fully closed system. The improvements over previous mathematical models are the following: the model allows specifying any values of porosity for regenerator, takes into account the piston weight and the friction in the cylinder and piston unit, and determines the operating frequency. The numerical method is based on the relation equations between the pressure and volume velocity variables at the ends of each element of PTE which is recorded through the appropriate transformation matrix. A solution demonstrates that the PTE operation frequency is the complex value, and it depends on the piston mass and the dynamic friction due to its movement in the cylinder. On the basis of the determined frequency thermoacoustically induced heat transport and generation of acoustic power equations were solved for channel with temperature gradient on its ends. The results of numerical simulation demonstrate the features of the initialization process of oscillation and show that that generated acoustic power more than power on the steady mode in a factor of 3…4. But doesn`t mean the possibility of its further continuous utilizing due to its existence only in transient mode which lasts only for a 30-40 sec. The experiments were carried out on small-scale PTE. The results shows that the value of acoustic power is in the range of 0.7..1.05 W for the defined frequency range f = 13..18 Hz and pressure amplitudes 11..12 kPa. These experimental data are satisfactorily correlated with the numerical modeling results. The mathematical model can be straightforwardly applied for the thermoacoustic devices with variable temperatures of thermal reservoirs and variable transduction loads which are expected to occur in practical implementations of portable thermoacoustic engines.

Keywords: nonlinear processes, pulse tube engine, thermal excitation, standing wave

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Authors: Torben Hansen, Lars Gronholdt, Alexander Josiassen, Anne Martensen

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Consumers often exhibit a bias in their knowledge; they often think that they know more or less than they do. The concept of 'knowledge over/underconfidence' (O/U) has in previous studies been used to investigate such knowledge bias. O/U appears as a combination of subjective and objective knowledge. Subjective knowledge relates to consumers’ perception of their knowledge, while objective knowledge relates to consumers’ absolute knowledge measured by objective standards. This separation leads to three scenarios: The consumer can either be knowledge calibrated (subjective and objective knowledge are similar), overconfident (subjective knowledge exceeds objective knowledge) or underconfident (objective knowledge exceeds subjective knowledge). Knowledge O/U is a highly useful concept in understanding consumer choice behavior. For example, knowledge overconfident individuals are likely to exaggerate their ability to make right choices, are more likely to opt out of necessary information search, spend less time to carry out a specific task than less knowledge confident consumers, and are more likely to show high financial trading volumes. Through the use of financial services as a case study, this study contributes to previous research by examining how consumer knowledge O/U affects two types of trust (broad-scope trust and narrow-scope trust) and consumer relationship satisfaction. Trust does not only concern consumer trust in individual companies (i.e., narrow.-scope confidence NST), but also concerns consumer confidence in the broader business context in which consumers plan and implement their behavior (i.e., broad scope trust, BST). NST is defined as "the expectation that the service provider can be relied on to deliver on its promises’, while BST is defined as ‘the expectation that companies within a particular business type can generally be relied on to deliver on their promises.’ This study expands our understanding of the interplay between consumer knowledge bias, consumer trust, and relationship marketing in two main ways: First, it is demonstrated that the more knowledge O/U a consumer becomes, the higher/lower NST and levels of relationship satisfaction will be. Second, it is demonstrated that BST has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge O/U and satisfaction, such that knowledge O/U has a higher positive/negative effect on relationship satisfaction when BST is low vs. high. The data for this study comprises 756 mutual fund investors. Trust is particularly important in consumers’ mutual fund behavior because mutual funds have important responsibilities in providing financial advice and in managing consumers’ funds.

Keywords: knowledge, cognitive bias, trust, customer-seller relationships, financial services

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Authors: David Krejci, Tony Schönherr, Quirin Koch, Valentin Hugonnaud, Lou Grimaud, Alexander Reissner, Bernhard Seifert

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In 2018 the NANO thruster became the first Field Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) system ever to be verified in space in an In-Orbit Demonstration mission conducted together with Fotec. Since then, 160 additional ENPULSION NANO propulsion systems have been deployed in orbit on 73 different spacecraft across multiple customers and missions. These missions included a variety of different satellite bus sizes ranging from 3U Cubesats to >100kg buses, and different orbits in Low Earth Orbit and Geostationary Earth orbit, providing an abundance of on orbit data for statistical analysis. This large-scale industrialization and flight heritage allows for a holistic way of gathering data from testing, integration and operational phases, deriving lessons learnt over a variety of different mission types, operator approaches, use cases and environments. Based on these lessons learnt a new generation of propulsion systems is developed, addressing key findings from the large NANO heritage and adding new capabilities, including increased resilience, thrust vector steering and increased power and thrust level. Some of these successor products have already been validated in orbit, including the MICRO R3 and the NANO AR3. While the MICRO R3 features increased power and thrust level, the NANO AR3 is a successor of the heritage NANO thruster with added thrust vectoring capability. 5 NANO AR3 have been launched to date on two different spacecraft. This work presents flight telemetry data of ENPULSION NANO systems and onorbit statistical data of the ENPULSION NANO as well as lessons learnt during onorbit operations, customer assembly, integration and testing support and ground test campaigns conducted at different facilities. We discuss how transfer of lessons learnt and operational improvement across independent missions across customers has been accomplished. Building on these learnings and exhaustive heritage, we present the design of the new generation of propulsion systems that increase the power and thrust level of FEEP systems to address larger spacecraft buses.

Keywords: FEEP, field emission electric propulsion, electric propulsion, flight heritage

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Authors: Raúl García de la Cruz

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In the state of Hidalgo and to the vicinity to the state of Mexico, there is a network of people who also share a valley bordered by hills with agave landscape of cacti and shared a bond of building traditions inherited from pre-Hispanic times and according to their material resources, habits and needs have been adapted in time. Weather has played an important role in the way buildings and roofs are constructed. Throughout the centuries, the population has developed very sophisticated building techniques like the flat roof, made out of a layer of earth; that is usually identified as belonging to architecture of the desert, but it can also be found in other climates, such as semi-arid and even template climates. It is an example of a constructive logic applied efficiently to various cultures proving its thermal isolation. So far it has done a review and analysis of the use of the roof in different areas, from pre-Hispanic architecture to traditional Moroccan architecture , finding great similarities in the elements of the system to be incorporated into the contemporary architecture. The rescue of a lore that dissolves with the changing environment, depends in principle on the links created towards the use of environmental resources as the anchor of the people to retain and preserve a building tradition which has viability deep league with the possibility of obtaining the raw material from the immediate environment. The objective of the research is the documentation of existing earth flat roofs in the state of Hidalgo and Mexico, as evidence of the importance of constructive system and its historical value in the area, considering its environmental, social aspects, also understanding the process of transformation of public housing at the time replaced the traditional techniques for industrial materials on a path towards urbanization. So far it has done a review and analysis of the use of the roof in different areas, from pre-Hispanic architecture to traditional Moroccan architecture, finding great similarities in the elements of the system to be incorporated into the contemporary architecture. The rescue of a lore that dissolves with the changing environment, depends in principle on the links created towards the use of environmental resources as the anchor of the people to retain and preserve a building tradition which has viability deep league with the possibility of obtaining the raw material from the immediate environment.

