In this paper, the effectiveness of the treatment program developed by Proyecto Hombre (‘Project Mankind’) in Asturias, Spain, is evaluated. In a long-term follow-up (range from 73 days to 8 years) ...with a sample of 249 subjects, the results obtained by subjects completing the treatment (194) were compared with pre-treatment results and with those of the group that dropped out (55). The measurements used were relapses in illegal drugs, alcohol, changes in family situation, educational level, employment, criminal involvement and state of health. External validation of self-report measures given in the questionnaire was carried out. Findings support the effectiveness of the treatment in all measures and the validity of self-report items. Relapse rate in ‘treatment-completed’ group was 10.3%, whilst in the non-completers group it reached 63.6% (significant difference, p < 0.001). Relapses of non-completers were more severe, occurred sooner after leaving the program (they stayed abstinent for shorter periods) and lasted longer than those of subjects completing the treatment.
•Agave syrups presented dual melting points due to their fructose and glucose content.•The syrups showed a non-Newtonian behavior explained by the power law model.•Processing temperature and Agave ...species affected the sensorial properties of the syrups.
In Mexico, Agave spp. is traditionally used for many purposes, currently for the production of syrup. Agave syrup can be obtained by thermal concentration of aguamiel sap from certain Agave species. In the present work, aguamiel concentrated at different temperatures (70, 80, 90, and 95 °C) and from A. salmiana and A. atrovirens species were characterized by thermal, spectroscopy, rheological, and sensory techniques. The thermal behavior of the syrups depended mainly on glucose and fructose content. In the spectroscopy analysis, the syrups presented bands between 1417 and 925 cm−1, corresponding to high carbohydrate content. The syrups showed a non-Newtonian behavior fitted mainly through the Power Law equation. Principal component analysis was performed on the sensory analysis to establish a tendency in the evaluated attributes. The sweetness was remarkable in the A. atrovirens syrups. The obtained results are essential in the characterization of agave concentrated and useful in the syrup addition to other food products.
The aspiration of a foreign body in children is a frequent emergency in pediatrics, being potentially lethal. Method: Narrative review. Results: This pathology mainly affects children under 5 years ...of age with a peak of incidence between the first and third years of life. The clinic will depend on the type of foreign body (size, shape, possibility of breaking, organic or not), the age of the child and the location of the object. In our environment, the most frequent is the aspiration of nuts (peanuts and sunflower seeds). After the initial picture, an asymptomatic period tends to occur, which favors delayed diagnosis and leads to possible errors in the diagnosis. Discussion: An adequate clinical history and a high diagnostic suspicion are fundamental to favor an early treatment. The presence of a normal chest X-ray does not exclude the presence of a foreign body in the airway, so a bronchoscopy is indicated if the diagnostic suspicion is high. The treatment of choice is extraction by rigid bronchoscopy, being controversial the use of flexible fibrobronchoscope. Conclusions: Conclusions: The aspiration of a foreign body is a pediatric emergency that requires a diagnosis and early treatment. The highest incidence occurs in children under 3 years and more frequently in men. The most commonly aspirated material in our environment are nuts, mainly located in the bronchial tree. The initial episode may go unnoticed, delaying the diagnosis and may lead to progressive respiratory distress in the child. A detailed clinical history and suspicion of this pathology are essential in children at risk age who present with cough and dyspnea of sudden onset. The existence of a normal chest radiograph should not postpone bronchoscopy when there is high clinical suspicion. The treatment of choice for the extraction of foreign bodies in airways in children is rigid bronchoscopy, being controversial the use of the flexible fibrobronchoscope. However, the joint use of both can be useful for locating and retrieving the object. The prevention of these accidents is essential to decrease their frequency and associated complications.
