Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) survivors exhibit multisystemic alterations after hospitalization. Little is known about long-term imaging and pulmonary function of hospitalized patients intensive ...care unit (ICU) who survive COVID-19. We aimed to investigate long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the respiratory system of patients discharged from hospital ICU and identify risk factors associated with chest computed tomography (CT) lesion severity.
A prospective cohort study of COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary hospital ICU in Brazil (March-August/2020), and followed-up six-twelve months after hospital admission. Initial assessment included: modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, SpO2 evaluation, forced vital capacity, and chest X-Ray. Patients with alterations in at least one of these examinations were eligible for CT and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) approximately 16 months after hospital admission. Primary outcome: CT lesion severity (fibrotic-like or non-fibrotic-like). Baseline clinical variables were used to build a machine learning model (ML) to predict the severity of CT lesion.
In total, 326 patients (72%) were eligible for CT and PFTs. COVID-19 CT lesions were identified in 81.8% of patients, and half of them showed mild restrictive lung impairment and impaired lung diffusion capacity. Patients with COVID-19 CT findings were stratified into two categories of lesion severity: non-fibrotic-like (50.8%-ground-glass opacities/reticulations) and fibrotic-like (49.2%-traction bronchiectasis/architectural distortion). No association between CT feature severity and altered lung diffusion or functional restrictive/obstructive patterns was found. The ML detected that male sex, ICU and invasive mechanic ventilation (IMV) period, tracheostomy and vasoactive drug need during hospitalization were predictors of CT lesion severity(sensitivity,0.78±0.02;specificity,0.79±0.01;F1-score,0.78±0.02;positive predictive rate,0.78±0.02; accuracy,0.78±0.02; and area under the curve,0.83±0.01).
ICU hospitalization due to COVID-19 led to respiratory system alterations six-twelve months after hospital admission. Male sex and critical disease acute phase, characterized by a longer ICU and IMV period, and need for tracheostomy and vasoactive drugs, were risk factors for severe CT lesions six-twelve months after hospital admission.
Performance evaluation of irrigated agriculture is an important tool that assists in decision-making on water management in the river basin, particularly in tropical semiarid regions. This study was ...carried out using information from the Jaguaribe River basin, located in the Northeast region of Brazil, which has an important restriction in the availability of water resources and high competition for water use. From a set of indicators (production, water, economic, and social), the overall performance index of irrigated agriculture was estimated (ranging from zero to 1.0) for two scenarios: high water scarcity and low water scarcity. The performance index used was based on the mean value of these security criteria normalized with respect to the maximum value of the indicator for the crop obtained in the sub-basin. A low performance index of irrigated agriculture (less than 0.3) has always been associated with inadequacy of more than one security indicator. Crops with significant cultivated areas and, therefore, requiring a high volume of irrigation, such as rice, sugar cane, banana, and green coconut, require technical interventions related to the management of the soil–water–plant system aiming at improving yield with less water. Under conditions of water restrictions, crops with performance indexes higher than 0.3 should be prioritized. The study presented here for Jaguaribe River basin may support public policies related to irrigation and agronomic techniques necessary to improve the performance of agricultural under tropical dry lands.
This study evaluated levels of replacement of soybean meal by castor bean meal in the finishing crossbred steers on
Brachiaria brizantha
cv. Marandu pasture during the rainy-dry transition period. ...Forty Holstein-Zebu crossbred steers with an average initial weight of 395.93 ± 10 kg were randomly allocated to four treatment groups that were supplemented with concentrate levels of replacing (0, 290, 613, and 903 g/kg DM of the supplement; at 0.4% body weight BW). The experimental period was 120 days. A completely randomized experimental design was adopted; with regression analysis using the computational software package (SAS 9.2, USA). Intake and digestibility of dry matter (DM) and nutrients and animal performance were evaluated. The replacement levels did not influence (
P
> 0.05) the intakes of DM (kg/day), organic matter (OM, kg/day), neutral detergent fiber (NDF, kg/day and %BW), non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC, kg/day), or total digestible nutrients (kg/day). However, the intake of crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE, kg/day) decreased as the replacement levels were increased (
P
< 0.05). The digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, and EE did not change, whereas CP digestibility decreased linearly and NFC digestibility increased linearly (
P
< 0.05). The replacement levels did not affect (
P
> 0.05) final body weight, average daily gain, feed conversion, and carcass yield. Castor bean meal can replace up to 903 g/kg DM of soybean meal in the composition of the supplement without compromising the performance of steers on Marandu pasture during the rainy-dry transition period.
