Microreactors eliminate batch‐to‐batch variability and allow better control over nanocrystal synthesis. A serpentine microreactor fabricated by femtosecond laser ablation is presented and ...characterized by computational fluid dynamics, since the micro channels show a trapezoidal cross‐section mainly due to the relatively high numerical aperture of the focusing lens. Mixing, macro and micro, throughout the device was investigated for inlet flow rates between 10–500 μL min−1 and the injection of an inert tracer with the same transport properties of water. The simulation of the whole microreactor enabled the analysis of the formation and destruction of structures. For instance, secondary flows played a major role in mixing behaviour: small flow rates did not promote mixing of the tracer and a stream of pure water even after 43 curved segments, while they were perfectly mixed after 9 segments for higher flow rates. According to the mixing index, the maximum effect of convective mixing was achieved for an inlet flow rate of 250 μL min−1. Tracer dispersion and the mixing index guided a scale‐up process of the microreactor, optimizing the number of curved segments while increasing total throughput. The upscaled design exhibited mixing saturation at 400 μL min−1 and promoted better control of residence time to allow nanocrystal growth.
Dynamics of secondary flows at the mixing section curved segments for flow rate 250 μL min−1.
Ca Rater Mallorquí is a dog breed from the Island of Mallorca (Spain) traditionally used as a hunting and ratting dog to prevent disease spread and economic losses related to rodent activities on ...farms. However, the census data shows a population decline that should be addressed by implementing a conservation program. The first step to implementing a conservation plan is knowing the genetic situation of the Ca Rater Mallorquí population. Therefore, we aimed to genetically characterise the breed in our study. We analysed 33 microsatellites recommended by the International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) in 77 samples. Data were obtained from 13 samples of Balearic, Spanish, and international dog breeds to study the genetic diversity among breeds. The population did not significantly deviate from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium with heterozygosity (Ho) of 0.655 and expected heterozygosity (He) of 0.685. The Wright’s fixation indices, the Factorial Correspondence Analysis (FCA), a dendrogram representing Reynolds genetic distance between populations, and the pairwise FST values establish the Ca Rater Mallorquí as an independent breed distinct from the Balearic, Spanish, and international breeds.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Heterogeneity regarding clinical and laboratory findings at diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia exists. The frequency of complete blood count abnormalities and its combinations, symptoms and ...physical findings were investigated in Hispanic children from an open population at the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The patient charts and electronic records of under 16-year-old children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia over 10 years at a regional hematology center of a university hospital were analyzed to retrieve data concerning the complete blood count at first evaluation. Type and distribution of abnormal data, frequency of symptoms and physical findings at presentation were documented.
The records of 203 children aged 0–15 years diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 2006 to 2016 were revisited. The results of the blood workup showed a median white blood cell count of 7120×109/L (range: 450–600,000×109/L), and a median hemoglobin concentration of 7.5g/dL (range: 2.4–15.3g/dL), whereas the median platelet count was 47,400×109/L (range: 4000–544,000×109/L). Leukocytosis and leukopenia were present in 36.6% and 36.1% of cases, respectively; anemia was diagnosed in 82.9% children. The order of frequency for major clinical symptoms was fatigue 62%, fever 60%, bone and joint pain 39%, hyporexia 33% and weight loss 21%, while main physical findings were hepatomegaly 78%, splenomegaly 63%, lymphadenopathy 57%, pallor 48%, and purpura 30%.
Data differing from those classically expected at diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children were documented in a cohort of Hispanic children over one decade with a wide spectrum of complete blood count abnormalities, forms of presentation and frequency of physical findings.
