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Copyright of Journal of Sport & Health Research is the property of Journal of Sport & Health Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Here, we report on an acoustoelectric slab waveguide heterostructure for phonon amplification using a thin Al0.58Sc0.42N film grown directly on a 4H-SiC substrate with an ultra-thin In0.53Ga0.47As epitaxial film heterogeneously integrated onto the surface of the Al0.58Sc0.42N. The aluminum scandium nitride film grown directly on silicon carbide enables a thin (∼850 nm thick) piezoelectric film to be deposited on a thermally conductive bulk substrate (370 W/m K for 4H-SiC); the high thermal conductivity of the substrate, large mobility of the semiconductor (∼7000 cm2/V s), and low carrier concentration (∼5 × 1015 cm−3) yield low self-heating. A Sezawa mode with optimal overlap between the peak of its evanescent electric field and the semiconductor charge carriers is supported. The high velocity of the heterostructure materials allows us to operate the Sezawa mode amplifier at 3.05 GHz, demonstrating a gain of 500 dB/cm (40 dB in 800 μm). Additionally, a terminal end-to-end radio frequency gain of 7.7 dB and a nonreciprocal transmission of 52.6 dB are achieved with a dissipated DC power of 2.3 mW. The power added efficiency and acoustic noise figure are also characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Media Luna spring, Mexico, is the main reservoir of the endemic and endangered fish Ataeniobius toweri. In the last decades, the ecosystem has been modified by tourism, and the habitat has changed for this species. Therefore, for better conservation management of the natural fish population, it is necessary to understand its abundance status and suitable habitat conditions, in ecological and spatial scenarios, on a temporal scale. In the present study, we modeled A. toweri's ecological responses and spatial distribution for adult and juvenile life stages, in three summer periods (years 1999, 2009, and 2019). As habitat variables, we used water depth and underwater coverage. Ecological response curves were obtained from a Generalized Linear Model; distribution models were obtained with DOMAIN. In the modeling evaluation, for the Linear Regression Model, we obtained true statistical skills metric > 0.30 and, for DOMAIN, an area under the curve (AUC) > 0.70 with an AUC ratio > 1.00. In general, as the summer periods progressed, we found the highest probability of occurrence (P > 0.20) and distribution (P > 0.60) in areas with conditions of large coverage of underwater vegetation, in the first 1.5 m of depth, and near the shores of the spring. Also, the variations of relative abundance were always observed at sites with these habitat conditions. Thus, we concluded that our models had the performance to discern between suitable and unsuitable habitat conditions for A. toweri, and that areas with little or no anthropogenic pressure are more important for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pregnancy is a period in a woman's life that has important consequences on oral health, particularly for gingival health. Present study aims to identify women at higher risk of developing periodontal disease (gingivitis and periodontitis) during late pregnancy and evaluate how this condition evolves during this period. Methods: Prospective cohort study was designed with pregnant women who were assessed during the first and third trimesters of gestation in a southern Spanish public hospital. Data regarding gingival and periodontal health, oral hygiene, and overall health status (obesity and diabetes mellitus) were collected. Reporting followed STROBE checklist. Results: Significantly higher number of women had the periodontal and gingival disease in the third trimester of gestation compared with in early pregnancy. In the third trimester of gestation, 42 (28.6%) and 63 (42.9%) of women presented symptoms of periodontal disease and gingival disease, respectively. Obesity (OR 2.834; 95%CI 0.919–8.741), worse oral hygiene during the first trimester of gestation (OR: 4.031; 95%CI 2.12–7.65), and periodontal disease during early pregnancy (OR: 15.104; 95%CI 3.60–63.36) most effectively predicted periodontal disease during late pregnancy. Conclusions: Pregnancy is associated with exacerbated periodontal and gingival disease symptoms throughout the different trimesters of gestation. Obesity and oral hygiene during early pregnancy were the risk factors that most contributed to the aforementioned changes in periodontal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study two questions related to the abelian sandpile model, those questions are: can we predict the dynamics of sandpiles avalanches? Can we efficiently stop an evolving avalanche? We study the problem of deciding wether all the nodes of a sandpile grid will be toppled by an evolving avalanche. We identify an important subproblem of this prediction problem, namely: the problem of recognizing the recurrent configurations of the sandpile dynamics. This latter problem can be solved in linear time by simulating the appropriate sandpile avalanches. We ask: do there exist sequential algorithms that solve