We propose a kinetic model to describe trade among different populations, living in different countries. The interaction rules are assumed depending on the trading propensity of each population and ...also on non-deterministic (random) effects. Moreover, the possible transfers of individuals from one country to another are also taken into account, by means of suitable Boltzmann-type operators. Consistent macroscopic equations for number density and mean wealth of each country are derived from the kinetic equations, and the effects of transfers on their equilibrium values are commented on. Finally, a suitable continuous trading limit is considered, leading to a simpler system of Fokker-Planck-type kinetic equations, with specific contributions accounting for transfers. This article is part of the theme issue 'Kinetic exchange models of societies and economies'.
Abstract Background Several methods are proposed in the literature for the quantification of gait variability/stability from trunk accelerations. Since outputs can be influenced by implementation ...differences, reliability assessment and standardization of implementation parameters are still an issue. The aim of this study is to assess the minimum number of required strides and the within-session reliability of 11 variability/stability measures. Method Ten healthy participants walked in a straight line at self-selected speed wearing two synchronized tri-axial Inertial Measurement Units. Five variability measures were calculated based on stride times namely Standard deviation, Coefficient of variation, Inconsistency of variance, Nonstationary index and Poincaré plot. Six stability measures were calculated based on trunk accelerations namely Maximum Floquet multipliers, Short term/long term Lyapunov exponents, Recurrence quantification analysis, Multiscale entropy, Harmonic ratio and Index of harmonicity. The required minimum number of strides and the within-session reliability for each measure were obtained based on the interquartile range/mean ratio. Measures were classified in five categories (namely excellent, good, average, poor, and very poor) based on their reliability. Results The number of strides required to obtain a reliable measure was generally larger than those conventionally used. Variability measures showed average to poor reliability, while stability measures ranged from excellent to very poor reliability. Conclusion Recurrence quantification analysis and multiscale entropy of trunk accelerations showed excellent reliability and a reasonable number of required strides. Based on these results, these measures should be taken into consideration in the assessment of fall risk.
Space weather describes the way in which the Sun, and conditions in space more generally, impact human activity and technology both in space and on the ground. It is now well understood that space ...weather represents a significant threat to infrastructure resilience, and is a source of risk that is wide‐ranging in its impact and the pathways by which this impact may occur. Although space weather is growing rapidly as a field, work rigorously assessing the overall economic cost of space weather appears to be in its infancy. Here, we provide an initial literature review to gather and assess the quality of any published assessments of space weather impacts and socioeconomic studies. Generally speaking, there is a good volume of scientific peer‐reviewed literature detailing the likelihood and statistics of different types of space weather phenomena. These phenomena all typically exhibit “power‐law” behavior in their severity. The literature on documented impacts is not as extensive, with many case studies, but few statistical studies. The literature on the economic impacts of space weather is rather sparse and not as well developed when compared to the other sections, most probably due to the somewhat limited data that are available from end‐users. The major risk is attached to power distribution systems and there is disagreement as to the severity of the technological footprint. This strongly controls the economic impact. Consequently, urgent work is required to better quantify the risk of future space weather events.
Highlights • Gait complexity could be a characterizing parameter of gait development during life. • 10 groups of different ages participated in the study: from toddlers to elderlies. • Multiscale ...entropy was applied on trunk acceleration data collected during gait. • On sagittal plane, MSE lowered with maturation showing adolescents as not yet mature. • Young adults showed the lowest MSE levels.
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•New bioactive hyaluronic acid/sodium alginate based films were prepared and crosslinked with Ca2+, Zn2+, or Cu2+ metal cations.•Investigating the antibacterial as well as ...physico-mechanical properties of the prepared crosslinked films indicated that such films are suitable as topical bioactive wound dressings.•Incorporation of sulfadiazine alone or in combination with Ag nanoparticles onto HA/SA/Ca2+ film matrix significantly enhanced the antibacterial properties of that film.
The current work was focused on formulation of new topical bioactive hyaluronic acid (HA)/Na-alginate (SA) films crosslinked with Ca2+, Zn2+, or Cu2+ metal cations. The antibacterial as well as some physico-mechanical properties of such crosslinked films such as gel fraction, swelling, tensile strength, stiffness, SEM, and water vapor permeability were discussed. Moreover, to enhance the antibacterial properties of the HA/SA/Ca2+ film, sulfadiazine (SD) alone or in combination with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as bioactive agents were incorporated in the formulation of that film. The in vitro releasing of sulfadiazine from such loaded film at different pH values was studied. The results obtained confirmed that among the above formulated films, the HA/SA/Ca2+/SD/Ag-NPs bio-film has the highest antibacterial activity. In addition, the above prepared films were screened as topical bioactive wound dressings for albino rats. The results indicated that both HA/SA/Ca2+/SD and HA/SA/Ca2+/SD/AgNPs films are effective dressings for restoring the homeostasis skin tissue of such rats to the normal control after 14 days, but the latter film was the best.
To evaluate the association of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption with gains in weight and waist circumference, and incident overweight/obesity, in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult ...Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort.
We applied FFQ at baseline and categorized energy intake by degree of processing using the NOVA classification. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured at baseline and after a mean 3·8-year follow-up. We assessed associations, through Poisson regression with robust variance, of UPF consumption with large weight gain (1·68 kg/year) and large waist gain (2·42 cm/year), both being defined as ≥90th percentile in the cohort, and with incident overweight/obesity.