Keywords: earth roof, low impact building system, sustainable architecture, vernacular architecture

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Authors: Ivonne N. Pérez-Sánchez. María L. Rascón- Gasca, Angélica Riveros-Rosas, Rebeca Robles García

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Introduction: Primary caregivers of cancer patients have health problems related to their lack of time, stress, and fiscal strain. Their health problems could affect their patients’ health and also increase the expenses in public health. Aim: To describe self-care and risk behaviors in a sample of Mexican primary caregiver and the relation of these behaviors with emotional distress (caregiver burden, anxiety and depression symptoms), coping and sociodemographic variables. Method: Participated in this study 173 caregivers of a third level reference medical facility (age: M=49.4, SD=13.5) females 78%, males 22%, 57.5% were caregivers of patients with terminal cancer (CPTC), and 40.5% were caregivers of patients on oncology treatment (CPOT). Results: The 75.7% of caregivers reported to have had health problem in last six months as well as several symptoms which were related to emotional distress, these symptoms were more frequently between CPTC and female caregivers. A half (47.3%) of sample reported have had difficulties in caring their health; these difficulties were related to emotional distress and lower coping, more affected caregivers were who attend male patients and CPTC. The 76.8% of caregivers had health problems in last six months, but 26.5% of them waited to search medical care until they were very sick, and 11% didn't do it. Also, more than a half of sample (56.1%) admitted to have risk behaviors as drink alcohol, smoke or overeating for feeling well, these caregivers showed high emotional distress and lower coping. About caregivers healthy behaviors, 80% of them had a hobby; 27.2% do exercise usually and between 12% to 60% did medical checkups (glucose tests, blood pressure and cholesterol tests, eye exams and watched their weight), these caregivers had lower emotional distress and high coping, some variables related health behaviors were: care only one patient or a female patient and be a CPOT, social support, high educational level and experience as a caregiver in past. The half of caregivers were worrying to develop cancer in the future; this idea was 2.5 times more frequent in caregiver with problems to care their health. Conclusions: The results showed a big proportion of caregivers with medical problems. High emotional distress and low coping were related to physical symptoms, risk behaviors, and low self-care; poor self-care was frequently even in caregiver who have chronic illness.

Keywords: cancer, primary caregiver, risk behaviors, self-care

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Authors: Ana Beltran Sanahuja, A. Valdés García, Saray Lopez De Pablo Gallego, Maria Soledad Prats Moya

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Tomato consumption has greatly increased worldwide in the last few years, mostly due to a growing demand for products like sofrito. In this sense, regular consumption of tomato-based products has been consistently associated with a reduction in the incidence of chronic degenerative diseases. The sofrito is a homemade tomato sauce typical of the Mediterranean area, which contains as main ingredients: tomato, onion, garlic and olive oil. There are also sofrito’s variations by adding other spices which bring at the same time not only color, flavor, smell and or aroma; they also provide medicinal properties, due to their antioxidant power. This protective effect has mainly been attributed to the predominant bioactive compounds present in sofrito, such as lycopene and other carotenoids as well as more than 40 different polyphenols. Regarding the cooking process, it is known that it can modify the properties and the availability of nutrients in sofrito; however, there is not enough information regarding this issue. For this reason, the aim of the present work is to evaluate the cooking effect on the antioxidant capacity of different variants of tomato-based sofrito combined with other spices, through the analysis of total phenols content (TPC) and to evaluate the antioxidant capacity by using the method of free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Based on the results obtained, it can be confirmed that the basic sofrito composed of tomato, onion, garlic and olive oil and the sofrito with 1 g of rosemary added, are the ones with the highest content of phenols presenting greater antioxidant power than other industrial sofrito, and that of other variables of sofrito with added thyme or higher amounts of garlic. Moreover, it has been observed that in the elaboration of the tomato-based sofrito, it is possible to cook until 60 minutes, since the cooking process increases the bioavailability of the carotenoids when breaking the cell walls, which weakens the binding forces between the carotenoids and increases the levels of antioxidants present, confirmed both with the TPC and DPPH methods. It can be concluded that the cooking process of different variants of tomato-based sofrito, including spices, can improve the antioxidant capacity. The synergistic effects of different antioxidants may have a greater protective effect; increasing, also, the digestibility of proteins. In addition, the antioxidants help to deactivate the free radicals of diseases such as atherosclerosis, aging, immune suppression, cancer, and diabetes.

Keywords: antioxidants, cooking process, phenols sofrito

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Authors: Tiago Sigal Linhares, Ana Amélia Nascimento da Silva Bones, Juliana Miola, McArthur Alexander Barrow, Airton Tetelbom Stein

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Introduction: As a result of increased globalization and changing migration trends, it is expected that a significant portion of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) will change their place of residence over time. In order to provide better health care, monitor the HIV epidemic and plan urban public health care and policies, there is a growing need to formulate a strategy for monitoring PLWHA care, location and migration patterns. The Porto Alegre District is characterized by a high prevalence of PLWHA and is considered one of the epicenters of HIV epidemic in Latin America. Objectives: The aim of this study is to create a digital and easily editable map in order to create a visual representation of the location of PLWHA and to monitor their migration within the city and the country in an effort to promote longitudinal care. Methods: This Experience Report used Google Maps Map Creator to generate an active digital map showing the location and changes in residence of 165 PLWHA who received care at two Primary Health Care (PHC) clinics, which attended an estimated population of five thousand patients, in downtown Porto Alegre over the last four years. Their current addresses were discovered in the unified Brazilian health care system digital records (e-SUS) and updated on the map. Results: A digital map with PLWHA current residence location was created. It was possible to demonstrate visually areas with a large concentration of PLWHA and the migration of the population within the city as wells as other cities, regions and states. Conclusions: An easily reproducible and free map could aid in PLWHA monitoring, urban public health planning, target interventions and situational diagnosis. Moreover, a visual representation of PLWHA location and migration could help bring more attention and investments to areas with geographic inequities or higher prevalence of PLWHA. It also enables notification of local PHC units of monitored patients inside their area, which are in clinical risk or with treatment abandonment through active case findings, improving the care of PLWHA.