this recognition problem in sublinear time? We prove that there do not exist sublinear time sequential algorithms that solve this problem in a probabilistic approximately correct way. This means that those avalanches cannot be predicted by a sequential algorithm. We also study the problem of fighting against avalanches. This latter problem resembles the classical firefighter problem. We prove that fighting against two-dimensional avalanches is harder than fighting against fires on forests of low depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the evolution of perceived quality of life in relation to oral health during pregnancy and to determine the risk factors involved in this process. Methods: A follow-up study was carried out with pregnant Spanish women. Two oral examinations and an oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) assessment, using the OHIP-14 questionnaire, were performed in the first and third trimester of pregnancy. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, O'Sullivan Test measures, oral hygiene habits, history of caries, and periodontal status of participants were collected through structured medical-dental questionnaires. Results: A complete dataset comprising 246 pregnant women was available for analysis. Overall scores for negative impacts on the OHIP questionnaire were significantly higher during late pregnancy (74%). This indicated a deterioration in oral health-related quality of life amongst participants. Items describing "painful aching", "self-consciousness", "unsatisfactory diet", and "interrupted meals" showed the greatest increase between the first and third trimester of gestation. Multivariate analysis showed that pre-gestational/gestational diabetes mellitus and poor oral hygiene habits during the first trimester of gestation were directly associated with worse oral health-related quality of life during the third trimester of gestation (hyperglycemia: OR 2.86; 95% CI 1.019–8.050: p = 0.043 / oral hygiene: OR 1.33; 95% CI 0.970–1.836; p = 0.076). Conclusions: In the present research, hyperglycemia during pregnancy and poor oral hygiene habits during the first trimester of gestation led to a higher risk of poor oral quality of life during late pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Tropical legumes are commonly assumed to share all positive attributes known from temperate legumes such as lucerne. However, increasing evidence exists on the differences between those forages, particularly in terms of their ruminal degradability. Aims: Exploring the 24-h rumen in vitro -fermentation characteristics of tropical legumes, their direct comparison with lucerne, and their interactions with grasses depending on their nutritional quality. Methods: Arachis and stylosanthes (tropical legumes), pennisetum and andropogon (tropical grasses), and lucerne (lucerne_21 and lucerne_35, harvested 21 and 35 days after emergence respectively) were used for the study. On the basis of the nitrogen and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) concentration, arachis and pennisetum were classified as of good quality, while stylosanthes and andropogon as of poor quality. The following four incubation series were performed: first, forages alone were incubated under iso-nitrogenous conditions; second, forages were incubated under iso-nitrogenous conditions with supplemented starch; third, NDF extract of each forage was incubated alone; fourth, NDF extract of tropical grasses and legumes was incubated combined in grass : legume proportions of 33 : 67 and 67 : 33. Key results: When incubated alone, gas production (GP) and total short chain fatty acids were higher for temperate legumes, intermediate for tropical legumes and lowest for tropical grasses. Similar trends were observed for GP when the forages were incubated with starch, but the differences between arachis and lucerne_35 disappeared; short chain fatty acids did not differ among all tropical forages. Moreover, acetate : propionate ratio was highest for tropical legumes, intermediate for temperate legumes, and lowest for tropical grasses. Gas production of NDF extracts was highest for the lucerne samples and lowest for the tropical legumes. Improvements in GP were found when the NDF from the poor-quality grass (andropogon) was combined with the legumes, particularly the good-quality legume (arachis). Conclusions: On the basis of the gas production, tropical legumes appear to have lower degradability than do temperate ones, while also showing a different fermentation pattern. Fibre of tropical legumes is less degradable than that of tropical grasses, but when combining both fibre sources, there seems to be a synergistic effect on degradability. Implications: The current results give important insights on the fermentation characteristics of tropical legumes, helping better understand their role in ruminants' nutrition, while giving inputs towards improving their utilisation. The effects of feeding tropical legumes on the animal responses are strongly dependent on the quality of both the legume and the grass they supplement. We found that tropical legumes are more fermentable than are tropical grasses, but their fibre fraction is less degradable