Brazil.
Civil servants of Brazilian public academic institutions in six cities (n 11 827), aged 35-74 years at baseline (2008-2010).
UPF provided a mean 24·6 (sd 9·6) % of ingested energy. After adjustment for smoking, physical activity, adiposity and other factors, fourth (>30·8 %) v. first (<17·8 %) quartile of UPF consumption was associated (relative risk (95 % CI)) with 27 and 33 % greater risk of large weight and waist gains (1·27 (1·07, 1·50) and 1·33 (1·12, 1·58)), respectively. Similarly, those in the fourth consumption quartile presented 20 % greater risk (1·20 (1·03, 1·40)) of incident overweight/obesity and 2 % greater risk (1·02; (0·85, 1·21)) of incident obesity. Approximately 15 % of cases of large weight and waist gains and of incident overweight/obesity could be attributed to consumption of >17·8 % of energy as UPF.
Greater UPF consumption predicts large gains in overall and central adiposity and may contribute to the inexorable rise in obesity seen worldwide.
Acoustic data was collected across 15 sites distributed through the coastal area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, encompassing regions of different natural characteristics. Noise levels and the acoustic ...complexity index were calculated. Quantity and composition of anthropogenic sound sources varied across recording sites, with at least one type of sound source being registered in each location. A cluster analysis using third-octave levels from eight frequency bands divided recording sites into two groups, one considered as impacted by anthropogenic noise and the other as less-impacted. The noisiest recording locations were those with higher numbers of anthropogenic sound sources, specifically large ships. It was evidenced that anthropogenic noise affects not only noise levels, but also low-frequency acoustic complexity, which decreased in the presence of vessel traffic. The constant noise input of human activities tended to mask natural variability in the soundscape at lower frequencies.
•Previously unexplored coastal areas were investigated.•Noise levels and complexity index were calculated for 15 coastal locations.•Different locations were grouped together by level of noise impact.•Artificial sound sources increased noise and decreased complexity.•Anthropogenic noise decreased soundscape variability.
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•lidocaine (LC)/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complex was prepared.•The Lidocaine/β-cyclodextrin complex was confirmed by different tools.•lidocaine/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex ...was used to prepare hydrogel to be used as topical pain relief.
Lidocaine (LC)/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complex was prepared. This complex was confirmed using, UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). This complex was used to prepare hydrogel to be used as topical pain relief. (GII) and compared with gel contains Lidocaine (GI) only. The prepared gel was evaluated by measuring the spreadability, moisture regain, viscosity, pH and drug release profile. The results received showed that the gel properties were improved by introducing the Lidocaine/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex. The release profiles revealed that, gel with Lidocaine/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex showed improved sustained release behaviour.
•Quantitative assessment of locomotor development in school children.•Polar representation of motor control characteristics at different ages.•Natural and Tandem Walking dataset to support monitoring ...of motor development.
When aiming at studying and monitoring locomotor development in childhood, innovative indexes for the characterization of motor control performance and wearable technologies have highlighted the potential of significant advances. In particular, quantitative assessment of motor performance during natural walking (NW) and tandem walking (TW) has been proposed to highlight manifestations of motor automaticity and complexity, respectively.
This work aims at providing a quantitative overview of metrics characterizing locomotor maturation in a typically developing population, by analysing NW and TW. The final goal is to propose a novel graphical representation of motor development from childhood to adulthood, providing metrics for quantitative assessment with reference bands and data-set, supporting data interpretation and longitudinal assessment.
112 typically developing participants (age groups: 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 15-, and 25 years) walked in NW and in TW at self-selected speed. 3D acceleration and angular velocity of lower trunk and shanks were collected. Temporal parameters, their variability, and nonlinear metrics characterizing human movement (harmonic ratio, short-term Lyapunov exponents, multiscale entropy, and recurrence quantification analysis) were calculated. Effect of age was analysed on the different parameters and a graphical polar plot was defined to represent parameters that showed age effect in at least one of the two tasks.
Age effect was shown on temporal parameters, their variability, multiscale entropy and recurrence quantification analysis. These parameters were selected for monitoring locomotor development and presented on an ad-hoc designed polar plot showing age-group reference bands.
Graphic results outline locomotor differences with maturation at first glance. The patterns in NW and TW allow to characterize specific aspects of locomotor maturation, to evaluate in which area changes occur and towards which direction, depending on the task. The novel database containing participants’ raw collected data is made available as additional result of the present study.
The main aim of this research work was to develop controlled drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology. Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) were selected as a nanocarrier for the selected antibiotic ...drugs tetracycline, gentamycin and ciprofloxacin. CSNPs were prepared from chitosan solution by using tripolyphosphate (TPP) via ionic gelation method. Then the prepared high performance CSNPs were loaded with three different antibiotics to form nanocomposite from antibiotic loaded chitosan nanoparticles. Then the prepared nanocomposite used as superior antibacterial materials with minimum toxicity. Samples of cotton (100%) and (50:50) cotton/polyester blended fabrics were treated with different concentrations of this composite to impart antibacterial activity. Results showed that the treated fabrics with chitosan nanoparticles and its nanocomposite with different antibiotics were inhibited the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis exposed the embedding of chitosan nanoparticles into fabrics and their antibiotics loaded.
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