The boarfish (Capros aper) is a pelagic species that appears on numerous occasions as bycatch or discard in trawl fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. Existing information on this ...species and its occurrence as bycatch is incomplete for the Atlantic coasts. The objectives of this work were to study its growth, ageing, and diet in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. We found that the length-weight relationship was TW = 0.022*TL
2.89
(R
2
= 0.94). We observed age classes ranging from 1 to 5 years and that otoliths vary in shape and size according to the age of the individual, becoming more irregular in the lateral areas and increasing the size of the central cleft as the specimens grow older. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation were L
∞
= 11.80 cm; k = 0.21 yr
−1
; t
0
= −1.60 yr. Diet analysis indicated that copepods were the most abundant prey in the stomachs analysed, (IRI index value of 84.24%). This study serves to increase knowledge on the biology of the boarfish, which may be useful for future studies on the species, as well as for other members of the family and fisheries in which it is discarded.
This study evaluated the functioning of children in early childhood education classroom routines, using the 3M Functioning in Preschool Routines Scale. A total of 366 children aged 36 to 70 months ...and 22 teachers from six early childhood education centers in Spain participated in the study. The authors used the Rasch model to determine the item fit and the difficulty of the items in relation to children's ability levels in this age range. The Rasch Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis by child age groups showed that the item difficulty differed according to the children's age and according to their levels of competence. The results of this study supported the reliability and validity of the 3M scale for assessing children's functioning in preschool classroom routines. A few items, however, were identified as needing to be reworded and more difficult items needed to be added to increase the scale difficulty level to match the performance of children with higher ability levels. The authors introduced the new and reworded items based on the results of this study and the corresponding ICF codes per item. Moreover, the authors indicate how to use the ICF Performance Qualifiers in relation to the 3M scale response categories for developing a functioning profile for the child.
The main characteristic of Cannabis sativa L. is the production of compounds of medicinal interest known as phytocannabinoids. Environmental factors and crop management practices are directly related ...to the yield of these compounds. Knowing how these factors influence the production of phytocannabinoids is essential to promote greater metabolite yield and stability. In this review, we aim to examine current cannabis agronomic research topics to identify the available information and the main gaps that need to be filled in future research. This paper introduces the importance of C. sativa L., approaching state-of-the-art research and evaluating the influence of crop management and environment conditions on yield and phytocannabinoid production, including (i) pruning; (ii) light and plant density; (iii) ontogeny; (iv) temperature, altitude, and CO2 concentration; (v) fertilization and substrate; and (vi) water availability, and presents concluding remarks to shed light on future directions.
Ruxolitinib, a potent Janus kinase 1/2 inhibitor, resulted in rapid and durable improvements in splenomegaly and disease-related symptoms in the 2 phase III COMFORT studies. In addition, ruxolitinib ...was associated with prolonged survival compared with placebo (COMFORT-I) and best available therapy (COMFORT-II). We present a pooled analysis of overall survival in the COMFORT studies using an intent-to-treat analysis and an analysis correcting for crossover in the control arms. Overall, 301 patients received ruxolitinib (COMFORT-I, n=155; COMFORT-II, n=146) and 227 patients received placebo (n=154) or best available therapy (n=73). After a median three years of follow up, intent-to-treat analysis showed that patients who received ruxolitinib had prolonged survival compared with patients who received placebo or best available therapy hazard ratio=0.65; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.46-0.90; P=0.01; the crossover-corrected hazard ratio was 0.29 (95%CI: 0.13-0.63). Both patients with intermediate-2- or high-risk disease showed prolonged survival, and patients with high-risk disease in the ruxolitinib group had survival similar to that of patients with intermediate-2-risk disease in the control group. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall survival at week 144 was 78% in the ruxolitinib arm, 61% in the intent-to-treat control arm, and 31% in the crossover-adjusted control arm. While larger spleen size at baseline was prognostic for shortened survival, reductions in spleen size with ruxolitinib treatment correlated with longer survival. These findings are consistent with previous reports and support that ruxolitinib offers a survival benefit for patients with myelofibrosis compared with conventional therapies. (clinicaltrials.gov identifiers: COMFORT-I, NCT00952289; COMFORT-II, NCT00934544).