than that of grasses. Synergism occurred between the fibre of grasses and legumes, particularly when a good-quality legume supplemented a grass. These results can help understand and optimise strategies to successfully feed tropical legumes to ruminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: In temperate climates, multiparous cows are more susceptible to heat stress (HS) than are primiparous cows. However, these differences in susceptibility may vary in warm environments, where the overall production level is lower, cow size is smaller, and adaptation to HS increases. Aim: The different effects of HS and its alleviation on primiparous and multiparous cows was tested in crossbred cows (3/4 Holstein × 1/4 Brahman) in a warm environment. Method: Twelve cows during the rainy season (August-September 2014) and 12 cows during the dry season (March-April 2015; six primiparous, six multiparous) were monitored for rectal temperature and respiration rate, indicators of HS, and milk yield (MY) in a dairy farm in El Salvador. Ambient temperature and relative humidity were recorded hourly to estimate temperature-humidity index throughout the day. During the rainy season, all cows were housed in a pen without cooling treatment. During the dry season, fans and sprinklers were installed in the pen and provided cooling to the herd in two 15-day periods, alternated with two periods without cooling (Control). Key results: Primiparous cows were more susceptible to HS. Cooling alleviated HS, resulting in an increased feed intake and MY, with a greater impact on primiparous cows. During the cooling treatment, HS parameters increased overnight after the last cooling cycle of the day. This indicated that, despite the cooling treatment, cows still suffered from HS outside the hottest hours of the day. Furthermore, despite a higher temperature-humidity index during the rainy season, rectal temperature and MY remained similar in both the dry and the rainy season for cows without cooling, indicating that animals effectively lower their body temperature by increasing their respiration rate. Conclusions: The cooling only partially helped alleviate HS in both multiparous and primiparous cows, with the effects being greater on the latter. However, the increments in MY were proportional to the increases in feed intake, indicating that the efficiency of feed utilisation was likely to be not improved. Implications: More attention should be given to the susceptibility of primiparous cows to HS, as well as to the adjustment of cooling protocols towards alleviating HS in early morning and late afternoon hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which proposed models for the high resistivity of annealed low temperature-gallium arsenide. Samples used in the experiment; Results and discussion.

Data Device Corporation’s SCS750 single-board computers (SBCs) have been operating without interruption onboard the Gaia satellite since its launch in 2014. The uninterrupted operation is possible because of several hardening techniques that allow the SBC to correct single-event upsets (SEUs) in the constituent components. We present on-orbit SEU data for the SBCs. All errors analyzed here were corrected by the SBC and had no effect on mission operation. We analyze the data to determine the accuracy of current models, as well as the effects of the space weather environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Exercise training improves cardiometabolic outcomes in 'mean terms', but little information is available in children about the impact of the frequency/week and the wide inter‐individual variability to exercise training reported in adults. Objectives: We compared the effects of resistance training (RT) and high‐intensity interval training (HIT), and 'high' and 'low' frequency of training/week, for their effectiveness in decreasing insulin resistance (IR) levels in schoolchildren. A second aim was to decscribe and compare the prevalence of non‐responders (NRs) between the different frequencies of training protocol. Methods: Fifty‐three schoolchildren with IR were randomly assigned into four groups: RT at high frequency (three times/week), HIT at high frequency, RT at a low frequency (two times/week) and HIT at low frequency. The intervention lasted 6 weeks. Blood samples and body composition, blood pressure and performance measurements were taken before and after the intervention. Results: The prevalence of NRs was similar between the RTHF and HITHF (25.0% vs. 25.0%, P > 0.05) and RTLF and HITLF groups (20.0% vs. 46.6%, P = 0.174) for decreasing homeostasis model assessment of IR. However, significant differences in the prevalence of NRs were detected between RTHF and HITHF groups in fasting glucose (FGL) (18.7% vs. 58.3%, P < 0.031). Conclusions: Both RT and HIT improves the glucose control parameters in schoolchildren over 6 weeks, but only HIT is independent of a high or low frequency of training/week. The prevalence of NRs is similar for decreasing homeostasis model assessment of IR comparing each exercise mode in high vs. low frequency/week. However, both high‐ and low‐frequency RT and HIT results in differences in the prevalence of NRs for FGL and other