Despite constant technological innovation, road transport remains a significant source of pollutant emissions, and effective driver-behaviour changes can be considered as solutions that can increase ...the sustainability of road traffic in a short period. Thus, understanding driver behaviour plays a key role in assessing traffic-related impacts. Since real-world experiments entail some risks and are often not flexible, simulator-based experiments can be relevant to studying vehicle dynamics and driver behaviour. However, the reliability of the simulation results’ accuracy must be ensured. The primary objective of this paper is to present an exploratory analysis focused on the study of the reliability of a driving simulator to reproduce driving parameters that can then be used for emission estimation. For that purpose, tests were conducted by two drivers for urban and highway scenarios performed on a driving simulator and in real-world environments. Different road singularities composed events that were microscopically analysed. Second-by-second vehicle dynamic variables were recorded, and the pollutant emissions were estimated using the vehicle specific power (VSP) methodology. The results of this exploratory validation analysis showed that the total average emissions of all events were not significantly different (958.39 g for simulated and 998.06 g for empirical tests). Overall, the driving simulator can replicate vehicle dynamics from a microscopic perspective, especially for the urban scenario. This may be due to the more complex traffic conditions and road specificities that require more restrained driving behaviour. Nevertheless, VSP mode distributions did not follow the same pattern in 4 out of 10 events, meaning that the drivers displayed different behaviours in the simulated and empirical tests for those events. The relative errors range between 4 and 29% for carbon dioxide emissions and between 2 and 33% for nitrogen oxides emissions.
The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its increasing incidence worldwide, coupled with several complications observed in its carriers, have become a public health issue of great relevance. ...Chronic hyperglycemia is the main feature of such a disease, being considered the responsible for the establishment of micro and macrovascular complications observed in diabetes. Several efforts have been directed in order to better comprehend the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the course of this endocrine disease. Recently, numerous authors have suggested that excess generation of highly reactive oxygen and nitrogen species is a key component in the development of complications invoked by hyperglycemia. Overproduction and/or insufficient removal of these reactive species result in vascular dysfunction, damage to cellular proteins, membrane lipids and nucleic acids, leading different research groups to search for biomarkers which would be capable of a proper and accurate measurement of the oxidative stress (OS) in diabetic patients, especially in the presence of chronic complications. In the face of this scenario, the present review briefly addresses the role of hyperglycemia in OS, considering basic mechanisms and their effects in diabetes mellitus, describes some of the more commonly used biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative damage and includes selected examples of studies which evaluated OS biomarkers in patients with diabetes, pointing to the relevance of such biological components in general oxidative stress status of diabetes mellitus carriers.
Iron-modified raw kaolinite clay (Fe-MC) was synthesized by co-precipitation method, characterized, and then applied as a low-cost adsorbent to sequester sulfachloropyridazine (SCP) and ...sulfadimethoxine (SDM), emergent water contaminants, from aqueous media by batch equilibration at circumneutral pH. The adsorption rate was kinetically described by the pseudo-second-order model. Equilibrium monocomponent sorption data were fitted to three two-parameter linear and nonlinear isotherm models. The data were best described by Temkin and Langmuir nonlinear equations. Linearization of adsorption isotherms is demonstrated to be an unsuitable analytical tool for predicting adsorption isotherms. The Langmuir monolayer maximum adsorption capacities were 4.561 and 1.789 mg/g for SCP and SDM, respectively. The binary adsorption study showed an antagonistic adsorption process of SCP (
R
q
, SCP
= 0.625) in the presence of SDM (
R
q
, SDM
= 1.032). The thermodynamic parameters, namely enthalpy (ΔH), Gibbs free energy (ΔG), entropy (ΔS), Arrhenius activation energy (ΔE
a
), and sticking probability (
S
*
), indicated that the processes are spontaneous, exothermic, and physical in nature. The adsorption process was attributed to hydrogen bonding and negative charge-assisted H-bonding (CAHB). Using the Langmuir isotherm, the amount of Fe-MC required for a given volume of effluent of known contaminant concentration could be predicted.