Keywords: health care, medical public health, theoretical and conceptual innovations, urban public health

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Authors: Mauricio A. Sarabia-Vallejos, Carmen M. Gonzalez-Henriquez, Adolfo Del Campo-Garcia, Aitzibier L. Cortajarena, Juan Rodriguez-Hernandez

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In this study, it was explored the formation and the morphological differences between wrinkled hydrogel patterns obtained via generation of surface instabilities. The slight variations in the polymerization conditions produce important changes in the material composition and pattern structuration. The compounds were synthesized using three main components, i.e. an amphiphilic monomer, hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), a hydrophobic monomer, trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFMA), and a hydrophilic crosslinking agent, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). The first part of this study was related to the formation of wrinkled surfaces using only HEMA and PEGDA and varying the amount of water added in the reaction. The second part of this study involves the gradual insertion of TFMA into the hydrophilic reaction mixture. Interestingly, the manipulation of the chemical composition of this hydrogel affects both surface morphology and physicochemical characteristics of the patterns, inducing transitions from one particular type of structure (wrinkles or ripples) to different ones (creases, folds, and crumples). Contact angle measurements show that the insertion of TFMA produces a slight decrease in surface wettability of the samples, remaining however highly hydrophilic (contact angle below 45°). More interestingly, by using confocal Raman spectroscopy, important information about the wrinkle formation mechanism is obtained. The procedure involving two consecutive thermal and photopolymerization steps lead to a “pseudo” two-layer system. Thus, upon photopolymerization, the surface is crosslinked to a higher extent than the bulk and water evaporation drives the formation of wrinkled surfaces. Finally, cellular, and bacterial proliferation studies were performed to the samples, showing that the amount of TFMA included in each sample slightly affects the proliferation of both (bacteria and cells), but in the case of bacteria, the morphology of the sample also plays an important role, importantly reducing the bacterial proliferation.

Keywords: antibiofouling properties, hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance, morphologic characterization, wrinkled hydrogel patterns

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Authors: Raphael Udeh, Luis García De Guadiana Romualdo, Xenia Dolje-Gore

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Background: Quite disturbing is the huge public health impact of COVID-19: As at today [25th March 2021, the COVID-19 global burden shows over 123 million cases and over 2.7 million deaths worldwide. Rationale: Recent evidence shows calprotectin’s potential as a therapeutic target, stating that tasquinimod, from the Quinoline-3-Carboxamide family is capable of blocking the interaction between calprotectin and TLR4. Hence preventing the cytokine release syndrome, that heralds the functional exhaustion in COVID-19. Early preclinical studies showed that tasquinimod inhibit tumor growth and prevent angiogenesis/cytokine storm. Phase I – III clinical studies in prostate cancer showed it has a good safety profile with good radiologic progression free survival but no effect on overall survival. Rationale/hypothesis: Strategic endeavors have been amplified globally to assess new therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 management – thus the clinical and antiviral efficacy of tasquinimod in COVID-19 remains to be explored. Hence the primary objective of this trial will be to evaluate the efficacy of tasquinimod in the treatment of adult patients with severe COVID-19 infections. Therefore, I hypothesise that among adults with COVID19 infection, tasquinimod will reduce the severe respiratory distress associated with COVID-19 compared to placebo, over a 28-day study period. Method: The setting is in Europe. Design – a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase II double-blinded trial. Trial lasts for 28 days from randomization, Tasquinimod capsule given as 0.5mg daily 1st fortnight, then 1mg daily 2nd fortnight. I0 outcome - assessed using six-point ordinal scale alongside eight 20 outcomes. 125 participants to be enrolled, data collection at baseline and subsequent data points, and safety reporting monitored via serological profile. Significance: This work could potentially establish tasquinimod as an effective and safe therapeutic agent for COVID-19 by reducing the severe respiratory distress, related time to recovery, time on oxygen/admission. It will also drive future research – as in larger multi-centre RCT.

Keywords: Calprotectin, COVID-19, Phase II Trial, Tasquinimod

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Authors: Alexander Zotov, Ilkin Osmanov, Emil Sakharov, Oleg Shelest, Aleksander Troitskiy, Robert Khabazov

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Objective: Thoracoscopic surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) includes two technologies in performing of operation. 1st strategy used is the AtriCure device (bipolar, nonirrigated, non clamping), 2nd strategy is- the Medtronic device (bipolar, irrigated, clamping). The study presents a comparative analysis of clinical outcomes of two strategies in thoracoscopic ablation of AF using AtriCure vs. Medtronic devices. Methods: In 2 center study, 123 patients underwent thoracoscopic ablation of AF for the period from 2016 to 2020. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group is represented by patients who applied the AtriCure device (N=63), and the second group is - the Medtronic device (N=60), respectively. Patients were comparable in age, gender, and initial severity of the condition. Among the patients, in group 1 were 65% males with a median age of 57 years, while in group 2 – 75% and 60 years, respectively. Group 1 included patients with paroxysmal form -14,3%, persistent form - 68,3%, long-standing persistent form – 17,5%, group 2 – 13,3%, 13,3% and 73,3% respectively. Median ejection fraction and indexed left atrial volume amounted in group 1 – 63% and 40,6 ml/m2, in group 2 - 56% and 40,5 ml/m2. In addition, group 1 consisted of 39,7% patients with chronic heart failure (NYHA Class II) and 4,8% with chronic heart failure (NYHA Class III), when in group 2 – 45% and 6,7%, respectively. Follow-up consisted of laboratory tests, chest Х-ray, ECG, 24-hour Holter monitor, and cardiopulmonary exercise test. Duration of freedom from AF, distant mortality rate, and prevalence of cerebrovascular events were compared between the two groups. Results: Exit block was achieved in all patients. According to the Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications fraction of adverse events was 14,3% and 16,7% (1st group and 2nd group, respectively). Mean follow-up period in the 1st group was 50,4 (31,8; 64,8) months, in 2nd group - 30,5 (14,1; 37,5) months (P=0,0001). In group 1 - total freedom of AF was in 73,3% of patients, among which 25% had additional antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) therapy or catheter ablation (CA), in group 2 – 90% and 18,3%, respectively (for total freedom of AF P<0,02). At follow-up, the distant mortality rate in the 1st group was – 4,8%, and in the 2nd – no fatal events. Prevalence of cerebrovascular events was higher in the 1st group than in the 2nd (6,7% vs. 1,7% respectively). Conclusions: Despite the relatively shorter follow-up of the 2nd group in the study, applying the strategy using the Medtronic device showed quite encouraging results. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy in the long-term period.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, clamping, ablation, thoracoscopic surgery