cardiometabolic and performance outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agro Productividad is the property of Colegio de Postgraduados and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia is the property of Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: Perampanel is an antiepileptic drug (AED) approved for add‐on treatment of focal seizures (with or without generalization) and primary generalized tonic‐clonic (GTC) seizures. Our objective was to explore the effectiveness and tolerability of adjunctive perampanel in patients with drug‐resistant myoclonic seizures, after failure of other AEDs. Materials and methods: Retrospective, multicenter, observational study. Data were collected from individual patient clinical files and analysed using appropriate descriptive statistics and inferential analyses. Results: Data are reported for 31 patients with mean age 36.4 years, who had an average epilepsy duration of 18 years, previously taken an average of 5.03 AEDs, and were taking an average of 2.4 AEDs on perampanel initiation. Patients exhibited myoclonic, GTC, absence, tonic and focal seizures, and most had associated cognitive decline and/or ataxia. Median time on perampanel was 6 months, most common dose was 6 mg, and overall retention rate was 84%. The responder rate for myoclonic seizures was defined via reduction of days with myoclonic seizures per month. At 6 months, 15 (48.4%) of the 31 patients were classed as myoclonic seizure responders, 10 (32.3%) were myoclonic seizure free, and 39% saw improvements in functional ability. Of 17 patients with GTC seizures at baseline, 9 (53%) were responders at 6 months, and 8 (47.1%) were seizure free. The most frequent side effects were psychiatric disorders, instability, dizziness and irritability, and mostly resolved with dose reduction. Five patients discontinued perampanel due to side effects. Conclusions: Perampanel caused clinically meaningful improvements in patients with drug‐resistant myoclonic seizures. It was generally well tolerated, but psychiatric and neurological side effects sometimes required follow‐up and dose reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We look for structural properties of chemical networks giving place to homochiral phenomena. We found a necessary condition for homochirality that we call Frank inequality, and which is a linear inequality related to the entries of the jacobian matrices that occur at racemic steady states. We also investigate the existence of stronger conditions that can be formulated in a similar algebraic way. Those investigations lead us to introduce a homochirality degree for the racemic states of chiral neworks, which is intended to measure the probability of observing homochiral dynamics after perturbing those states. It is important to stress that all the introduced concepts and degrees are effective. The later fact allows us to develop an algorithm that can be used to, given a chiral network as input, compute large samples of steady states of different degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine corticosteroid treatment effectiveness in patients with oral lichen planus/oral lichenoid lesions (OLP/OLL). Material and Methods: Twenty‐one patients with OLP and eighty‐one patients with OLL received 0.05% clobetasol propionate (CP) or 0.05% triamcinolone acetonide (TA) in aqueous solution (AS) or orabase (OB), evaluating responses to treatment and follow‐up compliance. Results: Lesions were atrophic (72 of 102; 70.6%), extensive (58 of 100; 58%), producing eating difficulties (62 of 102; 60.8%), and spontaneous pain (30 of 102; 29.4%); 50 patients (49%) received CP‐AS. The mean ± SD percentage of follow‐ups attended was 43 ± 32%. Symptom remission was achieved in 46% of patients receiving CP‐AS, 36.36% of those receiving TA‐AS, 20% of those receiving CP‐OB, and 25% of those receiving TA‐OB. Follow‐up compliance was poor in 66.7% of patients. Among 51 patients with continuous symptoms, 64.7% evidenced total remission at treatment completion; among 33 with intermittent symptoms, 73.1% had outbreaks 2–3 times/year and 51.5% controlled outbreaks with <6 corticosteroid applications. Adverse effects were observed in seven patients (6.8%) (moon face, hirsutism, capillary fragility) in induction stage, subsiding with dose; among 15 patients under maintenance treatment for >6 months, one showed hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis inhibition but not adrenal insufficiency. Conclusions: Our treatment proved highly effective and safe. Recall programs are desirable to enhance follow‐up compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A meta‐analysis was performed to determine the effects of feeding ruminants with tropical legume silages on intake, digestibility and performance using a data set with 218 treatments (162 containing legumes, 56 without legumes) from 62 trials. First, a regression analysis was performed for diets containing legumes. Dry‐matter intake (DMI) and digestibility decreased with increasing legume proportion, with greater effects on large compared with small ruminants. Milk yield (MY) by dairy cows was not affected by legumes. Average daily gain (ADG) by cattle was maximized with legume silage inclusion between 200 and 400 g/kg DM, but no effect appeared for small ruminants. A second analysis compared diets without legumes with diets with medium (101–400 g/kg DM) and high (401–800 g/kg DM) legume inclusion. There were no differences in DMI, MY and ADG between the medium inclusion and without legumes, but all these parameters decreased with high inclusion. Digestibility was lower in diets with legume silages than in diets without legumes, regardless of the inclusion level. Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) was highest in diets with medium inclusion and lowest with high legume inclusion. While high legume inclusion negatively affected performance, including legume silages up to 400 g/kg DM seems to enhance or at least maintain MY, ADG and FCE, despite lower intake and digestibility. The reasons for such apparent paradox remain unclear. Well‐designed studies focusing on, e.g. microbial protein synthesis, energy metabolism, protein/carbohydrates characteristics, are required to better understand the effects of tropical legumes silages on nutrients’ utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effects of Quebracho tannin extract ( QTE) on in vitro ruminal fermentation, chemical composition of rumen microbes, ruminal degradation and intestinal digestibility of crude protein ( iCPd). Three treatments were tested, the control (basal diet without QTE), the basal diet with 15 g QTE/kg dry matter ( DM) and the basal diet with 30 g QTE/kg DM. The basal diet contained (g/kg DM): 339 grass silage, 317 maize silage and 344 concentrate. In vitro gas production kinetic was determined using the Hohenheim gas test (Experiment 1). The Ankom RF technique, a batch system with automatic gas pressure recordings, was used to determine in vitro production of short-chain fatty acids ( SCFA) and ammonia-nitrogen concentration ( NH3-N), as well as nitrogen and purine bases content in liquid-associated microbes ( LAM) and in a residue of undegraded feed and solid-associated microbes (Feed+ SAM) (Experiment 2). Ruminal degradation and iCPd were determined using the nylon bag technique and the mobile nylon bag technique, respectively (Experiment 3). Gas production (Experiment 1), total SCFA and NH3-N (Experiment 2) decreased with increasing QTE levels. Microbial mass and composition of LAM were not affected by QTE, but total mass of Feed+ SAM linearly increased, likely due to decreased substrate degradation with increasing QTE levels. The total amount of N in microbial mass and undegraded feed after the in vitro incubation increased with increasing QTE levels, suggesting a potential greater N flow from the rumen to the duodenum. In contrast to in vivo studies with the same QTE, no effects were detected on ruminal effective degradability and iCPd, when using the nylon bag techniques. Based on the in vitro procedures, QTE increased the supply of N post-rumen; however, some evidence of a decreased fibre degradation were also observed. Therefore, the benefit of adding QTE to diets of cattle is still questionable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to determine the effect of substituting pumpkin seed cake (PSC) or extruded linseed (ELS) for soya bean meal in goats’ diets on milk yield, milk composition and fatty acids profile of milk fat. In total, 28 dairy goats were divided into three groups. They were fed with concentrate mixtures containing soya bean meal (Control; n=9), ELS (n=10) or PSC (n=9) as main protein sources in the trial lasting 75 days. Addition of ELS or PSC did not influence milk yield and milk gross composition in contrast to fatty acid profile compared with Control. Supplementation of ELS resulted in greater branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) and total n-3 fatty acids compared with Control and PSC (P<0.05). Total n-3 fatty acids were accompanied by increased α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3n-3; 0.56 g/100 g fatty acids) and EPA (C20:5n-3; 0.12 g/100 g fatty acids) proportions in milk of the ELS group. In contrast, ELS and PSC resulted in lower linoleic acid (LA, C18:2n-6; 2.10 and 2.28 g/100 g fatty acids, respectively) proportions compared with Control (2.80 g/100 g fatty acids; P<0.05). Abovementioned resulted in lower LA/ALA ratio (3.81 v. 7.44 or 6.92, respectively; P<0.05) with supplementation of ELS compared with Control or PSC. The PSC diet decreased total n-6 fatty acids compared with the Control (2.96 v. 3.54 g/100 g fatty acids, P<0.05). Oleic acid (c9-C18:1), CLA (c9,t11-18:2) and t10-,t11-C18:1 did not differ between treatments (P⩾0.08), although stearic acid (C18:0) increased in ELS diets compared with Control (12.7 v. 10.2 g/100 g fatty acids, P<0.05). Partially substituted soya bean meal with ELS in hay-based diets may increase beneficial n-3 fatty acids and BCFA accompanied by lowering LA/ALA ratio and increased C18:0. Pumpkin seed cake completely substituted soya bean meal in the diet of dairy goats without any decrease in milk production or sharp changes in fatty acid profile that may have a commercial or a human health relevancy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Archivos de Zootecnia is the property of Archivos