La aspiración de un cuerpo extraño en niños supone una urgencia frecuente en pediatría, siendo potencialmente letal. Método: Revisión narrativa. Resultados: Esta patología afecta principalmente a niños menores de 5 años con un pico de incidencia entre el primer y tercer años de vida. La clínica dependerá del tipo de cuerpo extraño (tamaño, forma, posibilidad de romperse, orgánico o no), de la edad del niño y de la localización del objeto. En nuestro medio lo más frecuente es la aspiración de frutos secos (cacahuetes y pipas de girasol). Tras el cuadro inicial suele presentarse un periodo asintomático que favorece el retraso del diagnóstico y conlleva posibles errores en el mismo. Discusión: Una adecuada historia clínica y una alta sospecha diagnóstica son fundamentales para favorecer un tratamiento precoz. La presencia de una radiografía de tórax normal no excluye la presencia de un cuerpo extraño en vía aérea, por lo que está indicada la realización de una broncoscopia si la sospecha diagnóstica es alta. El tratamiento de elección es la extracción mediante broncoscopia rígida, siendo controvertida la utilización del fibrobroncoscopio flexible. Conclusiones: La aspiración de un cuerpo extraño es una urgencia pediátrica que precisa de un diagnóstico y tratamiento precoz. La máxima incidencia se presenta en menores de 3 años y más frecuentemente en varones. El material aspirado más habitual en nuestro medio son los frutos secos, localizándose principalmente en árbol bronquial. El episodio inicial puede pasar inadvertido, lo que retrasa el diagnóstico y puede dar lugar a una dificultad respiratoria progresiva en el niño. Es fundamental una historia clínica detallada y sospechar esta patología en niños en edad de riesgo que presenten tos y disnea de instauración brusca. La existencia de una radiografía de tórax normal no debe posponer la realización de una broncoscopia cuando existe alta sospecha clínica. El tratamiento de elección para la extracción de cuerpos extraño en vía aérea en niños es la broncoscopia rígida, siendo controvertido el uso del fibrobroncoscopio flexible. Sin embargo, el uso de forma conjunta de ambos puede ser útil para la localización y extracción del objeto. La prevención de estos accidentes es fundamental para disminuir su frecuencia y las complicaciones asociadas.
We consider the problem of optimally scheduling the flexible electricity demand of a fleet of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). More specifically, we analyze the solutions of the following charging ...optimization problems: a) the welfare-optimal problem, where the overall system cost is minimized; b) the fleet-optimal problem, where the charging cost of the fleet as a whole is minimized by a central agent, that is the PEV aggregator; c) the selfish-optimal problem, where the noncooperative PEVs aim at minimizing their individual charging cost. For a homogenous PEV fleet and a simplified problem setup, we show that the solutions of the three different approaches correspond to different valley-filling results. A main insight is that, as the population of PEVs grows, the selfish-optimal solution converges to the welfare-optimal solution. On the other hand, we show that the centralized fleet-optimal solution of the PEV aggregation can be recovered via decentralized selfish-optimal solutions with respect to an appropriate price signal as the population size grows. Finally, we demonstrate our technical results on a realistic PEV fleet case study.
Camponotus punctulatus builds big nests, up to 1.20
m high and 2
m in diameter, containing more organic matter and nutrients than the surrounding soil. The aim of this study was to relate litter ...decomposition in
C. punctulatus nests with soil organisms. We expected a greater level of decomposition and more soil organisms within than outside the nests. The study site was a field of
Setaria sphacelata, a common sown pasture in Northeastern Argentina, with 180 nests of
C. punctulatus per hectare. To estimate decomposition rates we buried litterbags within and outside the nest (microsite type) at the beginning of each season and recovered those from the previous season. We used litterbags of different mesh size (7
mm, 2
mm, 100
μm and 1
μm) filled with 8
g of
S. sphacelata litter. At the same time, we sampled the soil surrounding litterbags to estimate microbial dehydrogenase activity and the abundance of nematodes and mesofauna. Soil microbial activity was greater outside the nests, mesofauna were significantly more abundant inside the nests, and nematodes had similar abundance inside and outside the nests. Throughout all seasons, there was a greater proportion of Prostigmata and Mesostigmata in the nests, whereas Oribatida and Collembola were more abundant outside. Oribatid species composition differed between microsites. In the nests, there were two periods of higher decomposition (spring and summer) while outside the maximum occurred in spring, but only in litterbags of 7 and 2
mm mesh. The lack of macro and mesofauna (litterbags with 100-μm mesh) decreased organic matter decomposition in the nests in summer and induced phosphorus immobilization in winter. Ant activity and feeding preference, nest architecture and the plant community on