Graphical Abstract
The use of agroindustrial byproducts in cattle diets, such as castor-bean (Ricinus communis L.) meal, is a more sustainable practice because it does not compete with human food and reduces the volume ...of organic waste deposited in the environment. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of replacing soybean {Glycine max (L.) Merr.) meal with castor-bean meal on the intake, digestibility, feeding behavior and performance of crossbred steers supplemented while on Urochloa brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) R.D. Webster 'Marandu' pasture. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete design with 40 animals, which started the experiment weighing 227.1 kg, at 10 mo of age, and were divided into four treatment groups. Castor-bean meal was added to replace soybean meal at the levels of 0, 90, 180, and 280 g kg.sup.1 in the supplement, which was supplied at the rate of 0.4% of body weight. Total DM, pasture DM and neutral detergent fiber intakes did not change (P > 0.05) with the castor-bean levels added to the supplement. Ether extract intake and digestibility decreased linearly (P < 0.05). The animals showed no differences (P > 0.05) in production performance (average daily gain), which averaged 0.65 kg d.sup.1 Grazing, idle, and rumination times were not influenced (P > 0.05) by the treatments. Castor-bean meal can be included up to 280 g kg.sup.1 in the total diet without changing the performance of crossbred steers finished on tropical pasture. Key words: Beef cattle, biodiesel by-product, steers performance, Ricinus communis, Urochloa brizantha.
Cotton yield under the rainfed farming system in tropical semi-arid regions is significantly decreased by prolonged dry spells. In this context, supplemental irrigation (SI) with treated wastewater ...emerges as a strategy for the sustainability of agricultural production besides contributing to the reduction of fertilizer costs. The objective of this research was to evaluate the productivity, photosynthetic parameters, fiber quality, and profitability of cotton cultivation, under supplemental irrigation (SI) with municipal treated wastewater (MTW), with and without mineral fertilization. The treatments consisted of three water scenarios (normal, drought, and severe drought), defined by the historical series of precipitation data of 30 years, and two treatments of supplemental irrigation with MTW, with or without NPK fertilization. SI with treated wastewater increased cotton yield in all three scenarios (normal, drought, and severe drought) by approximately 29%, 255%, and 251%. Longer dry spells in drought and severe drought scenarios increased the volume of SI with MTW, resulting in greater nutrient input to the soil, improved photosynthetic response, higher physical water productivity, reduction in fertilizer costs, and higher farmers’ income. Therefore, our results show the importance of using treated wastewater in supplemental irrigation of cotton under scenarios of water scarcity in tropical semi-arid regions.
Insects are a novel food source with high nutritional value. However, acceptance of insects as food is low in Western countries and it is necessary to improve their sensory appeal. In this context, ...the effect of defatting was evaluated as a tool to improve consumers' acceptance, overall liking and sensory properties of foods incorporating edible crickets. Therefore, the nutritional content of two cricket species was analyzed, and the evaluation of the organic solvent which allowed for the best lipid extraction was performed. In addition, whole and defatted ground crickets were included in cereal and dry fruit bars to evaluate their sensory properties and consumers’ acceptance. Both cricket species had a high protein content and were valuable sources of minerals. Ethanol was the best solvent to defat the cricket species and the inclusion of defatted crickets in cereal bars had a positive effect on its sensory evaluations. The products incorporating whole ground crickets were associated with negative sensory descriptors and low liking and acceptance scores. The results suggest that the characteristic flavor of crickets seems to be associated with their lipid content, but it is unknown which components of the lipid fraction are responsible for their flavor.
