The so-called Nonminimal Derivative Coupling (NDC) is an alternative to General Relativity, which produces an asymptotic inflationary mechanism when applied to cosmology. The detection of ...gravitational waves in the last decade has imposed very stringent constraints over gravitational theories, which gave rise to a massive revision of those theories, in order to investigate the compatibility between them and that observational data. In this paper, we review NDC and address the question if it is compatible with gravitational waves or not. We show that the very existence of gravitational waves in this theory is restricted to a limited range in phase space and there are no accelerated solutions compatible with the present day data for the speed of such waves. This last result is alleviated by the fact that we did not detect primordial gravitational waves so far. Those conclusions are based on the comparison between the expression for the speed of tensor perturbations and the phase space. Finally, some possible scenarios and solutions are considered.
Scholars often point to the importance of network ties and biographical characteristics for political participation. These approaches emphasize the features that increase individuals' likelihood to ...participate rather than organizational efforts to foster engagement. This article advances a strategic, relational, and dynamic view of mobilization approaching this process from the perspective of empowerment. While organizations need to operate within the structural conditions they face, their members also strategize to make the most of their capacity to mobilize new recruits and empower their bases. One year of engaged participant observation and 71 semi-structured interviews with members of the Platform of Those Affected by Mortgages, the biggest housing organization in Spain, serve to illustrate these dynamics. An empowerment approach to mobilization encourages scholars to focus both on the characteristics of individuals that explain their mobilization, as well as the organizational strategies to achieve this objective.
The NS2B-NS3 protease has been identified as an attractive target for drug development against Zika virus (ZIKV) and combined drug repurposing and structure-based virtual screening has improved the ...development of antiviral drugs. In this study, we performed a structure-based virtual screening of 1861 Food and Administration (FDA) approved drugs available in DrugBank by the selection and docking validation of crystal structure of ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease (PDB ID 5H4I) using Glide and DOCK 6 software. The antihistaminic chlorcyclizine (Grid score −24.8 kcal/mol) exhibited the most promising interaction with NS2B-NS3 protease in comparison to crystallography ligand (Grid score −15.6 kcal/mol) by interaction to Tyr161 by hydrophobic interactions in the binding site of NS2B-NS3 which is recognized as an important amino acid in substrate molecular recognition. Cytotoxicity and global antiviral activity assay in Vero cells by MTT method showed that chlorcyclizine reduced the ZIKV induced cytopathic effect (EC50 of 69.0 ± 7.3 μM and SI = 1.9), and explicit molecular dynamics simulations implemented on a NAMD program indicated great stability of chlorcyclizine in protease binding site, suggesting the repurposing of chlorcyclizine as a promising finding in anti-ZIKV drug development.
This paper develops a perspective of mobilization based on the ethics of care to explore the complexities of political solidarity in social movements. On the one hand, it is interested in the reasons ...why commonly aggrieved individuals do not always collaborate to confront their oppression. On the other, it explores why sometimes people initiate mobilization for causes that do not benefit them directly. From a care perspective, aggrieved individuals may not mobilize to confront their troubles because some of their caring needs (emotional, identity, and participatory) are not covered. At the same time, empathy motivates people not affected by a grievance to initiate mobilization in support of the oppressed collective. Internal solidarity among those aggrieved may be created during the process of mobilization through care work. The analytical relevance of this model is demonstrated explaining the mobilization of the 'Platform of Those Affected by Mortgages', the biggest housing organization in Spain. A care-based approach to mobilization contributes to our analysis of contentious collective action by helping to better understand the complexities of political solidarity and the mechanisms through which organizations foster solidarity among their members.
The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (N) fertilization and the biological nitrogen fixation efficiency in soybean crops grown in unfavorable environments (high ...temperature, low fertility, and areas with sandy soil). Six field experiments were conducted between 2015 and 2018. Two experiments were performed per year. They were conducted in two separate areas. One was previously covered with degraded pasture (post-pasture area). The other was previously used to plant soybean (post-soybean crop area). The treatments consisted of inoculations with N-fixing bacteria (NFB) (0, 4, 8, and 12 doses ha
) and N fertilization with rates of 0, 25, 50, and 100 kg ha
. N fertilization and inoculation with NFB increased soil N, though the levels were still low. Among the tested groups, those with the application of eight doses of inoculant recorded the highest grain yields in post-soybean areas. They showed 10% (237 kg ha
) and 15% (336 kg ha
) higher grain yields when compared to crops treated without inoculant and crops with four doses of inoculant, respectively. N fertilization with 25 and 100 kg ha
decreased the root nodules of soybean plants grown in the post-soybean and post-pasture areas, respectively. Soybean crops grown on degraded pasture areas also showed good response to N fertilization (50 kg ha
) when combined with NFB inoculation (12 doses ha
). These showed grain yields 22% (439 kg ha
) higher than those of plants treated with just 12 doses of inoculant and no N fertilization.
The forecasting power of different methods is tested utilizing crime data for 1120 inland municipalities in Colombia. Using data from 2003 to 2018, five different forecasting methods are used: ETS, ...ARIMA, STAR, a classical beta convergence based model, and a spatial beta convergence model. First, it is shown that overall municipal crime disparities are steadily decreasing over time. This indicates that convergence and spatial effects are pivotal for the study of the dynamics of crime in Colombian municipalities. Time series cross‐validation for 4‐year ahead forecasts is implemented to assess the accuracy of all models. It is found that the STAR and the beta models have the lowest root mean squared errors. Therefore, as time goes by, space appears to play a more important role in the evolution of homicide rates. The paper concludes with some policy implications in terms of spatial effects and the mitigation of crime.