C. punctulatus nests are suggested as plausible factors that modify soil organism abundance and decomposition.
While numerous studies focus on the ecosystem effects of invasive mammals, few explore the causal mechanisms of such effects. Wild boar is one of the most widely introduced invasive mammal species in ...the world. By overturning extensive areas of vegetation and soil to feed on belowground resources, wild boar alter the soil food web and thus many microbial-mediated soil processes. Here, we take advantage of a long-term, 8-year, wild boar exclosure experiment across three plant community types in Patagonia, Argentina to explore how wild boar impact soil communities and their potential function. Previous work in this experimental system found that wild boar significantly impacted litter decomposition in the field, but it remained unclear if this effect was mediated through changes in abiotic or biotic soil properties. To explore both the abiotic and biotic drivers of decomposition, we measured soil moisture, soil temperature, soil bulk density, and soil respiration as well as soil micro-arthropod richness and abundance, earthworm abundance, and microbial biomass inside and outside of 10 exclosures in each of three plant community types. To assess potential microbial activity, we measured potential decomposition rates, substrate-induced respiration, and soil microbial enzyme activity. Rooting decreased soil moisture by 18% across plant communities, and soil respiration by 30% in
Nothofagus
and
Austrocedrus
forests. Additionally, rooting decreased soil micro-arthropod richness and abundance by ~ 80% in shrublands. However, rooting had no effect on soil potential microbial activity. Together, our results suggest that changes in both abiotic and biotic soil factors likely mediate observed wild boar impact on decomposition rates. Overall, we show that wild boar rooting alters soil functioning, but the pathway of impact varies by plant community, suggesting that wild boar impacts on native ecosystems can be difficult to predict.
Mechanical forces are exerted throughout cytokinesis, the final step of cell division. Yet, how forces are transduced and affect the signaling dynamics of cytokinetic proteins remains poorly ...characterized. We now show that the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel is activated at the intercellular bridge (ICB) connecting daughter cells to regulate abscission. Inhibition of Piezo1 caused multinucleation both in vitro and in vivo. Piezo1 positioning at the ICB during cytokinesis depends on Pacsin3. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of Piezo1 or Pacsin3 resulted in mislocation of Rab11-family-interacting protein 3 (Rab11-FIP3) endosomes, apoptosis-linked gene 2-interacting protein X (ALIX), and endosomal sorting complex required for transport III (ESCRT-III). Furthermore, we identified FIP3 as the link between Piezo1-generated Ca
signals and ALIX delivery to the ICB, where ALIX recruits the ESCRT-III component charged multivesicular body protein 4B, which promotes abscission. These results provide a different view of how mechanical forces participate in cytokinesis and identify Piezo1 as a key modulator of endosome trafficking.
We determined whether persistent nausea and vomiting (N/V) symptoms following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is due to elevated systemic glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and leptin in female ...non-diabetic subjects. Subjects with N/V post-Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery had significantly elevated fasting GLP-1 levels compared to that with post-operative asymptomatic subjects and to morbidly obese, obese and lean subjects not undergoing surgery. Weight loss, glycaemia, insulin and post-prandial GLP-1 levels were similar in all post-operative subjects. Despite comparable BMI, leptin was significantly lower in symptomatic subjects. Furthermore, leptin secretion from subcutaneous adipose tissue was inhibited by GLP-1 (0.1–1.0 nM;
n
= 6). Persistent N/V following RYGB surgery is associated with elevated fasting GLP-1, but lower leptin levels. The latter may be a consequence of the direct GLP-1 inhibition of leptin secretion from adipose tissue
.
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