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Authors: Michelle Eliane Hernández-García, Angélica Lozano

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The traffic accidents study usually contemplates the relation between factors such as the type of vehicle, its operation, and the road infrastructure. Traffic accidents can be explained by different factors, which have a greater or lower relevance. Two zones are studied, a mixed industrial zone and the extended zone of it. The first zone has mainly residential (57%), and industrial (23%) land uses. Trucks are mainly on the roads where industries are located. Four sensors give information about traffic and speed on the main roads. The extended zone (which includes the first zone) has mainly residential (47%) and mixed residential (43%) land use, and just 3% of industrial use. The traffic mix is composed mainly of non-trucks. 39 traffic and speed sensors are located on main roads. The traffic mix in a mixed land use zone, could be related to traffic accidents. To understand this relation, it is required to identify the elements of the traffic mix which are linked to traffic accidents. Models that attempt to explain what factors are related to traffic accidents have faced multiple methodological problems for obtaining robust databases. Poisson regression models are used to explain the accidents. The objective of the Poisson analysis is to estimate a vector to provide an estimate of the natural logarithm of the mean number of accidents per period; this estimate is achieved by standard maximum likelihood procedures. For the estimation of the relation between traffic accidents and the traffic mix, the database is integrated of eight variables, with 17,520 observations and six vectors. In the model, the dependent variable is the occurrence or non-occurrence of accidents, and the vectors that seek to explain it, correspond to the vehicle classes: C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6, respectively, standing for car, microbus, and van, bus, unitary trucks (2 to 6 axles), articulated trucks (3 to 6 axles) and bi-articulated trucks (5 to 9 axles); in addition, there is a vector for the average speed of the traffic mix. A Poisson model is applied, using a logarithmic link function and a Poisson family. For the first zone, the Poisson model shows a positive relation among traffic accidents and C6, average speed, C3, C2, and C1 (in a decreasing order). The analysis of the coefficient shows a high relation with bi-articulated truck and bus (C6 and the C3), indicating an important participation of freight trucks. For the expanded zone, the Poisson model shows a positive relation among traffic accidents and speed average, biarticulated truck (C6), and microbus and vans (C2). The coefficients obtained in both Poisson models shows a higher relation among freight trucks and traffic accidents in the first industrial zone than in the expanded zone.

Keywords: freight transport, industrial zone, traffic accidents, traffic mix, trucks

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Authors: Alexander Chinyere Nwankpa, Nneka Ngozi Nwankpa

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In Nigeria, the Federal government is trying to make sure that everyone has access to enough food that is nutritiously adequate and safe. But in the southwest of Nigeria, notably in Ondo State, the most valuable minerals such as oil and gas, bitumen, kaolin, limestone talc, columbite, tin, gold, coal, and phosphate are abundant. Therefore, some regions of Ondo State are now linked to large quantities of natural radioactivity as a result of the mineral presence. In this work, the baseline radioactivity levels in some of the most important food crops in Ondo State were analyzed, allowing for the prediction of probable radiological health impacts. To this effect, maize (Zea mays), yam (Dioscorea alata) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) tubers were collected from the farmlands in the State because they make up the majority of food's nutritional needs. Ondo State was divided into eight zones in order to provide comprehensive coverage of the research region. At room temperature, the maize (Zea mays), yam (Dioscorea alata), and cassava (Manihot esculenta) samples were dried until they reached a consistent weight. They were pulverized, homogenized, and 250 g packed in a 1-liter Marinelli beaker and kept for 28 days to achieve secular equilibrium. The activity concentrations of Radium-226 (Ra-226), Thorium-232 (Th-232), and Potassium-40 (K-40) were determined in the food samples using Gamma-ray spectrometry. Firstly, the Hyper Pure Germanium detector was calibrated using standard radioactive sources. The gamma counting, which lasted for 36000s for each sample, was carried out in the Centre for Energy Research and Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The mean activity concentration of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 for yam were 1.91 ± 0.10 Bq/kg, 2.34 ± 0.21 Bq/kg and 48.84 ± 3.14 Bq/kg, respectively. The content of the radionuclides in maize gave a mean value of 2.83 ± 0.21 Bq/kg for Ra-226, 2.19 ± 0.07 Bq/kg for Th-232 and 41.11 ± 2.16 Bq/kg for K-40. The mean activity concentrations in cassava were 2.52 ± 0.31 Bq/kg for Ra-226, 1.94 ± 0.21 Bq/kg for Th-232 and 45.12 ± 3.31 Bq/kg for K-40. The average committed effective doses in zones 6-8 were 0.55 µSv/y for the consumption of yam, 0.39 µSv/y for maize, and 0.49 µSv/y for cassava. These values are higher than the annual dose guideline of 0.35 µSv/y for the general public. Therefore, the values obtained in this work show that there is radiological contamination of some foodstuffs consumed in some parts of Ondo State. However, we recommend that systematic and appropriate methods also need to be established for the measurement of gamma-emitting radionuclides since these constitute important contributors to the internal exposure of man through ingestion, inhalation, or wound on the body.

Keywords: contamination, environment, radioactivity, radionuclides

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Authors: G. Blanco-Lizana, C. García-Fernández, J. A. Sánchez

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Growth is a productive trait regulated by a large and complex gene network with very different effect. Some of they (candidate genes) have a higher effect and are excellent resources to search in them polymorphisms correlated with differences in growth rates. This study was focused on the identification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in MyoD-1 and MyoD-2 genes, members of the family of myogenic regulatory genes with a key role in the differentiation and development of muscular tissue.(MFRs), and its evaluation as potential markers in genetic selection programs for growth in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Through a sequencing in 30 seabream (classified as unrelated by microsatellite markers) of 1.968bp in MyoD-1 gene [AF478568 .1] and 1.963bp in MyoD-2 gene [AF478569.1], three SNPs were identified in each gene (SaMyoD-1 D2100A (D indicate a deletion) SaMyoD-1 A2143G and SaMyoD-1 A2404G and SaMyoD-2_A785C, SaMyoD-2_C1982T and SaMyoD-2_A2031T). The relationships between SNPs and body weight were evaluated by SNP genotyping of 53 breeders from two broodstocks (A:18♀-9♂; B:16♀-10♂) and 389 offspring divided into two groups (slow- and fast-growth) with significant differences in growth at 18 months of development (A18Slow: N=107, A18Fast: N=103, B18Slow: N=92 and B18Fast: N=87) (Borrell et al., 2011). Haplotype and diplotype were reconstructed from genotype data by Phase 2.1 software. Differences among means of different diplotypes were calculated by one-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc Tukey test. Association analysis indicated that single SNP did not show significant effect on body weight. However, when the analysis is carried out considering haplotype data it was observed that the DGG haplotipe of MyoD-1 gen and CCA haplotipe of MyoD- 2gen were associated to with lower body weight. This haplotype combination always showed the lowest mean body weight (P<0.05) in three (A18Slow, A18Fast & B18Slow) of the four groups tested. Individuals with DGG haplotipe of MyoD-1 gen have a 25,5% and those with CCA haplotipe of MyoD- 2gen showed 14-18% less on mean body weight. Although further studies are need to validate the role of these 3 SNPs as marker for body weight, the polymorphism-trait association established in this work create promising expectations on the use of these variants as genetic tool for future giltead seabream breeding programs.