Graphical abstract
Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor. This trial assessed the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib versus placebo in patients with polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
...This double-blind, withdrawal phase 3 trial enrolled patients with polyarticular course JIA (extended oligoarthritis, rheumatoid factor-positive or rheumatoid factor-negative polyarthritis, or systemic JIA without active systemic features) aged 2 years to younger than 18 years, and was done at 64 centres of the Paediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organisation and Pediatric Rheumatology Collaborative Study Group networks in 14 countries. Patients with psoriatic arthritis or enthesitis-related arthritis were enrolled for exploratory endpoints. During part 1 of the study, patients received oral open-label tofacitinib (weight-based doses; 5 mg twice daily or lower) for 18 weeks. Patients achieving at least JIA/American College of Rheumatology 30 response were randomly assigned (1:1) using an Interactive Response Technology system to continue tofacitinib or switch to placebo in part 2 of the study for 26 weeks. The primary endpoint was JIA flare rate by week 44 in part 2 in patients with polyarticular course JIA; the intention-to-treat principle was applied. Safety was evaluated throughout part 1 and part 2 of the study in all patients who received one dose or more of study medication. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02592434.
Between June 10, 2016, and May 16, 2019, of 225 patients enrolled, 184 (82%) patients had polyarticular course JIA, 20 (9%) had psoriatic arthritis, and 21 (9%) had enthesitis-related arthritis. 147 (65%) of 225 patients received concomitant methotrexate. In part 2, 142 patients with polyarticular course JIA were assigned to tofacitinib (n=72) or placebo (n=70). Flare rate by week 44 was significantly lower with tofacitinib (21 29% of 72 patients) than with placebo (37 53% of 70 patients; hazard ratio 0·46, 95% CI 0·27–0·79; p=0·0031). In part 2 of the study, adverse events occurred in 68 (77%) of 88 patients receiving tofacitinib and 63 (74%) of 85 in the placebo group. Serious adverse events occurred in one (1%) and two (2%), respectively. In the entire tofacitinib exposure period, 107 (48%) of 225 patients had infections or infestations. There were no deaths during this study.
The results of this pivotal trial show that tofacitinib is an effective treatment in patients with polyarticular course JIA. New oral therapies are particularly relevant for children and adolescents, who might prefer to avoid injections.
Pfizer.
•Discussion on an eventual anodic participation of CO2 in the iron dissolution mechanism.•The limitations of using only steady-state techniques in the study of reaction mechanisms.•Electrical ...circuits and EIS used to show the difficulties of using only Tafel slope in the determination of mechanisms.
This discussion presents an analysis of the recent paper by Kahyarian, Brown and Nesic published in this Journal Kahyarian et al. (2017). Indeed, the paper claims an anodic participation of CO2 in the iron dissolution mechanism, not detected by our work also published in this same journal Almeida et al. (2017). The anodic role was, however, only limited to the analysis of Tafel slopes behaviour. This is what was typically done in the early works of iron dissolution in acid media during the 1960′s, so that a discussion about this methodology based on the progress of the electrochemistry that has been developed since the 1980′s is absolutely necessary.
Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão (Aroeira-do-Sertão), Anacardiaceae, is one of the most used plants in folk medicine in Northeastern Brazil as an anti-inflammatory, healing and antiulcer. This species ...is threatened with extinction due to anthropogenic exploitation. The importance of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a conservationist model of replacement of the M. urundeuva adult tree (inner bark) for its under developing plants (shoots) in order to ensure the preservation of this species, but also to ensure sufficient raw material for pharmaceutical purposes.
To characterize chemically and assess the gastroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities of the fluid extracts from M. urundeuva innebark (adult plant) as well as stem and leaves of shoots (young plant).
The fluid extracts were prepared by maceration-percolation with hydroalcoholic solution according to the methodology described in the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. These extracts were cleaned-up through solid phase extraction (SPE) and chemically characterized by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF MS/MS). Gastroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts (700 or 1000 mg/kg) were assessed on ethanol-induced gastric lesions and Croton oil-induced ear edema in rats, respectively. The extracts were evaluated for cytotoxicity in vitro.
The UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS analysis evidenced the presence of chalcones, flavonoids and tannins. Gastroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities achieved with fluid extracts from the stems and leaves was similar to inner bark. The fluid extracts were not toxic.
It is possible to replace the inner bark of the adult tree for the stems and leaves from the shoots as raw material to be used in the preparation of its the phytotherapeutics. Therefore, this finding may help in the implementation of public policies that ensure the conservation of the species along with its sustainable use for pharmaceutical purposes.
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This paper provides a detailed literature review of the environmental implications of vehicle platooning, a topic gaining significant attention in transportation. While previous reviews have focused ...on the safety, planning, fuel economy, and microsimulation aspects of platooning, this paper delves into environmental aspects. It identifies a lack of research adopting a holistic approach to transport and environmental benefits and emphasizes the need for further research to enhance vehicle efficiency and improve air quality and health conditions. This study traces the historical evolution of platooning, highlighting the shift in research focus over the decades. It advocates for more research on platooning’s environmental aspects, particularly pollutant emissions and air quality. The primary contributions of this work are threefold and include the following: firstly, it delineates simulation methodologies for platooning and the associated pollutant emissions; secondly, it offers a critical assessment of the existing literature on vehicle emissions, fuel consumption, and energy savings; and thirdly, it illuminates the prospective research challenges within the specialized domain of vehicle platooning.
This paper presents a discussion of the particularities and challenges involved in the elaboration of reaction mechanisms. The use of steady state techniques to establish reaction models is ...critically analysed. Indeed, this paper shows that the same Tafel slope may be associated with different mechanisms; therefore, the Tafel slope cannot be used by itself to determine a specific mechanism with reasonable certainty. Furthermore, a critical analysis of electrochemical methods frequently used to determine corrosion rate, such as the Tafel Slope and LPR, shows the necessity of knowing the mechanisms of reactions beforehand to avoid mistakes in corrosion rate predictions. Reaction mechanisms must be established using both steady state and transient techniques. Finally, in cases where the kinetics are controlled by mass transport, electrohydrodynamic impedance emerges as a very useful tool, whose use is exemplified here by copper electrodissolution in sulphate medium.
•Discussion of the particularities in the elaboration of reaction mechanisms.•Use of transient techniques on electrochemical kinetics.•Electrohydrodynamic impedance as a tool for kinetic controlled by mass transport.
Introduction
Despite the high prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) in Brazil, no studies have described the validation of an SCD‐specific health‐related quality‐of‐life (HRQoL) instrument in ...children. We validated PedsQL 3.0 Sickle Cell Disease Module (PedsQL‐SCD) for Brazilian Portuguese, and cross‐validated it with PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scale (PedsQL‐GCS) in children with SCD.
Methods
PedsQL‐SCD was translated and culturally adapted using forward and reverse translations. PedsQL‐SCD and PedsQL‐GCS were tested in children and adolescents with SCD aged 2–18 years and their caregivers. Validity was assessed using the Pearson and intraclass correlation coefficients, and reliability measured with Cronbach's alpha.
Results
PedsQL‐SCD was validated in 206 children with SCD (median age 14 years, range: 8–18) and 201 caregivers. Among patients and caregivers, the mean total score for PedsQL‐SCD was 65.7 and 64.1, respectively. The mean total score for PedsQL‐GCS was 73.1 and 68.9 among patients and caregivers, respectively. The internal consistency for PedsQL‐SCD and PedsQL‐GCS was good; Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .59–.93 to .64–.83 among patients and from .60–.95 to .65–.85 among caregivers, respectively. Most intercorrelations between PedsQL‐SCD and PedsQL‐GCS, for patients and caregivers, had medium to large effect sizes (range: .23–.63 and .27–.64, respectively). Pain and pain impact domains of PedsQL‐SCD and physical dimension of PedsQL‐GCS had the highest cross‐correlation (.63 and .6 for patients; .63 and .64 for caregivers, respectively), confirming convergent construct validity.
Conclusion
PedsQL‐SCD is a valid, culturally appropriate measure to assess HRQoL in children with SCD in Brazil and is well‐correlated PedsQL‐GCS.
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