•Ethanol allowed the greatest lipid extraction on cricket species.•A CATA ballot was built yielding a good description of insect protein bars.•Defatting improved liking and acceptance of cereal bars incorporating crickets.•Sensory profile of insect protein bars was improved by defatting of crickets. .•Lipid fraction may be responsible for crickets' negative sensory attributes.
•A novel approach based on the energy-irrigation-yield nexus assists on smallholder irrigation performance assessment.•Pumping inefficiency and inappropriate filtering were at the root of system ...deficiencies.•Local innovation solved filtering deficiencies partially.•High irrigation performance variability, good performing farmers, and local innovation open new ways for public support to local innovation.
Micro irrigation has been claimed to be the world's most valued irrigation innovation. However, both its potential to save water and its adaptability to smallholders’ needs are being questioned, while its energy requirement implies financial and environmental costs that are not affordable everywhere. This paper contributes to this debate with a field performance assessment of smallholder micro irrigation systems in the Baixo Acaraú Irrigation District, Ceará, Brazil, and a novel analysis model that depicts the energy-water-yield nexus by linking irrigation performance with energy efficiency and yield gap. Irrigation system performance was evaluated in a sample of 40 family lots and compared to design performance in a fairly homogeneous subset of them. Pumping inefficiency and inappropriate filtering have been at the root of system deficiencies. The great variability of irrigation performance indicated a wide margin for improvement and the possibility of using prominent farmers as benchmarks. Although there has been “technology translation” in the irrigation district that included local innovation in the filtering system, the process has not been completed. It is concluded that the adoption of foreign irrigation technology could be accelerated with the collaboration between local innovators and publicly-supported irrigation advisory services using integrated performance assessment approaches like the one presented here.
Assessing parameters in liquid film formation Andrade, João Rodrigo; Lima, Bruno Silva de; Duarte, Carlos Antonio Ribeiro ...
Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering,
2024/1, Letnik:
46, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Whether deliberate or not, liquid films may occur in many engineering applications, such as turbine combustion chambers and internal combustion engines. In this work, the formation of a thin liquid ...film on a flat plate in a liquid jet in air crossflow is numerically investigated through the Eulerian–Lagrange approach and the Eulerian wall film model. Simulations are performed using the finite volume method on an unstructured grid. Turbulent effects are modeled by means of the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations employing three different turbulence closure models, i.e., the
k
-
ε
, the optimized
k
-
ε
for crossflows and the shear stress transport model. The results for the liquid film thickness are validated based on experimental data whose uncertainty is known. Since the model depends on a number of operating conditions, such as the gas velocity profile and momentum flux ratio between liquid and gas, their influence is further investigated. It was found that the momentum transfer by the bombardment of impinging droplets significantly affects results and is found to be the main mechanism for the liquid transport along the bottom wall. Another important parameter is the gas inlet boundary layer thickness. This is due not only to the shear stress at the gas–liquid interface, but also to the impact on the droplet collection by the film. Also relevant is the two-way coupling between droplets and gas. It plays a fundamental role in the successful prediction of film thickness, as the liquid crossflow substantially affects the main airflow. The mechanics of the film buildup process is explored, and the different planform shapes are explained as a function of the liquid-to-gas ratios.
Graphical abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the action of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) associated with an intracanal medication against Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis inoculated in root ...canals.
Thirty-six human single-rooted teeth with single root canals were used. The canals were contaminated with C. albicans and E. faecalis for 21 days and were then instrumented with 1% NaOCl. The roots were divided into 3 groups (n=12) according to the intracanal medication applied: calcium hydroxide paste, 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) gel, and 2% CHX gel associated with calcium hydroxide. The following collections were made from the root canals: a) initial sample (IS): 21 days after contamination (control), b) S1: after instrumentation, c) S2: 14 days after intracanal medication placement; S3: 7 days after intracanal medication removal. The results were analyzed statistically by the Kruskal-Wallis test at 5% significance level.
Both 1% NaOCl irrigation and the intracanal medications were effective in eliminating E. faecalis and C. albicans inoculated in root canals.
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