This article comments on: Gabriela Sinclair, Erin R. Galarneau, Josh F. Hnizdor, Andrew J. McElrone, Michael Andrew Walker and Megan K. Bartlett, Grape cultivars adapted to hotter, drier growing ...regions exhibit greater photosynthesis in hot conditions despite less drought-resistant leaves, Annals of Botany, Volume 134, Issue 2, 1 August 2024, Pages 205–217 https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae032
Découlant de la tension entre l’accroissement de la demande pour les soins de santé et les contraintes financières des gouvernements, l’évaluation de la performance des organisations et des systèmes ...de santé est une condition essentielle à la survie de ceux-ci et constitue en soi un enjeu difficile. D’une part, ces systèmes complexes dépendent fortement de leur contexte : améliorer leur performance requiert la participation de nombreux acteurs aux intérêts souvent divergents. D’autre part, le concept de performance est loin de faire l’unanimité ; les modèles utilisés reflètent souvent des préoccupations et des objectifs contradictoires. Les auteurs exposent les perspectives d’acteurs clés provenant des pays lusophones et francophones des Amériques, de l’Europe et de l’Afrique dans le but d’engager les systèmes et les organisations de santé vers une amélioration continue de la performance. Pour ce faire, ils posent ici trois questions fondamentales : en quoi consiste la performance d’un système ou d’une organisation de santé ? Comment l’évaluer ? Et comment utiliser les résultats de l’évaluation de façon à constamment améliorer la performance ?
Global challenges related to energy consumption, water scarcity, deforestation, and environmental pollution have a direct impact on municipalities in Brazil and other countries around the world. ...Thus, the present study aims to evaluate eco-efficiency and its determinants in 41 Brazilian municipalities between 2014 and 2016 in the area covered by the Araguaia River Valley, in the Midwest of Brazil, Goiás state region. The Araguaia River Valley is considered of economic and especially environmental importance. It is located in one of the main Brazilian river basins, adjacent to states comprising the Legal Amazon, one of the world's most important biomes. To measure the eco-efficiency rate, we applied Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) via the model of output-oriented variable returns to scale (VRS). Variables used as input include Energy Consumption, Water Consumption, Number of Inhabitants, Fleet of Vehicles, Territorial Area, Deforested Area, and output is the ratio between GDP per capita and Deforested Area. In the second stage, we used Tobit regression with eco-efficiency rate as the dependent variable. For the analyzed period, results show low mean eco-efficiency in the VRS model, with values of 0.45 (2014) and 0.48 (2016). Results indicate that the municipalities of Castelândia in 2014, and Santo Antônio da Barra in 2016, achieved a sustainable balance between environmental and economic variables, contributing to conservation. That suggests that these municipal areas be a benchmark for the others and to local and national public managers, as well as the effective DEA technology applicability in calculating eco-efficiency. In contrast to these two cases, the Mineiros municipality (Araguaia River headwater area) obtained a very low eco-efficiency score. This is extremely concerning since this is an important and sensitive area in this region. In the second stage of the research, the Tobit model indicates that Deforested Area in 2014 and 2016 was significant and negatively correlated with the dependent variable, while Water Consumption (2016) was positively correlated with eco-efficiency. However, the robustness test shows the significant and negative correlation between Water Consumption and eco-efficiency in both years, additionally, the test confirms the results for the Deforested Area variable. These results are important to support policymakers and public managers in the development of more sustainable and eco-efficient municipalities worldwide.
•Eco-efficiency as a sustainable development strategy in the Midwest region of Brazil.•DEA and Tobit Regression were effective in eco-efficiency assessment of municipalities.•Eco-efficiency values obtained contribute to Araguaia Valley conservation.•Reduction in deforestation has a positive impact on eco-efficiency score.
Adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-secreting pituitary tumors (ACTHomas) are associated with severe comorbidities and increased mortality. Current treatments mainly focus on remission and prevention of ...persistent disease and recurrence. However, there are still no useful biomarkers to accurately predict the clinical outcome after surgery, long-term remission, or disease relapse.
This work aimed to identify clinical, biochemical, and molecular markers for predicting long-term clinical outcome and remission in ACTHomas.
A retrospective multicenter study was performed with 60 ACTHomas patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2018 with at least 2 years' follow-up. Clinical/biochemical variables were evaluated yearly. Molecular expression profile of the somatostatin/ghrelin/dopamine regulatory systems components and of key pituitary factors and proliferation markers were evaluated in tumor samples after the first surgery.