de Zootecnia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose Evaluate real-life experience with eslicarbazepine acetate ( ESL) after first monotherapy failure in a large series of patients with focal epilepsy. Method Multicentre, retrospective, 1-year, observational study in patients older than 18 years, with focal epilepsy, who had failed first antiepileptic drug monotherapy and who received ESL. Data from clinical records were analysed at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months to assess effectiveness and tolerability. Results Eslicarbazepine acetate was initiated in 253 patients. The 1-year retention rate was 92.9%, and the final median dose of ESL was 800 mg. At 12 months, 62.3% of patients had been seizure free for 6 months; 37.3% had been seizure free for 1 year. During follow-up, 31.6% of the patients reported ESL-related adverse events ( AEs), most commonly somnolence (8.7%) and dizziness (5.1%), and 3.6% discontinued due to AEs. Hyponatraemia was observed in seven patients (2.8%). After starting ESL, 137 patients (54.2%) withdrew the prior monotherapy and converted to ESL monotherapy; 75.9% were seizure free, 87.6% were responders, 4.4% worsened, and 23.4% reported ESL-related AEs. Conclusion Use of ESL after first monotherapy failure was associated with an optimal seizure control and tolerability profile. Over half of patients were converted to ESL monotherapy during follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is one of the most famous open problems to determine the minimum amount of states required by a deterministic finite automaton to distinguish a pair of strings, which was stated by Christian Choffrut more than thirty years ago. We investigate the same question for different automata models and we obtain new upper and lower bounds for some of them including alternating, ultrametric, quantum, and affine finite automata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agriscientia is the property of Revista AgriScientia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Milk fatty acid (MFA) have already been used to model methane (CH4) emissions from dairy cows. However, the data sets used to develop these models covered limited variation in dietary conditions, reducing the robustness of the predictions. In this study, a data set containing 140 observations from nine experiments (41 Holstein cows) was used to develop models predicting CH4 expressed as g/day, g/kg dry matter intake (DMI) and g/kg milk. The data set was divided into a training (n = 112) and a test data set (n = 28) for model development and validation, respectively. A generalized linear mixed model was fitted to the data using the marginal R2 (m) and the Akaike information criterion to evaluate the models. The coefficient of determination of validation (R2 (v)) for different models developed ranged between 0.18 and 0.41. Form the intake-related parameters, only inclusion of total DMI improved the prediction (R2 (v) = 0.58). In addition, in an attempt to further explore the relationships between MFA and CH4 emissions, the data set was split into three categories according to CH4 emissions: LOW (lowest 25% CH4 emissions); HIGH (highest 25% CH4 emissions); and MEDIUM (50% remaining observations). An ANOVA revealed that concentrations of several MFA differed for observations in HIGH compared with observations in LOW. Furthermore, the Gini coefficient was used to describe the MFA distribution for groups of MFA in each CH4 emission category. The relative distribution of the MFA, particularly of the odd- and branched-chain fatty acids and mono-unsaturated fatty acids of observations in category HIGH differed from those in the other categories. Finally, in an attempt to validate the potential of MFA to identify cases of high or low emissions, the observations were re-classified into HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW according to the proportion of each individual MFA. The proportion of observations correctly classified were recorded. This was done for each individual MFA and for the calculated Gini coefficients, finding that a maximum of 67% of observations were correctly classified as HIGH CH4 (trans-12 C18:1) and a maximum of 58% of observations correctly classified as LOW CH4 (cis-9 C17:1). Gini coefficients did not improve this classification. These results suggest that MFA are not yet reliable predictors of specific amounts of CH4 emitted by a cow, while holding a modest potential to differentiate cases of high or low emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ginecología y Obstetricia de México is the property of Federacion Mexicana de Ginecologia y Obstetricia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) and oral lichenoid lesions (OLL) are considered potentially malignant disorders with a cancer incidence of around 1% of cases, although this estimation is controversial. The aim of this study was to analyze the cancer incidence in a case series of patients with OLP and OLL and to explore clinicopathological aspects that may cause underestimation of the cancer incidence in these diseases.