Keywords: growth, MyoD-1 and MyoD-2 genes, selective breeding, SNP-haplotype

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Authors: Melanie Ostermann, Eivind Birkeland, Ying Xue, Alexander Sauter, Mihaela R. Cimpan

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Background: New reliable and robust techniques to assess biological effects of nanomaterials (NMs) in vitro are needed to speed up safety analysis and to identify key physicochemical parameters of NMs, which are responsible for their acute cytotoxicity. The central aim of this study was to validate and evaluate the applicability and reliability of an impedance-based flow cytometry (IFC) technique for the high-throughput screening of NMs. Methods: Eight inorganic NMs from the European Commission Joint Research Centre Repository were used: NM-302 and NM-300k (Ag: 200 nm rods and 16.7 nm spheres, respectively), NM-200 and NM- 203 (SiO₂: 18.3 nm and 24.7 nm amorphous, respectively), NM-100 and NM-101 (TiO₂: 100 nm and 6 nm anatase, respectively), and NM-110 and NM-111 (ZnO: 147 nm and 141 nm, respectively). The aim was to assess the biological effects of these materials on human monoblastoid (U937) cells. Dispersions of NMs were prepared as described in the NANOGENOTOX dispersion protocol and cells were exposed to NMs at relevant concentrations (2, 10, 20, 50, and 100 µg/mL) for 24 hrs. The change in electrical impedance was measured at 0.5, 2, 6, and 12 MHz using the IFC AmphaZ30 (Amphasys AG, Switzerland). A traditional toxicity assay, Trypan Blue Dye Exclusion assay, and dark-field microscopy were used to validate the IFC method. Results: Spherical Ag particles (NM-300K) showed the highest toxic effect on U937 cells followed by ZnO (NM-111 ≥ NM-110) particles. Silica particles were moderate to non-toxic at all used concentrations under these conditions. A higher toxic effect was seen with smaller sized TiO2 particles (NM-101) compared to their larger analogues (NM-100). No interferences between the IFC and the used NMs were seen. Uptake and internalization of NMs were observed after 24 hours exposure, confirming actual NM-cell interactions. Conclusion: Results collected with the IFC demonstrate the applicability of this method for rapid nanotoxicity assessment, which proved to be less prone to nano-related interference issues compared to some traditional toxicity assays. Furthermore, this label-free and novel technique shows good potential for up-scaling in directions of an automated high-throughput screening and for future NM toxicity assessment. This work was supported by the EC FP7 NANoREG (Grant Agreement NMP4-LA-2013-310584), the Research Council of Norway, project NorNANoREG (239199/O70), the EuroNanoMed II 'GEMN' project (246672), and the UH-Nett Vest project.

Keywords: cytotoxicity, high-throughput, impedance, nanomaterials

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Authors: L. R. Valencia Pérez, A. Morita Alexander, Peña A. Juan Manuel, A. Lamadrid Álvarez

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This research shows the reflection and identification of explanatory variables and their relationships between different variables that are involved with educational technology, all of them encompassed in macro-concepts which are: cognitive inequality, economy, food and language; These will give the guideline to have a more detailed knowledge of educational systems, the communication and equipment, the physical space and the teachers; All of them interacting with each other give rise to what is called educational technology management. These elements contribute to have a very specific knowledge of the equipment of communications, networks and computer equipment, systems and content repositories. This is intended to establish the importance of knowing a global environment in the transfer of knowledge in poor countries, so that it does not diminish the capacity to be authentic and preserve their cultures, their languages or dialects, their hierarchies and real needs; In short, to respect the customs of different towns, villages or cities that are intended to be reached through the use of internationally agreed professional educational technologies. The methodology used in this research is the analytical - descriptive, which allows to explain each of the variables, which in our opinion must be taken into account, in order to achieve an optimal incorporation of the educational technology in a model that gives results in a medium term. The idea is that in an encompassing way the concepts will be integrated to others with greater coverage until reaching macro concepts that are of national coverage in the countries and that are elements of conciliation in the different federal and international reforms. At the center of the model is the educational technology which is directly related to the concepts that are contained in factors such as the educational system, communication and equipment, spaces and teachers, which are globally immersed in macro concepts Cognitive inequality, economics, food and language. One of the major contributions of this article is to leave this idea under an algorithm that allows to be as unbiased as possible when evaluating this indicator, since other indicators that are to be taken from international preference entities like the OECD in the area of education systems studied, so that they are not influenced by particular political or interest pressures. This work opens the way for a relationship between involved entities, both conceptual, procedural and human activity, to clearly identify the convergence of their impact on the problem of education and how the relationship can contribute to an improvement, but also shows possibilities of being able to reach a comprehensive education reform for all.

Keywords: relationships macro-concepts, cognitive inequality, economics, alimentation and language

Procedia PDF Downloads 199

Authors: Yasser Y. Lenis, Daniela Garcia Gonzalez, Cristian Solarte Bacca, Diego F. Carrillo González, Amy Jo Montgomery, Dursun Barrios

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Introduction: Artificial insemination in bovines helps to promote genetic improvement and can positively impact the rural economy. The Colombian armed conflict has forced a large portion of the rural population to abandon their territory, affecting their education, family integration, and economics. Justification: The achievement of education in rural populations was one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) made by the United Nations. During the last World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), it was concluded that most of the world’s poor, illiterate and undernourished population lives in rural areas; therefore, access to education is considered one of the most significant challenges for governments in countries with developing economies. Objectives: To study the effects of training in artificial insemination and rural management on the perception of knowledge and the level of knowledge in rural residents affected by the armed conflict in Nariño, Colombia. Methods: The perception of knowledge and the theoretical-practical knowledge of 63 rural residents were evaluated on the topics of bovine agribusiness management, artificial insemination, and genetic improvement through the application of three surveys. 1) evaluated the perceived level of knowledge each rural resident had about each topic using the Likert scale, 2) evaluated the theoretical knowledge before training, and 3) evaluated the theoretical knowledge upon completion of training. Results/discussion: Of the surveyed rural residents, 54% stated that they knew how business management improved the performance of their bovine agribusiness, 54% answered the pre-training knowledge test correctly, while 83% correctly answered the post-training knowledge test. Only 6% of surveyed residents perceived that they had prior knowledge of artificial insemination and reproductive anatomy topics. Before training, 35% of surveyed residents answered correctly on these topics, while upon completion of training, 65% answered correctly. Regarding genetic improvement, 11% of participating rural residents stated that they knew this subject. The correct answers on this topic went from 57% to 89% before and post-training. Conclusion: Rural extension programs contribute to closing knowledge gaps in relation to the use of reproductive biotechnologies and bovine management in rural areas affected by armed conflict.