Clinical variables including tumor size, time until diagnosis/first surgery, serum prolactin, and postsurgery cortisol levels were associated with tumor remission and relapsed disease. The molecular markers analyzed were distinctly expressed in ACTHomas, with some components (ie, SSTR1, CRHR1, and MKI67) showing instructive associations with recurrence and/or remission. Notably, an integrative model including selected clinical variables (tumor size/postsurgery serum cortisol), and molecular markers (SSTR1/CRHR1) can accurately predict the clinical evolution and remission of patients with ACTHomas, generating a receiver operating characteristic curve with an area under the curve of 1 (P < .001).
This study demonstrates that the combination of a set of clinical and molecular biomarkers in ACTHomas is able to accurately predict the clinical evolution and remission of patients. Consequently, the postsurgery molecular profile represents a valuable tool for clinical evaluation and follow-up of patients with ACTHomas.
The reliable sampling of root exudates in soil-grown plants is experimentally challenging. This study aimed at developing a citrate sampling and mapping technique with millimetre-resolution using DGT ...(diffusive gradients in thin films) ZrOH-binding gels. Citrate adsorption kinetics, DGT capacity, and stability of ZrOH gels were evaluated. ZrOH gels were applied to generate 2D maps of citrate exuded by white lupin roots grown in a rhizotron in a phosphorus-deficient soil. Citrate was adsorbed quantitatively and rapidly by the ZrOH gels; these gels can be stored after sampling for several weeks prior to analysis. The DGT capacity of the ZrOH gel for citrate depends on the ionic strength and the pH of the soil solution, but was suitable for citrate sampling. We generated for the first time 2D citrate maps of rhizotron-grown plants at a millimetre resolution to measure an illustrated plant response to phosphorus fertilization, demonstrating that DGT-based citrate sampling is suitable for studying root exudation in soil environments, at high spatial resolution. The change of binding material would also allow sampling of other exudate classes and exudation profiles of entire root systems. These aspects are crucial in cultivar breeding and selection.
El principal objetivo de este trabajo es calcular la tasa efectiva del impuesto neto de renta generado por las personas jurídicas, pertenecientes a cada uno de los sectores de la economía colombiana, ...usando la información disponible en los agregados de declaraciones de renta de la Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), durante el periodo 2000-2015. Las tasas efectivas obtenidas muestran que el impuesto neto de renta real pagado por las personas jurídicas no es tan alto como se cree, además de que los valores de estas tasas presentan diferencias significativas, para los diferentes sectores económicos, debido a la existencia de beneficios tributarios que impactan de forma diferente a cada sector. Estas diferencias demuestran la inequidad horizontal del sistema tributario colombiano, dado que sectores que no son tan relevantes en generación de empleo, tales como el financiero y el minero, fueron los que presentaron los mayores montos de beneficios tributarios.
Nighttime transpiration has been previously reported as a significant source of water loss in many species; however, there is a need to determine if this trait plays a key role in the response to ...drought. This study aimed to determine the magnitude, regulation and relative contribution to whole plant water‐use, of nighttime stomatal conductance (gnight) and transpiration (Enight) in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). Our results showed that nighttime water loss was relatively low compared to daytime transpiration, and that decreases in soil and plant water potentials were mainly explained by daytime stomatal conductance (gday) and transpiration (Eday). Contrary to Eday, Enight did not respond to VPD and possible effects of an innate circadian regulation were observed. Plants with higher gnight also exhibited higher daytime transpiration and carbon assimilation at midday, and total leaf area, suggesting that increased gnight may be linked with daytime behaviors that promote productivity. Modeling simulations indicated that gnight was not a significant factor in reaching critical hydraulic thresholds under scenarios of either extreme drought, or time to 20% of soil relative water content. Overall, this study suggests that gnight is not significant in exacerbating the risk of water stress and hydraulic failure in grapevine.
Our study demonstrates that in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), nighttime water loss is not significant in exacerbating the risk of water stress, and in addition, we offer evidence that it may be positively linked to daytime productivity.
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