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted of 102 patients diagnosed with OLP (n = 21, 20.58%) or OLL (n = 81) between January 2006 and January 2016. Patients were informed of the risk of malignization and followed up annually. The number of sessions programmed for each patient was compared with the number actually attended. Follow-up was classified as complete (100% attendance), good (75-99%), moderate (25-74%), or poor (<25% attendance) compliance.Results: Cancer was developed by four patients (3.9%), three males and one male. One of these developed three carcinomas, which were diagnosed at the follow-up visit (two in lower gingiva, one in floor of mouth); one had OLL and the other three had OLP. The carcinoma developed in mucosal areas with no OLP or OLL involvement in three of these patients, while OLP and cancer were diagnosed simultaneously in the fourth. Of the six carcinomas diagnosed, five (83.3%) were T1 and one (16.7%) T2. None were N+, and all patients remain alive and disease-free.Conclusions: The cancer incidence in OLP and OLL appears to be underestimated due to the strict exclusion criteria usually imposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Deep Water Horizon (DWH) incident caused the release of an unprecedented amount of 13C- and 14C-depleted oil and gas to the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), which formed surface slicks and deep oil/gas plumes that extended laterally at 1000-1200 m. We conducted three research cruises between 2010 and 2012 to study the potential assimilation of petrocarbon (C derived from oil and/or gas) into the GoM microbial food web. In 2010, we found low δ13C (−30 to −25‰) and Δ14C (−603 to −55‰) values for suspended particles at 1000-1200 m depth as far as 289 km SW of the wellhead, providing direct evidence of the spatial extent of the subsurface plumes. At those depths in 2010, methane and oil carbon accounted for up to 28% and 62% of total particulate carbon (Csp), respectively. In the total area affected by the DWH, 80 ± 56 to 104 ± 91 tonnes (t) of methane-derived and 216 ± 174 to 292 ± 165 t of oil-derived carbon were incorporated into Csp. In 2011 and 2012, the δ13C values were distributed throughout the water column indicating that petrocarbon was still present and recycling, especially in the section closest to the DWH, where oil supplied up to 53% and 75% of Csp, respectively. Relatively low δ15N (< 4‰) values in suspended particles at 1000-1200 m in 2010 indicate stimulation of nitrogen fixation linked to methane oxidation in the months after the spill, which accounted for up to 40% of the particulate nitrogen in the water column at those depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia is the property of Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Anuario Filosófico is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra, S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Agro Productividad is the property of Colegio de Postgraduados and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our purpose was to investigate the effects of low-volume, high-intensity interval training (HIT) on cardiometabolic risk and exercise capacity in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Sedentary overweight/obese T2DM women (age = 44.5 ± 1.8 years; BMI = 30.5 ± 0.6 kg/m²) were randomly assigned to a tri-weekly running-based HIT program (n = 13) or non-exercise control follow-up (CON; n = 10). Glycemic control, lipid and blood pressure levels, endurance performance, and anthropometry were measured before and after the follow-up (16 weeks) in both groups. Medication intake was also assessed throughout the follow-up. Improvements (P < 0.05) on fasting glucose (14.3 ± 1.4 %), HbA1c (12.8 ± 1.1 %), systolic blood pressure (3.7 ± 0.5 mmHg), HDL-cholesterol (21.1 ± 2.8 %), triglycerides (17.7 ± 2.8 %), endurance performance (9.8 ± 1.0 %), body weight (2.2 ± 0.3 %), BMI (2.1 ± 0.3 %), waist circumference (4.0 ± 0.5 %) and subcutaneous fat (18.6 ± 1.4 %) were found after HIT intervention. Patients of HIT group also showed reductions in daily dosage of antihyperglycemic and antihypertensive medication during follow-up. No changes were found in any variable of CON group. The HIT-induced improvements occurred with a weekly time commitment 56-25 % lower than the minimal recommended in current guidelines. These findings suggest that low-volume HIT may be a time-efficient intervention to treat T2DM women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ginecología y Obstetricia de México is the property of Federacion Mexicana de Ginecologia y Obstetricia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the spine and pelvis of young adults. On the HLA-B27 genetic background, the occurrence of AS is influenced by the intestinal microbiota. The goal of our study was to test whether breast feeding, which influences microbiota, can prevent the development of AS.Methods: First, 203 patients with HLA-B27-positive AS fulfilling the modified New York criteria were recruited in the Department of Rheumatology, Ste Marguerite hospital in Marseilles. A total of 293 healthy siblings were also recruited to make up a control group within the same families. Second, 280 healthy controls, and 100 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and their