Keywords: agribusiness, insemination, knowledge, reproduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Carlos A. Garcia-Mogollon, Juan C. Quintero-Diaz, Claudio Avignone-Rossa

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Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum 1-4N (Csb 1-4N) is an industrial reference strain for Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Csb 1-4N is a solventogenic clostridium and H₂ producer with a metabolic profile that makes it a good candidate for Bioelectrosynthesis System (BES). The aim of this study was to evaluate the electroactivity of Csb 1-4N by cyclic voltammetry technique (CV). The Bioelectrosynthesis fermentation (BES) started in a Triptone-Yeast extract (TY) medium with trace elements and vitamins, Complex Nitrogen Source (CNS), and bicarbonate (NaHCO₃, 4g/L) as a carbon source, run at -600mVAg/AgCl and adding 200uM NADH. The six BES batches were performed with different media composition with and without NADH, CNS, HCO₃⁻ , and applied potential. The CV was performed as three-electrode system: platinum slice working electrode (WE), nickel contra electrode (CE) and reference electrode Ag/AgCl (ER). CVs were run in a potential range of -0.7V to 0.7V vs. VAg/AgCl at a scan rate 10mV/s. A CV recorded using different NaHCO₃ concentrations (0.25; 0.5; 1.0; 4g/L) were obtained. BES fermentation samples were centrifuged (3000 rpm, 5min, 4C), and supernatant (7mL) was used. CVs were obtained for Csb1-4N BES culture cell-free supernatant at 0h, 24h, and 48h. The electrochemical analysis was carried out with a PalmSens 4.0 potentiostat/galvanostat controlled with the PStrace 5.7 software, and CVs curves were characterized by reduction and oxidation currents and reduction and oxidation peaks. The CVs obtained for NaHCO₃ solutions showed that the reduction current and oxidation current decreased as the NaHCO₃ concentration was decreased. All reduction and oxidation currents decreased until exponential growth stop (24h), independence of initial cathodic current, except in medium with trace elements, vitamins, and NaHCO3, in which reduction current was around half at 24h and followed decreasing at 48. In this medium, Csb1-4N did not grow, but pH was increased, indicating that NaHCO₃ was reduced as the reduction current decreased. In general, at 48h reduction currents did not present important changes between different mediums in BES cultures. In terms of intensities in the peaks (Ip) did not present important variations; except with Ipa and Ipc in BES culture with NaHCO₃ and NADH added are higher than peaks in other cultures. Based on results, cathodic and anodic currents changes were induced by NaHCO₃ reduction reactions during Csb1-4N metabolic activity in different BES experiments.

Keywords: clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum 1-4N, bioelectrosynthesis, carbon dioxide fixation, cyclic voltammetry

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Authors: Francisco J. García-de-Quirós, Gianmarco Radice

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When considering small robots working in a cooperative community for Moon surface exploration, navigation and inter-nodes communication aspects become a critical issue for the mission success. For this approach to succeed, it is necessary however to deploy the required infrastructure for the robotic community to achieve efficient self-localization as well as relative positioning and communications between nodes. In this paper, an exploration mission concept in which two cooperative robotic systems co-exist is presented. This paradigm hinges on a community of reference agents that provide support in terms of communication and navigation to a second agent community tasked with exploration goals. The work focuses on the role of the agent community in charge of the overall support and, more specifically, will focus on the positioning and navigation methods implemented in RF microwave bands, which are combined with the communication services. An analysis of the different methods for range and position calculation are presented, as well as the main limiting factors for precision and resolution, such as phase and frequency noise in RF reference carriers and drift mechanisms such as thermal drift and random walk. The effects of carrier frequency instability due to phase noise are categorized in different contributing bands, and the impact of these spectrum regions are considered both in terms of the absolute position and the relative speed. A mission scenario is finally proposed, and key metrics in terms of mass and power consumption for the required payload hardware are also assessed. For this purpose, an application case involving an RF communication network in UHF Band is described, in coexistence with a communications network used for the single agents to communicate within the both the exploring agents as well as the community and with the mission support agents. The proposed approach implements a substantial improvement in planetary navigation since it provides self-localization capabilities for robotic agents characterized by very low mass, volume and power budgets, thus enabling precise navigation capabilities to agents of reduced dimensions. Furthermore, a common and shared localization radiofrequency infrastructure enables new interaction mechanisms such as spatial arrangement of agents over the area of interest for distributed sensing.

Keywords: cooperative robotics, localization, robot navigation, surface exploration

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Authors: Martin Kittel, Alexander Roth

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The continuous integration of variable renewable energy sources (VRE) in the power sector is required for decarbonizing the European economy. Power sectors become increasingly exposed to weather variability, as the availability of VRE, i.e., mainly wind and solar photovoltaic, is not persistent. Extreme events, e.g., long-lasting periods of scarce VRE availability (‘VRE droughts’), challenge the reliability of supply. Properly accounting for the severity of VRE droughts is crucial for designing a resilient renewable European power sector. Energy system modeling is used to identify such a design. Our analysis reveals the sensitivity of the optimal design of the European power sector towards VRE droughts. We analyze how VRE droughts impact optimal power sector investments, especially in generation and flexibility capacity. We draw upon work that systematically identifies VRE drought patterns in Europe in terms of frequency, duration, and seasonality, as well as the cross-regional and cross-technological correlation of most extreme drought periods. Based on their analysis, the authors provide a selection of relevant historical weather years representing different grades of VRE drought severity. These weather years will serve as input for the capacity expansion model for the European power sector used in this analysis (DIETER). We additionally conduct robustness checks varying policy-relevant assumptions on capacity expansion limits, interconnections, and level of sector coupling. Preliminary results illustrate how an imprudent selection of weather years may cause underestimating the severity of VRE droughts, flawing modeling insights concerning the need for flexibility. Sub-optimal European power sector designs vulnerable to extreme weather can result. Using relevant weather years that appropriately represent extreme weather events, our analysis identifies a resilient design of the European power sector. Although the scope of this work is limited to the European power sector, we are confident that our insights apply to other regions of the world with similar weather patterns. Many energy system studies still rely on one or a limited number of sometimes arbitrarily chosen weather years. We argue that the deliberate selection of relevant weather years is imperative for robust modeling results.