Patient-reported outcome validation needs to achieve validity and reliability standards. Among reliability analysis parameters, test-retest reliability is an important psychometric property. Retested ...patients must be in a clinically stable condition. This is particularly problematic in palliative care (PC) settings because advanced cancer patients are prone to a faster rate of clinical deterioration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the methods by which multi-symptom and health-related qualities of life (HRQoL) based on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have been validated in oncological PC settings with regards to test-retest reliability.
A systematic search of PubMed (1966 to June 2013), EMBASE (1980 to June 2013), PsychInfo (1806 to June 2013), CINAHL (1980 to June 2013), and SCIELO (1998 to June 2013), and specific PRO databases was performed. Studies were included if they described a set of validation studies. Studies were included if they described a set of validation studies for an instrument developed to measure multi-symptom or multidimensional HRQoL in advanced cancer patients under PC. The COSMIN checklist was used to rate the methodological quality of the study designs.
We identified 89 validation studies from 746 potentially relevant articles. From those 89 articles, 31 measured test-retest reliability and were included in this review. Upon critical analysis of the overall quality of the criteria used to determine the test-retest reliability, 6 (19.4%), 17 (54.8%), and 8 (25.8%) of these articles were rated as good, fair, or poor, respectively, and no article was classified as excellent. Multi-symptom instruments were retested over a shortened interval when compared to the HRQoL instruments (median values 24 hours and 168 hours, respectively; p = 0.001). Validation studies that included objective confirmation of clinical stability in their design yielded better results for the test-retest analysis with regard to both pain and global HRQoL scores (p < 0.05). The quality of the statistical analysis and its description were of great concern.
Test-retest reliability has been infrequently and poorly evaluated. The confirmation of clinical stability was an important factor in our analysis, and we suggest that special attention be focused on clinical stability when designing a PRO validation study that includes advanced cancer patients under PC.
Poultry litter is characterized as a heterogeneous compound produced after a poultry production cycle, being the sum of the material used as bedding in association with the animal waste, dead skin, ...feed scraps, water, feathers and the resulting microbiota. The expansion of poultry production around the world has resulted in elevated generation of this residue. Over the years its use has been restricted to organic fertilizer or simply as a waste to be eliminated and disposed of in the environment. However, this mechanism has caused environmental and social damages due to its indiscriminate use. Because of the energetic and biological properties of poultry litter, its sustainable use as energy can be obtained via thermochemical processes such as anaerobic digestion and through combustion, gasification, pyrolysis or power co-generation systems, in which there is a combination of one or more processes. As a result, there is the potential for generating heat, electricity, fuel gas and biochar with low emission of pollutants. However, it is emphasized that there is no standard with regards to its composition and the source material type, where efforts are more focused on the contents of moisture and inorganic compounds. Therefore, processes that seek to use poultry litter as fuel biomass should be well-controlled and efficient for successful energy generation. In this sense, the objective of this study is to analyze the characteristics of poultry litter as fuel, discuss the main thermochemical processes for its energetic conversion and propose measures to improve its performance as a sustainable biomass.
•The soy-based bio-oils showed great potential to be used as rejuvenating agents.•The rejuvenators improved the binder ductility and relaxation properties.•The fatigue life at 1% strain is longer for ...the binders rejuvenated with bio-oils.•The fatigue factors are higher for the rejuvenated binders than for the neat ones.•The carbonyl indices reduced with rejuvenation but not to the virgin binder level.
The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of four recycling agents – one conventional petroleum-based (PB) oil and three soy-based (SB) bio-oils – in terms of rutting, fatigue and thermal cracking behavior and chemical properties of the rejuvenated asphalt binders. The PG grade was used to assess the high and low critical temperatures, and the MSCR and LAS tests were used to evaluate the rutting and fatigue characteristics, respectively. Changes in the chemical aging groups were tracked by means of FTIR spectroscopy. The bio-oils have great potential to be employed as recycling agents as they restored the high and low critical temperatures of the aged binders. The bio-rejuvenated binders presented an excessive mass loss compared to the standard rejuvenated one despite their enhancement in the fatigue life. The carbonyl indices were reduced, showing that the rejuvenators were capable of mitigating the effect of binder aging.
Abstract
Figures like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former French National Front leader Marion Maréchal are seeking to establish what we call a new globalist illiberal order. The ...globalist illiberal agenda extends elements of the globalist project while reclaiming a radicalized view of Christian democracy. Europe's far-right views the global order as composed of strong nations who need to defend their sovereignty on ‘cultural’ issues while protecting their common Christian roots. We trace their project by focusing on two new institutions of higher education, Hungary's National University of Public Service Ludovika (Ludovika-UPS) and the Institut de sciences sociales, économiques et politiques (Institute of Social Sciences, Economics and Politics—ISSEP), based in France and Spain. Through these institutions, globalist illiberals aim to cultivate new leaders outside the liberal ‘mainstream’ and redefine the meaning of Christian democracy. We conclude that surging nationalism among mid- to small powers is not resulting in deglobalization but is fostering illiberal globalization, which has no place for those who do not fit in their exclusionary vision of Christian Europe.
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