siblings were recruited. The data collected were age, gender, number of brothers and sisters, age at disease onset, type and duration of feeding (breast or bottle).Results: Patients with AS had been breast fed less often than healthy controls. In families where children were breast fed, the patients with AS were less often breast fed than their healthy siblings (57% vs 72%), giving an OR for AS onset of 0.53 (95% CI (0.36 to 0.77), p value=0.0009). Breast feeding reduced familial prevalence of AS. The frequency of breast feeding was similar in the AS siblings and in the 280 unrelated controls. However, patients with AS were less often breast fed compared with the 280 unrelated controls (OR 0.6, 95% CI (0.42 to 0.89), p<0.01).Conclusions: Our study suggests a breastfeeding-induced protective effect on the occurrence of AS. To our knowledge, this is the first study of breastfeeding history in patients with AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound is a ubiquitous and versatile diagnostic tool. In the setting of acute injury, ultrasound enhances the basic trauma evaluation, influences bedside decision-making, and helps determine whether or not an unstable patient requires emergent procedural intervention. Consequently, continued education of surgeons and other acute care practitioners in performing focused emergency ultrasound is of great importance. This article provides a synopsis of focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) and the extended FAST (E-FAST) that incorporates basic thoracic injury assessment. The authors also review key pitfalls, limitations, controversies, and advances related to FAST, E-FAST, and ultrasound education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships between milk fatty acids (MFA) and methane (CH4) emissions from dairy cattle were explored. Data from a total of 12 studies including 39 treatments were gathered in the database. Methane was expressed as daily emissions (g/d), relative to dry matter intake (g/kg), milk production (g/kg milk) and body weight (g/kg). The univariate correlations between MFA and CH4 were based on absolute means and on relative changes of each treatment compared with its corresponding control. Saturated fatty acids, odd- and branched-chain FA and long-chain poly-unsaturated FA were positively related to CH4, while cis- and trans-isomers of mono-unsaturated FA were negatively related to CH4. However, most of the coefficients of determination (R2) of these univariate regressions ranged from 0·2 to 0·7, indicating that individual MFA only explain a limited part of the variation in CH4. Significant relationships between MFA and CH4 varied depending on the unit in which emissions were expressed. Similarly, some MFA seemed more suited to predict relative changes in CH4 emissions rather than absolute amounts. The present findings contribute to the exploration of the potential of MFA as biomarkers for CH4 emissions from dairy cattle, although differences between studies in the detail of MFA analysis and hence the number of MFA reported in the current study, complicates this kind of literature survey. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) and high-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT) allow the observation in vivo of dynamic changes in response to non-surgical treatment of actinic keratosis and field of cancerisation. Objective To non-invasively assess the pharmacodynamic changes induced by treatment with low dose 5-fluorouracil and 10% salicylic acid by means of RCM and high-definition OCT in field cancerization and actinic keratosis. Methods Twenty patients aged >50 years with diagnosis of actinic keratosis on the head and face and indication for treatment with 0.5% 5-fluorouracil and 10% salicylic acid were enrolled. An area of 25 cm² including visible type I and II AK and subclinical AK was treated once daily during 6 weeks and examination was performed with RCM and HD-OCT before treatment and 2 weeks after the end of treatment Results High-definition optical coherence tomography results at baseline of mean thickness of the stratum corneum and epidermis were in AK 10.4 (SD = 4.99) and 43.3 (SD = 24.01) μm respectively and in subclinical AK 3.7 (SD = 2.15) and 30.05 (SD = 16.85) μm. At week 8 (2 weeks after the end of treatment) measurements of stratum corneum and epidermis were significantly reduced in AK and subclinical AK for stratum corneum and epidermis. In RCM at week 8 scaling, detached corneocytes, atypical honeycomb, round nucleated cells in the spinosum granulosum layer, round vessels (dermal papillae), inflammatory cells and total AK score were significantly reduced in AK and subclinical AK. Conclusions Evaluation of AK and subclinical AK by RCM and HD-OCT showed objective improvement after treatment with 5-fluorouracil and 10% salicylic acid. These methods allowed the study of dynamic changes in the tissue at a subclinical level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agro Productividad is the property of Colegio de Postgraduados and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Médica MD is the property of Comite Editorial de la Revista Medica MD and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)