Keywords: energy systems, numerical optimization, variable renewable energy sources, energy drought, flexibility

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Authors: Alexander E. Hramov, Vadim V. Grubov, Alexey A. Koronovskii, Maria K. Kurovskaуa, Anastasija E. Runnova

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The perception of visual signals in the brain was among the first issues discussed in terms of multistability which has been introduced to provide mechanisms for information processing in biological neural systems. In this work the influence of the cognitive noise on the visual perception of multistable pictures has been investigated. The study includes an experiment with the bistable Necker cube illusion and the theoretical background explaining the obtained experimental results. In our experiments Necker cubes with different wireframe contrast were demonstrated repeatedly to different people and the probability of the choice of one of the cubes projection was calculated for each picture. The Necker cube was placed at the middle of a computer screen as black lines on a white background. The contrast of the three middle lines centered in the left middle corner was used as one of the control parameter. Between two successive demonstrations of Necker cubes another picture was shown to distract attention and to make a perception of next Necker cube more independent from the previous one. Eleven subjects, male and female, of the ages 20 through 45 were studied. The choice of the Necker cube projection was detected with the Electroencephalograph-recorder Encephalan-EEGR-19/26, Medicom MTD. To treat the experimental results we carried out theoretical consideration using the simplest double-well potential model with the presence of noise that led to the Fokker-Planck equation for the probability density of the stochastic process. At the first time an analytical solution for the probability of the selection of one of the Necker cube projection for different values of wireframe contrast have been obtained. Furthermore, having used the results of the experimental measurements with the help of the method of least squares we have calculated the value of the parameter corresponding to the cognitive noise of the person being studied. The range of cognitive noise parameter values for studied subjects turned to be [0.08; 0.55]. It should be noted, that experimental results have a good reproducibility, the same person being studied repeatedly another day produces very similar data with very close levels of cognitive noise. We found an excellent agreement between analytically deduced probability and the results obtained in the experiment. A good qualitative agreement between theoretical and experimental results indicates that even such a simple model allows simulating brain cognitive dynamics and estimating important cognitive characteristic of the brain, such as brain noise.

Keywords: bistability, brain, noise, perception, stochastic processes

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Authors: Carlos Alberto Rivera-corredor, Angie Dayana Vargas-Ceballos, Edison Gilpavas, Izabela Dobrosz-Gómez, Miguel Ángel Gómez-García

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Hexavalent chromium, Cr (VI) is present in the effluents from different industries such as electroplating, mining, leather tanning, etc. This compound is of great academic and industrial concern because of its toxic and carcinogenic behavior. Its dumping to both environmental and public health for animals and humans causes serious problems in water sources. The amount of Cr (VI) in industrial wastewaters ranges from 0.5 to 270,000 mgL-1. According to the Colombian standard for water quality (NTC-813-2010), the maximum allowed concentration for the Cr (VI) in drinking water is 0.05 mg L-1. To comply with this limit, it is essential that industries treat their effluent to reduce the Cr (VI) to acceptable levels. Numerous methods have been reported for the treatment removing metal ions from aqueous solutions such as: reduction, ion exchange, electrodialysis, etc. Adsorption has become a promising method for the purification of metal ions in water, since its application corresponds with an economic and efficient technology. The absorbent selection and the kinetic and thermodynamic study of the adsorption conditions are key to the development of a suitable adsorption technology. The Ce0.25Zr0.75O2.nH2O presents higher adsorption capacity between a series of hydrated mixed oxides Ce1-xZrxO2 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1). This work presents the kinetic and thermodynamic study of Cr (VI) adsorption on Ce0.25Zr0.75O2.nH2O. Experiments were performed under the following experimental conditions: initial Cr (VI) concentration = 25, 50 and 100 mgL-1, pH = 2, adsorbent charge = 4 gL-1, stirring time = 60 min, temperature=20, 28 and 40 °C. The Cr (VI) concentration was spectrophotometrically estimated by the method of difenilcarbazide with monitoring the absorbance at 540 nm. The Cr (VI) adsorption over hydrated Ce0.25Zr0.75O2.nH2O models was analyzed using pseudo-first and pseudo-second order kinetics. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to model the experimental data. The convergence between the experimental values and those predicted by the model, is expressed as a linear regression correlation coefficient (R2) and was employed as the model selection criterion. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model and obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model. The thermodynamic parameters were calculated as: ΔH°=9.04 kJmol-1,ΔS°=0.03 kJmol-1 K-1, ΔG°=-0.35 kJmol-1 and indicated the endothermic and spontaneous nature of the adsorption process, governed by physisorption interactions.

Keywords: adsorption, hexavalent chromium, kinetics, thermodynamics

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Authors: Alexander Street, Nina Wollersberger, Paul Fernie, Leonardo Muller, Ming Hung HSU, Helen Odell-Miller, Jorg Fachner, Patrizia Di Campli San Vito, Stephen Brewster, Hari Shaji, Satvik Venkatesh, Paolo Itaborai, Nicolas Farina, Alexis Kirke, Sube Banerjee, Eduardo Reck Miranda

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Escalating neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in people with dementia may lead to earlier care home admission. Music listening has been reported to stimulate cognitive function, potentially reducing agitation in this population. We present a scoping review, reporting on current developments and discussing the potential for music listening with related technology in managing agitation in dementia care. Of two searches for music listening studies, one focused on older people or people living with dementia where music listening interventions, including technology, were delivered in participants’ homes or in institutions to address neuropsychiatric symptoms, quality of life and independence. The second included any population focusing on the use of music technology for health and wellbeing. In search one 70/251 full texts were included. The majority reported either statistical significance (6, 8.5%), significance (17, 24.2%) or improvements (26, 37.1%). Agitation was specifically reported in 36 (51.4%). The second search included 51/99 full texts, reporting improvement (28, 54.9%), significance (11, 21.5%), statistical significance (1, 1.9%) and no difference compared to the control (6, 11.7%). The majority in the first focused on mood and agitation, and the second on mood and psychophysiological responses. Five studies used AI or machine learning systems to select music, all involving healthy controls and reporting benefits. Most studies in both reviews were not conducted in a home environment (review 1 = 12; 17.1%; review 2 = 11; 21.5%). Preferred music listening may help manage NPS in the care home settings. Based on these and other data extracted in the review, a reasonable progression would be to co-design and test music listening systems and protocols for NPS in all settings, including people’s homes. Machine learning and automated technology for music selection and arousal adjustment, driven by live biodata, have not been explored in dementia care. Such approaches may help deliver the right music at the appropriate time in the required dosage, reducing the use of medication and improving quality of life.