New results about the influence of a small iron borided layer (~ 36
µ
m) obtained by the powder-pack boriding process (PPBP) and diffusion annealing post-process (DAP) were evaluated. Dry sliding ...wear tests on PPBP, PPBP + DAP and untreated AISI 1018 steel were performed under the pin-on-disc configuration, and balls of Al
2
O
3
and WC were used as a counterpart at different sliding distances. Also, the contact pressures of the layer/substrate system were evaluated using the finite element model with the aid of the ABAQUS software. The results showed that the Al
2
O
3
ball presented the major coupling (ball-disc), and the PPBP + DAP reduces the specific wear rate around ~ 304 times related to the untreated AISI 1018 steel to 500 m under severe sliding conditions.
Graphical Abstract
Context. The continuous high-precision photometric observations provided by the CoRoT and Kepler space missions have allowed us to understand the structure and dynamics of red giants better using ...asteroseismic techniques. A small fraction of these stars show dipole modes with unexpectedly low amplitudes. The reduction in amplitude is more pronounced for stars with a higher frequency of maximum power, νmax. Aims. In this work we want to characterise KIC 8561221 in order to confirm that it is currently the least evolved star among this peculiar subset and to discuss several hypotheses that could help explain the reduction of the dipole mode amplitudes. Methods. We used Kepler short- and long-cadence data combined with spectroscopic observations to infer the stellar structure and dynamics of KIC 8561221. We then discussed different scenarios that could contribute to reducing the dipole amplitudes, such as a fast-rotating interior or the effect of a magnetic field on the properties of the modes. We also performed a detailed study of the inertia and damping of the modes. Results. We have been able to characterise 36 oscillations modes, in particular, a few dipole modes above νmax that exhibit nearly normal amplitudes. The frequencies of all the measured modes were used to determine the overall properties and the internal structure of the star. We have inferred a surface rotation period of ~91 days and uncovered a variation in the surface magnetic activity during the last 4 years. The analysis of the convective background did not reveal any difference compared to “normal” red giants. As expected, the internal regions of the star probed by the ℓ = 2 and 3 modes spin 4 to 8 times faster than the surface. Conclusions. With our grid of standard models we are able to properly fit the observed frequencies. Our model calculation of mode inertia and damping give no explanation for the depressed dipole modes. A fast-rotating core is also ruled out as a possible explanation. Finally, we do not have any observational evidence of a strong deep magnetic field inside the star.
PFD is an orally bioavailable pyridone derivative (5-methyl-1-phenyl-2-(1H)-pyridone) that affects a variety of profibrogenic cytokines and its mechanism of action mostly resides in its ...anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic activity. 4- 6 Here we present data obtained from a pilot clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of PFD in 15 patients with established advanced liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus chronic infection. An SF-36 survey, self-administered by patients, demonstrated an improvement in quality of life. 7 Real Time PCR was used to detect gene expression of key molecules involved in collagen turnover. mRNAs coding for profibrogenic molecules such as Col α1, transforming growth factor β, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 were markedly downregulated at the end of treatment.
Two distinct Cambrian magmatic pulses are recognized in the Ossa-Morena Zone (SW Iberia): an early rift-(ER) and a main rift-related event. This Cambrian magmatism is related to intra-continental ...rifting of North Gondwana that is thought to have culminated in the opening of the Rheic Ocean in Lower Ordovician times. New data of whole-rock geochemistry (19 samples), Sm–Nd–Sr isotopes (4 samples) and ID–TIMS U–Pb zircon geochronology (1 sample) of the Early Cambrian ER plutonic rocks of the Ossa-Morena Zone are presented in this contribution. The ER granitoids (Barreiros, Barquete, Calera, Salvatierra de los Barros and Tablada granitoid Massifs) are mostly peraluminous granites. The Sm–Nd isotopic data show moderate negative εNdt values ranging from −3.5 to +0.1 and TDM ages greatly in excess of emplacement ages. Most ER granitoids are crustal melts. However, a subset of samples shows a transitional anorogenic alkaline tendency, together with more primitive isotopic signatures, documenting the participation of lower crust or mantle-derived sources and suggesting a local transient advanced stage of rifting. The Barreiros granitoid is intrusive into the Ediacaran basement of the Ossa-Morena Zone (Série Negra succession) and has yielded a crystallization age of 524.7 ± 0.8 Ma consistent with other ages of ER magmatic pulse. This age: (1) constrains the age of the metamorphism developed in the Ediacaran back-arc basins before the intrusion of granites and (2) defines the time of the transition from the Ediacaran convergent setting to the Lower Cambrian intra-continental rifting in North Gondwana.
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