Keywords: music listening, dementia, agitation, scoping review, technology

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Authors: Navid P Roodaki, Rochelle Abila, Daisy Evangeline Garcia

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Background and Objective: Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) among premature infants is a major causes of neonatal death. The use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) has become a standard of care for preterm newborns with RDS hence cost-effective innovations are needed. This study compared a novel low-cost Bubble CPAP (bCPAP) device to ventilator driven CPAP in the treatment of RDS. Methods: This is a single-blind, randomized controlled trial done on May 2022 to October 2022 in a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the Philippines. Preterm newborns (<36 weeks) with RDS were randomized to receive Vayu bCPAP device or Ventilator-derived CPAP. Arterial Blood Gases, Oxygen Saturation, administration of surfactant, and CPAP failure rates were measured. Results: Seventy preterm newborns were included. No differences were observed between the Ventilator driven CPAP and Vayu bCPAP on the PaO2 (97.51mmHg vs 97.37mmHg), So2 (97.08% vs 95.60%) levels, amount of surfactant administered between groups. There were no observed differences in CPAP failure rates between Vayu bPCAP (x̄ 3.23 days) and ventilator-driven CPAP (x̄ 2.98 days). However, a significant difference was noted on the CO2 level (40.32mmHg vs 50.70mmHg), which was higher among those hooked to Ventilator-driven CPAP (p 0.004). Conclusion: This study has shown that the novel low-cost bubble CPAP (Vayu bCPAP) can be used as an efficacious alternate non invasive oxygen therapy among preterm neonates with RDS, although the CO2 levels were higher among those hooked to ventilator driven CPAP, other outcome parameters measured showed that both devices are comparable. Recommendation: A multi-center or national study to account for geographic region, which may alter the outcomes of patients connected to different ventilatory support. Cost comparison between devices is also suggested. A mixed-method research assessing the experiences of health care professionals in assembling and utilizing the gadget is a second consideration.

Keywords: bubble CPAP, ventilator-derived CPAP; infant, premature, respiratory distress syndrome

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Authors: Mauricio Quintero Angel, Alexander Pereira, Selene Alarcón

Abstract:

One of the elements of greatest importance in agricultural production is the harvesting; an activity associated to different occupational health risks such as harvesting in high altitudes, the transport of heavy materials and the application of excessive muscle strain that leads to muscular-bone disorders. Therefore, there is an urgent necessity to improve and validate interventions to reduce exposition and risk to harvesters. This article has the objective of describing the co-development under the ergonomic analysis framework of an assisted manual harvesting tool for peach palm oriented to reduce the risk of death and accidents as it avoid the harvest in heights. The peach palm is a palm tree that is cultivated in Colombia, Perú, Brasil, Costa Rica, among others and that reaches heights of over 20 m, with stipes covered with spines. The fruits are drupes of variable size. For the harvesting of peach palm, in Colombia farmers use the “Marota” or “Climber”, a tool in a closed X shape built in wood, that has two supports adjusted at the stipe, that elevate alternately until reaching a point high enough to grab the bunch that is brought down using a rope. An activity of high risk since it is done at a high altitude without any type of protection and safety measures. The Marota is alternated with a rod, which as variable height between 5 and 12 Meters with a harness system at one end to hold the bunch that is lowered with the whole system (bamboo bunch). The rod is used from the ground or from the Marota in height. As an alternative to traditional tools, the Bajachonta was co-developed with farmers, a tool that employs a traditional bamboo hook system with modifications, to be able to hold it with a rope that passes through a pulley. Once the bunch is hitched, the hook system is detached and this stays attached to the peduncle of the palm tree, afterwards through a pulling force being exerted towards the ground by tensioning the rope, the bunch comes loose to be taken down using a rope and the pulley system to the ground, reducing the risk and efforts in the operation. The bajachonta was evaluated in tree productive zones of Colombia, with innovative farmers, were the adoption is highly probable, with some modifications to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, keeping in mind that the farmers perceive in it an advantage in the reduction of death and accidents by not having to harvest in heights.

Keywords: assisted harvesting, ergonomics, harvesting in high altitudes, participative design, peach palm

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Authors: Lauren A. Bailey, Amber R. Childs, Nicola C. James, Murray I. Duncan, Alexander Winkler, Warren M. Potts

Abstract:

Changes in behaviour and physiology are the most important responses of marine life to anthropogenic impacts such as climate change and over-fishing. Behavioural changes (such as a shift in distribution or changes in phenology) can ensure that a species remains in an environment suited for its optimal physiological performance. However, if marine life is unable to shift their distribution, they are reliant on physiological adaptation (either by broadening their metabolic curves to tolerate a range of stressors or by shifting their metabolic curves to maximize their performance at extreme stressors). However, since there are links between fish physiology and behaviour, changes to either of these traits may have reciprocal interactions. This paper reviews the current knowledge of the links between the behaviour and physiology of fishes, discusses these in the context of exploitation and climate change, and makes recommendations for future research needs. The review revealed that our understanding of the links between fish behaviour and physiology is rudimentary. However, both are hypothesized to be linked to stress responses along the hypothalamic pituitary axis. The link between physiological capacity and behaviour is particularly important as both determine the response of an individual to a changing climate and are under selection by fisheries. While it appears that all types of capture fisheries are likely to reduce the adaptive potential of fished populations to climate stressors, angling, which is primarily associated with recreational fishing, may induce fission of natural populations by removing individuals with bold behavioural traits and potentially the physiological traits required to facilitate behavioural change. Future research should focus on assessing how the links between physiological capacity and behaviour influence catchability, the response to climate change drivers, and post-release recovery. The plasticity of phenotypic traits should be examined under a range of stressors of differing intensity in several species and life history stages. Future studies should also assess plasticity (fission or fusion) in the phenotypic structuring of social hierarchy and how this influences habitat selection. Ultimately, to fully understand how physiology is influenced by the selective processes driven by fisheries, long-term monitoring of the physiological and behavioural structure of fished populations, their fitness, and catch rates are required.

Keywords: climate change, metabolic shifts, over-fishing, phenotypic plasticity, stress response

Procedia PDF Downloads 118